Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) (15 page)

Shiver nodded at this, thinking silent
thoughts. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Good to see you Eden. You
look well.”

Shiver squinted then, standing up and
approaching the door. It was heavy oak, thick-set and knotted. It
was a luxury, apparently, meaning that passers-by couldn’t casually
look in and see the recumbent lord fallen from grace. Shiver
glanced through the small barred gap in the door, trying to see all
of his son. “That uniform looks very familiar Eden, what have I
missed?”

“Ross has gone to Sha’sek father. The king
made me chamberlain.”

A malicious grin spread across Shiver’s
features, made all the more malevolent by his decrepit state. “The
chamberlain? My my, Eden, haven’t you done well?”

“I’m just doing my duty father, like any of
your sons would.”

Shiver straightened a little at that
comment, pushing up against his door. There were guards down the
end of the corridor. Not as close as usual; bribed, perhaps. But
Eden’s words had been neutral, and could easily be construed as
saying the right things around the right people. Shiver hadn’t been
so cautious. There was a good reason for him being behind the
door.

“Why isn’t your older brother with you?”

“He’s been busy building bridges around
court, father. I’
m sure he
’ll be here to
see you soon.”

“What about River?”

Eden thought about it. He his other brother
in days, but he’d been so wrapped up in his new duties, that Eden
hadn’t paid much heed to anything else. “I really don’t know,
father. I think, to be blunt, he’s overwhelmed with everything
that’s gone on. Rowan said as much to me, and I think River could
do well by being sent home.”

“Does the boy need his mother? He’s old
enough to be married; he should be well past the wet nurse by now.
You see now, why I made you my captain, and not him? But here, you
can’t even be that now, can you? Has Rowan picked anyone else?”

“Harn has been made captain in my stead.
He’s a loyal man, and will do well. I may have made the king an
oath, father, but my loyalty is still to Sevenspells.” Eden was
careful to say Sevenspells and not Shiver.

“I know you are, Eden, I know. By the
spirits, your being born last is a cruel joke. Still, it warms my
heart the king hasn’t completely let Sevenspells go. I have a
chance of getting out of this yet.”

“You’ve got more than chance father.
Remember, I was the one looking into the Satori and what Sammah was
really up to. He had no intention of giving you anything, of
helping you with anything. Sammah was using you to get to the
throne, and as soon as he had it, he would have killed you soon as
look at you. Look at what he did to Alec. And to his consort.
Sammah was not your ally, he was just using you like he used
everyone else, Quinn included.”

Eden cursed himself. He had not meant to
mention Quinn’s name, especially around his father. Shiver’s eyes
glinted. “And your lover was the way Sammah kept you quiet. What’s
happened to her, now?”

Eden dropped his gaze. “She got out of the
city in time. She’s heading to Sha’sek.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t followed. You
always were headstrong like that.”

“The thought had crossed my mind,
father.”

“And why didn’t you?”

Eden decided to lie. “Because of my duties
here. I could never marry Quinn, she is not from one of
our
noble houses, and she
could never give us any heirs. If there is a war, you need all of
your sons to be with you. I know where my duty and honour lie, my
lord.”

Shiver pushed his hand out of the bars,
cupping Eden’
s cheek.
“You’re a son of
Sevenspells, that’s for sure. You have no idea what those words do
for me, son, and I’ll do my best to get out of this, to restore our
reputation and make our house great again.”

That wasn’t the answer Eden wanted. Shiver
was already here because he wanted to push Sevenspells forward.
Eden didn’t want to know just how far his father’s thirst for power
stretched. Eden didn’t believe his own words, that Shiver would
have been stopped when Sammah took the throne. Eden believed that
Shiver would have put a knife in Sammah’s back, regardless of the
consequences, to take the throne for himself. War or no war,
Shiver, after all, was the only lord capable of taking on the
armies of Sha’sek and winning. He wouldn’t think twice about
starting another war if it meant he could get his backside on the
throne.

“Be careful, Eden. The role of chamberlain
is a poisoned chalice. Ross was a clever man, well-versed in the
ways of the court. I’m not saying that you are not capable, but you
are young. Don’t trust anyone.” Shiver’s hand tightened. “That
includes your brother.”

Shiver released Eden, pushing him back
slightly, and Eden was stunned. That was unexpected, as Rowan had
given the impression of being fully in league with Shiver thus far.
Instead of letting Eden answer, or letting him flounder there in
silence, Shiver turned his back on his son. Skulking back to the
dark depths of the cell, Shiver sat down on the floor, his back
against the cold flagstones. “
I don
’t
know how much longer I’ll be here, Eden, but at least I’m alive.
Remember that, and don’t let it get in the way of your duty.”

“
I won
’t father, I
promise.”

Eden left his father then, walking out of
the corridor and up a short flight of stairs. He passed more guards
on the way, and they all saluted him as part of his new rank. They
had perhaps not been so amiable before, when he was only a third
son of Sevenspells, but now he was a man of rank, Eden was someone
to be noticed. None of the guards dared to stop him, and ask him
what he was about. Surely, someone would report back to the king,
telling Vance just who his new chamberlain had visited. Eden would
need a story for Vance if he was asked. But crossing the corridor,
and descending another flight of stairs, brought Eden into another
short entryway and a thick, oppressive wooden door. The corridor
was just as dank as his father’s lodgings, and a sickly scent of
cloves cloyed the air. Eden lifted his sleeve to his nose to
diffuse the smell. He tried to speak and started coughing instead.
Not the way he’d hoped to introduce himself.

“I didn’t think I’d see you down here, Eden.
How are things in the land of the free?” Sammah was sitting
cross-legged in the middle of the cell, and looked for all the
world like he was in a relaxing room with not a care in the world.
His hair was still up in an immaculate ponytail, and but for the
light salting of stubble on his chin, Sammah looked for all the
world like it was just another day. Eden despised him then, and it
was the strongest emotion he’d ever felt towards someone; even
stronger than his love for Quinn. Not just because of who he was,
or what he’d done, but because there was absolutely no remorse in
those eyes. Sammah was almost jovial that Eden had come, and Eden
thought then that the baron was about to play him, despite the fact
that Eden was the one in the position of strength. No matter where
he was trapped, Sammah always thought he was the one that would
win.

“That’s a fancy outfit you’ve got there.
Does Ross know you’ve been stealing his clothes?”

Eden lifted his chin. “You know full well no
one could steal from Ross. So you can guess precisely why I’m
wearing these clothes, even without the help of the Satori.”

“Yes, I can, and I’m also trying to figure
out how you grew a pair of balls so quickly, too. Is it because the
big mean man from Sha’
sek is behind a locked
door?
”

“
I don
’t trust you
in there, and I still wouldn’t trust you if we burned you alive and
scattered your ashes over the sea. I’m pretty sure you could
manipulate us from beyond the grave.”

“If I’m so dangerous, why are you here to
see me?”

“I had to see for myself that you were still
here. No one has mentioned you since the trial. It’s as if you’d
been killed, or somehow disappeared.”

Not even Vance is that stupid, though I
wouldn’t put it past him. Part of me expected a dagger in the
night, but it hasn’
t come. I
’m guessing
he’s too scared to start the war…
I
wasn
’t. But then again, a few people got in my way. I
haven’t seen or heard Quinn down here. Where is she?”

“She’s safe,” Eden replied cagily.

“
Safe? I don
’t
believe for a second King Vance would let an empath continue to
rage around his court. I also don’t believe that Shiver would find
out one of his sons was screwing an empath and let him continue to
do so. Between them both, they should have had her killed. You look
weary and perhaps sad, but you are not completely heartbroken—where
is she?”

Eden
was
heartbroken, and he was
disgusted that Sammah thought otherwise, as if a man like that knew
what heartbreak was meant to feel like. He knew also though, that
the baron was trying to get out of him where Quinn was. He wasn’t
willing to tell him. Eden didn’t want to put Quinn anywhere in any
more danger than she was already in. Leaving the silence out there
though, Sammah began to fill it in himself, and he hadn’t been
around the Everfell court for over fifteen years without learning
just how the well-oiled wheels worked.

“So she’s not dead, and you’re not still
with
her, because otherwise you’d have said. That means
she’s not in Everfell. But she’s not dead, therefore… She’s on her
way to Sha’sek, isn’t she?”

A grin belonging on the face of the most
blighted devil spread across Sammah’s greasy features. Eden punched
the door, sharp pain flashing from his knuckle down through his
wrist. He dropped his arm to his side, not letting the pain show.
He’d already let Sammah know he was right, so he wouldn’t get the
let him have the satisfaction of seeing Eden was in pain too.

“Oh what a shame. What’s the manner, didn’t
she warm your bed sheets before she left? Has she gone with Maertn?
A little jealous are we, chamberlain?”

“I can’t be jealous of two best friends.
Maertn is more likely to get into bed with Ross than he is
Quinn.”

“Whilst that is true, I don’t think you
actually believe it, do you? Because you’
re
still a boy Eden. You
’re still jealous. That’s why I could
use you to get what I wanted. Do you think that being in here is
going to stop me from getting what I want? Of course it won’t. The
only way to stop me is by kicking me off the side of this castle
with a noose around my neck, and even then they can’t stop what
I’ve started. This is about more than me, it’s about more than you.
You can’t see it though, neither can any of these pathetic lords
around you. The only one that tried was Shiver, and he was too much
of an idiot to realise what was happening to him. Now, we’ll both
probably be killed, but war will still happen. I’ll still get what
I want, and Everfell will be destroyed.”

“Is that what you really wanted, Sammah?
Because I think you wanted the throne. You wanted Quinn, too. I’m
not the only jealous one.”

Sammah roared, a disgusting laugh that Eden
never wanted to hear again.

“Brave indeed now, young chamberlain! But
still a boy. You see, I didn’
t want Quinn.
That
’s the way
you
think. That’s the way all flawed
men think;
where will your sons come from next
. I was
thinking about the future, and the child Quinn and I could have
had. It would have been unstoppable. An apath and an empath
combined? A perfect being. It looks like those plans are foiled,
but again, Quinn was just my side interest. She wasn’t the ultimate
prize, though she was an essential part of the puzzle to get me
where I needed to be.”

“In there? Yes, that looks like exactly
where you need to be.”

“Like I said, Eden, this is about more than
me. I’ve done enough. The king could come in here and kill me
tonight himself with his bare hands, and it wouldn’t change a
single thing. I can’t wait for war, so I can finally stop pointing
out how everyone has been blindsided, and how you’ve all been
pathetically stupid.

“Did you believe in the peace? You think
that we wanted to just sit on our islands, lording over the lands,
whilst my own people struggle farming fish and eking out a living
in the salty waste of the islands? No. We were always coming back.
We were always going to take these lands, and no one from Everfell
was going to stand in our way.”

“There will always be someone who will stand
in the way of people like you, Sammah, that’s the way the world
works.”

“No, it’s not, Eden. The way the world works
is that people with the will to make it change will succeed. Vance
doesn’t want change, he wants to sit on his throne, he wants the
lords to do what he says, and he wants to collect taxes. He is
never going to improve things for people here. Vance doesn’t want
to create new things, nor does he want to explore new places. He’s
not interested in the grandchildren of his grandchildren. He is
interested in what he has now. That’s why Everfell is going to lose
the war.”

“Oh? And you’re interested in the greater
good are you? In securing the best future for all of our
people?”

“I’m interested in making a stronger future
Eden. Why do you think I wanted to mate with Quinn? The people of
Sha’sek have so much more than the people of Everfell, and no one
in any of your kingdoms has anything to offer this world. Sure,
there are some descendants of bastard children, half talented and
half able. Some people might find that they can juggle well, or
maybe swing a sword half-decently. These are scant edges; by-blows
of talents that Sha’sek people have in full. You’re an inferior
breed, Eden, and the Sha’sekians will turn you into dust.”