Page 2 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

So many thoughts. All in my head. All at once.

Gods, I want….

Fucking gryphon-shit….

Emartis….

Releasing my grip, I stumbled backward. My back slammed into the wall, and I slid down to the ground, to my knees, with my head in my hands. A hammer pounding in my mind.

Why was it all so loud? Shut up! Shut up! Shut the fuck up!

The blue lights faded. The patrol was over. But the thoughts of the riders and every other person awake within the walls of the fortress continued.

One red, one blue….

Need to piss!

Hurts, doesn’t it?

My fingers tangled in my hair as the new thought entered my mind. The voice was smoother and louder, standing out for just a moment before mixing and joining the thousands of others.

I groaned, wanting to slide a blade into the heart of whoever had thought that. Whatever they thought was hurting them, they had no idea. They didn’t know pain.

You’re wrong, said the voice again. I know pain. I know it well.

The thought rang so clearly in my mind, sweat beaded at my forehead, dampening the thick hair at the nape of my neck. An ashvan rider? A sentry on duty below? It sounded like they were responding to me. To my thoughts. But that…that wasn’t possible.

Isn’t it, though? Possible? Because here I am. Responding.

His voice felt like a shadowy fog, deep and smoky.

I stood up and rushed forward, searching beyond the balcony and fortress walls for him. But the grounds were empty, the neighboring balconies abandoned at this hour. I raced back inside where the torches were lit, fires crackling and spitting and dousing the room in a golden fiery glow. Not one soul was in sight. No escorts or sentries were allowed up here.

Don’t try to look for me. You won’t see my face. Not until I want you to.

I clutched my head. Was I farther than Lethea? Was this actually happening? Had the pain twisted and ruined my mind to play tricks on me?

How many times have you heard of Lumerians being arrested and taken away for vorakh? Taken to Lethea? Stripped? Or worse? You don’t think it’s possible that this is happening? Did you think that you were that special? That you were the only one? Your sister and cousin were cursed with the same affliction.

I shook my head. No…no. This wasn’t real.

I assure you, this is very real, unfortunately for me and for you. I hear you quite clearly, just as I know you hear me. You’re not the only mind reader in Bamaria. You’re not the only one in the Empire. Not by a long shot.

I searched the shore for movement, for signs of life. But there was nothing more than a seraphim resting on her belly, her wings, bronzed beneath the moonlight, rustling against the sand and the water rushing back and forth across the shoreline. Not even a set of footsteps marred the beach.

How many are there? I asked.

Too many. Too many who found far worse fates than the pounding in your delicate noble skull.

I sucked in a breath, my chest rising and falling. How are you doing this?

How can I hear you? came the response. Stupid question. We can both hear. Doesn’t take much to focus. The same way you have a conversation in a crowded room and still hear the person you’re speaking to.

I could feel their vitriol and lack of patience in my mind.

So you really are like me? The moment I had the thought, I checked my wrist, expecting the scars of my blood oath to redden, to burn me.

You haven’t broken your oath. And before you ask, I already knew. Knew the moment it happened. I knew about Meera. There was a long beat, and a shadow swept through my mind. I know about Jules.