The Thief's Daughter (Kingfountain #2)

After he was gone, Owen gave Evie a curious look. “You have a knack for remembering stories. I had not thought of Constance and Goff. That was back at the beginning of the Argentine dynasty, you say?”

Evie nodded. She looked very somber. “The very beginning. Ours is a kingdom where the stories keep repeating themselves over and over. It’s odd, Owen. It’s almost as if history were a waterwheel that keeps coming back to the same point in the river.”

“Why do you say that?” Owen pressed. Justine looked up as he approached Evie near the table.

“Constance and Goff had a son they named Andrew, who should have been king. But his uncle claimed the throne for himself. And he put the young man to death.”

Owen felt his skin crawl. “How . . . how old was Andrew?”

She blinked up at him, her eyes a mix of green and gray. “Our age.”





CHAPTER TEN


King of Atabyion




The king had given Owen a fortnight to remain in North Cumbria. But not even a fortnight was permitted, as events in the world began to unravel.

Owen was fighting in the training yard with Clark from the Espion. He liked practicing with Clark because the man had no chronic weaknesses, meaning Owen did not have his usual easy advantage. In his late twenties, he was strong and fit and had been training his entire life, which gave him the grace and skill to help Owen improve. In addition, he taught Owen how to fight with daggers, how to block with elbows and forearms, how to trip a man and wrestle him to the ground. He was bigger than Owen, so he usually won.

The two men were taking a rest, dripping with sweat, when a messenger arrived in the training yard. As he approached, he made a subtle hand gesture identifying himself as part of the Espion. Though he was not old by any means, he had dark brown hair with streaks of premature silver.

“What is it, Kevan?” Clark asked. The Espion saw Owen and nodded to him as well.

“I have news from Mancini,” Kevan said as he approached them.

“For both of us?” Clark demanded, his frown deepening.

“Aye. You are both wanted back at court immediately. The king wants Lady Mortimer to come too.”

Owen looked between Clark and Kevan in surprise. “Evie?”

“The very one,” the man said with a chuckle. “Mancini requested her specifically.”

“What for? Do you know?”

“Well, something is afoot,” Kevan said. He looked around cautiously, making sure no one else was close enough to overhear. “Duke Horwath isn’t to know everything, but I was told to share the full truth with you. The king is sending her on a mission to Atabyrion.”

Owen’s stomach dropped suddenly. “Whatever for?”

“It’s a mission requiring some modicum of diplomacy,” Kevan said. “She’s an earl’s daughter, and she’s of an age. The king is taken with her sharp wit, her bravery, and her studies, so he’s sending her to negotiate a truce with Atabyrion’s king, Iago Llewellyn. King Severn has already spent too many resources defending against an attack that didn’t come from the east as we were expecting. That’s what I’m to tell the duke. But the true story is this. Mancini found evidence that the pretender may in fact be the son of a fisherman in Brugia. A cub by the name of Piers Urbick.” Kevan looked around again and then dropped his voice even lower. “My lord duke, the king wants you to go to Atabyrion too. In disguise. We have reason to believe this Urbick fellow is hiding in Atabyrion. Lady Mortimer discusses an alliance. You fetch the lad. We’ll tell Duke Horwath that you will go in disguise as added protection for his granddaughter. The king trusts you, my lord, to figure out what needs to be done in a place that he can’t go himself. That’s your mission, and my mission was to tell you. You will get more information at the palace. For now, you are both Horwath knights escorting her ladyship and her maid to Kingfountain,” he said, shaking his finger at Clark and Owen.




It was strange for Owen to wear the tunic of the Duke of Horwath. He hadn’t realized how much of his own sense of self derived from his dukedom’s badge until now. He wore it still, hidden beneath his chain hauberk and tunic. It was exciting to be in disguise, though, and as a knight wearing a chain hood, he was nameless, faceless, and practically invisible.

Of course, Evie was wild with eagerness to embark on her secret mission to Atabyrion. She had never left Ceredigion before. Justine was cautious and worried, as she tended to be, but it did little to douse her companion’s spirits. Evie gave instructions for what books she wanted packed, which gowns and jewels she would wear to the court of Iago Llewellyn. But those items would be sent by cart. She was determined to ride to Kingfountain on horseback rather than be trundled along with the baggage.

There were no secrets between Evie and Owen, so he had shared the part of the message that he was supposed to keep to himself. The journey from Dundrennan to Kingfountain took five days, and though Evie attempted to convince the others to spend one of the nights camping, they stayed at comfortable inns along the way to ease the burden of the journey.

They reached Kingfountain and found everything as chaotic as Owen had expected. His heart was churning with emotions and excitement. He had always wanted to take an adventure, and the idea of traveling with her, of being truly alone and away from court and their lives in Ceredigion, was sweeter than treacle. As they crossed the bridge leading to the palace, he saw the ships docked at the lower portion of the falls and wondered which vessel would be taking them across the sea.

They arrived with pomp and fanfare and were ushered into the throne room to see the king, who was pacing, limping slightly, and brooding. Owen saw the king’s niece, Elyse, sitting on a nearby bench, her eyes puffy and swollen from crying. His heart panged to see her this upset, particularly since he had not seen her in many months, but she did not give him a second look as he entered. His disguise saw to that.

“My lord,” Evie said with a gracious and formal curtsy. “I am here at your command to do your bidding.”

Justine curtsied as well, not daring to look the king in the eye.

Mancini was leaning against the fireplace. His pose was all easy relaxation, but Owen noticed he did not sip from the goblet in his hand.

“Leave us,” the king ordered his servants, dismissing the cupbearers and butlers and hangers-on. Lady Elyse started to rise as well, but the king curtly shook his head, gesturing for her to stay.

In a few moments, the hall had been cleared for the king, except for the new arrivals, Mancini, and Elyse. The king sighed deeply, then turned to Owen.