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His plan was simple; Quinn’s role was clear. She was to read Vance as Sammah exposed Shiver for a traitor. As soon as the Lord of Sevenspells’ sentence for treason was passed—execution, Sammah had no doubt—then there were no other threats between Sammah and the throne. Quinn was going to impress on Vance that Sammah was right, and his throne was safe. Quinn didn’t know how she was going to do this, and she’d already protested to Sammah that she didn’t know how to force other people’s feelings. She knew, though, that Sammah didn’t believe her. After taking some of Maertn’s pain, she didn’t fully believe herself, though she hadn’t know how she’d done it.

“It’s not appropriate here, sire. It’s about one of your lords. I don’t wish to cast aspersions out where anyone might hear.”

“But you’re happy to bend my ear in private, where no one else might have the knowing of it?”

Vance didn’t trust Sammah. Quinn could have cried out with joy; she knew what many others thought of their king, but he was not a stupid man. He was proving it now, with the way in which he was responding to Sammah’s words of trickery. Words, it seemed, would not be enough. Sammah sighed.

“Far be it from me to question the King of Everfell. If you want to hear me out here, then so be it. It was Maertn who first found out, then Quinn, sire. It’s Sevenspells. All of them. Shiver, Rowan, River, even Eden. They’ve tricked you. They want the throne, and they’ve been behind the killings all along.”

Quinn opened her mouth to protest, but said nothing when Vance responded to Sammah with raucous laughter. Sammah, too, was so obviously surprised by this that both Quinn and Maertn were confused. This wasn’t at all what the Baron had been expecting.

“Oh Baron, if you think I’m so foolish as to think Shiver is a loyal man, then you really haven’t been paying attention during your tenure here. I don’t know what you think you’ve found linking Shiver to the killings, but it had better be good. Otherwise I’ll have a messenger sent to your brother and I’ll be asking for you to be replaced. Shiver is never out of my eyesight—be it my friends or my spies. Lord Shiver can’t sneeze without me finding out. You, Sammah, are more elusive, and I don’t think for a second that you’ve only just noticed that Shiver covets my throne

“What are your real intentions, Baron Sammah?”

Shiver’s mouth worked as he searched for his next words, and Quinn realised that, for the first time ever, she was seeing her father flustered. The King didn’t disbelieve him, Sammah just wasn’t telling him something he didn’t already know. The lie, therefore, about Shiver, had no credibility in the King’s eyes.

“Sire, I assure you, no matter what you think your men have seen, it is the Lord Shiver that’s been working to overthrow you. He had Lord Broc murdered. You must take this more seriously!”

Quinn swallowed as her throat began to dry; Sammah was lying, and for the first time in her life, she could feel it. As the lies seemed to flow from his tongue freely, she wished that she couldn’t. She kept her mouth shut, but in her head, she was willing him to stop.

“And what hand have your children had in this? What have they discovered, that men in my employ for most of their lives as spymasters, have been unable to tell me?”

Sammah waved Maertn forward first, and the healer edged himself forward, his eyes downcast.

“Maertn? What have you seen? Never mind your father, here, look at me? What’s wrong?”

Maertn looked up at King Vance, and froze. The king’s voice was kindly, and his eyes showed the same warmth. Maertn drew courage from that, but as he opened his mouth, the lie faltered on his lips. He couldn’t bring himself to betray his king.

“I…I was treating the Lord Shiver, one morning after he’d been drinking…”

Maertn’s voice was high-pitched, and even as he started, the lie sounded ridiculous. Unused to this from Maertn, Quinn was overcome with curiosity. She left herself open, like Sammah had asked. The lies were filling the room; she was getting dizzy.

“Enough of this charade!”

Shiver’s voice rang loud and clear across the hall, in full contrast to Maertn’s shrill and timid tones. Quinn thought Vance rolled his eyes, but she couldn’t tell. Her vision swam. She’d been hit by the full force of Shiver’s anger, and collapsed to the floor. Bile rose in her throat, and she thought she was going to be sick. She isolated herself, kept her power turned in, but the damage had already been done. Maertn dropped to his knees beside her.

“Quinn? Quinn!”

Eden’s footsteps rang out as he sprinted to be by her side. He rushed to her, but, frustrated, was unable to help.

* * *

“What have you done to her this time, Sammah?”

Sammah chuckled, though he was becoming unnerved by the situation. Absolutely every major player in his little game was in this hall now, and he hadn’t expected any of them. Eden should be dead; Shiver should be cowering in Ross’s quarters, and the chamberlain shouldn’t be walking. “Nothing! You all know how prone she is to collapse. The words of your treachery—and the betrayal of her lover—have clearly been too much to bear!”

“Healer? Is she alright? What’s happening to her?”

Maertn’s confidence returned as he was brought back into the conversation in his role as a healer. He’d seen Quinn like this before, and knew exactly what was wrong with her. He was in a bind, though. To tell the king the truth, he’d have to expose Quinn for what she was, and that might put her in harm’s way. But, with the truth out there, Quinn would no longer be bound to Sammah’s blackmail. Maertn considered which of the two he trusted more; Baron Sammah was found wanting, by a clear margin.

“She’s sick, sire. It’s Sammah’s doing. He wanted her to be reading you, to know what you were thinking. He wanted her to try and manipulate you into trusting him.”

“What…how?”

Eden threw himself at Maertn. “What are you doing? You’ll kill her!”

Maertn pushed the lord back, forgetting the consequences such an assault meant in the words of the law. “I’m saving her life! If everyone knows, then she won’t be trapped!”

“If everyone knows, they’ll have her killed!”

“You don’t know that, Eden. Give me a chance!”

“Well it’s too late now, isn’t it?” Eden yelled this at Maertn, furious, as he was lifted off the healer by Ross. The chamberlain pushed him back, and Shiver grabbed hold of his son’s arms, keeping him steady.

* * *

Vance had stood by, watching this happen, and now, bewilderment was being replaced by fury. He was taking in each of the men stood before him, and just looking at them rose bewildering questions.

Shiver, Ross, and Eden had all been injured in some form. None of them showed any hint of those wounds now, though. They were all worried; had all rushed here—known he’d been here. Why? What had Sammah planned, and what part had these men played in his scheme?

Finally, his gaze settled back on the baron. The man looked in shock, and on the edge of fleeing altogether. “Guards!”

Men came rushing from the corners of the hall, and their little party was surrounded by a dozen guards. To try and escape now would be suicide.

“Maertn, are you telling me this girl is the one we’ve been looking for? The one he’s been looking for.” Vance pointed at Eden, who shifted his eyes to the healer nervously. They’d gone past the point of retreat, now. Maertn put his faith in honesty, and the fairness of his king.

“Yes, sire.”

Quinn groaned. “Maertn…no…he’ll kill me.”

“Not without a trial Quinn; you’ll be able to tell them your side.”

“Not the king. Sammah.” Quinn’s voice cracked in her parched throat, but the words and her implications were clear to every man there.

Shiver stepped forward, letting go of his son. “I don’t know what that poisonous snake has been telling you, sire, but I could almost guarantee you that none of it is truth. He’s spent the majority of his time here using her,” Shiver pointed down at Quinn, and Maertn laid an arm across her protectively. “To blackmail most of your lords. He’s used most of us, and he wants the throne. He’s not going to stop before he gets it. He had Broc killed. He almost killed Ross, and he threatened to kill my son.”

“And what part did you play in this, Shiver?”

Lord Shiver took a deep breath. He, too, was going to expose himself to the king more than he ever thought he would. With Baron Sammah in his way, though, he had a shield for the majority of his sins. “I was Sammah’s ally, for a time. Before I knew what I was getting myself involved in, it was too late. I know what you think of me, Vance. I haven’t exactly hidden my resentment that you won that vote. But, I wouldn’t do it the way he’s gone about it. I wouldn’t use things like her to get to you.”

“Father!”

“I don’t give a pig’s fart what you think, Eden, it’s true. She’s a monster, and she shouldn’t have been brought here in the first place. Sammah’s been collecting them like toys, finding the useful ones and placing them in all the courts. Not mine. I wouldn’t stand for it.”

“There are more?”

“Like her? There’s no one like Quinn.”

“Feeling brave enough to speak? Speak for yourself then, Sammah. You’re telling me Shiver had Broc killed; Shiver says it was you. What’s the truth of the matter?”

“You heard it yourself, sire. Lord Shiver wants your throne, and he’s trying to use me to get it. Why would I want to disrupt court? If I took Everfell it would start a war that neither of our people are ready for or want. I only have yours—and Everfell’s—best interests at heart.”

“And her? Why do you need her at court?”

“To protect you, sire! To find the men that collude against you and bring them to justice! Alec wanted to depose you, and I dealt with him!”

“So, you did kill Alec. That’s the first thing that’s come out of your mouth that I actually believe.”

“It’s truth, sire, all of it!”

Quinn's could barely speak, her throat was so dry. "Lies," she croaked "he's lying."

Vance had leaned down, his ear almost by her parched lips, so he could hear her faint words. He rose, dark brown eyes dancing almost black with fury.

"You're lying, Sammah. What else have you lied to me about?"

"I'm not! You can't believe her! Not over me." Sammah began to fawn at the king, his voice becoming a simpering whine. "I've served you, sire, flawlessly, for years. You cannot believe these...these children over my word! I'm a baron of Sha'sek!"

"And you are trying to take the throne." Vance retorted bluntly.

"I'm...you can't prove that. You can't!"

"No. We can't. Not straight away. Ross, take him down. Put him in the gaol, back with his hired killers. We will have a trial, Baron Sammah. I relieve you immediately of your duties as emissary to Everfell."

Two men walked up to Sammah, who started to panic. He did the worst thing possible at that point; he drew a blade, and started swinging it wildly in front of him. Like a wild animal, though, he wasn't able to stand against a crowd on his own. Ross waited for a few moments, until Sammah's sword was at its widest arc, and grabbed on to him by the shoulders. The sword went spinning a short distance across the stones, skittering to a stop by Quinn's feet. She picked it up. It was light; running her finger down the blade brought up a thin drop of blood. How many had he killed, over the years, with this insignificant little thing?

The small crowd they had gathered began to follow Sammah down to the gaol, the small journey becoming a derisory ceremony. Vance and Ross remained, with Quinn, Eden, Maertn, and Shiver. They all bowed to the king, realising they were suddenly under his direct scrutiny.

"So, Sammah didn't think I was fit to rule, and you were the three that deigned to stop him."

"We couldn't do it on our own, sire. Ross did help us, and so did my father, in the end, despite his sins."

Vance looked over Shiver disdainfully. Shiver, to his credit, did not shrink or panic under that baleful stare. "I am inclined, this time only, Shiver, to allow you to stay out of the gaol. But I don't know the extent of your crimes. If you are implicated in any of the murders, I will have to put you to trial."

Pale, Shiver inclined his head in agreement. In the presence of the Chamberlain, and in the hall of the king, he was not left with a choice. Vance then went over to Quinn. He pulled her upright from her awkward bow. He shook his head as he looked her over.

"I don't know how such a gentle face can be the source of so many of our problems. So young, too. What did Sammah do to you, to bend you to his will, child?"

Quinn thought carefully before she answered. "He was my father. He was all I knew."

Vance nodded. "I cannot, you understand, excuse you from your part in the crimes of Baron Sammah." Quinn closed her eyes, a tear trickling over her cheek, and over her chin, dropping down to the floor. She squeezed them, hard. Vance was going to sentence her to death in exchange for the deaths of so many others; she would not allow him more than one tear.

Eden yelled in protest. Both Ross and his father held him back.

"No, son. This is a matter for the king. She knows she did wrong. You knew it, too. Don't make this any worse for her!"