Cutlass by Ashley Nixon Page B

William. “Once we go public with our grief, it is only a matter of time before the people of Maris are revolting in the streets, demanding that King Tetherion be removed and I put in his place. What does Tetherion think he can do? Ignore Barren until the public forgets that he has murdered half our population? Before they forget his sons joined in on Barren’s cause? I think not.”
    Lee shrugged. “They have before.”
    “But Barren has never crossed over to the boarders of Maris. This is different.”
    “What happens when the people of Maris discover Larkin is not dead?”
    William shrugged. “It will merely be a happy ending.”
    “You risk death,” Christopher reminded William, and then he was silent for a long moment, reclining in his chair, fingers steepled. “Tetherion could return and crush you easily. You do not have the support Tetherion has. The nobles would turn against you...unless you possessed power greater than Tetherion’s title.”
    “What has more power than the title of king?”
    Christopher smirked, and it made William feel uncomfortable. “Why, the stone that binds your blood to the throne.”
    “You’ve gone senile in your old age,” William said. “The bloodstone is just a legend.”
    “Legends bear some truth,” said Christopher. “And I can assure you, the bloodstone is real. It has only been stolen.”
    The legend Christopher was referring to was known as The Elder King and the Bloodstone. In it, the Elder King, Eadred, fought against Gesalec the Defeated for the kingdom of the Orient. Eadred was given a bloodstone by the Elves, and was able to defeat Gesalec, winning the throne of the Orient. No one was really sure how Gesalec was defeated, and the legend only claimed that the stone tied the Reed line to the throne, making it impossible for any other to lay claim. The legend was one of the reasons the people of Mariana still believed the Elves were hiding powerful magic in their realm.
    “Who took it?”
    “Your father,” Christopher replied. “He, of all people, despised its existence. He believed that nothing entitled a man to the throne. He has hidden the stone somewhere in Mariana, I am sure of it. If you really want to become king without opposition, you’d do well to find it.”
    “But if it truly exists, then it is of no use in my hands. It would only mean I am entitled to the throne, as I share Eadred’s blood.”
    “On the contrary, at this moment, the bloodstone is not in any one person’s possession, which means it is protecting the whole of the Reed line, but if you were to possess it, it would recognize you as king and do anything in its power to protect you . You would be…invincible.”
    All his threats would be eliminated. A chill spread down his spine.
    “Where do we begin searching?”
    “I have a few ideas,” said Christopher. “But first, I want my daughter. If we are to hold up this charade, she cannot come here, and I’ll be damned if she remains in Barren’s hands.”
    “We can send our privateers for her,” said William. “She’ll be as safe with them as she is with us.”
    “Well, then, let’s get to grieving.” 

The next morning, Barren emerged from his cabin, a stale roll in his hand—breakfast. He tore at it absently, chewing on small pieces. The sun was abnormally bright, and almost blinded him as he left the shadow of his shelter. He moved up the stairs to the helm where Sam and Leaf stood. The Elf clutched a compass, and he and Sam were discussing navigation. Though they were both used to sailing to Silver Crest, there was always that chance that they’d make one wrong turn and miss the island entirely.
    Barren stared out at the deck of his ship. Datherious and Natherious were gathering supplies to repair a sail the violent wind had torn in the night. Seamus was inspecting several swivel cannons resting on the gunwales of the deck, and Slay sat perched in the crow’s nest, cutting away at a piece of wood: the shavings