Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) by Dawn Peers Page B

legitimacy?”
    “I wouldn’t dream of disturbing the King.
Please, don’t."
    “I’m sure if it means the difference between
us victory and defeat, Vance will not mind. I’ll make sure we have
healer standing by, just in case he stretches himself.”
    “No; please Sammah no. I’ll bring my men
around, we can’t put Vance in any more danger than he is already
in. It’s bad enough that he’s already lost his wife."
    “I know, the lady Eleska—so beautiful, and so
young. It was tragic. This is why Shiver needs to be brought to
heel. Him, his sons, and all of his filthy allies."
    The door creaked open, and Neyv crept in the
room. She was carrying everything as instructed. Such a charming
little girl.
    “Is this a new serving girl? I don’t think
I’ve seen her before.”
    “No my lords, she’s been a part of my retinue
for quite some time. She is just obedient, and therefore difficult
to notice."
    “Not a bad thing to have!”
    “Indeed my lords, I’d gotten so used to my
children being out of line I’d quite forgotten what it’s like to
have obedient ones.”
    Erran laughed
nervously. “You must have been horrified at the way that
empath behaved.”
    “That’s one way to put it, when one of your
children tries to instigate a war. Still, when your father caused
the last wars between our kingdoms... I tried not to blame the girl
for the crimes of her father. I desperately tried to heal her, but
she couldn’t be helped. There was no stopping her becoming corrupt,
just like Nerren had been. The final straw was with the death of
Alec. I’m sure she didn’t do it on her own, she was just a slight
girl. Here, she was well in with Eden of Sevenspells, and now the
name of that province is mentioned again. We can’t seem to turn
anywhere without Shiver’s intrigues turning up. The man’s beginning
to infuriate me."
    “And all of us. Here, let’ s raise a drink to our victory. ”
    “That is most certainly something I can drink
to.”
    Neyv filled the glasses. She handed them out,
not uttering a single word.
    “Can you talk, lass?"
    Instead of responding to Erran, Neyv dropped
her eyes and gave him a small curtsey. Sammah answered for her.
“She’s a shy thing. She just likes to do what I tell her, and
complete her studies. She will make an excellent wife for someone
one day”
    “Indeed. Rather dull though, don’t you
think?”
    “I’d rather dull and obedient, than pretty
and reckless.”
    Neyv just bobbed her head again and left the
room. She didn’t like the way the lords were talking, but it was
the way of men. She had it all the time, and she didn’t speak
against them. There was no point. She could get them to change
their minds, but that wouldn’t mean they would really believe what
they were saying. Neyv had always found that people told her what
she wanted them to hear, but when she was out of earshot and people
forgot they had seen her, their old ways of thinking came back
again. The longer she studied people, the more she wanted to find a
way to make them permanently change their minds.
    She wanted to be friends with Quinn for that.
Sammah had been so intent that the girl could control emotions, and
Neyv had thought that, with her and Quinn together, they could have
made the world a better place. But Quinn wasn’t here, and she had
betrayed their father. So Neyv would have to do things on her own,
and it seemed her father had the best way of doing that. She took a
seat in the antechamber, her knees together sitting on a plain
wooden chair. She placed a hand on each knee, and stared straight
ahead at the plain wall. Her back was straight, her chin high. Neyv
stayed there for the next four hours until Sammah staggered out.
She barely moved; it was like a child had placed a doll there, and
left it behind. Here was Sammah, to pick her back up again.
    “I need you Neyv.”
    “Of course,"
    Neyv trotted back into the room, and could
see that the lords were blind drunk. She didn’t