The Forsaken Throne (Kingfountain #6)

The pain of the separation was physical. Trynne clutched at her chest, feeling tears sting her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Fallon asked, wiping his mouth. He stared at her face in confusion.

Her throat was so thick, she could not speak. Awash in emotion, she struggled to breathe. She’d seen her father’s face. He was alive, that very moment, at another Leering. There was no look of recognition in his eyes when he saw her, but how could there be?

What had he seen but a disheveled, spider-bitten stranger?

“I saw him,” she gasped, panting, trembling.

“Who?” Fallon came around and dropped to one knee beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“My father,” she whispered, gazing into his face. She wasn’t sure whether to smile or sob.

Fallon’s eyes lit up with joy at the news. “Where is he?” he asked her fiercely.

She grazed her palm across the stone. “This one is connected to other Leerings. There’s a chain of them. I saw them in my mind.

He may be a day or two away from here, but I clearly saw him. He was in the wild, like we are. I saw him, Fallon!”

He pulled her into a hug and they savored the moment of discovery together. Her cheek pressed against his neck and she squeezed him hard, feeling gratitude swell inside her heart.

Fallon broke away first, but he kept his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “It’s worth all the horrors of Dahomey if we can reach him. I’m not weary anymore.” He rose to his feet and then held out his hand to help her up. She accepted his help, nodding energetically. The morning intrusion by the spiders was now forgotten.

As they walked through the dense forest, Trynne wondered what she would say to her father when they met again. He wouldn’t remember her, although part of her was desperate to believe that he would. No, he would likely be distrustful at first, but she would find a way to earn his faith. Even if he didn’t believe her, she would use the Tay al-Ard to bring them all back to the ruins of Muirwood.



They had to get back to Ploemeur. The urgency of that thought squeezed her very bones. It made her determined to keep up with Fallon’s long stride.

The forest was thick and decaying. The trees gave off a foul stench and the underbrush was thick with scurrying rodents and snakes. They had quickly learned to march with sword in hand. The serpents shied away for the most part, but some hissed in challenge and barred the way.

She felt her power dripping away—the result of her instinctively using her Fountain magic to sense for dangers. But it was worth it if they could avoid deadly snakebites.

They stopped for food after finding another Leering and getting fresh water from it. There was no vision this time, but she could still sense the location of the next one. They checked the position of the Wizr board and saw the pieces were arrayed differently. The black queen had moved one square closer. Other pieces were moving in from the north side of the board, beginning to converge on the corner where Dieyre and her father were nestled.

The armies would clash within days.

The road kept them going east, but it was not well tended and they had seen no other travelers.

Sleeping in Dahomey, if you could call the fitful slumber that, wore away at them. It had become impossible to travel at night, for the road was heavily shrouded and was nearly invisible, and they dared not risk traveling by the light of torches. One remained awake while the other slept, but their bone-deep weariness forced them to change guard every few hours as best they could manage. They skulked in the woods and slept uncomfortably.

The next morning, they awoke to find they’d been attacked by another silent enemy. Scores of ticks had crawled inside their clothes and attached to their bodies to suck their blood. When the light revealed the infestation, they again marveled at the inhospitable woods.

“Nasty little beasts,” Fallon said in annoyance, squeezing one between his fingernails and plucking it out. “We’d best remove them all now before moving on. We’ll be sore all over if we don’t.”

They finished their ablutions separately before continuing down the overgrown trail hardly wide enough for a cart. During the journey, they spoke sporadically, both trying to preserve their strength while keeping a relentless pace. They spoke of their childhood in Ploemeur, of shared memories, and of the antics they’d engaged in as children—all of it utterly foreign to their current circumstances.

Fallon had always resented missing out on their parents’ adventures under the despotic rule of King Severn, but he admitted that their own struggles had thoroughly altered his views on the matter.

They planned to stop and rest once they reached the next Leering, but they had not come upon it yet and the day was fading fast. They trudged on silently. Trynne found herself wondering where they were on the board. How many squares had they crossed already? She wasn’t sure how vast Dahomey was. The terrain was rugged and the constant marching up and down the hills had grown tiresome.

As dusk began to drain away the sparse light, she sensed Fountain magic ahead in the distance. She hastened her steps and touched Fallon’s arm.

“Ahead,” she warned in a low voice.

He slowed down, turning to gaze at her worriedly. “What is it? A Leering? I only hear some annoying jackdaws.”

“I sense a Leering, but also Fountain magic coming from a person,” she answered, and he nodded in understanding. Both already had their swords at the ready. As they proceeded, Trynne continued to sense the presence of several Leerings. These were active ones, radiating a form of magic in a circular area. She grew more cautious, but she didn’t let it slow her down.

A thickening, roiling mist hung over the trees ahead of them.

“Fog?” Fallon said curiously, his brow wrinkling. “Reminds me of Guilme.”

“Only this fog isn’t natural,” Trynne said, growing more alarmed.

She reached out with her magic, probing for danger, and felt a dark force hidden in the layers of the mist. Pouring out more magic, she found a cave hidden within a series of huge boulders. A creature— no, a hulking monster—waited inside. It had one weakness. Sunlight.

It was nearly nightfall.

“Fallon—” she started to say in warning, but before she could explain, she felt another Leering flare to life. The other Fountain-blessed person was just ahead, closer than the monster. This presence she felt was definitely human.

Fallon stopped, held up his hand. “I hear water running,” he whispered.

She heard it too. A water Leering, then.

The mist grew thicker. Seeing ahead through the trees became impossible.

“There is someone just ahead of us,” Trynne said. “And there is also a beast in the woods. I don’t know what it is, but it is dangerous.”

“I don’t like this,” Fallon said, shaking his head. “Could it be your father?”

Trynne nodded. “He saw me at the Leering. Maybe he came to meet me.”

“But this is your father we’re talking about,” Fallon said, wrinkling his brow. “He doesn’t know that we’re friendly. This feels an awful lot like one of his traps.”

“Yes, it does,” she agreed. “If it is him, shouldn’t we let him capture us? I have the Tay al-Ard. I can get us away quickly.”

“That’s true, and he doesn’t know that.” He looked anxious. “It’s getting darker by the moment. Let’s spring the trap and get ready to fly if something goes wrong.”

“Agreed,” Trynne said.

They walked hesitantly forward, senses alert to every sound.

The mist seemed to muffle the noise, but Trynne heard the pattering sound of water flowing from the Leering ahead of them. Its two burning red eyes penetrated the mist. They slowed their approach, trying to be as soundless as possible. Fallon gazed back and forth, his mouth in a frown.