Page 63 of Esperance

ForMurdon Savin

Ordained member of the Order of Knights

Amryn slid back a step, every hair on her body standing up as she viewed the crate with new eyes. These were the belongings of a knight.

Her fingers itched and she rubbed her palms against her skirt. She didn’t want to touch any of it. Evil clung to her skin, and she hadn’t even touched the actual bone ring.

She was grateful she didn’t have the ability some empaths did—to touch an object and sense the emotions that lingered from anyone who had ever made contact with it. Just being near that ring, even without truly sensing its malevolence, made her shudder.

It took a concerted effort to make herself snap the lid back into place. It took even more effort to remain in this room, not that she could afford to leave. The rebels needed her to complete her mission. Every person the empire had ever killed or harmed needed her.

So, Amryn forced herself to take a seat at the table, drag the book closer, and make her first entry.

Once she’d documented the bone ring, she pulled out the next item. It was a small framed landscape, a setting sun that glowed red in the sky, casting a field into shades of orange and purple. According to the label on the back, it was an original by Murdon Savin.

The inventory continued, and she tried to be as removed from the items as possible. To not think of anything other than what each item was. A tarnished silver brooch. A jeweled letter opener.

Then she came across a pocket-sized book. When she lifted the stained cover and glimpsed handwriting, she thought she’d found Murdon Savin’s journal. But the writing on the inside cover quickly dispelled that assumption.

Taken from Saul Von. May shed light on the search for bloodstones.

Amryn’s brow furrowed. Saul Von was a name everyone in the empire knew. He was an empath who had killed the emperor’s wife, which had sparked the emperor’s hatred of empaths so many years ago. The church had been quick to label all empaths as unnatural, evil creatures who were not even human. They claimed that empaths could use their magic to read minds and force all sorts of atrocities on the rest of humanity.

Saul Von’s last act had been to help assassinate Argent’s parents. Argent had nearly died in the attack, too, but his guards had managed to save the young prince. The Knights had succeeded in capturing Von, and they’d executed him, but the hunt for empaths had only grown more aggressive.

Amryn had never heard Saul Von described in a positive way; he was hated by most empaths for igniting the emperor’s wrath, and he was certainly despised by citizens of the empire for orchestrating the murder of three members of the empirical family.

Curiosity had Amryn thumbing to the first page of the small journal, and she began to read.

My name is Saul Von, and this will be the record of my quest to find the five bloodstones. I must locate them before anyone else, and I must find a way to destroy them, or all of us are doomed.

Amryn had never heard of bloodstones before. Were they something out of empath lore? Murdon Savin had obviously been searching for them as well, so maybe they were something the Order of Knights or the Church believed in?

She turned the page, but she didn’t get any answers. Von had drawn a map of some kind, but without any labels or reference points, it was nothing more than lines on yellowed paper. The next page only contained numbers—some kind of code?—and the next simply held three large words:IN THE EMPIRE?

The distant sound of a door opening made Amryn jerk. While heavy footsteps approached, she shoved the small journal into her pocket. The lump was obvious, so she quickly folded part of her skirt over her lap, hoping to conceal it.

She expected a cleric, but it was Rivard who strode into view.

His nose was no longer swollen or bruised, but his mood had remained sour. He caught sight of her, and his steps slowed. “I didn’t realize you would be back here.”

“I’m cataloguing items for the clerics.”

Rivard took in the crate and items scattered on the table. In the silence, Amryn’s heart pounded. Von’s journal felt disproportionately heavy in her pocket, and she didn’t know why she’d taken it. She shouldn’t risk stealing something from the museum—especiallythisitem. She heard Rix’s voice in her head, reprimanding her. He’d raised her to never show undue interest in empaths. It was yet another way to protect herself. Yet here she was, pocketing the journal of the most infamous empath to ever live.

Rivard stepped forward, pausing at the end of the table. His knuckles rapped softly against the dented wood as he scanned the room. “I was told Cleric Jane was back here.”

“She was, but she went back to her office a while ago.”

Rivard grunted. But he didn’t leave to find the museum caretaker. Instead, his attention dropped back to the items strewn on the table. When his gaze fell on the small velvet box that held the bone ring, a furrow grew between his thick eyebrows. He plucked up the box and lifted the lid. His eyes narrowed. “What’s this doing here?”

He spoke lowly enough that she wasn’t sure if he was asking her, or just musing aloud. The macabre nature of the ring stole her breath, but she forced herself not to cringe away from it, just as she forced herself to speak in the most off-hand way she could manage. “It was in the crate Cleric Jane gave me to sort through. She said they get all manner of artifacts, and they sometimes gather dust for years before they’re documented.”

Rivard touched the crystal that topped the ring, though he didn’t remove it from the box. “This is a very important relic of the Order of Knights,” he said. “It never should have been so callously set aside. They’re usually handed down through families, if other generations are knighted.” He glanced up at her. “My father is a knight, and so are my older brothers.”

A chill rippled down her spine. “Really?”

“Yes.” His focus remained fixed on the bone embedded under the crystal. “It’s a family calling, really. Though not everyone passes the trials.” He straightened suddenly and snapped the lid closed. “Do you know who owned this ring?”