Well of Tears (Empath Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

devastating thing. All he cared about was
reinforcing the story he’d woven about Shiver’s plot to poison the
king and take the throne. The tincture that only Sha’sekians could
brew, was the only cure for a poison that Shiver had been sneaking
into the royal meals over the course of the meet. Shiver had worked
with the help of Maertn, using his Sha’sekian skills. Queen Eleska
and their children had died of poisoning in the past week, though
not by Maertn’s hand. Mired in grief, Vance had succumbed to the
story without much of a struggle. Seeing the solution in Sammah’s
hand, he struggled back to his feet.
    “Get me some water. You—girl—now.”
    Neyv obeyed immediately. The first time this
had happened, she’d asked Sammah first whether or not she should
go, and Vance had been furious. Now, both Sammah and Neyv were used
to this. The king could never remember who she was, believing she
was a handmaid or some other subservient part of his retinue. Neyv
had lived in Everfell since she was under two years old, and the
king seen her countless times as part of Sammah’s household. Neyv
was a shadow, and the longer Sammah saw this, the more he realised
that all along, Neyv had been perfect. It was a shame Quinn
couldn’t have had this girl’s personality, instead of the fiery
temper she’d inherited from her parents. Testing the integrity of
his story with Neyv out of the room, Sammah ventured to discuss the
potential encounter with Shiver.
    “The preparations go well sire, although
Erran and Obrenn are somewhat prickly about raising their
banners.”
    “I thought they would be. I can’t trust them,
can I? You were right Sammah, I shouldn’t have questioned you.”
Vance was putty in Sammah’s hands, believing any information the
baron supplied him. “What can we do about this? What other allies
do we have?”
    “The only neutral land is Broadwater, sire,
and with Alec dead, they are near to useless to either side.”
    “How is Broc doing with Regan?"
    “He’s just a little boy. He’s not going to be
fit to rule in time, never mind be able to contribute men to our
cause. No one will follow him. The boy was never going to inherit,
and we are meant to be in a time of peace although Sevenspells
appear to have completely disregarded that.”
    “Please, stop reminding me about these
things. I’m plagued by them in my sleep, only to be reminded of
them when my only visitor comes to call."
    “I apologise, sire. Of course, we all know
that you need to be kept at rest. I’m filtering out the useless
noise from the lords, but some of this information does
unfortunately need to be passed to you.”
    Snatching the vial from Sammah and holding it
tight in his fist, Vance wandered back over to the bed. His eyes
went distant. Not many men were aware of how it felt to be under
the influence of a gifted like Neyv, though Sammah knew, from his
own studies and the writings of his ancestor Sammen, exactly how
Vance would be feeling right now.
    Whilst not quite as rare as the empath, Neyv
was unique enough amongst the gifted of Sha’sek. She was in effect
a glamour, adjusting the world around her to fit as she wanted it.
Sammah could control that world, like he’d controlled Quinn’s,
because Neyv’s ability could not penetrate his apathic barrier.
When someone in the same room as Neyv told a lie, others believed
it. The more convincing the lie, the more easily the glamour took
hold. Listeners wouldn’t think to question or reason with the lie;
a cloud would roll over their minds, a fog created by Neyv’s
ability, which was impossible for a mere man to overcome. This was
why no one remembered her name. When someone saw Neyv, they almost
instantly forgot her, her glamour made sure of that. Various people
had more of an inclination to remember Neyv, and the extent to
which they did, depended on their own mental fortitude. Some, like
Quinn, could even recall details about Neyv, and that was a
testament to Quinn’s