“Back again so soon?”
The captain didn’t sound happy about Quinn being back on board his ship. She couldn’t console him that she wasn’t happy to be there either. The man looked miserable beyond belief. Quinn would be too, if she was forced to traverse the Sighs as often as he did. She wondered how he hadn’t gone insane, and quickly decided he was not a gifted navigator, like some ship captains she had heard of.
“The sooner you get me on board, the sooner you can get rid of me.”
“The sailing weather seems fine, so it’s just the sea itself we need to cope with.” Quinn was wary at his phrasing, but there was no way she could escape this. All she could do was trust in the captain, and hope that she and Eden would still be together by the end of the crossing.
* * *
“Ho there! Quinn! You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Can I help you unburden yourself?”
Tarik danced up the deck towards her, dodging men as they carried boxes on board. Ross and Eden were helping, showing they were capable to the crew. Tarik wasn’t burdened with such insecurity.
“You can, actually. Can we carry on with my lessons?”
“Really? I thought you hated my lessons. This is your opportunity to be rid of them.”
“You’ll keep me from staying in my own head, Tarik, and right now that’s a dark and depressing place to be.”
Tarik looked across at the horizon. “Yes, I can imagine it is. What were you like the first time? It wasn’t good, I take it?”
“When I made the crossing I thought I was going to be staying in Sha’sek. I was so relieved to be past it. I never wanted to experience anything like that again, and here I am, forced back through it. I’m hoping at least, if I do some training, anything to take my mind of my abilities, it’ll lessen the effects once we get out there.”
“What did you tell your lord? Does he know what happened to you the first time?”
“No, though it wasn’t a complete lie. I told him I couldn’t control myself.”
“And he thinks you meant that you could feel everything again?”
Quinn nodded, not able to voice the answer. Tarik grunted. “Well, I suppose the best thing we could do is keep you in your quarters, away from everyone else.”
“I won’t be a danger, not this time.” Quinn’s voice was hard and determined.
“How can you know? The Sighs don’t come to order, and they don’t give you any warning. We might sail through without a problem, don’t forget.”
“That comes down to luck, doesn’t it?”
“No, and that’s the only reason this crossing is used so much. As the myth goes, the more gifted on board, the more the Sighs are likely to seek out your ship. Look around you.”
“What? Me and you?”
“There might be some men on board with lesser gifts. Nothing so much that we should be bothered about, but enough for the Sighs to be interested in us. But, the main thing we have on board is you. I think the Sighs take an interest whenever there’s an empath in their midst.”
“Why did I have to be born this way? I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t want to be Sammah’s daughter. I don’t want to be Pax’s pawn. I thought that, when Vance exiled me to Sha’sek, I’d be free.”
“No one is free, girl. No matter how old we get, or how wise, we always have other people making our decisions for us.”
“The baron seems to be making a lot of his own choices.”
“You think that’s right? He’s making decisions that he thinks are for the good of Sha’sek. He believes he is sparing others from making those hard choices. Like his brother, he thinks we serve a higher purpose, that the people of Sha’sek deserve more than they have. The way you were treated in Everfell has only reinforced that opinion, I fear.”
“It was Sammah who treated me poorly in Everfell, not anyone else. Why does there have to be conflict at all?”
“Because, so long as the people of Everfell fear us, there will always be conflict between our people. It has to end, somehow, and the only way it has ever looked like ending, is through bloodshed.”
“But that’s ridiculous! Why can’t they just talk? Lynton has lived in Farn. Why can’t he just tell Vance what Sha’sek is really like. Rhi’s singing, dancing troupes, they’re not dangerous people. Everfell has nothing to fear!”
“You don’t think that’s been tried? That they didn’t try to stop war the first time? We’re not fools, Quinn. Peace was rejected.”
“That was years ago, though, Tarik. Can’t they try again? Times have changed. There must be a peaceful way of fixing this.”
“You’d think that, as a man gifted effectively to kill others, I would prefer the wars. Do you have any idea how depressing it is to know that your special gift is only any good for destroying life?”
“Do you know what it feels like to know what everyone else is thinking? Without wanting it, you know if someone is lying to you, or despises you?” Quinn countered. She wasn’t sure which one was worse, but she wasn’t going to give Tarik the sympathy he was looking for. Eden headed towards them, wiping his hands on his trousers.
“Everything and everyone is on board.” Eden went to Quinn, taking one of her hands in his. “Are you okay? Do you need me to speak to the crew?”
“There’s nothing they can do about it, Eden. I think it would be best if I stayed on my own, in a cabin through the whole crossing. Don’t let me out. That way I can try to keep distracted.”
Eden looked horrified. “I’m not going to leave you on your own during this crossing, Quinn. Especially not across the Sighs.”
Quinn didn’t want to put Eden at risk; she didn’t trust herself, nor her control of her extended powers, with Eden being the only focus of her attention. The intense pain she’d felt with the malice she’d directed at the mercenary before propelling him overboard. With that kind of ability, what could she possibly do to Eden, left alone with him? Her heart had leapt when she’d seen him walk into that ballroom, and despite his injuries, she’d seen the way he’d looked at her. She’d felt his desire, and her own matched it. If the Sighs made her lose control—and worse, made her bend others to her own will, what could she do to Eden without restraint?
As whistles rang out and sailors started to dart around her, the ship lurched out of port. She saw the baron, the malicious grin still on his face, standing on the jetty watching her leave. She didn’t hail him. She never wanted to see his face again. Sha’sek; Everfell. It didn’t matter where she was. People wanted to control her; they wanted her power. They didn’t want Quinn. She wrapped her arm around Eden’s waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. He shrouded her in a hug and Quinn ignored Tarik’s snort, as her swordmaster stalked off, presumably to find his cabin.