The Hollow Crown (Kingfountain #4)

“Doesn’t know . . . what?” Trynne asked in confusion.

“How you feel about him,” Morwenna said as if Trynne were a simpleton. “I’ve an unfair advantage. Most women can spot such things quickly enough, but I’ve been trained at the poisoner school to notice such little signs of . . . tenderness. You mask yours well, Trynne, I’ll give you that. It’s the injury. Most people give themselves away with their mouth. But it was your eyes that told me.” She put her hand on Trynne’s shoulder. “Let me be perfectly frank with you. Fallon is my friend and I know that he is also yours. He speaks of you as if you were his own sister . . . with as much respect as he has toward the queen. He’s handsome and quite gallant,” she added with a droll smile. “A girl could get a bit breathless around him. But I assure you that I harbor no romantic feelings toward him.” She then sighed and looked directly into Trynne’s eyes. “He may be a bit . . . interested in me. I haven’t encouraged it, and I won’t, especially because I can tell that would hurt you. I do consider you a friend, Trynne. It was Fallon who persuaded me to tell the king and your father about my discovery. And your father explained the ley lines to me and told me what they are properly called. As I said, I’ve been a little jealous of you all these years. You know these things already, and I’ve had to struggle to learn each of the words. I’m sure you know so many more than I do. I won’t ask you to teach me, for that wouldn’t be proper. I’m a poisoner, not a Wizr. But I do serve my brother. As for why I’m here, I think it would be best if Fallon explained it to you himself.”

Trynne blinked with surprise. “I’m not sure . . .” She could not think of a reason why she shouldn’t stay. Nor could she summon the will to say no because she had only seen Fallon rarely during the last few years, and each time she had, her heart had been in commotion for weeks afterward.

Morwenna gave her a pointed look. “I won’t hear any objection. Everyone in this city is trying to find him right now so that Elwis can stop him from participating in the Gauntlet or humiliate him during it.” She rubbed Trynne’s arm. “I know he’ll be happy to see you. Come, let’s go together. If Dragan’s smart, he’s already on a gondola where the water will protect him from our magic. I just wish there were a waterfall nearby so that we could throw him over the edge!”




The Oberon was a small home built along a waterway so that it couldn’t be approached on foot. The walls were made of red brick, and there were stained wooden planks fastened to the bricks in the front. It was two stories high with a long row of windows, each one small and paned with glass embedded with diamond-shaped wires. The roof from the upper level sloped toward the river, exposing four different dormer rooms of varying size. Two stubby chimneys appeared in the middle of the roof, and a section of the lower floor jutted slightly out over the river into a wide bay window with an additional piece of roof covering it. It was distinctive and interesting and crowded between other brick houses on one side and a brick wall on the other, which had a small landing pad and a locked iron door. The wall implied there was a small yard on the other side, but it was impossible to tell. Vines crept up the wall and the side of the bricks near the door.

Trynne’s heart was thumping painfully in her chest as the boatman guided their gondola toward the landing with a staff. The boat swayed a little. There were lily pads clustered around the base of the house, and Trynne spied a dragonfly buzzing over one.

She was nervous about meeting Fallon again, especially in light of Morwenna’s tale. After hiring the gondola, they had gone on a brief tour of the city of Marq with its waterways and crowded streets. Trynne would have enjoyed the adventure more had she not felt so heartsick. After learning about the ley lines, Morwenna had used them to come and go at Kingfountain’s palace, much like Trynne did, except the poisoner’s visits were much less predictable and scheduled. Morwenna had been to most of the kingdoms already, it turned out, and she’d learned a lot about the different customs in those other lands.

She was living the kind of life that Trynne had always coveted.

The boat reached the platform and the iron door opened, revealing two men who made and received Espion hand signals. They quickly ushered the two ladies and Captain Staeli off the boat and in through the door.

As Trynne shuffled down the corridor of the Oberon, gazing at the beams supporting the roof and taking in the sights and sounds, she heard voices and laughter from the common room ahead. She recognized Fallon’s voice amidst the din. Her mouth went dry again and she wiped her hands on her dark skirts. The corridor was stifling hot and the smell of wood rot and smoke hung in the air.

Morwenna unfastened her cloak and took it off, preparing to hang it as they entered. Trynne noticed that the chemise she was wearing beneath the cloak was pulled open at the shoulders, leaving only the kirtle straps to cover her skin. She felt another flush of jealousy, especially as they entered the common area and all the men’s eyes instantly shot to Morwenna. The girl seemed to glow with the sudden attention she was receiving.

A few of the Espion glanced at Trynne, but their attention was quickly drawn to the more alluring woman.

Trynne saw Fallon sitting jauntily in a seat, leaning back on his chair so that the front legs were lifted up. He looked older than she remembered, his face fuzzy and unshaven. His dark hair was a mess and he looked so casual. His eyes lit up when he saw Morwenna enter, burning with frank hunger. There was no sign of the indifference with which he’d viewed her years before, when the three of them were last together, and a sick feeling seized Trynne’s chest. Greed. Jealousy. Her oaths had warned her of this too.

Then his gaze shot to Trynne.

His expression transformed, looking almost guilty when the recognition settled in.

“Cousin?” he belted out in surprise and wonder.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


Spurned




It wasn’t long before Trynne’s embarrassment and discomfort melted away in the face of Fallon’s personality. He could chase away a thunderstorm with one of his witty sayings and a smile. It was clear he was quite at home amongst the Espion and that he and Morwenna had become closer. But it was equally clear that he was grateful for whatever tides of fate had brought Trynne to his table.

“So your mother sent you to Marq to fetch a dusty book,” Fallon said, stroking his chin. “And you brought Captain Staeli—the stouthearted Westmarcher—as your guardian. Can’t argue with the choice—the man is all ice and iron. Welcome, Captain!”