Broken: The Book of Maladies

by Holmberg, D. K.

  “That, Samara, is where you are wrong.”

  That came from the Kaver sitting quietly near the window. The woman stood and approached slowly. She had a narrow face and a sharp jawline. Her black hair reminded Sam of her own. There was a resemblance between them, and Sam wondered if it came from the fact that they were both Kavers.

  “What do you remember of your mother?” the Kaver asked.

  Sam frowned. “I know that my mother was killed by Thelns.” It made her hate them—and fear them—even more. “I hadn’t known how she died until recently, but that’s what I’ve been told.”

  “Who told you that your mother was killed by Thelns?” the Kaver asked.

  Sam glanced from the Kaver to the princess. Marin would have to know them, wouldn’t she? Why would she hide that from her?

  Then again, Marin had attacked the Kavers. And the princess had mentioned the danger her Kavers had been in. Could this all be about Marin?

  “Marin. She was my mother’s friend. She’s the one who explained to me that I was a Kaver.”

  The princess and the Kaver glanced at each other, but neither said anything.

  “Your mother wasn’t killed by a Theln,” the Kaver said.

  “If she didn’t die because of the Thelns, what happened?”

  “She was betrayed. Someone who was supposed to be her friend attacked her. The same person who has been attacking the Kavers who returned to the city, reducing our protections.”

  Sam trembled, thinking of everything she’d seen over the last few months. Marin’s disappearance. The danger she alluded to. The attacks on the Kavers. “Marin? Is that who you mean?”

  The Kaver nodded slowly, but it was the princess who answered. “Marin betrayed my family. She has always wanted more. Whether that was power or easar paper or… Many things. We had thought she was gone. Dead. We had thought that her treachery had led her to the Thelns and that they had taken care of her for us. We were wrong.”

  Sam’s mind was racing. Was that why Marin hadn’t wanted her to come here?

  But why would Marin have told her anything about Kavers?

  “Marin helped us heal you,” she said. “She has helped raise my brother and me.”

  “You don’t have a brother,” the Kaver said.

  Anger began to rise in her, and Sam stood. “Trayson is my brother. My mother was lost when we were very little. And—”

  The Kaver stepped forward. “You were not as young as you think when you were lost.”

  Sam shook her head. “No. Let me have Tray, and we will return to Caster.”

  “Samara. You were lost eight years ago. We thought you were dead. The fact that you live, and the fact that you have no memory of it, tells me that Marin must’ve used the easar paper to eliminate your memories.”

  Sam was shaking her head, and she was trembling. Weakness from her injury started to wash through her. Were the augmentations fading? Was the healing suddenly fading?

  “That’s impossible. Marin isn’t always pleasant, but she’s always wanted the best for me. She’s worked on my behalf.”

  “Marin betrayed your mother,” the Kaver said.

  “How do you know?”

  The woman stepped forward and frowned. A mixture of emotions crossed her face before fading, replaced by a stern expression. “Because I am your mother.”

  Epilogue

  The night air was cold, and Sam stood at the edge of the canal, debating what to do. Her head swam with what she had heard, and she no longer knew what to think. She wrapped her cloak around her, shivering, inhaling deeply.

  A figure approached out of the shadows, and Alec slipped his arm around her shoulders when he neared, saying nothing at first.

  “So, my mother’s alive.”

  Alec turned toward her and stared. “Are you sure. You saw her?”

  “Not entirely sure, no.” That made it harder, but the more she thought about it, the more she began to wonder why the princess and her Kaver would lie to her. They had no reason to do so. And if they weren’t lying, then the woman—Elaine—was Sam’s mother. And Marin had betrayed her.

  It was that which was the most difficult.

  “They tell me that Tray is not my brother.” They had released him, and Sam had seen Tray head back into the city, alone and unharmed. She had stood at the window in the palace, feeling a strange sense of unease, standing where she was, watching her brother return to Caster. “Apparently, Marin only wanted me to believe that he was my brother. The princess claims that he’s Marin’s son, but that doesn’t make sense. Why would Marin have wanted me to think he’s my brother.”

  “If you betrayed them, she might’ve been worried about his safety were she caught.”

  Sam squeezed her eyes close, nodding slowly. “It still doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. All I know is that Tray is my brother.”

  Whatever else, she felt that deep within her bones. He may not be blood—and she still didn’t know whether to believe that or not—but he was her brother.

  “Apparently, Marin was the one trying to find easar paper, trying to steal it from the city. She’s the one who’s gotten in ahead of me, taking supplies of the paper before I have a chance to get to it. And she’s been attacking the Kavers as they have returned to the city.” She looked over at Alec. “She has been practically preparing the city for another Theln attack!”

  “And that’s why she didn’t want you to be involved,” Alec said.

  Sam looked up at him. “As strange as it seems, Marin was trying to keep me from the Kavers.”

  “But not trying to hurt you,” he said.

  Sam shook her head. “If she was trying to hurt me, she could have done so easily. I… I need to find her and see what she’s doing. I need to understand what this is all about.” She turned toward Alec and wrapped her arms around him. She felt strange, helpless. Weak. They were feelings she hated. “I thought the princess had been poisoned by the Thelns, but what if it was Marin?”

  “I don’t think so,” Alec said. “She seemed as surprised as anyone when we revealed the princess’s poisoning. I think that whatever else happened, it wasn’t because of anything that Marin had done.”

  “I have to find her.”

  “You do.”

  “They tell me she’s probably gone from the city. That’s apparently what she does when she disappears.” Sam couldn’t believe it, but Marin did completely disappear at times. “They think that when I fell, she was there.”

  That hurt more than anything else. Thinking that Marin might have left her to die. That was painful. But then, maybe Marin had been the one to bring Tray to her.

  “What about your brother?”

  “I can’t tell him,” Sam said in a whisper.

  “At some point, you will have to. He’s caught up in this the same way that you are. As far as he knows, his mother died when yours did.”

  Sam sighed. It seemed ridiculous—and impossible—to believe that she would now have to lie to her brother to keep him safe, but what else could she do? He was her brother.

  And she had already lied to the princess. She hadn’t revealed how Tray was part Theln. Maybe that was the reason Marin had forced a connection between Sam and Tray.

  “I can’t tell him, because they don’t know. The moment they know that he’s part Theln…” That was the worst part of it. She might be able to learn what it meant that she was a Kaver, but she would have to keep Tray concealed from them.

  Only… she didn’t know how.

  “I didn’t get the chance to tell you that I was promoted,” Alec said, changing the subject. “I’m a senior student physicker now.”

  Sam smiled. “I’m not surprised. You probably should have entered the university a long time ago. Selfishly, I’m glad you didn’t, otherwise, we never would have met.”

  Alec glanced back at the university. “I’ve been struggling with what I’m meant to be for a while.”

  “I know.”

  “I thin
k I understand now. With what I can learn at the university, and with the easar paper, I can help more people. I think… I think that’s what I’m meant to do.”

  Sam smiled and said nothing. He was right, but that left her with more questions about herself. She wished she had Alec’s self-awareness.

  “What now for you?” Alec asked, feeling a sadness at the question. It was basically acknowledging that their partnership would not continue.

  “They said I can come to the palace and study. That it’s where Kavers study.” She gave him a thoughtful look, almost expectant. “It means that you and I can continue to work together. You can study at the university and I can study…” She looked over at the palace, finding it difficult to believe that she would be able to go there and learn, a lowborn suddenly at the palace.

  “As much as that should thrill you, given that I think you’re saying we could continue to work together, to see each other, why do I get the sense that you’re not entirely thrilled by that idea?”

  “Because I’m lowborn. At least, I always thought I was lowborn.” She looked up at Alex then once again turned her attention to the palace. Hadn’t she always longed to be more than a lowborn? Why did she hesitate now? “And now? What am I now, Alec? I’ve been wondering that since meeting you, and then you were called to the university. I wanted to be something more than a thief and thought that maybe I never could be.”

  “What are you saying, Sam?”

  “You know what you’re meant to be, but I—”

  He hugged her tight, pulling her close. He was strong—stronger than he admitted to himself, a trait that Sam had found endearing. “You’re Sam. And that is enough.”

  * * *

  Grab Poisoned: The Book of Maladies 3.

  Betrayed. Broken. Poisoned.

  No longer alone, Sam and Alec struggle to find time to continue their studies together. Sam knows that she is more than the lowborn she’d long believed, now living and training in the palace, but still doesn’t feel as if she quite fits in. Worse, it seems as if Alec has moved on without her, preferring his new life in the university.

  Alec has quickly risen in rank, but that only draws attention to him. Learning from master physickers has its benefits, but there are dangers and he’s not certain whether he can trust the new friends he’s made. Evidence continues to mount of a conspiracy within the university, and it’s one he’ll need Sam’s help in understanding.

  While Alec tries to reach out to Sam, she searches for Marin and answers that might unlock her full potential. What she finds instead is a threat to the safety in the city, protections that have long prevented the Thelns from reaching Verdholm, if they haven’t already breached them.

  Together, they are the key to stopping Marin, but can they master their new places in the city in time?

  Names and Terms

  People:

  Aelus Stross: An apothecary and skilled healer. Alec’s father

  Alec Stross: an apprentice apothecary

  Bastan: a thief who essentially runs Caster

  Hyp: a moneylender in the Arrend section who frequents Aelus’s shop

  Mags: a painter with a unique talent

  Marcella Rubbles: owner of a stationary store in Arrend

  Marin: a thief who knew Sam’s mother

  Samara (Sam) Elseth: a thief

  Trayson (Tray) Elseth: Sam’s brother

  Places and Terms:

  Arrend section: a merchant section

  Balan Day: a day to celebrate the festival god

  canal eels: possibly mythical creatures living in the canals

  Callesh section: a merchant section

  Caster section: a lowborn outer section of the city

  Central Canal: the canal that separates the lowborn sections from the merchants and highborns

  Drash section: a merchant section

  easar paper: magical paper

  Farnum section: a merchant section

  Highborn: a term for the wealthier living in the center of the city

  Jaku section: a highborn section where easar paper was found.

  Kyza: one of the many gods worshipped in Verdholm

  Lostin section: a merchant section

  Lowborn: a term for people living in the outer sections of the city

  Lycithan: a southern nation. Known for their skilled artisans.

  Narvin Plains: east of the city, thin stretch of land

  Physicker: healers with specialized training at the university

  Piare River: connects to Ralan Bay and the canals

  Ralan Bay: a trading hub along the coast of Verdholm

  Sacred Alms: the healing religion Alec follows

  Sornum: Bastan’s tavern

  Thelns: dangerous brutes

  Valun: a country known for various artifacts, including the stout rope Sam uses

  Verdholm: an isolated city situated near the coast with canals running through it separating it into different sections

  Yisl: one of the many gods worshipped in Verdholm

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Broken: The Book of Maladies. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.

  I’m also always happy to hear from readers! Email me at dkh@dkholmberg.com. I try to respond to each message. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook as well!

  Review link HERE.

  All my best,

  D.K. Holmberg

  p.s. If you haven’t signed up already, subscribe to my newsletter for a few free books as well as to be the first to hear about new releases and the occasional giveaway.

  For more information:

  www.dkholmberg.com

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Also by D.K. Holmberg

  The Collector Chronicles

  Shadow Hunted

  Shadow Games

  Shadow Trapped

  The Shadow Accords

  Shadow Blessed

  Shadow Cursed

  Shadow Born

  Shadow Lost

  Shadow Cross

  Shadow Found

  The Dark Ability

  The Dark Ability

  The Heartstone Blade

  The Tower of Venass

  Blood of the Watcher

  The Shadowsteel Forge

  The Guild Secret

  Rise of the Elder

  The Sighted Assassin

  The Binders Game

  The Forgotten

  Assassin’s End

  The Teralin Sword

  Soldier Son

  Soldier Sword

  Soldier Sworn

  Soldier Saved

  Soldier Scarred