The King's Traitor (Kingfountain #3)(24)

Etayne joined him. “One would have to be mad or quite skilled to climb up here from below,” she said. “The doors have sturdy bolts. The locking mechanisms are unsophisticated. The vases of flowers could be intended to hide the scent of poison, so we might want to dump them out.”

Owen chuckled and turned, pressing his back against the rim of the balcony as he looked at her. “You think someone will try and kill me now?”

She smirked. “I think everyone here in Ploemeur is going to want to kill you after what you just did.”

“She was expecting it,” Owen said, shaking his head. “I didn’t surprise her at all.”

“Lord Roux was surprised, that much was obvious.”

Owen nodded. “He was. He reacted just as I expected he would. Which surprises me, because he’s usually one step ahead of me. But Sinia wasn’t surprised. I don’t think she’s the helpless damsel I thought she was.”

Etayne came closer so that he could hear her whispered words. “Yes, you thought Lord Roux was keeping her on a leash.”

“I did,” he said. “But not anymore. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s the one on the leash. But they are close. She respects him, not fears him.”

“I noticed that as well,” Etayne said. “I felt you use the magic when you were standing with her. What did you learn, if you don’t mind my asking?”

He raised his eyebrows and chuffed. “She’s one of us,” he said knowingly. “And her access to the magic is both vast and well controlled. She could sense me probing her. She let me do it, but it offended her, I think.”

She smiled playfully. “I remember when you did it to me onboard the ship all those years ago. It does make a girl feel rather vulnerable. Did you learn her weakness? Does she even have one?” The last remark sounded a little jealous.

Owen was not ready to share that information, especially not with a poisoner—friend or not. “I pulled back as soon as I realized what she was,” he answered evasively. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her usual sign of disbelief.

“Have you seen the symbol on the vases?” he asked, both because he wanted to change the subject and because he wanted to know. “It’s on the gate, it’s—”

“Everywhere,” she interrupted. “Yes. But I don’t know what it means. You should ask her when you see her tomorrow. If they’ll even let you after how vulgar you’ve been.” She gave him another sly look. “Should we even bother disguising who I am? That you brought a poisoner with you should add to the offense you are deliberately inflicting.”

Owen chuckled, folding his arms. He stared at Etayne, but he was thinking about Sinia. The duchess had always intrigued him, in part because he’d encountered Roux so often without learning anything about her. Based on the mayor of Averanche’s assessment, he’d expected her to be a beauty, and she was, but his other expectations had been trumped. She was not the puppet he’d expected.

The duchess had lost her father at a young age, and her mother not too long after. As a child thrust to the helm of command, she had been guided and couched by people like Roux until she reached adulthood. That was how they did things in Occitania and its independent duchies. The people respected the authority of the family. Uncles didn’t snatch thrones from children. There was a sense of honor in that. Ceredigion’s rulers were known to be more ruthless, which was part of why Owen had suspected the worst of Roux.

“When we met Marshal Roux in the woods, there was something there,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his lip. “I’m sure you felt it too. I want to see it. Maybe I’ll ask Sinia to take me there. Or maybe I’ll go there without asking.”

“Or I could go on ahead,” Etayne offered with a nod. “Why don’t I do that tonight?”

Owen shook his head. “They’re expecting something like that from us. I don’t want to give them an excuse to hunt you. You’re supposed to be protecting me.”

“I could protect you better if I stayed with you,” she hinted.

“No, I have other plans for you tonight. I’d like you to disguise yourself as a servant and get to know the castle. I’m uncomfortable because I don’t know this place. Are there dungeons? Where is the duchess’s bedchamber?” She gave him an arch look. “I’m not suggesting anything! But this is a new place, and we don’t have our bearings. See what you can learn inside the castle before venturing out.”

“Of course,” she answered, nodding slightly.

Owen heard an unfamiliar noise, the slight creak of door hinges being clandestinely shut. His hearing had always been especially keen—it was one of his abilities from the Fountain. Then there was the soft scuff of a padded shoe on the marble floor.

Etayne heard it as well, and there was a thin knife in her hand in an instant. She always kept it strapped to her forearm beneath her gown. Owen had not changed out of his dusty traveling clothes, so he still had his sword strapped to him. He gestured for Etayne to stay put and she shook her head no.

Owen took a hesitant step to the side of the balcony door, angling his body sideways to provide less of a target if someone had come with a bow. The drapes by the balcony concealed whoever was in the room, but he could see a shadow moving slowly, as if the intruder was searching for something hidden.