The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set

by Heidi Catherine

  “There are ten people in front of me, including the Conductor himself,” he said, crossing his arms. “It could take years. And the last thing in the world I want to be is the Conductor. It’s a position of pure evil.”

  “I know that.” She reached out a hand and touched his cheek. “You don’t have an evil bone in your body. That’s why it has to be you.”

  “The King would have me killed. What good would I be to you then?” He took her hand from his cheek and held it.

  “Think about it,” she said again. “Together, we can figure this out.”

  “I’m already figuring it out.” He squeezed her hand. “There’s someone here we can trust. She’ll help us.”

  “Who?” Micah tried not to feel put out. She wanted to be the one to help Jeremiah.

  He hesitated. Surely, he knew he could trust her!

  “Who?” she asked again. “One of the Whisperers?”

  He shook his head. “The Princess. Rose. She’s… my friend.”

  “Whoa!” Micah was genuinely lost for words. Jeremiah knew the Princess?

  “Surprise!” Jeremiah smirked.

  “I think you’ve topped all my surprises put together.” She shook her head, trying to take all this in. “You sure she’s good? You trust her with your life?”

  “I trust her with both our lives.”

  There was a look in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. Was Jeremiah in love with the Princess? This was another thing she’d joked about with Tallis. Surely it couldn’t have come true. Princesses didn’t fall in love with Whisperers.

  Jeremiah smiled at her, and she knew what he was saying was more than possible. All the girls in the valley had been in love with her brother. The Princess may be a princess, but she was also a girl. Why should she be any different?

  “Tell her about my idea,” said Micah. “She’ll agree with me. I’m certain of it.”

  “I need to get you back to the bathroom,” he said, not seeming to want to discuss her idea any further. “You’ve taken a big enough risk already. Please don’t do this again.”

  “I can’t promise you that.” She grinned, not wanting to lie to him.

  “First, quickly, tell me how Ma and Da are. Was the baby a boy or a girl?” His face lit up in a way that broke her heart. What words could she use to tell him that awful truth?

  She shook her head, quickly, looking to the floor, not wanting to see his face as she gave him this news. “It’s just us now. Da didn’t last long. Ma joined him shortly after, before the baby had a chance to be born.”

  Jeremiah stood very still, clearly needing a few moments to compose himself after hearing this news.

  “No,” he said, tears spilling from his eyes. “No, it can’t be true. What about the food and medicine the King promised?”

  She shook her head again, not needing words to let him know the King’s promise was a lie.

  “And our house?”

  She shook her head once more, wishing she had some better news for him.

  “So, I came here for… nothing? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted the King.” He stepped away from her and paced the room. It was a lot for him to take in. But she’d had to tell him the truth. Lies were for the King. She was better than him. They all were.

  “I’ve been on my own this whole time,” she said, going to him and putting her hand on his arm. “Now do you understand why I came for you? You’re all I’ve got.”

  He nodded, wiping his tears with the back of his hand and pulling himself together. She knew he’d grieve properly later when he had a moment to let his thoughts settle. “I’m not happy you came… I wish you didn’t… although…”

  “You’re happy to see me?” she prompted.

  He nodded and drew her into an embrace again. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

  “You might not, if I don’t get back to the bathroom.”

  “How were you planning on that?” A frown crossed his face.

  “I didn’t really think that far ahead,” she admitted.

  He rolled his eyes. “Help me get these robes into the water and fill the crate with yesterday’s dry towels. You’ll have to hide in it again when I take it back to swap with today’s wet towels. If you climb out at the bathroom wearing a towel you should be able to join the others.”

  “Looks like I’ll be staying dirty for another day,” she said, helping him remove the robes from the crate and dropping them into the vat of water as he added some powder from a bucket. “No shower for me.”

  “Since when did that bother you?”

  “Hey!” She breathed a sigh, glad to see him joking with her again. The news she’d just given him had been a massive blow. He was going to need time to process it all.

  “Have you seen Tallis?” he asked, as they worked.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Did he take care of you? Because if he didn’t, then—”

  “No! Jeremiah. He did. He was wonderful. I shouldn’t have said that you’re all I’ve got, because honestly, he was so good to me. I lived with his family for a while, but I was a burden to them and I ran away. He came to find me. He’s been a good friend to me.”

  He really had. The best kind of friend. He was the only thing she missed outside the palace. Her dragon, who’d carried her on his back when she was a child, then did his best to look out for her when times got even tougher than before. The only reason he hadn’t done more for her was because she hadn’t let him.

  Jeremiah was looking at her with a strange expression.

  “What?” she said.

  “Nothing. I’m just glad he took care of you when I couldn’t.”

  She nodded and added another robe to the vat of water.

  “I meant it when I said not to do this again,” he said, reaching the bottom of the crate. “Emergencies only.”

  He was right. Being caught would be disastrous. Her plan depended on Jeremiah becoming the Conductor. If he was sent to the dungeon and placed in the back row again, they were doomed. He was so close. Tenth in line to the top job.

  “Look away for a moment,” she said, reaching for a towel and adding her own robe to the vat. She wrapped herself in the towel and climbed back into the empty crate.

  “Pass the bucket of soap powder,” she said, reaching out her hand.

  “You’re still bossy,” he said, bringing her the powder. “Why do you need this?”

  “Might come in handy.” She took a large handful and held it tightly in her palm as she climbed into the crate and positioned herself in a corner. Jeremiah filled it with dry towels, which had been neatly folded, presumably by another Whisperer during their morning chores.

  “I missed you,” she said, as Jeremiah was about to place the final towel on top of her head.

  “I missed you, too.” He winked as he covered her over and pushed her from the room.

  It’d been a risk, but one that was worth taking. If the Conductor killed her now, she couldn’t say she’d die happy, however, at least she’d die with a little closure. It’d been so good to be back by her brother’s side once more.

  Jeremiah wheeled the crate through the palace and Micah closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being safe, despite that not being the case at all. But for the moment, she was buried among clean towels being wheeled through a palace by her brother. Her brother who was in love with the Princess! It was going to take her a long time to come to terms with that as an idea. There was no doubt that the Princess would be a very powerful ally. If she agreed with Micah’s plan, then there’d be no stopping them.

  The crate came to a stop and Micah’s eyes sprung open. Jeremiah tapped the towel on top of her head to indicate he was leaving her, and she waited for the palace worker to wheel the crate back into the bathroom.

  Once back inside, she peered out from beneath the towels, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

  The last of the women were emerging from the shower hall and heading toward their hygiene inspection with the
ir towels wrapped around them. This was Micah’s best chance.

  The moment the palace worker turned her back, Micah jumped up and threw the washing powder across the room. It landed on the opposite wall and exploded like a water bomb completely covering the Whisperer at the front of the queue, waiting for her hygiene check.

  The worker blew her whistle and Micah slid from the crate and joined the back of the queue. The Whisperer in front of her shifted her head slightly, making Micah wonder if she’d noticed, but she remained calm. It wasn’t worth the risk for this Whisperer to draw any attention to herself. There was enough happening in the bathroom already.

  Two guards came running at the sound of the whistle, their attention focused on the Whisperer with powder stuck to her damp skin.

  “Again?” said one of the guards, taking her roughly by the arm. “What is it with you Whisperers today?”

  “Congratulations,” said the second guard, grabbing her other arm. “You’re off on a little holiday.”

  Guilt wrapped its way around Micah’s middle. This was her fault. She’d caused this. The fear on the woman’s face, not understanding what had just happened to her, was an image Micah was going to need to learn to deal with. Because something told her that it was an image she was never going to be able to get out of her mind. Her need to talk to her brother had cost that poor woman a trip to the dungeon. It had perhaps cost her even more than that.

  As she caught a glimpse of the woman’s frightened face when she was dragged away, a memory turned over in the back of Micah’s mind. She knew that woman. She’d seen her sleeping by Jeremiah’s left side in the arena. That meant she was the ninth Whisperer. With her in the dungeon, Jeremiah was no longer tenth in line. He was ninth.

  A small smile wrapped its way across Micah’s face and she suppressed it, forcing her guilt to the surface once more to remove it completely from her face.

  Without even meaning to, she’d gotten Jeremiah one step closer to taking on the most powerful position in the palace.

  One down. Nine to go.

  But how?

  ROSE

  EIGHT

  Rose hid from her mother in Eliza’s room. Not that it was particularly hard to hide from a woman who’d just given birth. Her mother couldn’t exactly go looking for her. Although, it was a bit of a shame that the actual birthing bit happened in her bedchamber. Or perhaps ironic was a better word than shame. Ironic that her father’s chosen heir was born in the bed of the true heir.

  That was if what her mother had told her was true of course. Was her father really planning to kill her and her sisters?

  She wrapped her arm around her younger sister’s waist and drew in the smell of her freshly washed hair. Eliza liked to sleep late, not necessarily because she was tired, but because there was nothing else for her to do. Rose and her sisters hadn’t been outside the palace since their birth. Not even to walk in the palace grounds.

  She’d never understood why, although the reason was becoming clearer by the moment. Their father hadn’t wanted anyone to see them. Perhaps if the people didn’t see them, they’d forget they existed. They would certainly mourn them less if something unexpected were to happen to them.

  She wondered why he hadn’t just had them killed at birth? Although that reason was becoming clearer too. Until her father had a son, there was a chance he’d need his daughters to prevent his much-detested twin sister getting anywhere near his precious throne. Rose may be blind to some of the inner workings of the palace, but to this, her eyes were wide open. There was nothing her father hated more in this world than his sister.

  Rose had met her Aunt Georgia a few times and couldn’t understand what the problem was. She was everything her twin brother was not. Kind. Warm. Intelligent. If only she’d pushed ahead of him on their race to exit their mother’s womb. Aunt Georgia would make a far better ruler than her father. Perhaps that in itself was what his problem was with her? He was threatened.

  As much as Rose had hated hearing her mother tell her the truth about her father, she knew she was right. Her father wanted her dead. The only reason she was still alive was because her father had needed her in case something happened to him before his son was born. She was his insurance. An insurance that was no longer needed.

  She’d heard her brother squawk through the walls of the palace a few hours before sunrise. Her innocent brother whose birth would cause her death. Prince Virtus. It wasn’t his fault, although she was going to have to try hard not to resent him. If her father got his way, she wouldn’t be resenting him for long. It was hard to resent someone when you were dead.

  Maybe she should have taken her sisters and run? Maybe she still should? But how could she leave without Jeremiah after she’d promised him she’d get him and his sister out?

  She let out a slow breath as she realized she couldn’t get anyone out of the palace if her father succeeded in killing her.

  There was only one possible solution to this. She needed to kill her father before he had the chance to kill her. It was time for the prey to be the predator. She was smarter than him, of that she was sure.

  Eliza groaned in her sleep at the exact moment Rose remembered that killing her father was impossible. One of his first Whispers had been for his safety. He was untouchable. There was no point in even trying. She had to be even smarter than smart to figure this out.

  What she needed was to put out a Whisper of her own. One more powerful than her father’s Whispers. But how? The Conductor worked for her father alone. And he didn’t seem to be the sort of man who could be corrupted or bribed. Perhaps she needed to kill him first.

  At the thought of all this killing, she looked down at her hands, turning them to study her palms. Were these the hands of a killer? Was she capable of doing such a thing, even to someone as evil as the Conductor?

  The door to Eliza’s bedchamber opened, slowly. She looked across to see Jeremiah standing there holding her breakfast tray.

  His eyes widened at the sight of her, then he broke into a grin.

  “I was worried about you,” he said quietly, glancing at Eliza to be sure she was asleep. “Your bedchamber was empty.”

  Rose crawled out of bed, careful not to wake her sister.

  Jeremiah set the tray down on the table and she smiled to notice he’d done it silently, despite there being no need.

  “I thought my mother was in my bedchamber,” she said, taking him by the hand, so grateful that he’d spoken to her again. She was afraid he’d have thought about it and regretted his decision and would fall silent again. “She had the baby in there, so I stayed with Eliza last night.”

  “The Queen’s been moved back to her own room.” He ran his thumb across the back of her hand, sending warm waves down her spine. Was this what it felt like to be in love? Had her mother ever felt like this about her father? She doubted it. Perhaps her father had once felt like this for her mother, if his heart was indeed capable of feeling things like love.

  “How’s your sister?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

  “I saw her,” he said. “We spoke.”

  “How did you manage that?” Rose could hardly believe it.

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “She has a crazy plan. She wanted me to tell you about it.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “Just a little. You can trust Micah.” Rose wondered what he’d said to her. Had he talked about his feelings, or just stuck to the facts? Did he even have any feelings for her or was she just a way for him to get himself out of here? No, she could see the way he felt in his eyes. He loved her. She was certain of it.

  “What’s her plan?” Rose asked. “Maybe it’s not so crazy.”

  The truth was that Rose didn’t have any kind of plan. Perhaps Jeremiah’s sister’s idea would give them a place to start.

  Jeremiah lifted his free hand to brush some hair away from Rose’s face, a gesture only her mother had used with her before. She caught his hand and lightly kissed
his fingertips.

  He drew in a breath and held it, his eyes never leaving her own.

  “She thinks I need to be the Conductor,” he said.

  At these words, Rose dropped his hand and stepped back, needing some air to think. She’d only just been thinking about killing the Conductor. Was this a sign that she was supposed to do exactly that? Still, she didn’t think she had it in her.

  “Don’t tell me you think it’s a good idea too?” He ran his hand over his shaved head and Rose wondered what his hair had looked like before it was taken from him. Hopefully one day she’d get to find out.

  “What position are you in the arena?” she asked. “It has to be close to the front. You’ve been here for so long.”

  “I was tenth until last night, when I moved up a place. I’m ninth now. See, it’s impossible. It’ll take ages for me to move up any more places.”

  “If we can somehow get those who are in front of you sent to the dungeon and gather the courage to kill, or at least injure the Conductor, then maybe—”

  “Rose!” He shook his head. “You’re sounding like Micah now. She said you’d like her plan. I can’t believe she was right.”

  “Maybe she’s right about everything. Maybe this is the only way we can turn the tables on my father. Surely that has to be better than running and hiding, hoping that things get better when they’re only going to get worse with my father on the throne. This evil has to end sometime.” She had to find a way to make him understand.

  “How does me being Conductor turn any tables?”

  She took a step closer to him again. “Because if you’re Conductor, you can change the Whisper. Think about it.”

  “Between you and Micah, I already have too much to think about.”

  “I like Micah.” Rose grinned.

  “She’d like you too.” He quickly took Eliza’s breakfast items from the tray and set them on the table.

  Rose glanced at her sleeping sister. She’d wake soon. It was surprising she hadn’t woken already with all the excited talk around her.