Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) (5 page)

Eden thought on it. Yes, crying blood was
certainly a petrifying trait, but it wasn’t a threat. None of the
things, really, that Ross had said, were threatening to him.
Perhaps someone able to control the winds would be a scary thought,
but think of the benefits? Such a boy in the hands of the right
fleet, and your ships could go anywhere. Imagine the lands that
could be discovered. No, fearing these people wasn’t the right
thing, and he told Ross as much.

Ross patted his hand in what Eden supposed
to be a fatherly way, but Eden pulled it back, feeling patronised.
“Quinn liked you, because you feel like that. She spent her entire
life knowing—not thinking, but knowing—that people were scared of
her. You’ve tried to tell her that’s not true, that not everyone is
scared of her, and I’ve told her the same. She fell in love with
you—that’s how much she believed you. But the first time she has
revealed herself to the world, she’s been met with revulsion. Not
just that, but threat of death. You’ve got an uphill struggle, if
you think you’ve ever got a future in this country with Quinn.”

Eden ran his hands through his hair, trying
to ease his frustration. “But if I can’t have a future with her
here, what future can we have?”

“Eden, that is up to you. You’re the only
person that can make that decision. Yes, you have obligations to
Sevenspells, but you’re still just a youngest son. Rowan is going
to have his own sons, and so is River. One day, you’re going to be
given the freedom to leave, because you’ll be so far down the line
of succession that they won’t care what you do.”

“My father made me captain of the guard,
despite my age. They do care, Ross.”

“They care now Eden, but will they care in
ten years’ time? And when you realise that they don’t, that you’re
too old to swing a sword, and you’re still not married, what
decisions will you regret then?”

Eden was stunned into silence. He was still
young enough that he hadn’t considered his future beyond his
current career in his father’s guard, and he’d never really given
any thought to his brothers having heirs ahead of him. In many
ways, Eden hadn’t even considered life beyond his father’s
death.

Eden had believed that, since his father had
survived the wars and they were now living in an era of peace,
Shiver would die peacefully and an old man, in his own bed and
surrounded by family. It seemed, however, that Shiver’s fate rested
at the end of a hangman’s noose, and Rowan’s hand in marriage would
finally be forced. What should he do, then? Should he placate
himself, find his own happiness, or should his dedication be to
Sevenspells and the land that had brought him up? Eden didn’t know
the answers to those questions, but thinking on them brought his
mind back to his brothers, and the fact that he hadn’t really
spoken to them since their father’s arrest.

“I’m still frightened for her, Ross.” Eden’s
voice was quiet in the chamber.

“I know you are, I am too.”

“I may hope that they going to respect her
in Sha’sek, she might even be revered if empaths are as rare as you
say. But what happens if she is not revered Ross? What happens if
she is attacked? If the Sha’sek don’t want war, like you said
before, are they going to let another empath roam free around the
islands? She doesn’t know where she is going, or what she’s doing.
Yes, she should make it through Sevenspells, and they might even
make the crossing without a problem. But what then? Which island do
they go to, and which noble can they seek out without putting
themselves in danger? Did Quinn ask you any of this?”

“No, she didn’t, and I didn’t volunteer any
information to her either.” Ross dropped his head.

“Why not!” Eden stirred in fury, his fist
thumping down on the table and his chair scraping to the floor.
“You’re the only person in this entire damned city with the
knowledge that would help Quinn over there, and you let her go
without a word? How dare you?”

Ross rose to meet the young lord, his face
flushing red with temper and his eyes flashing with ire. “Know your
place Lord of Sevenspells. I would have freely given Quinn the
information she wanted for the asking, but my loyalty is to the
king. That’s the reason
I’m
not in the gaol and your father
is. If I’d have helped a woman sentenced to exile, do you know what
the king would have done to me? If our king commanded me to give
her a safe passage to Sha’sek, a route to the right nobles, I would
have given them. But I was under no such orders, and Quinn made no
such requests.”

“And that’s it? Your king hasn’t ordered, so
you haven’t provided? That didn’t stop you during the wars did it,
chamberlain?”

Ross reeled back as if he’d been struck, and
Eden kept pushing his point home. “You say you’ve been looking out
for Quinn all this time, trying to shield her, and now you’re just
going to let her walk straight into a land she’s never seen, to
people she doesn’t know? Quinn’s never even lived outside of this
city. She doesn’t stand a chance!”

“
You keep
forgetting
, young lord Eden, that she is not on her own. She
does have Maertn with her.”

“And what more does he know about the
islands?
He
wasn
’t sentenced to
exile, so did you tell him everything he needed to know? Or did you
let them both go out there, blind?”

This time it was Ross’s turn to be stunned
into silence. “No,” he replied eventually, “I didn’t speak to
Maertn.”

“So, what’s keeping you?”

Eden’s question was simple, but loaded with
so much intent. Ross didn’t miss a beat.

“If I were to go seek out Maertn, to give
him a couple of words of advice for his journey, then I need
someone to be able to keep my affairs in order here. I don’t even
have an apprentice, let alone a practiced replacement.”

“Then I think that we should speak to the
king, and perhaps arrange you an apprentice, quickly. Perhaps
someone who has recently been entrusted with a task assigned by the
king himself? Someone who didn’t fail in delivering what his liege
wanted?”

Ross's lips curled in smile. “The only
person I can think of is from a land not held in the highest regard
by the king, currently. So what possible reason would King Vance
have to allow such a change?”

“I think that having a legitimate reason to
keep the heirs of Sevenspells in Everfell for an indefinite period
of time would be more than enough reason for the king to agree to
this request.”

Ross tapped on his chin with his forefinger
as he considered Eden’s words. Eden tried not to fidget, to make
himself seem less confident, as he knew his suggestion made
complete sense no matter how daring it seemed. Vance was still
reeling from the treacherous behaviour of Sammah, and had to
downplay the outright treason from Shiver. Ross was one of his few
trusted companions, but his fighting past was for the council of
Sha’sek. Would King Vance want Ross as a chamberlain, with war
looming?

Eden guessed he was playing on the historic
relationship between Ross and Quinn. Ross might have been a war
veteran, and feared around the court, but he was a kindly man, and
had treated Quinn with more affection than most. Eden tensed as
Ross replied, relaxing as soon as he saw the chamberlain’s knowing
smirk

“Come on, we’re going to see the king.”

“Have you heard from your
brother yet?” Shiver shifted in the corner of his cell, trying to
find the least uncomfortable spot in the filthy straw that was
currently his pitiful excuse for a mattress.

“Don’t be stupid father, Eden is not one of
us anymore.”

“He is still my son, and your brother,
whether you like him or not, Rowan. When did you last see him?”

“He went off fawning over that Sha’sekian
aberration before she left. I haven’t seen him since, though no
doubt he’s moping around, somewhere appropriate for his rank.”

Shiver shuffled to his feet, groaning as his
knees ached in protest. His body was suffering in the damp cold in
the cells underneath the castle proper; he needed to get out of
here, and soon. He approached the bars to face his eldest son. “You
might be the acting Lord of Sevenspells right now, but remember
that Eden is my chosen captain of the guard, and he’s just had a
hand in saving the king’s life. Don’t talk lightly of him, it’s not
safe to do so.”

“Saved his life from you, you mean, father?
If you’d held your side of the bargain with a bit more grace, you’d
be on the throne already.”

“It wasn’t
me
that was the problem.
I’ll tell the king it was all the baron’
s doing.
I
’ll say I was manipulated by that girl, with her powers.
He’ll have to believe me.”

“That’s the easy part; I’ve never seen such
a clear case for a hanging in my life. But, there will still be a
trial—a public one—so we all need to make sure our stories are the
same to keep your head out of the hangman’
s
noose.
”

“
My
head? If the king figures out
just how far our plans went, you will be joining me there, son. So
you make sure you keep both of your brothers in your sight, and
that they have no idea that you know exactly what I was doing with
the baron. We can still make our way out of this, we just need to
keep our wits about us.

“Without that empath of his, Sammah is near
to useless and he’s going to the gallows, whether he likes it or
not. What we need to do now, is make sure that Vance knows it was
Sha’sek that was a problem. There was always going to be a war.
Sammah thought he could just sit there and take this throne, but he
was wrong. I was always going to sit on the throne, Rowan, and when
the time came, I’d take Sha’sek, like we should have done years
ago. The islands are weak, and so is Vance. They both need the iron
fist of Sevenspells ruling these people, not that puppet.” Shiver
spat, and felt the warmth of adrenalin circle his tiring body. He
needed to keep hold of that fire to get through this storm.

Rowan, his dark hair sleek and brushed back,
a warm mink pelt around his shoulders, looked through the bars at
his father with a poorly-veiled sneer of superiority. Shiver, the
lord of Sevenspells, hadn’t been put in the same gaol as the pale,
stinking peasants in the city. He had at least been afforded the
luxury of a chamber with a brazier, and a rudimentary bed. He
hadn’t been chained to the walls, though the threat of shackles
hung ever-present against the wall, should the lord ever misbehave.
He was being fed, and was at least being given the respect due his
rank. He was however guilty of treason, and so this isolated room
would be his home until the trial was over.

Rowan smirked. “I do wonder, father, what’s
actually stopping me from supporting
King
Vance now? The
whole idea was to gain more power, and with you in this position,
if I gain Vance’s trust now then I have a direct route to the
throne. What’s to stop me from taking it all for myself?”

Shiver’s brow darkened at Rowan’s words, and
he struggled to keep his anger in check. Keep it he did, though,
because he didn’t want to alert the guards, who had been bribed to
leave them alone whenever Rowan visited. “You listen to me, you
upstart, you don’t do anything without my say-so. You might be my
heir, but you’ve forgotten who else is involved in this plot.”
Rowan paled a little, and Shiver smiled a thin, mean grin. “Yes,
your mother. What can she do from there that I can’t do from here?
Lady Petra has access to more…resources shall we say.

“
And don
’t forget,
she’s a lot more experienced at this game than you are, Rowan. A
messenger should arrive from Sevenspells in the next couple of
days, and you’re going to be the first person he comes to see. Make
sure that you drop anything—and I mean anything that
you’
re doing
—in order to receive this
messenger. Listen to everything he has to say, and make sure you
follow his instructions to the letter. If you don’t, I’ll find
another son, who
can
follow my simple requests. Do I make
myself clear?”

Rowan gulped, his position made clear. “Yes,
my lord. Unquestionably.”

“Good. I knew I put my faith in you for a
reason.”

King Vance of Everfell
stood by the window, his hands on his hips and a curious smirk
setting his lips. Before him stood Eden of Sevenspells and his
chamberlain. Vance knew that he should trust both men, but he
couldn’t believe a single word either of them was saying. “Let me
get this straight. I’ve just had a ranking member of my court
jailed for treason. One of my lords is being held for the same
reason, and you want me to let my chamberlain leave because you
think a traitor I’
ve just exiled
might die in Sha
’sek?”

Eden tried to stop himself fidgeting from
side to side, but Ross, more fluent in front of the king, remained
impassive and immobile. “When you say it like that, sire, it sounds
so much more…unreasonable than the actual request.”

“Oh? How so, Ross? Please, enlighten
me.”

Eden did catch Ross’s throat bobbling up and
down as the big man took a discrete, nervous gulp, but he didn’t
lose more than a heartbeat in his response. “Think of it this way,
your highness: Quinn isn’t the only person you’ve lost to Sha’sek.
Maertn has gone with her too, and we all know why. The girl was his
sister. He loves her. He wasn’t going to let her leave on her own.
But they were only family—and friends—because of Baron Sammah. How
long is that kind of friendship going to last, when they’re both
are hungry and alone, and struggling to survive in the
islands?”

Vance arched one eyebrow, his interest
piqued. “Go on?”

“I’m not suggesting that I help Quinn. I’m
suggesting that I go and make sure your most talented healer
survives his little adventure in the islands, and comes back to you
unharmed, before anything else happens.”