“Leave him alone,” Trynne said, standing in front of Myrddin.
“Everyone will suffer,” the poisoner snarled. “You have always been so faithful. Look what it has gotten you. Look what it has done for your people. The Fountain is not alive. It is not benevolent. It is cruel and murderous and violent! It would drown a million people to spite a handful. We are right to fear it.”
Trynne continued walking forward, closing the gap between her and the poisoner. “You speak lies, Morwenna. You may have grown to believe them, but they are still lies.”
“Are they?” Morwenna challenged. “Why would the Fountain have let me destroy the Forbidden Court? I was the one who summoned the storm. I destroyed half the city. And the Fountain let me! It did not intercede. The East Kingdoms will never be grand again. Even if you could kill me, and I don’t think you have the heart to do it, they will all die anyway. I kissed Gahalatine, Trynne.
Pretending to be you, I kissed him. My kiss is deadly.”
The words stabbed into Trynne, especially since she sensed they were true.
“There is no cure for its poison,” Morwenna continued. “And when he dies, the East Kingdoms die with him. The Fountain let me do this! It obeys whoever forces it to obey. It is a matter of will. And my will is stronger than yours. Than both of yours combined!”
Trynne saw the sea beginning to collect again, preparing for another onslaught. Myrddin’s shield was buckling. She reached out with her magic as she approached the poisoner. Morwenna’s weakness was the same as any Wizr’s. She was strong and hardened by training. She was more than a match for Trynne. But her weakness was her neck. If she could not breathe, her powers would fail her. Could Trynne cut off her head as she had done to Rucrius? She wanted to kill her out of vengeance. But she had sworn an oath never to do that. She listened for permission from the Fountain.
All was silent in her mind.
She was supposed to capture Morwenna, then. Bring her to justice at Kingfountain.
Trynne dropped her twin swords. The two blades embedded in the sand. She kept walking down the slope of packed sand, weaponless. The swords would only kill Morwenna. There had to be another way.
Morwenna’s lip curled into a sneer. She drew one of her daggers. Wet poison glistened on the blade.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Drowning
Morwenna’s eyes flashed and a pulse of magic seared at Trynne. It had no effect. Then sand exploded from the shore, sending up a blinding haze of stinging pebbles and grit that whirled around in a vortex. Trynne walked through it, shielding her eyes. She could no longer see Morwenna, but she could still sense her. The poisoner was retreating deeper into the ruins of Leoneyis.
Trynne trudged forward, sensing the barnacle-encrusted pillars that rose around her, the bones of the ancient kingdom. The wind died down, giving her relief from the pelting sand. She couldn’t see Morwenna anymore, but there was no mistaking where she was concealing herself—she’d hidden behind some of the broken fragments of rock. Trynne saw the tide still stretching out, building up for another colossal charge. She had to hurry, had to defeat Morwenna quickly enough to stop the surge. Glancing back, she saw Myrddin on his knees, still gripping the gnarled staff in his hands, head bent low. But she also saw others flocking to the beach, the citizens of Ploemeur coming out to see what was going on. She wanted to scream at them to flee, to get to higher ground. They were arriving in droves.
“I’ve waited for this,” Morwenna taunted, her voice ghosting behind the rocks. “For the chance to face the Painted Knight myself.”
Despite all the seaweed and encrustations, Trynne could see the carved face on the rock—as ancient and decayed as the ruins itself.
“I do not seek revenge against you, Morwenna,” Trynne said. “I arrest you by command of the king. Your brother, whom you betrayed.”
“My brother,” the poisoner laughed. “The son of a coward. The heir of a withered dynasty. He doesn’t deserve to wear the tunic of the Sun and Rose. He didn’t earn it, as my father did. You should know all about betrayal. Your father betrayed mine.”
“My father served the Fountain. And your father served the true king. He gave his life to defend Kingfountain.” Morwenna continued to retreat deeper into the hulking stones. Beautifully colored starfish clung to many of the ruined buildings, and vagrant strands of kelp draped across the stones. It was getting colder, darker, as she followed Morwenna deeper into the ruins.
“Your father tricked mine through the help of a poisoner. Isn’t it fitting that you’ve been duped by one as well? Ankarette was afraid of my father, you know. She was afraid to face him.”