The Forsaken Throne (Kingfountain #6)(21)

“A pronounced one,” Mariette said with concern. “She’s slow to respond to any questions, and her personality seems to have transformed overnight. It happened two days ago.”

“It’s not the queen,” Trynne whispered.

Mariette’s breath hissed. “Who?” she mouthed, giving Trynne an alarmed look.

“Morwenna,” Trynne replied quietly. “She’s in disguise. I imagine Genny is being held captive . . .” And she knew instantly where.

Marshaw. A place that could not be reached by use of ley lines.

Morwenna wasn’t imprisoned in her manor. With a Tay al-Ard, she could come and go as she chose. Obviously she’d managed to hide it from her captors. And she had clearly used the medallion to seduce Fallon into his fiery impatience to marry her. Trynne boiled with fury.

Morwenna was using the people Trynne loved like puppets.

They were approaching the doors of the audience hall, but Trynne felt like she was walking in an enemy fortress. Even the guards were watching her with suspicion.

“That baby will die if we don’t save her,” Trynne whispered to Mariette. “Do you know where the Espion tunnels are?”

“I do,” Mariette answered.

“I’m going to cause a bit of a disturbance in there, Mariette. I think Morwenna will come after me. I’m hoping she does. You need to get Kate to the sanctuary of Our Lady. I will try to meet you there and bring you both to safety. If we don’t act now, it will be too late.”

“Would she really kill a baby?” Mariette wondered with horror.

Trynne turned to look at her as servants opened the doors to the audience hall. “Yes,” Trynne answered emphatically, her gaze burning into Mariette’s with a silent plea to trust and obey.

Mariette bowed to her and then turned and walked back the way they had come. Her heart afire with emotions, Trynne strode into the audience hall. She immediately noticed there were additional guards in the room. Many more than was usual. There were already several people seated around the Ring Table. Kevan Amrein was slouched in a chair, drinking from a cup and waving off a servant who offered him bread and cheese. The deconeus of Our Lady and Duke Ramey were also present.

Upon seeing her, Drew immediately rose from his chair. The seat next to him was conspicuously empty. The king looked haggard and soul-sick. His eyes were bloodshot and he had smudges beneath his lids. He looked like a man tormented. The warmth and kindness in his eyes were gone, replaced by distrust and apprehension. He looked at Trynne as if she were a danger to everyone in the room.

This was an even sharper turnaround than the one she’d experienced with Gahalatine. Drew was not himself. She could almost smell the effects of magic on him.

“My lord, I came straightaway,” she said, taking a deliberate path through the middle of the room. She couldn’t help but notice that all the doors were guarded. The king glanced at his captain, an Atabyrion swordsman named Thasos, and gave him a subtle gesture with his hand, as if to stop him from pouncing on Trynne.

The king looked like he was struggling to stand upright. He rubbed the back of his hand across the stubble on his normally clean-shaven chin.

“Yes, you did. I thank you.” His voice sounded hollow. “I wanted to see you immediately. To ask you to defend your actions.”

“My actions?” Trynne said with confusion. “What are they? My lord, something is wrong—”

The king held up his hand in a jerking motion, cutting her off.

“Let me speak plainly, Trynne. You are here to answer some serious allegations.” His eyes were smoldering with enmity. “I am normally a very patient man. But at this moment, I feel troubled. Greatly troubled. Lord Amrein tells me that he escorted Gahalatine to Brythonica without incident until”—here he paused, holding up his finger—“they reached the wood. That grove in the woods is meant to be a carefully guarded secret. That is the way your father wished it to remain, but as the company came up the road, Lord Amrein said you were waiting for them. You directed them to tether the horses and follow you into the grove. You. ”

Trynne heard the words with disbelief. But she understood the ruse. Here was further evidence Morwenna had been at the grove.

She’d deceived everyone, including Gahalatine. And then she’d worked her spell to steal his memory.

“I was not there,” Trynne said forcefully. “I was at the palace in Ploemeur . . .”

“Surely those loyal to you would say and do anything you bid them to,” Drew countered. “I trust Lord Amrein. I thought I could trust you. Where is Sunilik’s daughter? Why did you not bring her with you?” His countenance darkened with anger. “I see that you have not brought Gahalatine either. Do you wish for us to send Sunilik home empty-handed? To start another war?”

Lord Amrein leaned forward, his face full of confusion and doubt. “There may still be an explanation. Let her speak, my lord. I saw Lady Trynne with my own eyes, but my senses have been deceived before. It is unlike her to be so duplicitous.”

Trynne sensed the power and presence of a Fountain-blessed person approaching down the corridor. It had to be Morwenna. She would not allow Trynne to defend herself.

She stared at those assembled at the table, calculating her next move. Genny had been abducted, and Drew was a shadow of himself. Their baby was going to be murdered unless Trynne and Mariette managed to steal her away, and Morwenna had used magic to impair the judgment of many of the people in the palace. The guards stood there fidgeting, waiting for the command to arrest her.