Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) (16 page)

“Quinn!”

Eden tried to get through to her. He knew
that somewhere in there, Quinn could still be reasoned with. He
could understand why she was doing this. If he’d woken up to Rowan
throttling him, he’d have tried to defend himself, too.

“Quinn, please, it’s me. Please, stop
this!”

Eden glanced at his brother, and wished he
hadn’t. Viscous blood ran from his nose, eyes and ears. His hands
pawed Quinn, trying to find a way to make her stop. His eyes darted
everywhere but down, clouded over. Eden didn’t doubt that at that
point, Rowan was blind.

Eden didn’t want to do it, but he didn’t see
that he had a choice. He pulled back his fist and hit Quinn square
in the side of her jaw. Her head rocked to one side. It was enough
to cut into her concentration, and Rowan dropped off the cot,
hitting the floor with a limp thud. Shiver scrabbled to his son.
Eden collapsed over Quinn, sobbing. All he’d wanted to do was save
her. Better to let her kill Rowan and give her death some purpose.
There was no way that Shiver would let her live now.

Eden wished
Shiver would say something—anything. The tense silence was
unbearable. In the distance he could hear the castle still going
about its daily business, as if an empath hadn’t just tried to
murder a prince. The world wasn’t normal, and as far as Eden was
concerned, it was as good as over.

His marriage to Isabella was meant to be in
the morning. He was attending to his father now as his only healthy
son in residence, and as they waited for the rest of the lords to
gather Eden expected that his wedding would be celebrated by the
execution of a certain empath from Sha’sek.

After Shiver had carried Rowan in his own
arms to the healers, waiting to hear the news that his son would
indeed live, he had thrown Quinn down into a gaol. He had emptied
the rooms around her, commanding that no one was allowed near her.
Whilst she was unconscious, bread and water had been left in her
room. She would wake up and have to use her own intelligence to
figure out what was happening. Shiver was allowing no one near the
woman until he decided what to do with her.

Then he had called a meeting. All of the
lords in attendance at Sevenspells—Calvin, Augyr, and Venn were to
attend. Harn, Shiver’s guard captain would attend, too. That Shiver
hadn’t just swung an axe through Quinn’s neck whilst she lay
unconscious gave Eden a thin sliver of hope. There was no way
though, when the facts were laid out in front of Shiver’s allies,
that they would in any way agree that Quinn should be allowed to
leave Sevenspells breathing.

Shiver didn’t trust Eden enough to leave
Quinn alone, to leave his son unsupervised.
You’re probably the
only person in this castle that could go down there without being
killed
he had said. He was probably right.
If you see that
girl, you’ll try to let her out, whether you want to or not. You
saw what she can do.

Eden had seen. What his father was neglecting
to remember was the fact that, twice now, Rowan had tried to kill
Quinn. What was she meant to do, sit there and let him do it? There
was no point in arguing that with his father. Shiver was angry.
There was no way he’d want to hear Quinn’s side of anything right
now.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be sitting here
discussing the fate of a Sha’sekia
n
woman
—an empath, as history would have it—in my own
home.”

“You have control here, father. It is up to
you
what happens to her.”

“Is it? I’m the one that allowed her here,
Eden, and it was for a reason. Regardless of what she’s done to
Rowan, do I still need to follow through with my original plan? Or
do I have to rethink my entire strategy to take revenge for my
eldest son, who is still alive.”

Eden didn’t understand. Was Shiver seriously
contemplating letting Quinn live? “That… that depends on how
essential you think she is.”

“That’s why I’ve called this meeting. I don’t
trust my own judgement. She’s been here for long enough that she
could have been affecting any of us. I don’t think she would have
been strong enough to manipulate us all, so I’m going to get
everyone’s opinion.”

“Father, until today she wasn’t capable of
doing anything like this at all.”

“Or is that what she
wants
us to
think?”

Eden rubbed his eyes with the heel of his
hand, frustration tempering the headache settling in on his
temples. Their conversations kept going around in circles, and Eden
knew this “
meeting
” would be an absolute
joke. His father was right—he was tempted to go down to Quinn, to
let her out before the inevitable execution was ordered. This
wasn’t her fault. None of this was her fault. She hadn’t asked to
be in Sevenspells, and she hadn’t asked to be born as an empath.
Why didn’t anyone else seem to understand this?

Calvin, Venn, and Augyr did not take long to
arrive. They all asked after Rowan, and Shiver kept his answers
clipped. Rowan was alive, thanks to Eden’s quick reactions, and
they were here to discuss and pass judgement on the empath.

The men took their seats as Harn walked in.
“Has the mess been cleared up?”

“Yes sire. The dead Sha’sekian is being
prepared for burial.”

Tarik. He had seemed like a good man. A
gifted swordsmith like him didn’t deserve to be slaughtered in his
sleep. But, Tarik wasn’t one of their own, so Shiver wouldn’t even
classify that as a crime, would he?

“Good. Close the door. We’ll talk about the
dead one first.

“The empath, at least, stands accused of
attempting to murder my son—a prince of Sevenspells. This man, this
Tarik, came to us already near death. I didn’t see how he was
killed, but nothing much was left to the imagination. Rowan hasn’t
woken up. I expect our son to tell me that the empath caused him,
in an uncommon rage, to kill this…swordsman. Of course, the council
is unlikely to believe this, and at this point, we do not want to
antagonise them. What do you suggest we do?”

Calvin shrugged. “Do we have to do anything?
His people know that he’s here, but do they know how he came to us?
If they don’t ask, we don’t tell.”

“That’s what I thought, Lord Calvin, but
hiding the body does not sit well with me. I don’t want this man’s
corpse in our grounds.”

“Then just throw him in the river. He’ll go
out to sea. Eventually he might even make it back to his own kind.
We don’t have to worry about him then, do we?”

Augyr’s offhanded comment was ridiculous, as
if he weren’t talking about the body of a man that Eden had spoken
to, and trained with, not so long ago. If that was how much the men
advising his father cared, then Quinn’s fate was already
decided.

“I was contemplating sending the body back…a
peace gesture if you will.”

Shiver stroked along his jawline. None of the
lords answered this, so Eden decided to step in. “
I don
’t think Pax will react, no matter what we do.
Remember my first message? He wants us to destroy each other. Even
if you sent Tarik back to him for a proper burial, he’s not going
to retaliate.”

“Can we trust this boy?” Venn sounded
spiteful, though Shiver didn’t take his words well.

“This
boy
is still my son. Remember
your place. Eden saved Rowan’s life.”

“Eden is the reason she’s here!”

“
Sammah
is the reason she is here,”
Eden snarled at Venn. This lord had been annoying Eden since their
time in Everfell. He nipped at the heels of everyone that seemed to
be a threat. Eden wasn’t going to stand for it any more. “Without
him, she wouldn’t have been used in court. She wouldn’t have been
exiled, gone across the Sighs, and ended up as Pax’s plaything
instead.”

Venn sneered at Eden. “I see which side
you’
re still on,
Prince
Eden.”

“Enough, Venn! We’re not here to judge Eden.
He’s experienced more than any of us. He’s been to Sha’sek, and
fought Sammah. He’s seen what that girl can do, and he’s the only
one of us that the girl likely doesn’t want to kill on sight.
Whatever we do, we have to take his words seriously. Whether I
believe him or not is another matter—but his opinion
must
be
taken into account.”

“I thought the marriage of our children was
on the understanding that Eden was one of ours, Shiver.”

“I assure you Augyr, we are
all
here
for the good of the kingdom. All we want is to get rid of Sammah.
That must be our paramount aim. With Sammah controlling that
throne, we are helpless. No matter what Eden thinks Baron Pax does
or does not want to do, with Sammah in Everfell, they have a
stronghold in our lands.

“What do you think we should do, for the best
of the kingdom?”

Augyr chewed over his words. “If we return
Tarik, and fabricate a story, then perhaps Pax will look on it as a
kind gesture. It might win us more time whilst we decide how to
deal with Sammah.”

“Yes. That’s kind of contribution I needed.
Does anyone else see a problem with this?”

“How do we get him back? What men do we risk
in this? We can’t send our own over there. Eden’s been once, and
they were attacked.”

“I told you before, I was attacked by Sammah.
I’m certain of it. He was trying to goad his brother into action.
It failed.”

“This Pax,” Shiver asked, intrigue colouring
his voice, “you have heard a lot from him, yes? He is the one in
control?”

“He leads the council. They follow his
guidance in most things.”

“He’s the eldest, yes? The leader of his
house?”

“His family rules Farn, yes.”

Shiver sighed, waving at
Harn.
“Fetch me some wine. I’m going to need something to
get me through this conversation.” Harn complied in silence.
Apparently his input wasn’
t needed.
“We
think that, no matter what we do with this Tarik, Pax will not
retaliate at finding out he is dead?”

“He’s a swordmaster, but he’s not the only
one. Remember the one that studied here?”

Shiver twisted his face. “If I’d been
attending court he wouldn’t have been allowed to stay. But I
remember your story. So, they don’t care if their gifted die?”

“I can’t speak for everyone. I just know that
Pax is trying to keep out of this fight. If we send Tarik back, or
even send word of his death, then Pax is not going to send men for
vengeance.”

“Then we send word first. That can’t be a bad
thing. If he wants his man back for a decent burial, then Pax can
send a ship. Does everyone think this sounds right?”

The lords shrugged, and Venn spoke up. “I
can’t think of anything better, your highness.” The others nodded
in agreement. Eden tensed up. Quinn was next.

“Onto more pressing matters. I have isolated
the empath, after what happened to Rowan. It appears the old
rumours are true…she is able to use her ability to manipulate the
emotions of others. We believe that she tried to kill Rowan using
her empathic abilities. She is not experienced with them, if what
Eden says is true, so I believe Rowan is only alive because of her
lack of skill. That, and the quick reactions of Eden in knocking
her out.

“We cannot risk her affecting any more of
us.”

“Then the answer is simple. We kill her.”

Shiver slapped his hands down on the table,
scaring Venn. “If it was that simple, I wouldn’t even be asking
you. I would have killed her myself.”

“What are you thinking, your highness?”

“She is a strong Sha’sekian. Her own people
fear her. She
is
capable of some scary things. And, if I’m
not mistaken, she still hates her father.”

“You’re going to send her to Everfell?”

“I’
m considering
it.
”

Eden clenched his fists together. His palms
were sweaty. He didn’t want to respond at this point. He felt that
a wrong word from him would cause the situation to swing
irrevocably the wrong way. Eden had a chance here, in this meeting,
of saving Quinn’s life. Eden saw his father glancing at him out of
the corner of his eye. Shiver was expecting Eden to speak at this
point. Eden decided to disappoint him.

“My question is the same as for Tarik—how
does she get there?”

Shiver tapped the side of his nose. “I hadn’t
thought about that. I can’t get her all the way to Everfell
unconscious. She’s going to need to do it voluntarily.”

“How are you going to convince her of
that?”

“I need to use her hatred of Sammah. The only
weapon I have is our mutual hatred of that man.”

“
If we can
’t get
near her to ask the question,”

“Then we need someone she trusts to ask.
Eden?”

Eden balled his hands into fists and faced
his father. “Yes?”

“If I want Quinn to help us go back to
Everfell to kill her father, do you think she’
ll
do it?
”

“Quinn doesn’t want to go back there.
Everfell is where Pax was going to send her, to placate
Sammah.”

“But neither Pax nor Sammah know how powerful
Quinn has become, so we could use that against them. Quinn
could
have a chance to beat Sammah?”

“How? If she found it hard before to use her
power against her father, and she wasn’t able to kill Rowan, who
has no defence, then will she be able to defeat Sammah?”

“Should I give her the chance? What I’m
asking you, Eden, is should I let her try, or should I have her
killed now?”

This was it. Shiver wasn’t going to let Quinn
live if she stayed in Sevenspells. Sammah could kill her, but at
least then Quinn had a chance. And if she did slay Sammah, perhaps
Eden could help her escape. She could get out of this alive,
somehow. There had to be a way. “I think you should let her
try.”