The King's Traitor (Kingfountain #3)(48)
The deconeus reached them, his eyes wide with wonderment. He hastily knelt before Lady Sinia. “My lady,” he breathed solemnly. “You do honor us. How may I serve you?” His words were fraught with reverence.
Sinia stared down at him, smiling sweetly. Then she turned to Owen and nodded for him to continue. While the proposal he’d made in Ploemeur was likely binding because of the witnesses, he wished to make their betrothal more official by actually pronouncing the oath.
“I, Owen Kiskaddon, do hereby plight my troth to you, Sinia Montfort, to be my lawful wife and to become your lawful husband. I swear to be true and faithful to this pledge, on my life and on my honor.”
The deconeus’s face trembled with joy. He clasped his hands together.
Sinia squeezed Owen’s hand. She looked radiant, but there was a smudge of wariness in her gaze. As if she wanted to believe his words but couldn’t quite trust them. “I, Sinia Montfort, do hereby plight my troth to you, Owen Kiskaddon, to be my lawful husband and to become your lawful wife. I swear to be true and faithful to this pledge, on my life and on my honor.”
The deconeus rose shakily from his knees. “May the Fountain bless it so and bind you to your oaths.”
The knowing, encouraging look the old man gave him was confusing until Owen realized, abashedly, that he was supposed to kiss her.
When he turned to face the duchess, she was blushing violently, looking rather embarrassed. Owen had not imagined his first real kiss would be in a sanctuary next to a gouty old man, a babbling fountain, and an ancient Wizr set.
He clung to Sinia’s hand and pulled her to him. He was so nervous his heart was racing and his knees were trembling, returning him to the bashful little boy he had once been, and he thought, in a moment of utter terror, that he might actually faint from fear. Trying to rally himself, he bent his head lower and caught her fearful look—which no doubt matched his—and then he shut his eyes and tried to kiss her.
He missed her mouth.
In their fumbling way, they managed to kiss the corner of each other’s mouths and then both of them pulled away. It was tantamount to a kiss on the cheek.
Owen felt humiliated. Sinia looked disappointed.
“Well,” the deconeus said, clasping his hands in front of him. “That was . . . sweet. You are now officially betrothed. You have sworn your troth in the presence of the Fountain and man. I wish you joy!”
Sinia looked away, rubbing her hands up and down her arms in a nervous gesture.
“Thank you,” Owen said, nodding for the deconeus to waddle away. This was not how he had hoped it would unfold. He gritted his teeth in frustration, wishing someone were there to flog him for his ineptitude.
“I must away,” Owen said. “I need to go back to Kingfountain to see what damage is done.”
“The ring?” she said, looking at him hopefully. He was so scatterbrained he’d forgotten. He opened the pouch at his belt and withdrew Lord Roux’s ring.
She gestured to take it from him and he gave it to her. She played with it, turning the gold band end over end. The ring was a mix of white and yellow gold. There were carved overlapping circles that went all around the ring and caught the light. Then she took his hand and slid the ring onto his finger, uttering a word in an archaic language as she did so. The ring fit perfectly.
She held on to his hand, gently stroking it. Her eyes had lost most of the embarrassment of the failed kiss. “You needn’t fear a return to Kingfountain,” she told him. “Why do you think the king sent you that note?”
He didn’t need to ask how she knew about it. Not that she could have answered him anyway. “The problem is I have betrayed him. In many ways. But now that I think on it, this could be another one of his tests of loyalty. To see if I will return.”
She smiled and patted his bearded cheek. “You have more power over him than you realize,” she said. “As with any game of Wizr, how you approach the end makes a difference. We’ve made this choice, you and I. Severn will make his own. We’ll defeat him together. It will continue to be my hope that we can do this without killing him. Please know that. The king doesn’t need to die to lose. He just needs to be defeated.” She then escorted him to the edge of the fountain. “What will you do with the chest?”
Owen glanced at it and noticed that the two adjacent pieces representing them were now the same color. “I think I should bring it with me. I could leave it in the waters of Our Lady. When I tell the king about the dream I had, I can say that it will start snowing as a sign. The chest will make sure it happens.”
She smiled at him. “You are a clever one, Owen Kiskaddon. I like that about you. How will you get the sword from the cave? You have an opportunity already brewing.”
“Indeed,” he said. “Catsby is making a fool of himself. I just need to spark a little rebellion in the North. We’ll need other allies as well. I have a feeling Iago will join us. Sending him a message will be difficult, though . . .”
“I can send him a message,” Sinia promised. “Just write the note and leave it in the chest in the waters of the fountain. We’ll be able to communicate with each other that way. Now, here is another trick about this Wizr set. Only certain people can move the pieces. The boy is the Dreadful Deadman. He can. So can Severn, but if he does, he can use the game to win. When you bring it to Kingfountain, have the boy move the pieces for you. What he chooses to do will influence how events play out in this world. Teach him the rules of Wizr. Teach him to play. With this set, we’ll be able to defeat Severn and put the rightful Argentine on the throne.” She closed the lid and then handed the set to Owen.