by Dawn Peers
“There were so many of us. I don’t think he would have parted with the gold to keep us all like that. I think he resented paying for it for himself.”
“How many of you do you think there are in Everfell? I can’t believe there’s that many orphans out there.”
Quinn thought darkly about the mute confessions of murder she’d taken on her first crossing of the Sea of Sighs, before sending a mercenary to his death. “I don’t think we started out as orphans. I think Sammah made it that way, so he could take us.”
“Even with you? Wouldn’t one of your parents have been like you?”
“One of them, maybe, but they wouldn’t have to be there to be my parent. I could have been a bastard. It wouldn’t have taken much for Sammah to take me from a chambermaid in Yender, struggling to survive.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Life isn’t as straightforward as it seems, is it?”
Quinn arched her head around, looking at him. Stubble peppered his chin, making him seem older than his eighteen summers. Livid bruising still stained his face, making him look fierce, but not frightening. His eyes were fixed on the roof, too, and his breathing came slow and even. Eden was third in line to the seat of Sevenspells; now, he was third in line for the throne. She was an empath from Sha’sek, a collection of city states that Shiver of Sevenspells appeared determined to obliterate. Quinn smiled sadly. Her life had never been simple, but with Eden in it, it was positively chaotic. She pushed herself up and kissed his cheek softly. She knew that she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“What are you going to say to your father, when you get home?”
“I’ll have to see what kind of welcome there is for me, first. I’ve been gone for, what, two weeks, and so much has changed. My father will be interested in what I have to say about Sha’sek.”
“Are you going to tell him about Pax’s plans? To keep out of the war?”
“I am. I think it might give us a chance to delay the war.”
"You think that Shiver will delay the war to help Pax?"
"No, I think that Shiver will think twice about raising his sword against Vance when he knows that Sammah is behind it. With Baron Pax waiting to pick through the bones on the battlefield, it gives us a perfect excuse to make Shiver stay his sword. He'd be giving Sha'sek what they wanted, no matter what he did.”
"And what then? He just sits and waits for one of the barons to attack?"
"I'm not sure, but that's up to my father. All I can do is give him the information I have. There's no point or reason for me to hide anything from him. That would achieve nothing."
"Do you find it tiring, trying to please all of these people all of the time?"
"I do. It's exhausting, Quinn. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've considered just walking away from all of this. I'm not likely to inherit; why should I care?"
"You've always cared; it's one of the things that first attracted me to you."
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a lady picking a man of Sevenspells for his dashing personality before. I’m being serious, though. I would have gone with you. In Sha’sek? If you’d have said to go, I would have done it.”
“And not anymore?”
Eden’s silence was enough of an answer. Quinn’s heart sank. Only one thing had changed between them since Farn.
“You can talk to me about it?” Quinn said quietly. “that would be better, for both of us. We can’t hide our feelings from each other anymore.”
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure what my feelings are, Quinn.”
“What does that mean?”
“Have you…your new ability. Have you used it on me? Have you changed the way I’ve felt about something?”
Here was the crux of the matter. Quinn could see this conversation happening with every man she ever met in her life; Ross was so determined that she’d meet another. The way this relationship was going, Quinn wasn’t so sure she wanted to fall in love with anyone else. “No, Eden. I haven’t changed your emotions. Not towards me or anyone.”
“But you could, if you wanted?”
“I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to.”
“And what about something I already felt? Have you given my feelings more…fire?”
Quinn thought back to the night on the ship. Yes. She had. Guilt flamed her cheeks. Could she lie to him, again? No, she couldn’t. “Yes, I have.”
Eden’s breathing sped up. He couldn’t hide the reactions of his body to her words. Quinn didn’t cheat this time. She wanted to listen to him and have a natural response to their conversation. Her abilities were clouding everything, and this had been the first thing in her life that was clear. Enough was enough; she would never use her abilities on Eden again. “When did you do it? When?”
“On the crossing. After your fight with Tarik. I was scared. I’m going to lose you Eden. I felt like we’ve had everything, and nothing. You arrived in Everfell, and I’d never met anyone like you. You wanted me—just me—and you were the first person in my life that had ever made me feel alive. I fell for you so hard, and then we were ripped apart. Then you came to Sha’sek, and I thought that was for me, too, but it wasn’t. The part of you that serves your father, helped make that decision. Now, you’re going to be married off to some overdressed court-dweller, and I’ll likely never see you again. So for that night, I just wanted to know what it felt like to have all of you. I…I’m sorry.”
“I understand, Quinn. I’m not saying I like it, but I understand why you did it. I could feel it, you know? There was a surge of emotion. I liked it. I didn’t resist it, and I think I could have tried. And I’m glad you were honest.”
“You were seeing if I’d tell you the truth?”
“I was.”
“And if I’d lied?”
“I’d have probably asked you to leave, now.”
Quinn took a deep breath. She was glad for once she’d followed her instincts. “We should probably go to sleep, my love. It’s going to be another long ride tomorrow.”
“I don’t mind riding tired. There isn’t going to be a battle at the end of it. Are you tired?”
“No.”
She could feel Eden grin at her response. “Then why do you want to go to sleep?”
Quinn shrugged within the confines of his single-armed hug. “I thought it was the right thing to say. What’s Sevenspells like?”
Quinn yawned as she said this, and Eden’s stroking resumed. She snuggled in closer to him. “You want me to send you to sleep talking about my home?”
Quinn nodded.
“Okay then. It’s beautiful, Quinn. Everyone hates Sevenspells. They think that, because we’re all brought up to be stubborn, or fighters, that it’s a brutal place. They couldn’t be more wrong. The city itself is on the side of a cliff. It overlooks a valley, a small holding which is owned by my uncle, Lord Owain. It takes six hours to walk from the valley floor to the gates of Sevenspells. The route is steep and harsh, and when you get to the top most people, in their exhaustion, are expecting a dusty desolate plateau. The walls protect it all; Sevenspells proper is all within walls, a bit like Everfell. We farm in there. Not much—the ground can’t really take it. But it means we could see through some sort of siege, if anyone was insane enough to tackle the city itself…” Quinn snored gently. Eden smiled to himself. He hadn’t thought of his home much, since he had been appointed to find the Satori in Everfell. That felt like so long ago now. He’d been ready and willing to plunge his blade through a Sha’sekian traitor. Instead, she was sitting in his arms. He didn’t want to let her go, but he knew that one day soon, he’d have to.
7
Sammah crumpled the parchment in his fist, resisting the urge to throw it at the messenger boy. He clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth began to ache, but he couldn’t shout out. He had to prevent himself from looking flustered, especially in front of Obrenn and Erran.
“What news from Farn, Sammah?”
Sammah fixed a fals
e smile on his lips and turned. “It is good news. My pleas to them have worked, and they will not be sending troops in aggression against Everfell. They realise that this has been a misunderstanding, and that I have the best interests of both our people at heart. Our king is no longer in danger from Sha’sek, just from the traitors within.”
Erran and Obrenn showed a brief look, before Erran ventured, “You don’t look like it’s good news. Is there any other news?”
“No, my lords. I was so fraught that war might break out on all three sides, that it’s just a relief to get this message. If you’ll forgive me, I will take some wine. Will you join me?”
“Of course, have some sent straight away. This calls for celebration, surely! We should let the king know immediately, he should come and join us.”
“I don’t think now is the time for the King to be stretched. This is good news indeed, and I can dispatch a messenger to him. I don’t think we should bother him, though, I certainly don’t think that he should be drinking at a time like this. He still very weak, and we have to be careful for him. This at least will take a lot of the pressure off your shoulders.”
“Indeed, well, if you say so, Sammah."
“I’ll call one of my maids. Wait here.”
Sammah yanked open the door to the antechamber to find Neyv setting sitting right where he left her. If it had been Quinn, Elias would have needed to be there too to keep her in one spot. “Girl, we need wine. Bring a carafe, and three glasses.”
Neyv nodded once and trotted away. Sammah turned back to Erran and Obrenn, who looked frustratingly pleased with themselves. “How does it go with your gatherings my lords? What news from Achteren and Mossvale?"
“The banner gatherings are well, but hearing talk from the other provinces, many of my men are reluctant to bring up arms. They don’t think we should be fighting each other—Sha’sek are the enemy. There are rumours that you are driving this conflict forward, not Shiver."
“And not so long ago there were rampant rumours making Shiver and I allies. Why on earth, then, would I be raising a sword against him?”
“I’m only repeating what I hear, Sammah, I mean no harm.”
“Indeed Lord Obrenn, I wouldn’t accuse you of such things. I’m very glad of your honesty in fact, as that’s the only way we can be sure to defeat the traitors in our midst. You can tell your men, that this is the will of King Vance. If it would help you, I can see if we can take some rest from the king, get out of his bed and writes on official notes. With the Royal Seal attached to the gathering orders, they surely can’t dispute its legitimacy?”
“I wouldn’t dream of disturbing the King. Please, don’t."
“I’m sure if it means the difference between us victory and defeat, Vance will not mind. I’ll make sure we have healer standing by, just in case he stretches himself.”
“No; please Sammah no. I’ll bring my men around, we can’t put Vance in any more danger than he is already in. It’s bad enough that he’s already lost his wife."
“I know, the lady Eleska—so beautiful, and so young. It was tragic. This is why Shiver needs to be brought to heel. Him, his sons, and all of his filthy allies."
The door creaked open, and Neyv crept in the room. She was carrying everything as instructed. Such a charming little girl.
“Is this a new serving girl? I don’t think I’ve seen her before.”
“No my lords, she’s been a part of my retinue for quite some time. She is just obedient, and therefore difficult to notice."
“Not a bad thing to have!”
“Indeed my lords, I’d gotten so used to my children being out of line I’d quite forgotten what it’s like to have obedient ones.”
Erran laughed nervously. “You must have been horrified at the way that empath behaved.”
“That’s one way to put it, when one of your children tries to instigate a war. Still, when your father caused the last wars between our kingdoms... I tried not to blame the girl for the crimes of her father. I desperately tried to heal her, but she couldn’t be helped. There was no stopping her becoming corrupt, just like Nerren had been. The final straw was with the death of Alec. I’m sure she didn’t do it on her own, she was just a slight girl. Here, she was well in with Eden of Sevenspells, and now the name of that province is mentioned again. We can’t seem to turn anywhere without Shiver’s intrigues turning up. The man’s beginning to infuriate me."
“And all of us. Here, let’s raise a drink to our victory.”
“That is most certainly something I can drink to.”
Neyv filled the glasses. She handed them out, not uttering a single word.
“Can you talk, lass?"
Instead of responding to Erran, Neyv dropped her eyes and gave him a small curtsey. Sammah answered for her. “She’s a shy thing. She just likes to do what I tell her, and complete her studies. She will make an excellent wife for someone one day”
“Indeed. Rather dull though, don’t you think?”
“I’d rather dull and obedient, than pretty and reckless.”
Neyv just bobbed her head again and left the room. She didn’t like the way the lords were talking, but it was the way of men. She had it all the time, and she didn’t speak against them. There was no point. She could get them to change their minds, but that wouldn’t mean they would really believe what they were saying. Neyv had always found that people told her what she wanted them to hear, but when she was out of earshot and people forgot they had seen her, their old ways of thinking came back again. The longer she studied people, the more she wanted to find a way to make them permanently change their minds.
She wanted to be friends with Quinn for that. Sammah had been so intent that the girl could control emotions, and Neyv had thought that, with her and Quinn together, they could have made the world a better place. But Quinn wasn’t here, and she had betrayed their father. So Neyv would have to do things on her own, and it seemed her father had the best way of doing that. She took a seat in the antechamber, her knees together sitting on a plain wooden chair. She placed a hand on each knee, and stared straight ahead at the plain wall. Her back was straight, her chin high. Neyv stayed there for the next four hours until Sammah staggered out. She barely moved; it was like a child had placed a doll there, and left it behind. Here was Sammah, to pick her back up again.
“I need you Neyv.”
“Of course,"
Neyv trotted back into the room, and could see that the lords were blind drunk. She didn’t understand why these men liked wine. The more that they drank, the less they could think. They could barely talk, let alone walk. What a horrible way to be.
“I was just repeating to the lords here, how the king pardoned me when Shiver’s treachery was exposed.”
“I remember! See Obrenn, I told you. Our apologies. Must’ve been the wine.”
“Thank you Neyv, that will be all.”
8
Quinn’s neck ached from looking up. Eden definitely hadn’t lied about the scale of Sevenspells. Lancing had been very quaint. They’d spent two nights in the small holding at the base of the cliff, and the lord Owain had been more than accommodating. When Harn had swept in, their innkeeper almost fell the floor with the depth of his bow. Harn had ignored the poor man. When Eden and River followed Harn, he had tripped, falling to his knees. Harn had bawled about the inn not being prepared, and the innkeeper had stammered a response about not being aware of the royal visit. River had approached the man, his self-effacing congenial manner calming the man down within moments. River had reassured him that it was an unexpected visit, that they neither needed nor desired nothing more than the common man would get. That, of course, was a pointless statement—they got more attentive service and better food than everyone else ever got in that place. River and Eden were housed in the best rooms, with Eden insistent that Quinn stopped with him.
Quinn hadn’t protested, and under the shadow of the castle of Sevenspells, its ominous turrets threatening to collapse and
crush her, Quinn could see the painful end of her time with Eden bearing down on her. They hadn’t spoken much, deciding to just enjoy each other’s company. Quinn had met River to for the first time, and she couldn’t imagine a man more opposed to his father in personality. She thought Eden had been a man, but Eden had some personality and power. River was a wet fish, and would never be fit to rule. Just as well that Rowan was the firstborn, not that Quinn ever thought she’d hear herself say that.
“We’ll start the ascent today. How do you feel?”
“I’m not looking forward to it, and not just because what we’ll find at the top."
“I know what you mean. At least the journey has been fun. And I mean that, Quinn, all of it. I wouldn’t change a single moment of this.”
“I wouldn’t either Eden. I’m glad to have met you, and I know that will remain friends. I made myself a promise you know."
“Oh? What’s that?”
“To never use my ability on you again."
“Why is that?” Eden cocked his head, a mug of ale halfway to his lips. Quinn thought he was playing with her, but she had to bite her lip to stop herself instinctively checking his raw emotion, rather than just talking to him to find out, like a normal girl would.
“It’s not fair on you. I have this advantage and you have none. I thought that… When I thought that if we’re going to have a relationship, that I couldn’t keep using the abilities. I always have an unfair advantage on you, and it would skew the entire way I viewed our lives together. If I don’t use the ability, then it’s just me reacting to you, not the empath. You didn’t fall in love with the empath, you fell in love with Quinn.”
“Sometimes I wish that I haven’t found out about your ability you know. Then, I remind myself that without the ability, you might been just like everyone else. Don’t regret what you have Quinn. It made you who you are today, and that’s the woman fell in love with.”
“Would we have a chance together if I wasn’t an empath?”