It wasn’t until Jeremiah walked away that she realized she forgot to tell him that the Princess was alive.
How could she be expected to remember anything ever again? She’d just killed a man. It didn’t matter that it was an accident. He was dead! She’d made a huge mistake and it’d cost that man his life.
She couldn’t take it back. The only thing she could do to honor his accidental sacrifice was to move forward. If Jeremiah didn’t become the Conductor now, then this man’s life had been taken in vain. She couldn’t let that happen. If she could set the Whisperers free, then it made this man a hero. She’d honor his memory for the rest of her life, however long that was.
I’m sorry! she called inside her head as his body was carried from the dining hall.
As she served the next bowl of soup, she pushed more words from her mind. Four down. Six to go.
ROSE
FIVE
Rose couldn’t sleep, but that wasn’t unusual. She felt like she hadn’t slept in days, not since the fire, only that couldn’t be right. She must’ve dropped off for at least a few seconds at some point.
It didn’t help that her bedchamber had burnt down and she was bunked in with her three sisters in the servants quarters. They were taking up a room once occupied by palace workers before the arrival of the Whisperers, who’d put nearly all of them out of a job. The workers who remained were paid from the royal purse and lived in rooms just like this one.
There were four tiny beds in the room the princesses now occupied, lined up neatly with barely an arm’s length between them. She didn’t mind though. She liked being close to her sisters to make sure nobody was trying to murder them in their sleep. She was certain that if so many people hadn’t seen them since the fire, her father would have had them killed already and pretended they perished in the flames.
The sisters ate all their meals in the royal dining room now, including breakfast. It was nice to be able to eat in company, but she missed Jeremiah desperately. She hadn’t realized how much her happiness depended on seeing him each morning.
She was even angrier now than she’d been during the fire. So angry that the idea of leaving had become impossible. Her father couldn’t be allowed to get away with this. Whether he was King or not, he was still a man and men shouldn’t try to kill their innocent daughters. Running away from this wouldn’t solve anything for anyone.
First thing in the morning, she planned to take her sisters to the dungeon to find the guard called Tyron and send them away to Aunt Lily. She knew her mother wanted her to go with them, except that was impossible. If she went, then nothing in the palace would ever change. There were many thousands of people counting on her, even if they didn’t know it right now. Although one person knew it. Jeremiah. Actually, no, there were two. Micah knew it too. And there was no way she could let either of them down, especially after what she’d said to Micah when she’d met her in the passageway. They all had to do their bit. She couldn’t run away now.
It’d been strange to meet Jeremiah’s sister. She’d known immediately it was her, not just from her eyes, which were so much like her brother’s, but because of the way she’d looked at Rose. No other Whisperer would dare to meet her eye like that. She was a pretty girl, and no doubt with ordinary clothes and her hair allowed to grow, she’d be even prettier. This hadn’t been a surprise. A man as handsome as Jeremiah was unlikely to have an ugly sister.
Her own sisters were pretty too, but in a different way. They had a delicate and fragile beauty, quite different to Micah’s. Although, they were still young. They had time to grow courage and strength to give them the sort of powerful beauty Micah possessed.
Eliza was twelve now. Old enough to care for her sisters on their journey to Aunty Lily’s house in Aria Flats. All they had to do was sit inside a carriage. Eliza had shown just how capable she was during the fire. She could do it. There was no other choice. Rose would’ve sent them away sooner, however, Cara’s injuries from the fall were too severe and she’d needed time to regain some of her strength. She was far from better now, yet well enough to survive the journey. And that’s exactly what this was about. Survival.
If only she could speak to her mother about everything. She still hadn’t been allowed anywhere near her since the baby had been born. She hadn’t even seen this mysterious brother of hers yet.
She turned over in bed, wondering if sleep would come if she were to lie on her back.
The shadows were darker in here. Back in her bedchamber, she could leave her shutters open and let the stars light a path across the darkness. But in here, the windows were small and let in nothing except the night.
Tash whimpered and Rose reached out for her, unsure if her nightmares were the sort you had while you were awake or asleep. Lately, it was hard to tell the difference. Her sister quietened, so Rose tucked her arm back under the blanket and tried once more to sleep.
“Rose?” Eliza said. “I heard something.”
“Hush now,” said Rose. “Go back to sleep. It was only Tash.”
She could hear Eliza fiddling with her lantern.
“I said it’s okay.” Rose sat up. “There’s no need for the light. You’ll wake your sisters.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the room filled with light and Rose looked across to see Eliza sitting up in her bed with her lantern held out before her, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted.
“I told you not to.” Rose rolled her eyes.
“Look.” Eliza was pointing.
Rose glanced around the room, only she didn’t see anything. “Nobody’s here. Turn it off now.”
“Where’s Tash?” asked Eliza, pointing to the empty bed beside Rose.
Rose’s hands raced to the sheets of the bed she’d heard her sister sleeping in only moments before.
The bed was warm, but Tash was definitely not in it.
“We must find her,” said Rose, reaching for the dagger she’d stashed under her pillow and looking underneath the beds. Her heart was beating so fast, she had to stop to take a breath.
“Tash!” Eliza called.
“Look after Cara,” Rose said over her shoulder, leaving the room just in time to see a robe disappear around the corner of the passageway.
She raced after the shadow. How could she have let Tash be stolen from right under her nose? They’d had the door locked too!
As her feet pounded forward, she knew she shouldn’t be surprised she hadn’t heard anything. The Whisperers knew better than anyone how to be quiet. They were experts at it. And by the look of the robe she was chasing, that was exactly who’d snatched Tash from her bed.
She got to the corner and saw the figure disappear around another bend. A figure that was holding the unmistakable form of her sister, who was wriggling against his grip.
She resisted the urge to call out to Tash, not wanting the Whisperer to know he was being followed.
This part of the palace was labyrinthine, but she’d grown up here, allowed to play in these hallways when she was young. She knew every twist and turn. And she was betting that she knew them better than this Whisperer.
Quietening her footsteps, she continued forward, knowing she had the advantage. Not only did she know where she was, she wasn’t carrying a struggling child. If she played this right, she’d catch up to them before it was too late.
I’m coming, Tash. She grabbed her dagger more tightly.
A few more corners and she was now as close as she dared without revealing her position. Hopefully, the Whisperer thought she’d lost him and had slowed his pace.
She pressed herself against the wall as she saw him turn to look behind him. Poor Tash was still struggling, pummeling his chest with her little fists. She must be so frightened! She should’ve sent her sisters away earlier, despite Cara’s injuries. Traveling injured was better than not having the chance to travel at all.
The Whisperer reached a door at the end of the passageway and Rose drew in a breath. It was the Cond
uctor’s private chambers. Clearly, her father had failed at his attempt to burn his daughters alive, so had demanded the Conductor finish the job himself. And it looked like he’d decided to do it one Princess at a time.
The Whisperer opened the door and as the light caught his face, she recognized him as the Whisperer who served her family in the dining room each evening. She’d never paid him too much attention before now.
He stepped inside, leaving the door ajar.
Rose quickly followed, getting as close to the door as possible without being seen.
She had to choose her moment carefully. The Conductor was a trained fighter and she was a mere girl, who’d never even been able to so much as twist the neck of a rat found in her bedchamber, instead, letting it out her window to return at a later time.
Except the Conductor wasn’t a rat. That likeness was far too kind for him. He was a monster. She didn’t care if he was only acting on her father’s orders. You had to have a large share of evil in your soul to carry out the deeds he was instructed to. Rose didn’t believe there was anything in the world that could make her slice off the head of an innocent Whisperer, no matter what personal threat was made against her. She’d have lasted five minutes in her father’s army. How had Jeremiah possibly managed to survive five years?
“Excellent,” she heard the Conductor say to his silent soldier.
“Let me go!” Tash yelled. Her words made their way straight out the door and into the center of Rose’s heart. This could not go on.
“Do it quickly before somebody hears her,” said the Conductor.
Rose knew she could wait no more and burst into the room with the dagger held in front of her.
“Oh, how wonderful,” said the Conductor, leaning on a large desk, with his arms crossed and a smirk wrapped across his awful face. “Two for the price of one!”
The Whisperer was crouching, his strong hands pinning Tash to the floor.
“Help me, Rose,” said Tash, struggling to push out her words. “He’s squeezing…my neck.”
“Get your hands off her!” said Rose, her shaking hand waving the dagger at the Whisperer. “She’s only a little girl.”
“He’s not going to listen to you,” laughed the Conductor. “He’s going to kill her, then he’s going to kill you.”
The Whisperer looked up at Rose. Sweat was dripping from his brow and his mouth was a grimace. But there was something else hidden in his eyes. Just a flash of it, yet it was enough to tell Rose that he didn’t want to do this.
“Do you have a sister?” Rose asked, deciding her words would be a more effective weapon than a dagger she had no idea how to use. “Or a daughter?”
There was that flash again, and she knew she’d struck a chord.
“You have a daughter, don’t you? She’s no different to my sister here. My sister’s name is Tash. She’s five years old, her favorite color is yellow and she loves to draw and sing and would like to learn how to dance. She’s not a pawn in my father’s sick game. She’s a little girl and you can’t kill her. You can’t!”
The Whisperer’s expression didn’t change, but Rose saw his grip on Tash loosen ever so slightly.
“Do it now!” bellowed the Conductor, holding up his hand to silence Rose’s words. She’d needed to humanize Tash to wake this Whisperer up to what he was about to do. It seemed it was working.
“You’re better than this,” said Rose. “I know you are. You aren’t this person he’s trying to make you be. You wouldn’t kill a little girl before you came here. Don’t do it now. Please don’t kill my little sister. She’s an innocent child. How would you feel if someone did that to your daughter?”
With these words, the Whisperer let go of Tash. She wriggled free and raced to Rose, burying her face in the skirt of her nightdress.
Rose put her free hand on Tash's back, still holding out the dagger with her other hand.
The Conductor reached for his sword, which was lying across the desk, turning his face for only the briefest of moments.
The Whisperer chose this moment to leap to his feet and wrap his hands around the Conductor’s neck, choking him in the way he’d been instructed to do to little Tash.
Rose covered Tash’s eyes with her hand. She’d been traumatized enough tonight. She didn’t need to see this. But Rose did. She couldn’t turn away now. She needed to know the deed was done.
The Conductor, who hadn’t had time to grasp his sword, was struggling now, however the Whisperer had him firmly in his grasp, choking harder.
“I nearly killed her,” said the Whisperer as he squeezed his hands tighter, turning the Conductor’s face a deeper shade of purple. “I nearly killed a little girl.”
It was strange to hear a Whisperer talk. For five years Rose hadn’t heard any of them utter a word. And then there was Jeremiah, then Jack, then Micah and now this man. Change was in the air.
The Conductor let out a gurgling noise, his fingers clawing at the Whisperer’s hands now.
Rose winced. As much as she hated the Conductor and wanted to see him dead, it was hard to watch. Somehow, as the life was draining from this evil man’s body, his humanity was rising to the surface. Once this man had been an innocent child, but clearly, something had happened along the way to strip him of that innocence. Life was trying to restore it to him in his death.
She just hoped the Whisperer wasn’t seeing what she was seeing. Because she didn’t want him to let go. If the Conductor survived, then she and Tash were as good as dead.
The Conductor’s body fell slack in the Whisperer’s hands and he slumped to the floor. Rose let out a breath, clutching Tash closer to her side.
“I-I-I killed him,” said the Whisperer, looking at Rose, wiping his hands on his robe as if he could wipe away the act of what he’d just done.
“You did,” said Rose, leaving Tash to go to him and take his hands in hers. “And I thank you. Killing him saved my sister’s life. And mine. And I promise you that I’m going to save yours in return. I’ll get you back to your daughter.”
The Whisperer’s eyes filled with tears and he nodded. “I have two daughters and a son.”
“Who knows you’re here?” asked Rose.
The Whisperer pointed a shaking finger at the Conductor’s body.
“Well, he’s not going to tell anyone and neither am I.”
He nodded again, clearly not in the habit of using words.
“Go back to the arena. Freedom is coming. Prepare for it. Tell the others if you get the opportunity. Everyone must be ready.”
This time his eyes filled with an emotion she’d never seen on a Whisperer’s face before. Hope.
“Prepare for freedom,” she said.
“Prepare for freedom,” he repeated, leaving the room, pausing only to glance at Tash who shrank away from him, still not prepared to offer him her trust.
“Let’s go,” Rose said to her sister, tucking the dagger into her undergarments and scooping her sister into her arms.
“Where are we going?” asked Tash, nuzzling her face into Rose’s neck.
“We’re going to get Eliza and Cara, then you’re going on a little trip.” She had to get them to safety. Not soon, but now. Because once the Conductor’s body was found, who knew what was going to happen. Change certainly was coming, and not like a gentle breeze, it was charging at them like a cyclone.
Her sister’s arms tightened around her shoulders. “Not going anywhere without you.”
“It’s just for a little while.”
“No little while.”
“I’ll explain when we get back to our room.” Rose feathered kisses on Tash’s cheek as she carried her down the hallway and back to where their sisters waited.
Please just let them still be there. She needed to get them to safety as soon as she possibly could.
JEREMIAH
FOUR
Jeremiah still had no idea if Rose and her sisters had survived the fire. He was no longer required to bring the princesses th
eir breakfast, which wasn’t a good sign, yet he refused to believe they were dead. They were probably just eating somewhere else now that their bedchambers had burnt down.
Besides, he couldn’t think like that. Rose was his last hope. If she was dead, they were all doomed. Until he knew one way or another, he wasn’t going to let himself get too worked up about it. His sanity depended on that.
He noticed the Whispering flags as soon as he entered the dining hall. They were at half mast, which meant that when the sun was at its highest point in the sky, there would be a Whispering, pushing the rest of the daily routine back by a few hours.
For once he was glad there’d be a Whisper, because with any luck, it would give him a clue as to what was going on with Rose. Unless the King whispered for fuller hair or a trimmer waistline again… Jeremiah thought he might choke on his words if he had to whisper for that again. Although it was better than some of the alternatives, he supposed. Superficial and selfish, but not evil.
Breakfast dragged as he knew the coming hours would too. The Conductor wasn’t in the dining hall this morning, which was unusual. The King must be providing him with the words of his Whisper.
There was something else unusual that Jeremiah couldn’t put his finger on. As he silently scooped his porridge into his mouth, he carefully looked around the room. Everyone looked the same, so that wasn’t it. It was an energy in the room. He’d been noticing it building ever since Fair Face died. It was nothing that anybody could be punished for, but it was definitely there. Perhaps he’d underestimated his fellow Whisperers, because there was definitely the smell of change in the air.
It wasn’t until he was taking his bowl to the cleaning area that he realized just how much change was in the air. As he carefully placed his empty bowl on the table, the Whisperer next to him spoke to him. It was Freckle Nose, one of the last Whisperers he’d expect to break the rules like this. She’d never even looked at him before.
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 14
