Read Online Second Stone by Kelly Walker - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kelly Walker
Tags: Teen Paranormal
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about? Didn’t you hear me? Reeve kidnapped someone.”
“I know. It will be better for everyone in the end. I promise.”
Emariya gasped. She couldn’t be hearing this right. Her mother was defending him?
“But what about the prophecies? He’ll bind the lines. Never mind that kidnapping someone is wrong.” Emariya shuddered, remembering being blindfolded on a horse, feeling unbelievably helpless, when Khane abducted her.
“Yes, he will. He will finish what I started when I married your father.”
“Finish what you…” Emariya closed her eyes and slowly opened them again. It was unfathomable. Her mother… No.
“The Three Corners need each other. Each land has something the others need. We were never meant to be split. Under Reeve’s rule, the people of Thalmas will no longer be hungry, Eltar will no longer be unable and unwilling to defend itself, and Sheas won’t be the bully from the Sea. Really, by lineage, Sheas should have been under his command anyway.”
“And kidnapping Terin?” Emariya asked, still not believing what she was hearing. Had her mother taken leave of her senses? This was not the kind, compassionate mother she’d always envisioned.
“He did what he had to do. If you had been more cooperative, perhaps he wouldn’t have needed such measures.”
Great, so her mother blamed her, too. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. It wasn’t enough to be betrayed by her own brother. Her mother, whose absence she’d cried over so many nights, had betrayed her, as well. Could she trust anyone?
“Emariya Warren, those men killed me for being a Cornerstone. For nothing more than the blood that coursed through my veins, the same blood that courses through yours, they took my life. They took my peace. They shattered your father and your childhood. They let their fear of the unknown cloud their reason. Your brother and I will give them exactly what they deserve.”
“And what about the rest of us, Mama? The rest of us who had nothing to do with the Separatists? I’m afraid of the prophecies, too.”
“Souls of the Stones, their sights we bear
Sounds of the Stones, their secrets we share
Will of the soil blood will flow
Should three Stones one ever know
What once were one split thrice
Over whispers and sights
Soil prevails, behold its might
Blood and Stones as one brings darkest night.”
Emariya recited the words Garith had told her. “‘Will of the soil, blood will flow.’ I don’t want to spill blood, Mama.” She softly started to cry.
An unnatural silence hung between them. For so long, all she’d wanted was her mother. Now, she was desperate to escape her heavy glare. Lady Valencia had paid for peace with her life, and she was determined to cash in.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Emariya asked after a while. “You’re keeping me from waking up.”
She expected her mother to deny it and was surprised when Valencia nodded.
“I can’t have you in the way. Those boys you’ve got eating out of your hand will be too absorbed in caring for you to bother Reeve. Once he’s bound the lines, you can do as you please and it won’t matter. We don’t need you anymore to accomplish what you were supposed to do. What you were born to do.”
Disgusted, Emariya turned her head away from her mother, determined not to meet her eyes again. Her entire life, she’d been hearing how she was every bit her mother’s daughter. Her mother was right about one thing, though: when she died, she had left a chain of broken Warrens behind. Emariya had never been so ashamed or so alone. She wished her father were there.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Only a Roth Can Save Us Now
Torian paced back and forth, carving an angry gash through the snow as he trampled over it.
“Why don’t you sit?” Garith suggested, trying to guide the prince away from Emariya’s tent.
The fire raged nearby, but its warmth did a poor job of melting Torian’s worries. Sitting closer to it wouldn’t help. Shrugging Garith off,
“I know. It will be better for everyone in the end. I promise.”
Emariya gasped. She couldn’t be hearing this right. Her mother was defending him?
“But what about the prophecies? He’ll bind the lines. Never mind that kidnapping someone is wrong.” Emariya shuddered, remembering being blindfolded on a horse, feeling unbelievably helpless, when Khane abducted her.
“Yes, he will. He will finish what I started when I married your father.”
“Finish what you…” Emariya closed her eyes and slowly opened them again. It was unfathomable. Her mother… No.
“The Three Corners need each other. Each land has something the others need. We were never meant to be split. Under Reeve’s rule, the people of Thalmas will no longer be hungry, Eltar will no longer be unable and unwilling to defend itself, and Sheas won’t be the bully from the Sea. Really, by lineage, Sheas should have been under his command anyway.”
“And kidnapping Terin?” Emariya asked, still not believing what she was hearing. Had her mother taken leave of her senses? This was not the kind, compassionate mother she’d always envisioned.
“He did what he had to do. If you had been more cooperative, perhaps he wouldn’t have needed such measures.”
Great, so her mother blamed her, too. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. It wasn’t enough to be betrayed by her own brother. Her mother, whose absence she’d cried over so many nights, had betrayed her, as well. Could she trust anyone?
“Emariya Warren, those men killed me for being a Cornerstone. For nothing more than the blood that coursed through my veins, the same blood that courses through yours, they took my life. They took my peace. They shattered your father and your childhood. They let their fear of the unknown cloud their reason. Your brother and I will give them exactly what they deserve.”
“And what about the rest of us, Mama? The rest of us who had nothing to do with the Separatists? I’m afraid of the prophecies, too.”
“Souls of the Stones, their sights we bear
Sounds of the Stones, their secrets we share
Will of the soil blood will flow
Should three Stones one ever know
What once were one split thrice
Over whispers and sights
Soil prevails, behold its might
Blood and Stones as one brings darkest night.”
Emariya recited the words Garith had told her. “‘Will of the soil, blood will flow.’ I don’t want to spill blood, Mama.” She softly started to cry.
An unnatural silence hung between them. For so long, all she’d wanted was her mother. Now, she was desperate to escape her heavy glare. Lady Valencia had paid for peace with her life, and she was determined to cash in.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Emariya asked after a while. “You’re keeping me from waking up.”
She expected her mother to deny it and was surprised when Valencia nodded.
“I can’t have you in the way. Those boys you’ve got eating out of your hand will be too absorbed in caring for you to bother Reeve. Once he’s bound the lines, you can do as you please and it won’t matter. We don’t need you anymore to accomplish what you were supposed to do. What you were born to do.”
Disgusted, Emariya turned her head away from her mother, determined not to meet her eyes again. Her entire life, she’d been hearing how she was every bit her mother’s daughter. Her mother was right about one thing, though: when she died, she had left a chain of broken Warrens behind. Emariya had never been so ashamed or so alone. She wished her father were there.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Only a Roth Can Save Us Now
Torian paced back and forth, carving an angry gash through the snow as he trampled over it.
“Why don’t you sit?” Garith suggested, trying to guide the prince away from Emariya’s tent.
The fire raged nearby, but its warmth did a poor job of melting Torian’s worries. Sitting closer to it wouldn’t help. Shrugging Garith off,
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