The Hollow Crown (Kingfountain #4)(55)

The avalanche of the river rushed toward them, and Sinia began a complex weaving with her arms. Some of the waters diverted and struck the docks at the shores of the palace, crushing them into splinters. Another wedge of water was sent smashing into the trees on the far bank. But the brunt of the flood Sinia summoned toward where they were both standing, and Trynne started to scream with terror as it rushed them.

At first she thought that she was going to drown as the river flooded the island sanctuary. But it smashed into Trynne’s shield instead. She had always wondered what it would feel like to be inside a waterfall—and now she knew. It was all surging foam and chaos and raw, menacing power. The noise was louder than the thunder of a thousand horses. Her store of magic would have been depleted in less than ten seconds if her mother hadn’t latched her power to Trynne’s.

In the maelstrom of the flood, Trynne sensed her mother’s spells at work. Somehow the sanctuary itself was swallowing the river. The force of it made Trynne’s knees buckle, and she felt blackness tear away at the edges of her vision. Her shield started to crack.

Hold it longer! Sinia pleaded with her thoughts.

I can’t!

Trynne was sinking, starting to black out. The strain against her mind and her power was agonizing. She would have collapsed earlier if her mother hadn’t been sustaining her. The stress and fear of failure kept her struggling.

It’s almost over, it’s almost over! Hold on!

Trynne could see nothing through the waves. She could hear nothing but the roar of the waters. She couldn’t hold the shield. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to. Her strength was failing.

Another thought joined theirs.

Aspis!

Suddenly there was a third well of magic. It was strong and determined and supplanted Trynne’s as hers guttered out. She sank to her knees, trying not to vomit, trying not to weep at her failure.

The river melted back into its proper channels. As Trynne lifted her head, she saw the shattered docks on the palace side and the shattered trees on the other. Her shoulders slumped and she started sobbing with relief and shame.

There was a hand at her shoulder, an arm around her back. She thought it was her mother at first, but when she glanced up, she saw it was Morwenna. The shame twisted into despair.

Sinia gasped and also knelt down on the ground.

“Lady Montfort,” Morwenna said with deference and even a touch of reverence. “I’ve never seen . . . never known . . . such power. You saved Kingfountain.”

Trynne squeezed her eyes shut, stifling her sobs and trying to master herself. If she hadn’t expended so much of her power in Brugia, she would have been able to hold the shield easily. Yet the Fountain had bidden her to compete in the Gauntlet. Why? She couldn’t make sense of it—she didn’t want to try. Inside, she felt ruined and stricken with remorse. So many people could have died . . . She didn’t know how she would have borne the grief. And yet she’d followed another oath, hadn’t she? Never refuse to serve when the Fountain calls . . .

So why did she still feel so empty inside?

“Thank you for joining with your power, Morwenna,” Sinia said, clasping her hands.

“What I did was such a little thing,” Morwenna said meekly, “next to what you did. Truly you are Fountain-blessed.”

When Trynne looked up at her mother, she saw the disappointment in her eyes. She would never admit to her displeasure aloud, but she could no longer hide that from her daughter.



King Drew had summoned the members of his council to meet at the Ring Table following the aftermath of Rucrius’s display of magic. Trynne didn’t feel she deserved to be in the room, but she had been asked to stay. Her parents were both there, which was unusual enough. It turned out that Morwenna had brought Fallon to Kingfountain following the Gauntlet of Brugia. They had arrived amidst the commotion. Fallon had attended the meeting to represent his parents, and Morwenna had also been invited to stay. Lord Amrein and the queen rounded out the group.

Trynne wished Myrddin were there as well. She couldn’t help but believe that his presence would have prevented the disaster.

The king sat at the table, strumming his fingers on the polished wood. “My friends, what do you make of this calamity?” he asked in a bewildered tone. “Lady Sinia, if you hadn’t come when you did, all would be in ruin. There would be no city left to save.”

Sinia had been weakened by the ordeal, but she was still strong. “I came because of a vision,” she said. “I saw Trynne and myself holding off the flood. I knew I had to come, my lord.”

“A thousand times thank you,” Drew said. “You are the savior of Kingfountain today. Truly, the Lady incarnate. What was the purpose of this attack?”

“A declaration of war, surely,” Lord Amrein said gruffly.

“Indeed,” replied the queen. “In the olden days, kings would send challengers to issue their threats and warnings. It followed the principles of Virtus.”

“Did it?” Drew challenged. “They nearly drowned the city!”

Trynne’s mother shook her head. “That may not have been Rucrius’s intention.”

“What do you mean, Sinia? Say on?” The king gestured, keenly interested.

“He came here to issue the challenge. His display of magic was intended to show us that he knows more than we do. By stopping the river, he was proving that the protections of our sanctuaries wouldn’t protect us from him. Perhaps he wanted us to ask him to release the river tamely. To beg for it.”