“I can also sense an empath when I touch one,” Ysabel explained. “So there’s no doubt about you. But . . .” Her head tilted as she studied Amryn, lines appearing across her brow. “Something feels different about you.”
The bloodstone around Amryn’s neck pulsed.
Ysabel’s eyes narrowed. “You have great power, but it doesn’t feel like it all belongs to you. You’re a healer. I sensed that easily, and yet there is a darkness that seeps inside of you. A darkness that does not comefromyou, but is somehow still a part of you.” Her eyes flicked to Amryn’s. “My words make you uneasy, but they do not surprise you. Do you know what this darkness is?”
There was no way Amryn would tell this stranger about the bloodstone, so she merely said, “I’d prefer not to discuss this.”
Curiosity rippled, but Ysabel dipped her chin. “I understand. But you should be careful. The darkness inside you is at odds with the essence of who you are. That imbalance is not good or safe. You must find a way to cleanse yourself of it.”
The bloodstone hummed, but not in fear or anger. No, it was almost . . .smug. Like it knew Amryn would not be getting rid of it.
The amulet suddenly felt too warm against her skin.
“You paid for a reading,” Ysabel said, straightening on her cushion. “Would you like me to do that now?” She once again set her hand on the table between them. “I don’t actually need to see your palm, obviously, but to glimpse your past I need to touch you.”
Amryn’s hands remained firmly in her lap, wrapped around her fan. “I’m fine without your guesses for my future, thank you.”
Ysabel laughed, the sound melodic. “Fair enough. But maybe you have a question I might help answer? Something you’ve been curious about, perhaps? You can consider whatever it is, and when I touch you, that will help direct my ability to read you. Sometimes our pasts hold answers we don’t realize, buried in memories that are old, faded, or forgotten entirely.”
“I don’t have any questions.”
“That’s a lie,” Ysabel said mildly. “I sense many questions in you. Many doubts and concerns. Some have to do with your family. Some with a friend—or perhaps a former friend. One who betrayed you. It wasn’t all clear. But I know you have uncertainties about your husband, Carver.”
Amryn stiffened. “How do you know that?”
“That you have concerns about your husband? Or that his name is Carver?” The corner of her mouth lifted. “Even with just one touch, it was easy to see him. He’s written on your heart. Etched into your very soul. He is the most important person in your life right now.”
Theright nowfelt ominous. Amryn’s shoulders tensed.
Ysabel’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Your concerns were a little difficult to read, but I glimpsed the worry you carry for him. For the demons that haunt him from his time in Harvari.”
Unease stirred. “You saw all of that with one touch?”
“It didn’t all come from when I touched you.”
It took a beat for Amryn to understand. “You saw Carver when you touched Ford.”
Ysabel nodded, her expression sober. “There is a great darkness in both of them. The kind only soldiers carry.”
Amryn eyed her, remembering the bite of Ford’s pain when he’d emerged from the tent. “What did you tell Ford?”
There was a flash of regret, even as she cracked a thin smile. “Your friend is a skeptic, and normally I like to tease them a bit before I start the official reading. Idid so with him, but as soon as I touched his hand . . .” She swallowed, her eyes sad. “He has seen much.Toomuch. I tried to offer him comfort and assure him that he will overcome his demons. But after my teasing . . .” She sighed. “No, even without my teasing, I’m not sure he would have accepted my comfort. Some men prefer to stay in the darkness they believe they deserve.”
The words made Amryn’s heart ache. Ford had been in Harvari with Carver. He hadn’t been captured by the enemy, but he’d seen horrible things. Done horrible things. Ford was good at hiding behind his humor, but Amryn had sensed a heaviness in him before. She just hadn’t realized how heavy that weight might be. Then again, Carver was excellent at masking the darkness he battled every day. Would she have ever caught more than glimpses if they hadn’t been forced into such proximity? It was usually under the cover of darkness, in the quiet of night, that she’d truly seen the demons he struggled with.
“Ford is resilient at heart,” Ysabel said softly. “The shadows will never fully leave him, but I don’t believe he will drown in them.” She smiled a little, reassurance in her voice as she said, “Ford and Carver are both good men. That’swhythey suffer from the aftermath of what they’ve seen and done. Men who are evil relish the darkness. They don’t fight it. Ford and Carver . . . they walked into darkness to protect others from it. That they chose to live with that clinging darkness every day for the rest of their lives is an honorable sacrifice.”
It was. And yet, Amryn hated that they’d both suffered so much.
Ysabel shifted on her cushion, straightening her spine as she said, “Marc and I plan to stay in the city a few more weeks. If you have need, you can find me here or at the Jasmine Inn.”
The dismissal was clear. As Amryn stood, she said, “If you’re staying in Zagrev, you should know there’s a knight at the palace.”
Fear flashed, though Ysabel’s face paled only slightly. “Thank you for the warning.” Her brow furrowed. “Are you safe there? As one of the Chosen, you must be under great scrutiny.”
Amryn wasn’t sure how Ysabel knew she was one of the Chosen. Their names were no secret, of course, so perhaps that alone had helped her guess. Then again, she didn’t know exactly what Ysabel had seen when touching her. Perhaps that had been enough to confirm Amryn’s identity. Regardless, the worry Ysabel felt for her was genuine.
“I can avoid detection,” she told the other empath.
