The Thief's Daughter (Kingfountain #2)

Iago shook his head. “I never do that. If I lived my life that way, I’d never step foot out of doors. We’re sitting here on this stone because I’m not afraid of falling into the river. I think about what I might gain, not what I stand to lose. I’ve asked for an alliance with Ceredigion before, and Severn spited me. So I will treat with someone more amenable.”

“What did you ask for?” Evie pressed.

“A marriage alliance. That is how you bind fates together. I wished to wed Princess Elyse. You can see I gave Eyric the girl he wanted. He had to have Kathryn the moment he laid eyes on her. I don’t blame him!” he added with a dark chuckle. “And Eyric will give me Elyse. Even you must see the advantage in that! You’re a clever girl, after all. And you know Severn will never grant me what I want.”

Evie screwed up her nose a bit. Owen could see from the look in her eye that she was thinking very hard.

Don’t say it, he thought. Don’t say it!

Evie sat up straighter. “King Severn understands your situation. And he is prepared to enter into an alliance with you. A marriage alliance.”

Iago leaned forward, eager. Their hands were almost touching, a sight that made Owen clench his teeth with fury.

“Not the princess? Oh, I see. I understand now. That’s why he sent you.” He leaned back, the realization flooding him with new ideas. New opportunities. Severn had baited the hook and dangled it now.

“I don’t feel well,” Clark muttered, his voice sounding queasy.

Owen glanced over and saw sweat streaking down Clark’s face. He looked to be on the verge of vomiting.

“Maybe we should go back to the horses,” Justine suggested. “I don’t feel well either.”

“What did you eat?” Owen asked the Espion, awareness striking him as sharp as an arrow shaft.

Clark’s stomach clenched and he quickly rose, knowing now he was in peril. Owen saw the dizziness in his eyes, the unsteady shuffle of his boots.

And then Clark started to totter backward off the rock as Justine screamed.





CHAPTER NINETEEN


The Thief’s Daughter



Owen shot out his hand and snatched at Clark’s tunic before he could fall into the river. The Espion windmilled his arms, his face turning white with terror. Owen felt his own balance shifting and tried to dig the edges of his boots into the rock to steady himself. Then Justine grabbed Owen’s shoulders, saving them both.

It was a heart-stopping moment. And the danger was far from over. Clark was always sure-footed and steady, but there was a feverish, pained look in his eyes. He had been poisoned; Owen felt sure of it, and from the look in Clark’s eye, he knew it too.

“What happened?” Evie cried out, already on her feet.

Clark was safely back on the rock, but his body was swaying. Sweat dribbled from his pores.

“I’m sick too,” Justine complained, her eyes darting back and forth as she gripped her stomach.

The Espion grabbed Owen’s shoulder, his fingers digging in hard. “You saved my life,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I haven’t yet,” Owen said with worry, realizing the dangerous predicament they were in. If Iago had ordered them poisoned, they were not safe in his hands or at his court. A spasm jolted through Clark and his knees buckled. Owen put an arm around Clark’s shoulder to hold his weight, but he did not dare take his eyes off Evie as she climbed up to the higher rock to join them.

Justine choked back tears, her face full of misery at the sight of Clark’s suffering. She was milk white herself, shivering as if they were in a winter storm.

“We need some help down here!” Owen shouted to the servants looking down from above. He shifted to his back to take more of Clark’s weight and helped him climb up the next rock. The sound of the falls and the river was an ever-present reminder of what would happen if they fell. Some of the nimbler servants hurried down and helped by grabbing Clark’s arms and hauling him up the side of the cliff. Owen turned back and extended a hand to Justine. Her palms were sweating, so he grabbed her by the wrist instead. She suddenly slumped, her eyes rolling back in her head, but he caught her around the waist before she fell.

“Justine!” Evie cried in terror and rushed forward to help, but Iago held her arm.

“You’ll fall! He’s got her!” the king said. Then he shouted, “Don’t just stand there, oafs! Help him!”

Owen ducked under Justine and hoisted her up onto his shoulders, then climbed up to the next rock, where several servants met him, ready to take the load. Clark had already been carried up the trail, and as soon as he passed Justine off to the others, Owen rushed over to him. The servants had settled Clark down on the brush, and Etayne was already kneeling next to him, her ear on his chest. Moments later, Justine was laid down beside the other patient.

Owen’s chest felt like a beehive that had been caved in. His emotions were swarming.

“They’ve been poisoned,” Owen whispered to Etayne. His gaze was already assessing the servants, looking for an expression of guilt. The poisoner must be among them, he deduced. He probably wasn’t the one who had thrown them the saddlebag, but he had intercepted it first. One of these men had tried to kill them. But which one?

He saw Iago helping Evie up to the trail, his hands gripping her waist, and he had to smother the rage that burned inside his heart.

“His lips are blue,” Etayne muttered worriedly. She stuck her fingers into Clark’s mouth, then turned his head to the side as he messily expelled everything he’d eaten.

“Get the bag of food he ate from,” Etayne whispered to him. She hurried over to Justine and repeated the maneuver, making another mess. The servants backed away in disgust. Evie shoved Iago away and rushed to the side of her maid, her eyes glistening with tears of worry. Owen had a hand on his sword hilt as he approached the edge of the cliff.

Iago saw him coming and his eyes widened with fear. “I had nothing to do with this. I swear by the Fountain! For all I know, that lunch was meant for us.” His face was twisted with worry and anger, which added credence to his tale. “Fetch my surgeon!” he called out to one of his knights. “I know it’s bloody far! Start riding now!”

“Where’s the saddlebag?” Owen said, and then saw it down on the rocks.

“I’ll send someone down to fetch it. Toal! Down and fetch it. Now!” Iago snapped.

Owen turned back to the crowd gathering around the victims, his insides suddenly turning to ice. He realized that Iago had inadvertently saved his life. If Owen hadn’t been so upset watching him and Evie, he would have eaten from the saddlebag as well. Then all three of them would have been sickened.

The king joined the crowd around the bodies and laid a hand on Evie’s shoulder. “I don’t know who did this,” he said in a low voice. “But I will find and punish him. I promise you that. No one besmirches my honor this way. You are here under my safe conduct. I’ll flay the man when I find out who it was!”