A Kingdom of Salt and Stone (The Jewel-Light Trilogy #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

"Do you think it hurts?" I asked, not waiting for a response before I captured a breath and let my body sink beneath the ocean's surface.

Waves rippled over me, my weight levitating from the salt as the force of the sea flooded over my skin.

I embraced the tranquility, allowing the liquid to cool my core and staying put until I had released all the life from my lungs.

When air was required, I breached back through the surface and slid my palms over my face, distributing the sea-salted water. “Being gifted by the gods,” I clarified, noting the look of confusion on my sister's face.

Delani’s eyes lit up in understanding. "I hardly think you need to worry about that.” She flipped her hair out of her eyes, misting me with droplets that fluttered from her curls.

"You never know. I could get lucky,” I said, though I knew that this gift was nothing to call lucky—at least not if you asked me.

"Maeve Willawood, you know damn well you won't get lucky. No one in our family has ever been gifted by the gods, what makes you think that you would be any different?" Delani shot back, half joking but half serious.

“Harsh.” I flashed her an artificial frown.

She smirked. “I'm just saying.” Her shoulders shrugged, and I didn't deny that she was right.

I inhaled deeply, securing the air tightly within my chest before dipping under another passing wave.

The chosen tended to follow through bloodlines, but not always.

Even though it didn't come as a surprise, Delani was incredibly disappointed on her birthday two years ago to find that she wasn't gifted.

When my lungs began to burn, I reemerged, breathing in salty air as I wiped my dripping eyelashes.

I took in another deep breath, blowing it out slowly and leaning back to float on the water's surface.

The scents of the sea reached my nostrils with each inhale, reminding me how blessed I was to live so close to the coastline.

My family's village, Vierallo, resided within the Kingdom of Caelestis and was just a short walk from the shore.

For me, any time spent on the beach was enjoyable, but it was even more appreciated this time of year with the scorching heat of summer.

Most days after I had finished my assignments at the village archives, I made my way here to revive myself in the ocean.

It was the only place I ever felt truly serene.

I let my feet sink back down, mounting me into the thick, saturated sand. "Hypothetically, though, do you think it hurts?"

Delani swam towards me, paddling through the waves until she was close enough for me to make out the golden specks in her eyes, illuminated by the rays of the setting sun.

She never failed to look beautiful, even now with her hair coated in sand, the strands twisted and matted against her neck.

We mostly looked alike, apart from my curves and the streaks of sun-kissed blonde that had taken up permanent residence in my hair.

Our mother always told us how much we looked like our father. According to her, he was the reason behind our wavy, brown hair and lightly freckled cheeks. She claimed that he gave me his eyes—similar to Delani’s, aside from mine having flecks of green throughout.

“Yeah, Maeve, I would imagine a jewel that’s been burrowed inside of you ever since you were conceived would hurt when it tears through layers of nerve, muscle, and flesh,” Delani retorted, sarcasm spilling from her plump lips.

Water flew as I splashed her in revulsion, scowling at her answer. "You're sick," I grimaced.

With a laugh, she ducked then waded away.

I went after her, cutting through the waves to make my way back to the shore.

The sand burned the delicate skin between my toes as my feet touched down on the earth.

My wrinkled fingers twisted the seawater out of my hair, then I dropped to my knees to drink from my canteen.

My eyes drifted over the horizon, following the rise and fall of the waves.

This piece of coastline has always been my favorite beach in Caelestis.

The water was practically clear, and when the sun hit it just right, you could see the iridescent scales of fish that swam close to the shore.

The ivory sand, coated in the disregarded homes of sea life, felt soft between my fingers as I picked up a pastel shell and rolled the shard between my fingers.

“Want to walk?” Delani asked from somewhere behind me.

I nodded my response, then scrambled to my feet and followed the footsteps she left in the sand.

We walked about halfway down the shore, stopping where the rocky area began.

If you could make it past the boulders, the sand continued along the entire coast and surpassed the castle.

I didn't dare lift my gaze upwards. If I did, I would see the very tip of a stone tower belonging to the focal point of our kingdom.

The castle, where King Aldous Hawthorne ruled, sat upon the highest peak in Caelestis, overlooking the wide range of terrain that our kingdom had to offer.

From vast mountain ranges to deep, evergreen forests and beaches, the northern territory had it all.

Good thing, too—most of us weren't allowed to leave the purview of the kingdom unless required by our profession or school.

Of course there were some exceptions to the rule, but commoners rarely were granted them.

I poked at a starfish stuck to one of the boulders. One of its arms curled around my finger, its tiny suction cups gripping my skin. Despite my best efforts, when the sea star released me, my intrusive thoughts won and I raised my gaze.

My eyes rolled up the cliffside, responsible for taming the rampant surges of the tide from reaching the fortress.

My vision locked onto the only portion of the castle that I could see from here, and the sight of the distant tower sent shivers scattering down my spine.

An unwelcome feeling crackled within my bones as the stonework reminded me of the Jewel-Light Festival tomorrow.

Occurring at the midway point of the year, the Jewel-Light Meteor Shower was the kingdom's most anticipated event.

I usually enjoyed attending the annual celebration of our gods and the gifted.

This year, however, I dreaded witnessing the exquisite array of colored cosmos.

There was more on my mind than simply stargazing.

In an attempt to distract myself from the angst swelling in my brain matter, I kicked a stone with my bare foot. It went flying through the air, landing with a splash in the ocean.

Delani glanced over at me—she knew me well enough to know that something was bothering me. “Why are you so sulky?” she asked, her attitude shining through in her tone.

I ignored her, taking one last glance at the castle before turning on my heel and starting back the way we came.

She trailed behind me. “Hello?”

“Why do you think?” I sighed. There was no way she had already forgotten about our conversation in the ocean.

She tapped a finger to her chin. “Hm. When was the last time you got laid?”

I scoffed. It had been a while. But that wasn't the problem.

“I know why,” Delani said before I could speak.

“You're worried that you will be gifted a beautiful, shining stone by the gods, and that you'll be forced to attend Caelestis Academy for two years.

Which means that you're probably worrying about how you'll be mandated into a decade of soldier service and blah, blah, blah,” she taunted.

I came to a halt in the sand and scowled at her.

A knowing smirk planted along her lips. “Am I right?”

She was, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of saying so.

“I know you've been dreading your birthday this year,” she said softly, following behind me when I resumed walking.

Right again, but there was nothing she could say to change that. We’ve had this conversation before, and I always made my opinions very clear on how much I despised the idea of becoming another person for the king to control.

She called after me, “Oh, come on, Maeve. You're turning twenty-one tomorrow. Why aren't you excited?”

Because I was terrified that I would be one of the chosen.

If it weren't for the king's orders, I would have accepted being deemed worthy by the gods. But my soul longed for freedom, and the confines that came with being gifted struck no amount of desire in me.

It never used to be that way. Before the war, those gifted by the gods lived amongst the rest of the Caelestians as they pleased. Draemor, the southernmost kingdom of our continent and also the closest to us, has been our enemy for as far back as the manuscripts dated.

Two decades ago, the former King of Draemor greedily wanted to reign over some unclaimed territory by the eastern coast. A peaceful split of the land was never attempted before he tried to seize it.

When Caelestis made efforts to stop him, claiming that the land should be left unscathed by mortals, he declared war over the terrain.

Caelestian soldiers were fairly scarce at the time of the war, and the lack of an army almost lost us our own land.

Though outnumbered, our soldiers were ruthless, leading Caelestis to victory—but not without losing the vast majority of our troops.

My father was one of the soldiers in this battle, losing his life to the blade of a Draemornian.

This war was one of the most horrific battles in Caelestis’ history, and was the reason that the rules regarding the gifted changed.

From the moment the war ceased, King Hawthorne made the executive order that anyone gifted by the gods must attend Caelestis Soldiers Academy.

Following graduation from the course, the individual was to provide the kingdom with at least a decade of mandatory soldier service.

In my personal opinion, this was asinine, and not how the gods intended their gifts to be used. But I didn't make the rules.