Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) by Dawn Peers

were already tied up. Without hailing or
greeting either of them, he secured his stallion and fed it from a
bag he grabbed from the saddle. Quinn grunted in frustration. She
hadn’t even thought of feeding her horse, let alone giving it a
drink. They had water in skeins. She hadn’t even bothered to find
out the nearest water source. And she had expected to survive out
here on her own? The horses hadn’t drunk all day. Quinn glanced
over at them in the dwindling twilight. Was that… foam around
their mouths? When would they need to drink next, before they
started to fall ill?
    Maertn walked up beside her and whispered in
her ear, “What’s up with him? He said anything yet?”
    Quinn batted her hand at him in frustration.
“No,” she hissed, “and I’m not about to disturb him now. Look at
what he’ s doing. ”
    “What?”
    “Feeding the horses! We haven’t even thought
of doing that yet.”
    “You might not have, but I did.”
    “When?”
    “Earlier, when you were chasing around our
bedding still. They haven’t had that much, but it was something,
and I watered them.”
    Quinn blushed. So maybe Maertn was thinking
of things, and she was the child out on the road. Regardless, she
had been firmly put in her place, and she realised that the road to
Sha’sek was going to be a long one.
     
    * * *
     
    After what seemed like an agonising wait,
whilst the chamberlain silently organised his gear without hailing
either of them, Ross finally approached. He removed a pair of worn
brown riding gloves, clapping the leather together and hooking them
in his belt. He locked his thumbs into the belt too, and regarded
them with an amused stare. Both of them fidgeted under Ross's gaze,
unused to such scrutiny from anyone but their father. Eventually,
Quinn broke. She didn’t say anything, but she did sense out for
what Ross was feeling. He wasn’t angry, and that was a great
relief, but Quinn was bemused to sense his amusement. As the quiet
stretched, Ross couldn’t keep the grin from his face.
    “What? What’s so funny?” Quinn’s voice was
sharp, and it matched her shortening temper.
    “Well, nothing really. I just didn’t expect
to see you again so soon.”
    “Why are you here Ross?” Maertn asked.
    “Getting straight to the point aye, young
lad? I thought that was Quinn’s job. Still, refreshing to hear you
speak first for once. I’ll be truthful. Essentially, Eden sent
me.”
    Quinn went cold, and Ross sped to fill the
gap his words left. “He’s not coming, Quinn, he can’t leave the
city.”
    “It shouldn’t relieve me, but it does.”
Quinn answered quietly.
    “I know lass, I know. He knows why you left,
though he didn’t accept it at first. You shouldn’t have left him,
the way you did. He’s heartbroken.”
    “He would have only tried to come with me
Ross. Imagine the disruption that would have caused. I had to get
out of the city before I was arrested, and would have been stopped
at the gates whilst they figured out what to do with Eden. What
kind of position is that to be in?”
    “No position at all, I’m not saying what you
did was the wrong thing, I’m just saying it was ungrateful.”
    Quinn’s eyes teared in frustration. “What
else was I meant to do? String him along like a puppy? He is a man
Ross, a lord, and a guard captain. He is able to make his own
decisions.”
    “Aye, and his original decision was to come
with you, though that choice was taken away from him. What he did
point out, though, was that I know a damned sight more about
Sha’sek than both of you combined, and that leaving you to your own
devices was not a good idea on my part. So, I’ve come to join you
both as your official guide. He might be angry at you for leaving
him, Quinn, but he doesn’t want you to die out here.”
    Quinn’s jaw went slack. “Eden convinced you
to follow us? What did he do? How is he?” Her heart had started
beating hard just at the mention of his name, and Quinn felt a pang
of