Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (17 page)

“They chose to leave?”

Perin nodded slowly. “Yes,
but not just out of fear. The thought of being denied the use of Sea Gems while
living amidst those who had full access to them was too difficult. The need to
use them is great once you’ve first touched one and put it to use.”

“Then why do they tell it
differently in Vairda?” Sai was visibly perplexed.

“I imagine the truth was
altered out of remorse or embarrassment by the first settlers. They hated
losing their birthright— the Sea Gem— but they were too afraid of the king’s
threats to fight for the freedom to use them. It was probably humiliating. At
some point, I imagine they regretted their choices. But there was no going back
and rather than give their descendants a reason to seek out a life elsewhere or
discover the painful truth, they tried to instill pride in the settlements they
created. Vairda is a remarkable place filled with good people.” Perin grabbed a
handful of berries and popped them in his mouth. He chewed slowly while Sai considered
what he’d just been told.

“After the Vairdans were
exiled, what happened to Nethra and the other sea dweller cities?” I asked,
breaking the silence.

“We fought and won for a
time,” Perin replied.

“For a time?”

“We’re one of the few
remaining stone tribes still free from the current king’s rule. Over the
centuries, almost every tribe and bloodline has succumbed through war or
bribery. Our people remain free but it has always been at great cost to us.”

“How so?” Sai said.

“War. Disconnecting from other
bloodlines and family that remain on the mainland. Going without resources from
the mainland that at one time made our lives easier and more pleasant.” Perin
ticked each one off on his fingers.

“But it’s worth it, isn’t
it?” I knew the answer before Perin responded.

“Always.” He glanced at Sai
and motioned to his plate. “Please eat or you’ll be hungry on your journey home
and not even the power of your gem will make up for that.”

Sai obediently took a few
bites of food while I sat in silence, pondering what I’d just learned. Bit by
bit, my history was coming together, but still, I had fewer details than I
wanted.

Glancing up at Perin, I
waited for him to look at me before voicing the thought that had formed in my
mind. “You know I am obviously not a Vairdan native.”

Perin didn’t smile this time.
His expression turned grave and he met my eyes, his gaze steady.

“I know where you come from.”

“You know more, don’t you?” I
said, thinking of Lirig’s odd comment. Perin nodded slowly.

“There’s a reason you were
allowed into our city today,” he said. “And a reason I haven’t asked for your
name.”

Sai glanced between Perin and
me, sensing something important was happening. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I
knew I had somehow been led to this very place. And I knew what Perin was going
to say before it was spoken. So when he finally said it, I wasn’t surprised
like Sai. I simply understood the secrets about my past were rapidly unraveling
and Perin was playing a part in ripping those threads to pieces.

Perin cleared his throat and
I waited, expectantly. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Aylen,” he said. “I
have waited for this privilege since the day of your birth.”

Chapter 14

“I knew your mother many
years ago.” Perin said. “We shared a couple bloodlines and I considered her
family. She was a special person on the mainland.”

Unable to conceal my
surprise, I asked, “How was she special? I thought it was my father who was the
threat to the king.”

Perin paused, seeming to
choose his words carefully. He shifted in his seat, his eyes darting to Sai and
then me, as though determining how much to tell us. Standing, he walked toward
the giant window overlooking much of the city and stared out, arms folded
across his chest, his body still. Finally, he spoke.

“Your mother is a woman of
many bloodlines. She’s rare. Unlike the land’s rulers, she avoided using many
of the gems she was heiress to because she feared it would harm her. The few
gems she’s connected to have already created a strain.”

“Aluce mentioned that,” Sai
said.

“Yes. There was always
potential harm in mixing bloodlines so people avoided it. We saw weak people
with only three or so bloodlines become confused and lost in their loyalties,
beliefs, and ability to function. We’ve often felt that the kings, with all of
their powers, have been somewhat irrational due to the multiple influences of
stones.” Perin paused, turning to face us again. “There are people, like your
mother, who have managed to avoid connecting to some of their bloodlines and
have been able to remain healthy with the few they’ve chosen to accept and
use.”

“And that made her special?”
I asked.

“There was more to it.” He
exhaled slowly, as though searching for the right words. “She was special
because the king took notice of her.”

“Was he in love with her?” I
began to picture the mainland king jealous of my father and wishing for my
mother to rule by his side. It seemed unlikely, but it was a nicer image of the
king than I’d been able to picture before now.

“He despised her. He wanted
her dead.”

I stared at him, bewildered.
How could anyone want my timid, overly protective mother dead? She was
maddening at times but she was also the least threatening person I had ever
met. 

“She was one of the king’s
greatest enemies and it didn’t help that your father loved her,” Perin
explained.

I glanced over at Sai, unable
to wrap my mind around what I was hearing. I hoped he was having an easier
time. He helped me out. “Why did the king care who Aylen’s father loved?” he
asked.

“Tereg is his son.”

Suddenly, the things my
father had told me made sense. Of course my father had claim to the throne if
he was the king’s son. But then, that also meant. . . I shook my head, appalled
at the thought. “The king wanted to kill his own child.”

“Yes, and he actually
succeeded with several of his other children.”

I snapped my head up and
stared at Perin in disbelief.

His mouth was pulled taut and
his eyes looked past us, haunted with some distant memory. He opened his lips
to speak but then snapped them shut again, shaking his head. “There was a war.
The king’s mother had the bloodline of what was called the ‘Youth Gem’. This
meant he could live well beyond a normal person if he had Youth Gems at his
disposal. His mother didn’t live long after giving birth to him and he was
raised to be as ruthless as his father. After having children of his own, he
began to conquer more stone tribes as well as those without bloodlines. He
gained total control of the Youth Tribe and with access to Youth Gems, he realized
there was no time limit to his reign.”

“He’d rule forever,” I said.

“Yes, as long as he wasn’t
mortally wounded somehow. And he was careful to make sure that never happened.
Even then, there are ways of healing grave injuries.” A harsh smile tainted
Perin’s lips for a fleeting moment before his features clouded over once more.
“Many stone tribes and clean bloodlines began to war against him, wanting
anyone who had the ability to live forever removed from the throne. He was a
tyrant and many began to rebel, tired of being ruled by someone who seemed to
be consumed with power rather than loving and leading his people.” Perin looked
at me, his eyes turning tender. “Your mother was always at the forefront. She
knew too well how so many conflicting bloodlines from the gems could hurt a
person and she fought to have the king removed.”

“Where was my father in all
of this?” I asked.

“Once the king realized he
could extend his life indefinitely, his heirs and heiresses were no longer
important to him. He chose one, the son most like him, to succeed him should he
ever be assassinated, but he secretly began putting other children to death. He
made it appear accidental but everyone knew their deaths were deliberate.”

I was speechless at this. I
couldn’t imagine any parent purposefully destroying their own child. As if
reading my thoughts, Perin walked toward me and touched my arm. “We don’t know
that it was entirely the king’s fault. He was using too many sources of power
at once and he couldn’t handle it. His mind may have been unhealthy. Diseased.”

“It’s no excuse,” I said. “He
made horrible choices and acted on them.”

“Yes, he did.” Perin withdrew
and walked toward the window again, avoiding my eyes.

“How did Aylen’s father
escape?” Sai asked.

“The king’s favorite son,
your surviving uncle, knew what was happening. Tereg had always been close to
him and he managed to warn him in time. Tereg left before his death was
arranged. He always disagreed with his father’s ways and so this gave him an
excuse to leave. A rebel group welcomed him and it was there he met Paelor.”

“He fell in love with her
while they fought my grandfather?”

“It took your mother some
time to return his feelings, but Tereg instantly loved her. He was willing to
follow her to the ends of the earth. And he did.”

“You mean by going to
Vairda?”

“No,” Perin said,
thoughtfully. “Removing your family to Vairda was my idea. In a way, I’m afraid
I betrayed your mother by suggesting it but that’s another story for another
time.” He paused for a moment while I bit back the urge to ask him what he
meant. “After your parents married, the king heard of their union and vowed to
find and kill them both. It wasn’t just his son’s escape and betrayal or your
mother’s rebellious cause. It had to do with the prophecy from centuries
before.”

“Prophecy?” I asked.

“Before your parent’s time, a
type of stone had forewarned of what future kings would do to our world.”

“The Wisdom Gem,” Sai said.

“Yes.” Perin blinked in
surprise and then smiled when he understood. “Aluce told you about them.” We
nodded and he continued. “The Wisdom Gem readers were concerned for their
posterity and the future of their nation, so they began to seek guidance from
the gems.

“What did they tell them?” I
asked, growing impatient.

“They were told to search for
the most powerful of every type of gem. The strongest gem from every tribe
would be put into a special kind of necklace, allowing the wearer to control
all gems at one time. Only the wearer of this necklace would stop the king’s
reign.”

“But the person wearing the
necklace would have to come from every bloodline in order to use it. And
wouldn’t that many gems harm the person using them?” I paused, trying to put my
thoughts in order. Finally, I added, “Aluce said it was rare to have people
with more than a few bloodlines let alone all of them.”

Perin nodded. “You’re right.
However, there were a few exceptions, resulting in people like Aluce and your
mother and of course the king. And some people handled it better than others.”

“But Aluce only has a few
bloodlines connected to the gems. And my mother can’t possibly have that many
more than her.” I argued. “Also, my mother handled it by not binding herself to
all the gems she had a connection to. You told me this yourself.”

“You’re correct about your
mother’s way of controlling her abilities. However, the insight from the Wisdom
Gem told us that one person would be born with the proper lineage to control
all the powers the necklace would contain without destroying their mind. As for
the idea that your mother has only a few bloodlines more than Aluce, you’re
mistaken.”

My heart stopped as the
realization of what Perin was saying began to slowly dawn on me. If my father
and mother both had multiple bloodlines. . . I halted the thought, not daring
to go any further. I turned toward Sai, and saw the odd way he was looking at
me. I knew him too well to doubt his expression. He too understood where Perin
was going with all of this.

“That’s impossible.” I
whispered, slowly shaking my head. I pulled the Sea Gem from my pocket and
stared at. I remembered the way I had felt as though a part of my body had
separated from the rest when I’d first touched it. As if the part that had
bonded to the stone was a separate entity. How many more ways could I split
myself? How many more entities could exist inside of me? I glanced up to find
Perin in front of me, leaning across the table, his eyes looking into mine with
wild intensity.

“There were only nineteen
gems discovered and named when your parents married. When the king discovered
their union, he panicked. He learned, at the same time your parents did, of an
unnamed stone in a faraway location. He thought if he found it and named his
own power, he would be able to change the outcome of the prophecy.”

“My parents found it first,”
I said.

“Your mother. It was her
mission. People didn’t trust your father as much and they knew her deepest
desires were pure. Tereg went with her. Both risked their lives to find it
before your grandfather could.”

“And once she found it she named
her own gem?”

“She suffered because she had
one more connection to yet another gem. But she was strong. Always strong. She
returned with your father, barely escaping the king’s wrath several times.
Finding the gem before the king was one more strike against her.”

“And another was that she had
all the remaining bloodlines my father didn’t. Only they had the ability to
fulfill the prophecy by having a child.”

“Yes.”

We stood in silence for
several agonizing moments as this knowledge settled deep inside of me. My heart
broke and mended all at once as I grew to understand my parents’ choices and
fears. When I realized my part in everything, pure suffocating terror choked
back any other emotion.

“Is that why they’re in
Vairda then?” Sai abruptly said. I looked at him, confused at the anger in his
tone.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Vairda is a pawn in all of
this. All of Vairda’s people are being put at risk to protect your parents.”

“My parents are refugees,
Sai!” I argued, my shock over everything I’d just learned turning to wrath at
Sai’s accusation.

“Sai has a point,” Perin
said.

“What?” I turned my glare to
him.

“Vairda has always been a
pawn. Long ago, it was sought out and prepared for several purposes by the
original sea dwellers. One of them was to house those who had been voluntarily
exiled and were unwilling to go to war against a past king.”

“So, if you think about it,
your people are all refugees too, Sai. They’re all hiding from the king as
well,” I pointed out.

“That was a long time ago,”
Sai said.

“Maybe so,” Perin admitted.
“However, there was never any doubt Vairda would also be the hiding place for
the necklace. Where else could it be so well concealed from the king?”

Sai and I both turned to
stare at Perin at the same time, stunned.

“It’s always been there. It
was hidden there long ago by sea dwellers who never revealed the location to
anyone. They believed the safest place for the necklace would be as far from
the mainland as possible.”

“Do you know where it is?” I
asked.

“No. That information died
with the sea dwellers who originally chose its hiding place. We hear theories
of where it might be but it’s nothing more than speculation. There’s a secret
chamber here in Nethra few have access to. A riddle is carved into its wall and
it may help you find the necklace’s hiding place. I can take you there now.”

“All this time, I’ve been
living in Vairda with the most powerful gems in the world waiting for me to
claim them, and the king has never been able to find me?” I was awed more than
skeptical. It didn’t make sense.

“Nethra has put forth every
effort to keep your location hidden and safe. My people have guarded the waters
and sent out spies to make sure your family remains protected. Powerful gems
have been used to conceal the location of Vairda over the years. We’ve even
worked to keep Vairdans from feeling any wanderlust.” Perin walked away from
the table and toward the door. He motioned for us to follow him. I stood,
blatantly ignoring Sai. He tossed me a look of remorse.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It
was just a shock. I’ve been raised to be loyal to Vairda.”