Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) (25 page)

It wasn’t new to her to make gowns for the
noted nobles of the court, but to make one at short notice, and for
an empath too—
this will be an honour,
the diminutive woman
had drawled. She refused the money that Quinn had proffered, and
instead of ordering her girls, sat down to the task herself. Quinn
had sat fascinated,
watching
as Laise
first put together a stunning dress, blood red and cut off the
shoulder, sweeping to the floor. It was easily the most exquisite
gown that Quinn had ever seen. That she should be allowed to wear
it was more than slightly intimidating.

Laise had put the piece together within a
couple of hours, declaring it finished. Quinn glanced outside. It
was full-dark now, and Maertn didn’t have his garments yet. Laise
grinned knowingly, clapping her hands. After a glance up and down
followed by a measurement that had seemed more for show than
anything, Laise had declared that she already had a suit made which
was a close enough fit. Apparently, the merchant’s son that had
been waiting for this outfit could wait another few days. A healer
favoured by the baron was more important.

Laise set about cutting that with just the
same efficiency as the gown, and within two hours, Quinn and Maertn
left with finished garments, dashing back to Quinn’s suite to get
bathed and dressed.

It was like old times, when he would be
waiting for after her night shift was finished, a bath already run
for her and soothing herbs emanating through her rooms. As Sara
poured a bath, Maertn passed her a little pouch.

“Pour this in the bath, please.”

“What’s in that?”

“It’s a harmless enough mixture. If you’re
going to be parading around the Sha’sek nobility tonight then you
need to be in the right mood. You’ve been prickly all day. Maybe it
stands out more because I haven’t seen you for so long, but we
can’t have you rubbing the council up the wrong way, can we?”

This should have annoyed Quinn, but she did
laugh. Maertn was expecting Quinn to be nervous, so he was trying
to make her relax. She let him have his fun. Sliding out of her
filthy training gear, she padded out of the room and into her
bath.

For so long she had looked at the women of
the court—daughters and wives—decked out in their finery and
parading themselves around in front of the men. Well, this time
would be her turn, and Quinn had no idea how that would feel.

“What do you think it’ll be like?” Quinn
asked Maertn before she submerged herself in the water, reaching
out a hand for a soap that she knew Maertn would place in her hand.
He did, and she started scrubbing herself.

“I have no idea. I know what the Everfell
balls were like, but they do things differently in Farn. I think
I’m more excited than scared. What about you?”

Quinn dunked herself in the water again.
“I’m just glad in control of my powers this time round.”

The ball was to be held
in the Council Hall. The sprawling complex of Farn had to house and
serve many; they didn’t have the spare room to have empty halls
waiting for parties to fill them. Such was the restriction of life
on an island. Quinn had been used to wasted space in Everfell. Many
of the rooms she cleared before meets stood empty for weeks. What
was the point in that? They had the right idea here—if a room had a
purpose, it could have two. No space was wasted, and this was a
common thing within Farn.

Maertn hadn’t let Quinn look in a mirror
until Sara had finished painting her lightly with the make-up
favoured by women of the court. Quinn had asked her to be light
with it, but by the time Sara was finished, the young girl had
tears in her eyes. Quinn hadn’t recognised the woman staring back
at her from the reflection.

She was proud of the way she looked,
especially compared to the urchin she’d been in Everfell. The cut
of the dress was perfect, clinging to her bust and circling tightly
on her hips and thighs, sweeping out as it reached her calves. Life
in Sha’
sek was helping. Sammah hadn
’t
been generous with their meals, and she was already feeling leaner
both from her journey here and through her the early days of
tutelage with Tarik.

Laise had outdone herself, and in such a
short space of time. What a wonderful gift to have. Simple and
harmless. Quinn’s power was anything but, but Laise had been
thrilled to work for her. That had been a wonderful feeling,
buoying Quinn as the time of the ball approached. Laise hadn’t
recoiled from her; she had been honoured to work for her. This was
how
belonging
somewhere felt.

Laise had been right, too. The outfit she
had recut for Maertn fit him like a glove, and he cut a fine
figure, looking the man he now was. He was wearing black trousers,
and a loose white shirt which was cinched with a blue waistcoat,
buttoned up in the middle. Maertn was a skinny wretch, and he
always would be, but Sara had predicted this. Despite Maertn’s
protests, she had applied powder to hide his tired purple shadows,
and kohled the edges of his large eyes. The effect made him appear
more human, and even borderline handsome, Quinn noticed.

Maertn had preened in front of the mirror,
declaring them both to be stunning. They would make an impact,
which would be just what the baron wanted. Quinn secretly thought
his real agenda for their invite was to parade his new
acquisitions, including the infamous empath, in front of the rest
of the court. They would find out a bit more about Sha’sekian
culture, but that wasn’t his main intention. Quinn didn’t like the
idea of Pax making her strut around like a prize hen, but like
Maertn, she did want to make a good impression. She had made so
many bad impressions, so many times, and this was a fresh chance to
make her mark on these people. She wouldn’t let that chance slip
by.

Quinn took Maertn by the arm. “Are you ready
to dance, my lord?”

“
Indeed
, my lady,
let’s show them what culture the court of Everfell can
produce!”

In a rare show of concern, Quinn reached out
to Maertn to see how he really felt beneath the bravado. He was
nervous, like her, but the sensation wasn’t overpowering. Quinn
didn’t pursue it: nerves were natural. Instead, she retreated back
into herself. She wouldn’t be able to help Maertn if she was just
concentrating on him. They walked up the Council Hall arm-in-arm,
and there were two guards standing waiting to let them in. The
doors were open simultaneously.

The apprentice healer, and the maid from the
halls of Everfell, stepped through arm-in-arm, into a waiting
crowd.

The buzz the room didn’t stop as they walked
in, like Quinn had been expecting. That was a relief—she didn’t
want to be the centre of attention. Maertn didn’t drop her arm, and
she thought it sensible that they stay together for as long as they
could. They skirted around the edges, taking in the people of the
court. Both men and the women were in all sorts of finery, and
Quinn was astonished to see men dancing with men, and women dancing
with women.

“Can you see that?”

Quinn tried to be discreet, and pointed
towards a young male couple she saw spinning in the middle of the
floor. Maertn craned his neck to see what Quinn was pointing at,
and she crowed to herself when a childish grin spread across his
face.

“You wouldn’t see that in Everfell,” Maertn
murmured.

“Indeed you wouldn’t, Maertn. Such is the
way of Sha’sekian life.”

Both of the youngsters spun around to find
the baron already behind them. Quinn tried to curtsy and Maertn
went to bow, but Pax stopped them both.

“You’re not servants anymore. You don’t have
to do that.”

“You rule Farn. Surely we must?”

That’s just a title, inherited because my
family having deeper pockets and louder voices. You are not in
Everfell anymore, and you don’t have to bow and scrape to the
people around you.

“This is definitely something I could get
used to,” Quinn mumbled.

“I just wish you’d come to us sooner—both of
you.”

“I’m beginning to regret that myself,”
Maertn replied wistfully. He blushed when he remembered who he was
speaking to, and the baron just laughed.

“Go, have fun. Those boys are popular
merchants and have a fine reputation at court. They can show you
around. I will escort Quinn. I promise I won’
t
hurt her.
”

Maertn only briefly looked to Quinn and she
could see the desperate pleading his eyes. Quinn didn’t hold him
back—how could she, without looking horrible? Even if it did leave
her alone with Pax.

The baron hooked her arm and turned her,
whisking her away from Maertn, back to the edges of the room.

“You don’t like me, do you, Quinn?”

“It’s not you, baron. It’s this place.
There’s a lot of new things to get used to.”

“Like what? You have lived with a baron your
entire life, and spent much of that time subservient to others.
Isn’t it better to be free, like this?”

“Just because my life here has improved,
doesn’t mean it’s easy for me. I just need…time to make it right in
my head.”

“I can understand, and I can give you some
of the time you ask for, but the council will not wait forever,
Quinn. I believe you are critical for our future. I may lead the
council, but I am only one voice.”

“All of my life, baron, I’ve served others.
At first it was
go here
and
clean that
. Then, when
your brother started using me it was
go there
and
sense
that
. I was exposed to murderers, thieves, the most vile
people. I was a child, baron. And now, after being exiled to
somewhere I think I might be free, I’m being told that I must
think
this because we all believe
that
. When can I
stop thinking for others, and start being myself?”

“To a great extent, we always have to think
of others. I don’t make these decisions for myself, Quinn. I could
sit on this council, placidly making decisions and orchestrating
for myself a life of timid luxury. I’m making the harder choices
for other people, and that means…”

“Yes, I know, that means there’s going to be
a war. That’s all anyone in Farn says!”

“Hear me out, Quinn, you need to understand
this.”

Quinn threw common decency to the wind.
“Yes, I know I need to understand—but you and your council need to
understand this. I’m scared. I’m in a strange place, with strange
people. I’ve already lost my best friend to you people—yes,
you
people, because I don’t feel like one of you yet. Maertn
is already embroiled in the Farn way of life, but it was always
going to be easy for you to manipulate him. He’s already helping
people in the hospital, and he’s got more in common with people
here than he ever had in Everfell.

“I
did
have friends. Not good ones, I
admit, but I did at least have things in common with them. I
thought Sha’sek would make a difference. I stupidly believed that
I’d find out more about myself and my abilities, or even my
parents. Farn has no one here like me. I hate that. You teach me
how to defend myself because, not only am I an asset, but I’m also
a liability. I still have no place here, and nothing you’ve said or
shown me is changing my mind so far.”

Pax’s face grew dark. “Bold words for
someone so new to court.”

“Don’t put a sword in my hand and expect me
to cut bread with it. What good am I to you if I hide behind my
skirts?”

“No good at all, though let me add what fine
skirts they are. I knew Laise would do well.”

“She is incredibly talented. When did she
find out that her skills dressmaking?” Quinn had lifted a weight
off her shoulders with her rant, and was happy to steer the
conversation away now.

“From a very young age, it was obvious. Most
abilities are. If you’re not exhibiting a particular skill by your
fourth or fifth summer, it’s likely you have no talent at all.
Whether you like it or not, latent abilities always shine through.
You must have always known you are an empath?”

“I couldn’t label it when I was young, but
it’s all I have ever known.”

“Fundamentally, Maertn, for example, has
always been a healer. Whether or not he could use his ability at a
young age remains to be seen, but the talent would have been there
regardless. The same is true of everyone you see around you. In
particular, the lady you are going to meet tonight. She, and her
talent, are most exquisite.”

“Who is it?”

“
I don
’t want to
spoil the surprise. Come, let’
s dance.
I
’ve been waiting to introduce you to some of the more
influential men in the court, and I’m sure they’ll be jealous that
I have the beauty of the room on my arm tonight.”

Despite herself, Quinn fluffed with pride.
Quinn wasn’t blind; the room was full of beautiful women, and a
salty touch to the air belied the truth behind the baron’s words.
She didn’t have to let that knowledge spoil her enjoyment of the
moment.

Quinn was introduced to women who smiled at
her through gritted teeth, and men who spun her around in a brief
dance, whose names she forgot seconds later. She drank fine red
wine which was quickly going to her head. It was difficult to keep
her ability in check, the more she drank. Pax steered her away,
grabbing her a glass of water. He kept whispering in her ear,
keeping her mind occupied.

As they moved around the room, Quinn kept
catching snatches of Maertn, his head thrown back, laughing in a
small group of men as they tried to show him how to dance. It was
delightful to see. Quinn was genuinely happy for him, even if
slightly jealous. Quinn was thoroughly enjoying the party, feeling
completely at ease at her first ball, when a commotion at the other
end of the room brought everyone’s attention swinging around.