Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) Page 6

  “That’s about the short and long of it, Quinn.”

  Quinn shuffled out of her bedroll and sat up, cross-legged. She stared into the fire. Her face was unreadable. “Well, whether my father was or wasn’t a maniac, it’s possible I still have family out there. Like you say, empaths don’t really get to hide away, so all I need to do is ask the right questions. I find out how many empaths there have been recently in Sha’sek, and which islands they came from. Someone, somewhere, will have information I can use to start tracking down some truths.”

  “You make it sound so simple. Aside from the fact you don’t have a basic requirement to start asking complicated questions—gold—in which part of that plan are you not going to die?”

  “I thought you said empaths were valued?”

  “Valuable, yes. That also means, something that can be sold for a high price, not just someone who is highly regarded. I know Sammah was coveting your power, and he thinks you can be one of the strongest empaths who has ever lived.

  “You definitely can’t let anyone know that. In fact, I’d play stupid with everything you know about your powers. Quinn, you haven’t actually been taught anything, and I don’t know how you’ve got as far as you have without a master, but I’ve watched you grow up. Sammah was right. Someone more experienced than me might recognise that.”

  “But I can tell them the truth can’t I? I wouldn’t be here without Maertn. He saved my life. I was already halfway into the sea on the Beach of Bones before you brought me back.”

  Ross’s shocked eyes shot to Maertn, who hunched over, trying to make himself look smaller. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  Maertn looked over to Quinn, shuddering at the memory of that horrible afternoon. When Sammah had forced him to heal Quinn, he had never expected to end up on the fabled Beach of Bones, the crossing place between life and death. Quinn had already been knee-deep in the sea, like she said, but unlike the waters of their shores, the waters that lapped the Beach of Bones ran red. If Quinn had fully submerged in those waters, she would have been lost forever. Instead, with his abilities, Maertn had been able to bring her back. It had been an exhausting experience for both of them, and neither of them wanted to relive those desperate moments when Maertn had saved her.

  What seemed odd though, was that every time Maertn healed her using his abilities, Quinn’s abilities became stronger. No one could explain this, and so far he hadn’t been able to find anything in Sammah’s books that reflected what they were seeing.

  “So, where do I need to start?”

  “Honestly, I think the best way for you to not get into trouble, is for us to go straight to Farn, and Sammah’s own household. They know what he’s like, and you might find some sympathy there. They probably knew that he was collecting children with abilities, but they need to know the extent of his collection. Perhaps they can give us some more advice on what to do with you, too.”

  “That’s not much of a plan, is it?”

  Ross clucked disapprovingly. “It’s more than you had before.”

  9

  Quinn already knew what most emotions felt like. From painful experience, she knew that lies drained the air of moisture, and left her thirsty and gasping for water. When she had worked for Sammah, there had been more than one time that she had passed out whilst listening to lies in response to her questions. Anger was hot, and blood coursed through her veins on behalf of those around her feeling that particular passion.

  What she had never done before however, was dreamt emotions. Where her waking body felt emotions instinctively, her sleeping mind saw emotion in colour. At first, everything was black, a normal sleep of depth and rest. In time, however, the blackness gave way to a mottled grey, as if the moon were rising over the horizon, giving her sleeping world are deathly pall. It didn’t really get any brighter than this, but the hues did begin to change. Slowly the grey changed, turning into an insipid brown, before giving way to a murky green that belonged only in the depths of despair. When they reached this colour, the shades began to intensify. As the colours grew sharper, a hum began to accompany them. This grew in volume and pitch until it surrounded everything Quinn could hear.

  It was nauseating, she realised, trying to take in all of that intense colour whilst trying to block out the unbearable noise. As she realised she couldn’t do it, she was shocked out of her dream that wasn’t a dream. It was lucky she woke when she did, because the first thing she saw was the flash of steel in moonlight.

  10

  “By the spirits! Eden graces us with his presence! I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Eden resisted the urge to slam the door, and ignored his brother’s barbs. Rowan was standing in the middle of the floor with his hands on his hips and an arrogant line to his posture. River, on the other hand, looked petrified. The boy was sitting in the corner, looking younger than Eden, and trying to find anywhere for his gaze but his two brothers. Understandable, under the circumstances, Eden was a guard captain and had saved the king’s throne—Rowan was the acting Lord of Sevenspells. What room was there for River? He might be second in line, but that was a thankless position with an elder brother as ambitious as Rowan and a younger brother as revered as Eden had become.

  “I didn’t have to report my every move to father. Is that going to change under your watch?”

  “Don’t you take that tone with me, you little upstart. Whilst you’ve been chasing around your maid, you haven’t had a single clue what’s really been going on at court. Baron Sammah is in revolt; our father was going to be pardoned, and now he’s rotting in the gaol. This is the first time you come to see me—your brother—your lord? What by everything good has been so pressing that you haven’t been able to see your own kin at a time like this?”

  “I’ve been attending the king, Rowan. Remember him? The man our father tried to overthrow? There wouldn’t be a problem if he had kept his ambitions in check.”

  “That’s enough, Eden! We’re his sons. It’s not our place to question what our father does.”

  Eden didn’t like the treacherous territory he was pushing the conversation to, and decided to stop it before he went too far. “We need to rally around him. In that, you’re right. My apologies, it’s been an exhausting few days.”

  Rowan sneered. “Did that monstrosity keep you awake all night before leaving?”

  Eden could deal with accusations when it came to the company he kept, especially when that company was the king of Everfell. Quinn, however, was not here to defend herself. Eden stepped forward, his jaw set and his fist already pulled back to swing a blow at his oldest brother. Rowan cocked his jaw. “Go on, Eden, give me an excuse to have you exiled or executed. Strike your lord and see what lenience you find in me.”

  River found his feet then, throwing himself between his brothers before Eden did something he wouldn’t be able to regret for long.

  “Stop this, both of you. They want us to fight. Rowan, you might hate Eden but you need to put that to one side for father.”

  River’s reedy voice didn’t have much impact, but it was enough to make Eden back down. Rowan spat on the floor, ignoring the carpets and kicking at it with his heels.

  “I don’t think I do. All I see is our brother supposedly here gallivanting around with castle staff and finding himself halfway up at the king’s backside into the bargain. I’m not even sure his loyal to Sevenspells anymore, and we can’t afford to have that kind of man in our court right now.”

  Eden squared up to his brother. “I’m as loyal as either of you; perhaps even more so.”

  “Is that right? Then why were you there when the lies were bandied around about our father? Did you defend him before he was dragged away to the gaol like a commoner?”

  “Are they lies Rowan?”

  Rowan paled. “How am I to know? I’ve been thrown into this as suddenly as the rest of you.”

  Eden let it settle there. He didn’t want to get in a drawn-out war of words with his brother when thei
r situation was so fragile. Rowan wasn’t much older than him. He had always followed Shiver, but never paid much attention to the people around him. It was likely that he didn’t know much at all about the entire situation at court. Even worse, with the circumstances in Sevenspells so precarious, Rowan would likely be forced to marry—River, too, in order to secure some heirs for Sevenspells, and to link Sevenspells with lords like Obrenn or Erran, known to be loyal to the king.

  Eden continued the conversation the only way he knew how, to avoid it becoming volatile again. “We all know this was Sammah’s doing, anyway, so let’s not spend our time bickering. We are brothers, no matter what we feel about each other, and I am loyal to Sevenspells, no matter what you might hear around this accursed place. We need to stick together. River is right—they will try to pit us against each other, and they know where to hurt us.

  “No, I was never going to marry Quinn, but she was an ally and a strong one; we could have used her against Sammah. Now Vance has exiled her. Don’t you find that odd? The only person in this entire place who could have verified our father was not at fault—that Sammah was the ringleader of this farce—a dangerous empath, too, and he just let’s her go? I think our father is being made a scapegoat, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen. We can’t do that with all of us out of the king’s good graces. One of us needs to stay close to Vance. That was our father.”

  Jerking out of his haughty posture, Rowan strode to the table and poured himself a glass of wine. Waiting for a considered second, he poured two more for his brothers and handed the glasses across. They stood together in a rough triangle briefly assessing each other. Eden knew that Rowan was evaluating the weight of his words, and the amount of trust his brother would have in him would hinge on this moment. Rowan had to believe that Eden was fully loyal to the Sevenspells cause, and that his need to keep close to Vance was because he wanted to keep his eye on the king for their father, not for his own personal gain.

  “Just how much does the king trust you, brother?” Rowan followed this question with a considered sip of the red wine, letting the liquid linger. Rowan held the glass in front of his face, obscuring most of his features. His eyes didn’t hide his emotions, however, and Eden saw the conniving intent there.

  Eden set his full glass to one side on the stone sill and made sure he fully faced his brother before responding, with a grin. “You’ve already said it. Everyone in this castle already knows it—I stood up to Sammah and saved the throne. I may well have saved the king’s life. Does you realise what kind of stead that puts me in at court?”

  “And who did you do that for? You didn’t save Vance because our father asked you to.”

  This was an easy answer, despite the fact that Eden didn’t want it to be the truth. “I did it for myself. If I hadn’t exposed Sammah when I did, I’d have been killed, and likely father would be next under the baron’s blade. Sammah killed his consort and we have no idea why. How many others did he kill after he thought they might expose Quinn’s identity? He wouldn’t have thought twice about executing me like he did Alec. Sammah outright told me he would kill our father if it meant it would better secure his future. So, I thought, better this way. This way, we can fight Sammah without having to hide our intentions. Sevenspells will stand side-by-side with the king, fighting Sha’sek once more. Would you have preferred plotting revenge over our father’s cold corpse?”

  Eden saw a grin creep out from either side of the glass before Rowan swallowed the contents in one long gulp. He discarded the glass, and it shattered on the stone-flagged floor of their chamber. Eden tried not to look at it, tried not to flinch, making sure he held his brother’s gaze. River jumped, and it was easy to tell he was nervous because of the tension in the room. Eden was desperate for Rowan to believe him and his lies, at least for now, and for long enough to protect River. Eden didn’t want his brother to have to choose a side when war broke out within Sevenspells’ dynasty.

  “You think you’re so close to the king? That you have influence at court? Have you forgotten that I’m Lord of Sevenspells now? Do you have any idea what I’m going to be doing tomorrow?”

  Eden frowned, not sure whether this was a baited trap. Eden had no idea what the king was planning; he wasn’t sure whether Rowan already knew about the meeting and wanted to ratify that Eden had the king’s confidence. Hesitating for only a moment, Eden gambled on the latter. “You’ll be attending the king’s council.” He waited to see Rowan’s cautious nod before adding, “and so will I. As the kings chamberlain.”

  Eden was satisfied to see Rowan’s jaw drop. River’s wine spilled as his hands holding the glass. The wine was still making its way to Rowan’s stomach, and the acting Lord of Sevenspells started choking and coughing. River, in a shocked haze, wandered over to his brother and patted him on the back almost absentmindedly. Eden suppressed a giggle, though he did allow himself a smirk.

  “By the spirits, how the hell did you convince the king to make you his chamberlain?”

  “I didn’t. You see my lord, if you spent your time, like me, getting to know the people in court and making allies, rather than chasing around skirts and drinking like father, you’d have some allies as well. As it stands, you have none, and I’m left defending Sevenspells in its time of need.”

  Rowan was still too shocked to respond to Eden’s outburst. He carried on coughing and staring at his brother, jaw slack and eyes wide in surprise. Eden continued, “I didn’t have to ask to be the chamberlain, because Ross himself asked me to replace him.”

  “Ross is gone?”

  “Ross has gone to guide Quinn and Maertn.”

  Rowan shook his head, trying to clear make sense of the situation. “So, the king, after an attempt on his throne by the Sha’sekian emissary, has allowed the only man in his court with the knowledge of Sha’sek to leave and keep an exile alive? And then he’s appointed you, the son of a noble accused of rebelling against him, to take his chamberlain’s place?”

  It did sound absurd when repeated back like that, and Eden knew it had been an audacious idea. What no one had any idea of, was that both Ross and Eden were fundamentally loyal to the king, and had no intentions of letting anyone else usurp the throne.

  Eden had no idea anymore where his father’s loyalties lay, and he knew that Rowan would blindly follow his father unto death. He was going to have to closely judge each conversation he had and the company he kept, and keep his wits about him at all times. He was already exhausted. Now, having to pander to the rebellious side of his brother, alongside his duties to the king, was going to drain him completely. It left him no room to think of Quinn; for that, at least, he was grateful.

  “I think it’s important, what you’re doing for us, Eden. I’m impressed you’ve been resourceful, and I know father will be proud. I think you should take the time to see him. You will come down with me the next time I pay him a visit.”

  Eden could see between those lines, and he knew his brother was instructing him, not giving him a polite invitation. Eden nodded, smiling, and trying to show that would be a wonderful idea. “I feel terrible that I haven’t been to see him yet so far, but I’m sure once he finds out what I’ve been doing for Sevenspells cause, he’ll understand.”

  The two brothers clasped hands, the matter dealt with and the situation agreed. Eden didn’t exhale with relief, but River did. Clearly, the middle brother had expected them to come to blows, and Eden wondered what words had passed between them before he came to the quarters. “So what we do now?”

  “That’s easy. Depending on what your role as chamberlain entails, you don’t have to do anything until it’s announced formally. Therefore, we’ve got a day or so to discuss the situation, discuss exactly what our father has done, and what we need to say in the meeting to make sure that Sevenspells isn’t put in a corner.

  “I’ll admit, I hadn’t considered the treachery on part of the king until you pointed out just what he was doing. I know father had no respect for Van
ce’s reign before, and it’s perhaps not surprising that there’s been a challenge to his rule. If anything, I’m surprised it didn’t come earlier. You’d think Vance would be surrounding himself with his strongest people, not sending them away. That being said, we need to consolidate our position, so we’re not going anywhere until we all know where we stand. Agreed?”

  Again, Eden knew this wasn’t a request, and he searched out the nearest seat. “We’d better send someone down to the kitchens to get some food. I don’t think we’ll be leaving your chambers tonight, do you?”

  River looked from one man to the other, not sure where to put himself. He was clearly beyond useful in all of this, and resigned himself to the role of drudgery.

  “I’ll go and speak to Renner,” he said with a sigh. The pale-haired, lanky lad left the room without another word. Rowan looked after him for a second before turning to Eden. “How do you think he is going to cope with all of this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, it’s clear that you know something is coming. Don’t pretend to be stupid now, Eden; you believe that war is coming to the kingdom. I don’t want war—father doesn’t want it either, believe it or not—but it will come. It will be Sammah’s fault, like you said, and you’ve already started fighting back. I’m a first son of Shiver of Sevenspells, and I will fight for him until my last breath leaves me. But I’m not sure at all that River has it in him to be one of us.”

  There it was again: one of us. Rowan was desperate to compartmentalise into little sections, keeping Sevenspells away from the rest of Everfell as its own entity.

  Eden suspected that Rowan knew perfectly well his father intended to take the throne, and was not as naïve to the situation as he would have people believe. If that were the case, it could have easily been Rowan, and not Alec of Broadwater, who Sammah had killed that night to push home his point. No wonder Shiver was recoiling at their alliance. Luckily, Shiver hadn’t been near his deathbed. Sammah had picked Alec as the current Lord of Broadwater, Broc, was an old man, unsuited to rule. Alec had been too ambitious for Sammah’s liking, and had been eliminated. Now, his elderly father was struggling to get Alec’s younger brother, Brice, ready to rule.