Free Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) by Dawn Peers Page A

did it for myself. If
I hadn’t exposed Sammah when I did, I’d have been killed, and
likely father would be next under the baron’s blade. Sammah killed
his consort and we have no idea why. How many others did he kill
after he thought they might expose Quinn’s identity? He wouldn’t
have thought twice about executing me like he did Alec. Sammah
outright told me he would kill our father if it meant it would
better secure his future. So, I thought, better this way. This way,
we can fight Sammah without having to hide our intentions.
Sevenspells will stand side-by-side with the king, fighting Sha’sek
once more. Would you have preferred plotting revenge over our
father’s cold corpse?”
    Eden saw a grin creep out from either side
of the glass before Rowan swallowed the contents in one long gulp.
He discarded the glass, and it shattered on the stone-flagged floor
of their chamber. Eden tried not to look at it, tried not to
flinch, making sure he held his brother’s gaze. River jumped, and
it was easy to tell he was nervous because of the tension in the
room. Eden was desperate for Rowan to believe him and his lies, at
least for now, and for long enough to protect River. Eden didn’t
want his brother to have to choose a side when war broke out within
Sevenspells’ dynasty.
    “You think you’re so close to the king? That
you have influence at court? Have you forgotten that I’m Lord of Sevenspells now? Do you have any idea what I’m going
to be doing tomorrow?”
    Eden frowned, not sure whether this was a
baited trap. Eden had no idea what the king was planning; he wasn’t
sure whether Rowan already knew about the meeting and wanted to
ratify that Eden had the king’s confidence. Hesitating for only a
moment, Eden gambled on the latter. “You’ll be attending the king’s
council.” He waited to see Rowan’s cautious nod before adding, “and
so will I. As the kings chamberlain.”
    Eden was satisfied to see Rowan’s jaw drop.
River’s wine spilled as his hands holding the glass. The wine was
still making its way to Rowan’s stomach, and the acting Lord of
Sevenspells started choking and coughing. River, in a shocked haze,
wandered over to his brother and patted him on the back almost
absentmindedly. Eden suppressed a giggle, though he did allow
himself a smirk.
    “By the spirits, how the hell did you
convince the king to make you his chamberlain?”
    “ I didn’t. You see my lord , if you spent your time, like me,
getting to know the people in court and making allies, rather than
chasing around skirts and drinking like father, you’d have some
allies as well. As it stands, you have none, and I’m left defending
Sevenspells in its time of need.”
    Rowan was still too shocked to respond to
Eden’s outburst. He carried on coughing and staring at his brother,
jaw slack and eyes wide in surprise. Eden continued, “I didn’t have
to ask to be the chamberlain, because Ross himself asked me to
replace him.”
    “Ross is gone?”
    “Ross has gone to guide Quinn and
Maertn.”
    Rowan shook his head, trying to clear make
sense of the situation. “So, the king, after an attempt on his
throne by the Sha’sekian emissary, has allowed the only man in his
court with the knowledge of Sha’sek to leave and keep an exile
alive? And then he’s appointed you, the son of a noble accused of
rebelling against him, to take his chamberlain’ s
place? ”
    It did sound absurd when repeated back like
that, and Eden knew it had been an audacious idea. What no one had
any idea of, was that both Ross and Eden were fundamentally loyal
to the king, and had no intentions of letting anyone else usurp the
throne.
    Eden had no idea anymore where his father’s
loyalties lay, and he knew that Rowan would blindly follow his
father unto death. He was going to have to closely judge each
conversation he had and the company he kept, and keep his wits
about him at all times. He was already exhausted. Now, having to
pander to the