The Silent Shield (Kingfountain #5)(84)

“I see them,” Staeli snarled. He was in the front of the ranks alongside the maidens. “The emperor’s come himself. How grand.”

A disquieted murmur rippled through the hall. Trynne still tried to catch her breath, but she felt that the moment was coming. The fate of the kingdoms was about to be decided. She had no idea what it would be.

The Painted Knight must stand ready.

The thought throbbed in Trynne’s mind—insistent—and she released the magic of her ring just as Gahalatine and his group came into sight. All eyes were focused on the doorway.

Gahalatine’s fox-fur robe was thick with snow. He wore his armor and held a greatsword with one hand. Even though the ancient Wizr set had been destroyed, his presence in the castle filled her with the strange sensation that one of the pieces was moving across the board. There was something mysterious at work here, some magic she could not comprehend.

Gahalatine led the way, but this was not another wave of the attack. Not yet. Next to him was the same armored warrior that she had seen at Guilme. It was Gahalatine’s champion, and he glared balefully at the enemies arrayed before him. There were two Wizrs behind Gahalatine, and when Trynne reached out with her magic, she saw that both were spent. They each had staves and rings and other magical trinkets to draw power from, but they looked haggard and weak.

Gahalatine paused at the threshold of the chamber. He looked at them in a condescending way, as if they were a group of children who had been caught at some mischief, and he—the ever-patient parent—had come to scold them. It made Trynne bristle with outrage.

“My lord of Kingfountain,” Gahalatine said with a deferential nod to Drew. “You’ve fought bravely. You’ve summoned a winter storm that is as formidable as it is tedious. My men are cold and most have taken refuge in the town, where the greater bulk of my army is at their ease, eating and drinking and awaiting their turn to besiege the castle. You have withstood me with courage and honor, my lord. It does you credit. I came prepared for a winter siege, knowing the history of the crown you wear. You have surprised me many times, which does not happen very often.” Then his voice turned more dangerous. “I come with this final plea to end the violence. You have an army marching here under the command of Grand Duke Elwis. Your snows have prevented them from reaching you, and I’m afraid he came unprepared for the inclement weather. I have an army awaiting his arrival and another one marching behind him. He’s trapped either way. He cannot reach you and he cannot retreat. You are down to your bravest and most loyal supporters, and I tell you, my lord, that if I summon all my strength from the town, as I intend to do after breakfast, we will smite down this castle. You have no hope of victory. Yield to me, my lord. You’ve proven yourself both valiant and determined, and I will reward you for such competence as my noble guest in the Forbidden Court. We will fetch your wife and babe from the sanctuary of Our Lady, and together you may live out your lives in peace and prosperity.”

His words hung in the air, crackling like icicles ready to fall.

Drew stared at Gahalatine, his cheeks flushing. “The Fountain gave me this crown,” he answered thickly. “And it will help me maintain it. If you would have it, come take it from me.”

Gahalatine looked disappointed but not surprised. He sighed and gestured to the armored man next to him. “So be it. You had your chance.”

The armored knight charged into the room, his armor exuding a dustlike smoke as he moved. It was Fountain magic, and Trynne sensed the speed and agility it gave the warrior despite its bulk. He engaged Captain Staeli first, making Trynne’s heart leap into her throat. Staeli, who had been fighting all night, was physically exhausted, yet he leaped at the warrior without hesitation. But the moment Staeli’s sword struck the man’s armor, the blade went red with cankered rust and then shattered. The impact made Staeli’s face go slack from shock right before the knight backhanded him across the face with an armored gauntlet. As he struck the ground, the knight plunged his sword into Staeli’s stomach, the blade shearing effortlessly through the hauberk. Staeli’s legs began to twitch and then he went limp.

“No!” Fallon roared, rushing forward past the ring of Oath Maidens. The knight turned his hateful gaze on him, and Trynne felt her world tipping over like a huge vase, about to crash down.

Fallon did not repeat Staeli’s mistake. He feinted with his sword and then kicked the knight in the chest. Fallon’s boot shoved the man back a few feet, but it did not unleash the strange dustlike smoke. The knight returned and started swinging deliberately at Fallon, who countered with his own sword and gave ground to the opposing warrior’s superior skill. Fallon focused on deflecting the blade and not counterstriking against the warrior. Trynne’s hand clenched the pommel of her own blade, feeling helpless as she watched the knight come after Fallon.

Fallon’s blade caught that of the other knight, their hilts locking together, and he kicked at the knight’s knee. From Fallon’s wince, the blow seemed to hurt him more than it did his competitor.

Fallon’s face contorted with anger as his opponent tried to leverage him back. Reaching out, he grabbed the front of the knight’s helm and yanked it sideways, trying to blind him. The trick worked, and Fallon managed to free his blade and retreat a step or two.

Gahalatine’s champion unstrapped the helm, pulled it off, and threw it down.

The knight was a woman.