The Forsaken Throne (Kingfountain #6)

Her mother had said she would tell her later where she’d gotten it and what it meant, but the time had not yet come. The last month had been a whirlwind.

“I’ve seen the solution to the problem of the ships,” Sinia answered, stroking a finger through Trynne’s hair.

“What is it?”

Her mother smiled. “You’ll hear about it soon enough. All the world will hear of it when it happens.”

“Can you tell me?” Trynne asked eagerly, but she didn’t push further.

There was a gasp of surprise and a flurry of outrage as Fallon appeared through a secret Espion door and entered the room in his wedding finery.

“Iago Fallon!” Lady Evie thundered. “You aren’t supposed to see her yet!”

“Since I already did see her, does that mean the silly tradition no longer matters? This is a quiet wedding, not a state affair. There should be some leeway for rules to be broken here and there. Out, out—all of you. This is taking far too long. Give us a quiet moment ere the bedlam begins. Go on, Mother, you know I love you, and you and Genny outrank me, but do obey your son on his wedding day.

As a personal favor? All of you, go! I’d have a word with my bride-to-be and her mother.”

There were protests and more commotion, but Fallon had his way in the end, and soon the ladies were escorted away, all save Trynne and Sinia. The room was quiet and peaceful after the door closed behind the last lady. Trynne thought Fallon looked rather handsome in his wedding clothes, which were not ostentatious, but more in line with the solemn traditions of the North.

Fallon stood there, arms folded, gazing at Trynne with a look of admiration and appreciation. “Well now, my love. That gown suits you exquisitely. Exactly. Unequivocally. My sister has great taste.”

“It’s against tradition to see me before the ceremony,” she pointed out.

He laughed. “When have I ever been a servant to tradition?”

Then his smug look softened. “Actually, I figured you would want some time alone with your mother, and all the other hens were still fussing over you.” He shrugged. “My first wedding present to you.

Lady Sinia.” He bowed to her respectfully. “You have always been a second mother to me, ever since I was a boy growing up in Ploemeur. I hope it will not offend if I begin to address you by that title. You have another son, but I do hope to be considered one of yours.”

Sinia strode up to Fallon and embraced him, pulling down on his neck and kissing his forehead. “You’ve always been family to me,” she said, patting his cheek. “As I knew you would be long ago.

When I prepared on my wedding day.”

Fallon was abashed by her compliment and turned to escape out the secret door again.

Trynne called him back. “Fallon?”

He stood there, head cocked slightly, listening to her with quiet respect. He didn’t ask her what she wanted. He already knew.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling that the happiness in her heart at that moment was just a taste of what she could expect in the years to come.

He smiled at her. “Don’t keep me waiting long,” he said with an impish smile. “We’ve been waiting long enough.”





AUTHOR’S NOTE

One of the things that I’ve always admired about Jane Austen’s writing is her ability to flesh out believable characters, flaws and all, and especially caddish villains such as Wickham and Willoughby from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. When I created Fallon’s character, I wanted to cast him in their mold, yet give him an ending that showed a person can change. Both Trynne and Fallon go on incredible character journeys during this series. I was rooting for him the whole time.

I also had an enormous amount of fun with this series blending in themes and crossing over into my other worlds. Astute readers will recognize the nods from both of the Muirwood series (Lia’s kitchen, Dochte Abbey, kystrels, etc.) to Whispers from Mirrowen (the Tay al-Ard, the Dryad trees, the Bhikhu) and even to my Landmoor series (Rucrius with his reflecting eyes was a Shae if you noticed that, and the Everoot that helped heal Trynne at the end). Blending different aspects of my worlds together in this series made it so fun and delighted my editor when I pitched the idea to him. I hope you’ve been delighted as well.

The reaction to the Kingfountain series has been such an honor and very humbling. Thank you for being part of my journey as a writer. I have so many stories still left to tell. Every time I get a book idea, I send myself an e-mail with the details to store it in a folder to look at later.

By the time you get this Author’s Note, I’ll have already decided what I’m doing next and will likely have written it and been done. But at this moment, the future is a blank page.

It’s like that for all of us. What we do tomorrow starts with a thought. Truly the best way to predict your future is to create it. Wise words from Alan Kay at Xerox PARC.

Until we meet again.

P.S. If you are still hungering for more in the world of Kingfountain, I have written another stand-alone novel, which tells the origin story of Trynne’s namesake, Ankarette Tryneowy. Watch my website for the announcement of The Poisoner’s Enemy in early 2018!





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It takes a special kind of person to endure suffering cheerfully. As always, my sister Emily endures the pangs of suffering week by week to read my books as I write them. My daughter Isabelle joined in this time and has been a source of encouragement and support and a tireless advocate for Fallon. I also let one of my good friends and early readers, Robin, give it a try after she asked to read weekly, but eventually the strain proved too much and she begged me to stop sending her chapters until it was done.

I’d also like to thank my awesome editorial team for their continual support and suggestions. Jason Kirk: editor, shark lover, and partner par excellence, Angela “Eagle Eyes” Polidoro, and Wanda Zimba. Their capacious memories often save me from myself. Thanks also to my wonderful early readers who see these books before you all do and are still my friends after cliffhanger endings: Robin, Shannon, Karen, Travis, and Sunil.





AN EXCERPT FROM JEFF WHEELER’S

THE WRETCHED OF MUIRWOOD

There is a difference between a wretched and an orphan. An orphan is literally a child whose parents are dead. It is a pitiable state, to be sure, but the child still knows, by means of relations or guardians, who their parents were and what Gifts they have inherited. The necessary rites can or already have been performed for them, binding them through the Medium to their ancestral

forebears

and

the

consequences

appertaining to them.

A wretched is like an orphan. They have no family, no relations, no one willing to own them or care for them. Their parents may be alive or dead. They are often born in secret, with no one aware of their coming into this second life, except for the unlucky souls who find them abandoned on Abbey steps in the dark of night. After laboring and searching the most ancient references, I have thus concluded that the original meaning of the word is this—a wretched is someone deserving pity. And by this definition, I say that those children found in this state are appropriately named.

—Cuthbert Renowden of Billerbeck Abbey CHAPTER ONE

Cemetery Rings

Lia lived in the Aldermaston’s kitchen at Muirwood Abbey. More than anything else in the world, she craved learning how to read. But she had no family to afford such a privilege, no one willing to teach her the secrets, and no hope of it ever happening because she was a wretched.