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

loss. Tears stung her eyes. She dashed them away quickly.
    “Eden’s safe. He’s heartbroken, but he’s not
the one in trouble. He convinced me, yes. To follow you, no. If you
think I’m letting you out of my sight from now until I’m back in
Everfell, or wherever this little adventure leads us, you’ve got
another think coming. I’m under implicit instructions to keep you
alive, and I’m going to be making sure you get back to that boy, no
matter what happens.”
    “What about me? Am I an afterthought?”
Maertn tried to make it sound jovial, but no one missed the hint of
frustration in his voice.
    “On the contrary Maertn, you are the entire
reason I was able to get out of the city in the first place. As far
as the king’ s concerned, I ’m here looking
after you. Unfortunately, Quinn, Vance would rather see you dead.
Not surprising, in the circumstances, but not good news,
nevertheless.”
    “Is he going to send someone to murder me?”
Quinn was suddenly petrified, and Ross was mortified that he had
put such ideas in her head.
    “Spirits, no! Vance isn’t that kind of man.
If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead, don ’t question that. He’s given you your freedom,
and he wouldn’t take that away on a whim. I’m here to make sure
Maertn—and therefore you—make the right choices, not to murder you
in your sleep. Do know which island you are going to? Which nobles
to approach? Which guilds to avoid? Spirits, that last one is the
most important thing, and that, I can teach you. I know many places
that would kidnap and sell an empath for the price of a small
kingdom. You’re a commodity, Quinn, and you don’t even know it.
Maertn, too. You both might be young, but he,” Ross jabbed a finger
at Maertn, “is one of the most talented healers I’ve ever seen in
my life, and I saw my fair share of them during the war.”
    Both of them blushed, unable to dispute
Ross's experiences. They were both grateful for his presence; he
was a reassuring familiar figure of superiority, especially for
Quinn.
    “So, what do we do now?” Quinn’s voice
sounded as small as she felt.
    “I have my own ideas, Quinn, but I need you
to start learning about these decisions; you’ll be out here on your
own one day, and you will only be able to survive by learning what
others know. Do you know where you want to go?”
    Quinn and Maertn shared a sidelong glance.
Their plan to go to Port Kahnel and across to the first island they
landed at was, in retrospect, extremely foolhardy. Quinn was
secretly glad that Ross had come chasing them, and she was certain
without checking that Maertn felt same way. They both looked back
to Ross, Quinn’s former master, now acting as their mentor and
friend.
    “Well, seeing as you’re here, we were hoping
you could tell us.”
    Ross chuckled. “You didn’t have any plan,
did you?”
    “ We weren ’t
exactly given much time to make a plan Ross. Why didn’t you come to
us before?”
    Embarrassed to be asked, but unsurprised by
the question, Ross scratched at the back of his head and muttered
awkwardly. “Well, you could say, I thought I was trying to be more
loyal to Vance. His most dangerous lord has been caught in open
rebellion, so I didn’t think he’d want to see me chasing you into
the desert. I am meant to be chamberlain, after all.”
    “I can understand that,” Maertn replied
without hesitation. “You’ve got to draw a line somewhere, and it’s
not as if you’re with the most popular people in court right
now.”
    “See, that’s where the problem is. You did
just save the king’s life, and that’s why he’s let Quinn go.
Perhaps that’s the real reason he’s let me follow you. King
Vance isn’t heartless, and, regardless of what the opinion around
court is, he isn’t a fool. He knows that by helping you, I’m also
helping Quinn. He also knows that I’m the only person in Everfell
capable of helping you both survive.
    “I have no idea what that man has