Zoelyn watched him for a long moment, but his gaze never left the window. She had no idea what held his attention so fully, but he apparently found more interest in the shadows than in her. “Should I take Legacy back to Finn, first?” she asked cautiously.
“I will do it,” Seth informed her and pushed back from the window. Turning, he crossed the small entry hall and opened the bedroom door. There was a hint of hesitation in his posture as he stepped through the doorway and then he was returning with Legacy held carefully in his arms.
She studied him as he passed her and swallowed heavily at what Finn had done. Bruises lined both sides of Seth’s face and by the way he was moving she could tell he had other injuries. Her gaze moved to his hands and she stared at the unblemished skin on his knuckles. She had helped Dominic patch up enough brawlers to know what marks fighting left. Seth had none, which meant he hadn’t fought back at all.
Seth paused in the doorway to the hall and glanced back at her. He chewed on his lower lip for a moment and let out a sharp breath. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I regretted my lesson the moment I released your arms. I realized I had pushed you too far when you hit me, and if I could take it back, I would. The only solace I have is that you gained ground on controlling your power. Perhaps, in time, you will forgive me, but I doubt I will ever forgive myself. It wasn’t right to force you as I did.” His voice was low and the expression on his face was pained. He bowed her head and turned to leave the room.
“Seth, wait!” Zoelyn gasped. The bruises and the obvious suffering were too much for her. He had suffered enough already for the lesson; it wasn’t right to leave him wondering if she truly hated him. He paused once more and turned to look back at her with a questioning look. “You don’t have to wait for my forgiveness, you already have it,” she said quietly. He bowed his head at her words and a faint smile formed on his broken lips. “Just please, Seth, don’t ever do anything like that to me again. I know it helped me overcome part of my curse, but you terrified me so much,” she added in a voice laced with pleading.
“Never again, you have my word,” he murmured in a low voice. “Sleep, Zoey. Let’s put this day behind us and pray tomorrow is better.” “It will be. I will never lose faith in myself again, and I will learn to master my powers,” Zoelyn whispered as the door closed behind him.
Turning, she moved back to the bedroom, a faint smile on her face.
It had been a horrible day, and both of them had suffered, but tomorrow would be better. She knew the cost of giving up now, and she knew she could control her power when she focused herself. That knowledge alone gave her more hope than she had ever known.
At first, she had believed Jala would be her savior. The High lady seemed capable of any miracle, and yet she couldn’t seem to overcome Zoelyn’s failings no matter what they tried. She knew the truth now, though. Jala was her friend and she had helped her find her place in the world. Seth was the true savior, though. He had given her life and purpose, and had yet to ask for anything in return. Dray didn’t trust him at all, but then he didn’t know Seth like she did. He had never seen the sweet smile Seth had, or heard the whispered words of encouragement. Seth was a demon. That was true, but he had been serving penance for so long that he was well on his way to redemption. Dray might not be able to see it, but she did, and she would help him any way she could. Perhaps with her help, Seth could find a new lease on life as well. It would be the perfect way to repay him for everything he had done for her.
* * *
Seth paused outside the door and let out a long sigh. With a smile, he straightened his posture and summoned enough healing magic to wipe the bruises from his face. The wounds had served their purpose with Finn as well as Zoelyn. Both had reacted exactly as he expected. Finn, of course, had delivered the wounds, but it hadn’t taken long for the Divine’s fury to fade once he realized Seth wasn’t going to fight back. The urge to fight back had been there of course, and he likely could have wounded the Divine, but that wouldn’t have benefited him at all. He knew people well enough to know that Finn wasn’t the sort of man that enjoyed a one sided fight, and it was better for Finn to feel guilt than satisfaction. Seth could work with guilt and he intended to use it as fully as he could.
“Do you ever feel the slightest bit of remorse when you do this sort of thing?” Yasny asked quietly. She hadn’t been in the hall when he had left his room. She must have been watching and waiting for the right moment to appear, but then the dragon really didn’t have much in the way of entertainment so he couldn’t blame her.
Seth took a deep breath and summoned a thoughtful expression to his face. Tilting his head to one side he seemed to consider her question deeply for several moments. “No, not really,” he replied cheerfully as he smiled sweetly at her and started for the stairs. He had a lot to do tonight before Zoelyn woke in the morning and he wanted to be back the moment her eyes opened.
He was making real progress with her, and now that he had her trust it was time to push her about information on her past. He had kept silent on the matter entirely until he was sure she was indebted to him and trusted him enough to speak about the matter. After her heartfelt display at the sight of his bruises, he knew he had her. His excitement was difficult to contain and it was impossible to keep the smile from his face. Once he knew who had raised her, it would be a simple matter to bargain for his own resurrection. Not as an Undrae of course, but a full resurrection with all of his memories and powers intact. Then life would truly get interesting and Hemlock would finally get what he deserved. The pain of Dashara’s loss had faded centuries ago, but the humiliation of his defeat was still a bright lance of agony that would only be healed by Hemlock’s death. He had waited an eternity for the opportunity and it was so close.
“Does the smile come from the guilt you gave the Divine or the little girl’s stupidity?” Yasny asked.
Seth glanced at her in annoyance and frowned. He hadn’t even paid attention to the fact that she had fallen into step beside him as he descended to the throne room once more. “It stems from the fact that she forgave me and that she is making progress,” he lied smoothly and shook his head at her with disgust. “Not everything has to be about the suffering of others, Yasny,” he scolded gently.
“You liar,” Yasny murmured with a trace of amusement in her voice. “Fine, keep your secrets, but don’t pretend you are better than the rest of us. I know just as well as you do that the only thing left that can make us smile is watching someone suffer more than we do.”
“Ahh. Yasny, you are so wrong there,” Seth replied with a grin as he quickened his pace down the stairs. “There is so much more that can make me smile,” he added in a sweet voice. She had stopped following him, as he knew she would. Yasny never went to the lower parts of the Palace.
Carefully he wiped the smile from his face as he neared the double doors to Finn’s throne room. It wouldn’t do for Finn to see him in good humor. That would lessen the guilt the Divine felt and give him less to work with. With a look of subdued misery carefully painted on his face he silently pushed the doors open, taking care to keep his eyes downcast. “Your son, Milord,” he announced quietly.
“Bring him here and leave, Seth. I have no desire for your company at all,” Finn replied coolly.
Seth resisted the urge to look up. That wasn’t the reaction he had been expecting, but he did his best to hide his confusion. Perhaps there was still a bit of the anger left. It might have served him better to leave the bruises on his face until after this meeting. “As you say, Milord,” Seth murmured in his most humble voice. He crossed the room quickly and placed Legacy in his father’s arms without once looking up. Head still bowed, Seth backed away from the throne and left as silently as he had entered.
He glanced over his shoulder once as the doors sealed behind him and frowned. Finn should have been apologetic, not cold. It was something he would have to work on when he returned. For now he had work to do and he was looking forward to it
more than he would ever admit.
The frown faded as he wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and called on his crow form. The shadows blurred around him as he took wing toward one of the many windows, and the Darklands faded away as his magic carried him to the sunlit world.
Fading sunlight shone across the streets of Sanctuary as he settled himself on the edge of a roof. The streets were bustling below him and he watched in silence as the citizens of the city finished the last of their day’s business. Vendors were packing up their wares as customers frantically haggled for end-day bargains.
A faint hum of excitement built in his chest as he realized very soon he could be doing something just as mundane as purchasing bread for his night’s dinner. It was amazing how you never noticed little things such as that until after you no longer had them. The taste of a well prepared dinner. The smell of flowers in the spring. The feel of warm sunlight on your skin. It had all seemed trivial when he lived, and now he would kill to have those moments back.
The sound of laughter from one of the nearby taverns drew his attention and he watched in silence as two men stepped from the door and down to the street. They parted ways with a nod and Seth’s eyes followed one as he strolled down the crowded street. The half-blood was average height and build and dressed as common as anyone else on the street. He would have faded into the crowd if not for his long pale blond hair and the large dagger on his hip.
Seth took wing behind him, flying slowly until the man turned into a narrow street. Landing silently, Seth returned to his human form and stared at the young man’s back. He couldn’t decide exactly how he wanted to kill the boy. He could use stealth and the half-blood wouldn’t even know what had killed him, or he could speak and watch as terror washed over him. With a smile he settled on the latter. He knew the boy would recognize him as easily as Seth had spotted him tonight. He had viewed him through Wisp’s eyes the day he had gathered Zoelyn and Legacy. It was doubtful that the half-blood knew he had been spotted at that meeting, and seeing Seth now was bound to be a shock. It had only been a sliver of spirit within Wisp, but it had been enough for Seth to notice, and it had been a simple matter to track him by it. He might have let the boy live for simply spying, but he was spying for Hemlock, and for that he had to die.
With a smile, Seth cleared his throat and the boy slowed to look over his shoulder. The Half-blood froze as his eyes found Seth, with an expression of pure shock on his pale face. “I bet you didn’t think anyone spotted you in Merro,” Seth began softly as he moved forward with slow purposeful steps. “You may not have realized who I was at the time, though,” he continued calmly and smiled at the boy. “Do you know me now, Ander?” he asked, tilting his head to the side as he watched the boy.
“The Crow King,” Ander gasped as his hands dropped to his daggers and he back-stepped quickly.
“Good,” Seth murmured with a nod of approval. “Then you know exactly how much shit you are in right now. No one spies on me, especially not Hemlock’s lap dog.” His voice grew as cold as ice and his expression hardened.
“I didn’t even know you were going to be there! I was there to watch Jala. It was a mistake,” Ander stammered as he clumsily drew his daggers. The boy’s fear was crippling him as Seth had guessed it would. Even the best warrior could be unmanned by fear, and this boy was no exception. It was doubtful that Ander would manage to land a single blow before he died.
“You are right, Ander. It was a very big mistake,” Seth agreed. His hands dropped to his dagger and he smiled again. “I have a message for your master, Ander.”
“Whatever you want to tell him, I will relay the message.” Hope rose in the boy’s eyes as Seth’s words sank into his fear sodden mind. Licking his lips nervously he took another step away from Seth and let out a harsh breath. “What do you want me to tell him?” he asked after a long silence between them.
Seth remained silent for another long moment letting the hope build in the boy. The fool actually thought he was going to live. “You haven’t been an Assassin long have you boy?” Seth asked. Confusion flickered in the boy’s eyes and he opened his mouth to answer, but Seth continued before he could utter a word. “I don’t need you to relay words to your Master. When he finds your body he will get the message clearly. You are going to be my calling card, Ander, and Hemlock will understand exactly what I want him to know without a single word being spoken.”
Chapter 16
Merro
The sound of the door opening drew Neph’s attention from the map he had been studying. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Foster and Noble. Both were commanders in Valor’s knights and both were highly irritating company in his opinion. By the expression on Noble’s face and the way Foster was pushing him forward, Neph guessed they were going to be even more irritating today.
“Tell him,” Foster commanded with an expression of carefully controlled anger written on his tanned face. Foster was typically as immaculate as Valor in his appearance, but today his short golden hair was tousled and his clothing looked scuffed and dirty. Judging by his appearance, getting Noble into the room hadn’t been an easy thing to do.
“No, don’t tell me. Wait and tell Valor when he gets back,” Neph snapped before either of them could speak again. He turned his attention back to the map hoping both men would recognize the dismissal and not trouble him with further conversation. He was rather curious about Foster’s disheveled appearance, but not curious enough to deal with the headache that would likely accompany the explanation. “With all due respect, Sir, this is too important to wait,” Foster said in a louder voice.
“Then tell Sovann. I am a guest in Merro, not a Lord here,” Neph grumbled without bothering to look up. “You are better suited to this than Sovann, Lord Delvay,” Foster pressed.
Neph exhaled loudly, letting his annoyance show through clearly and leaned heavily back in his chair. Glaring at both men he raised a hand and motioned for them to continue. “It is obvious you aren’t going to go away until I listen, so please tell me your woes. If I think it’s something that Sovann could have handled or could have waited for Valor’s return, though, I’m going to kill you both.” He spoke in a matter of fact tone and looked directly at Noble.
“It can wait,” Noble announced with a quick nod and turned for the door.
“No, it can’t,” Foster snapped as he grabbed his friend by the arm and spun him back to face Neph once more. “Tell him or I will kill you myself,” he growled.
Neph raised an eyebrow, eyeing Foster with interest. He had heard the man threaten others before, but never Noble. The two of them were best friends and if Foster was threatening him now it must be important. “Spit it out, Noble, before I get even more annoyed,” Neph ordered in a calmer voice.
“There was a spy in Merro a couple of days ago,” Noble said and turned to leave again. Foster caught him roughly once more and shoved him back toward Neph’s desk. Noble sighed heavily looking from his friend to Neph and nodded reluctantly. “Fine,” he grumbled and cleared his throat. “She found me in one of the taverns and tried her best to get me drunk. She was fit and entirely fuckable so I played along,” Noble continued.
“How eloquent, Noble,” Neph observed dryly.
The knight shrugged unapologetically in response. “She was asking a lot of questions about you and Jala, and then Zoelyn.” “Did you answer them?” Neph cut in sharply before he could continue.
“Uhh, kind of, yes,” Noble stammered and shrugged again. “I told her you were here because your people had exiled you and you were going to be Jala’s steward now,” he spoke with obvious hesitation and from the glances he was giving the door he was ready to bolt at any moment.
“Steward,” Neph repeated coolly. “Please continue, this is getting better and better.” He waved his hand as he spoke, then crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the knight. The knowledge that a spy had been in Merro was important, but he had a feeling he was going to kill Noble by the end of his story.
“Hmm,” Noble murmured and took another step back from the desk. “Well, I sort of told her that Jala was preparing for an attack on Arovan proper and was on her way to Seravae to ally with the Reaver faction and that’s why she didn’t take Ash. She knew Ash would support his mother. As for Zoelyn, well…” he paused again and glared at Foster. “I told her that she was a Rivasan Magebreaker and that we were secretly allied with her against Avanti. She wanted to know if Zoey could kill with a touch and I assured her it only worked on plants, which is why we recruited her to our side,” he paused again and rubbed the back of his neck as he took another hesitant step back from Neph’s desk. “I didn’t want her causing trouble for Zoey so I kind of elaborated a lot on her.”
“How so?” Neph demanded. He narrowed his eyes as Noble took another step back glancing once more at the door. “I fail to see why a Rivasan plant killer has you ready to bolt, Noble,” he added dryly, his gaze flicking to Foster who had a grim expression.
“Well, she probably didn’t believe me. At that point I was acting pretty drunk,” Noble began with a nervous smile. “I told her Jala had plans to collapse the Avanti economy by wiping out their crops with Zoey and that in return for her work she was offering Zoey citizenship in Merro and a marriage.” Noble swallowed heavily and grinned sheepishly at Neph. “To you,” he added softly.
“What?” Neph snarled. “Are you a flaming moron? The Rivasans destroyed my homeland. Do you actually think the spy believed I was going to marry one of the bastards?” His voice rose as he half stood from his chair and glared at Noble. “Did it ever once cross your mind that maybe you should have arrested her and brought her to Valor rather than feeding her full of your bullshit? We could have questioned her and figured out who she was serving.”
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse Page 30
