“However many men this foreign king has brought against us, Son,” said Owen’s father grimly, “you show him our mettle.”
His mother embraced him next, pressing a kiss to his clean-shaven cheek. Her skin was pale and wrinkled, and her dark hair was losing its battle against the gray. “Bless you, my boy. You are still my miracle.”
Owen smiled sadly at the comment, then kissed her in return. Owen’s parents and siblings were still unaware of Sinia’s prophecy. Owen had confided to Trynne that he felt it best, since they had already suffered so much guilt over the years he’d spent as a boy hostage to King Severn.
Trynne felt her heart aching with sorrow, but she was determined to be brave. She had to show her father that she was equal to the task. He finished embracing the rest of his family and then turned to her. There was a smile he gave her, one that was unique to her alone. Trynne favored him with one of her crooked smiles in return and then gave him a subdued hug, even though she felt like sobbing into his tunic. She wished she could tell him that she was an Oath Maiden; she wished she could tell him everything. He took her hands and kissed her knuckles.
“I will miss you,” he whispered right before kissing the hair at her ear.
That nearly undid her, but she blinked rapidly and summoned her courage once more. “I love you,” she said simply, squeezing his hand in return. “Ankarette is my namesake, so I know she’d want me to remind you of the advice you’ve always given me.” Her voice was a little choked, but she mastered it. “The most important gift is discernment. To know the heart of your foe. I think you’ve always had it. But I ask the Fountain to give you an extra portion.”
Owen smiled with gratitude. Then he sighed. “Into the cistern?” She had always loved listening to the stories of his childhood. Lady Evie was the one who had taught him to be brave and to jump into the unknown.
“I would jump in with you. If I could.”
He tousled her hair. “I wouldn’t let you. But thank you, Trynne. I love you. I didn’t know the full meaning of that sentiment until I held you for the first time.” He pinched her chin. Then he turned and hooked arms with Sinia.
Trynne saw her mother was also struggling to maintain her composure, but she did so with grace and determination.
Owen cast his gaze around the chamber once more, staring at the faces of those he loved best. His eyes were shining, close to tears, and it wrenched Trynne’s heart to see him that way. It looked as if he might break apart at any moment, but the Fountain must have been giving him strength to turn his emotions into purpose.
“Farewell, my children,” Sinia bid them, her voice betraying the ache in her heart.
A moment later they were gone.
It would take a fortnight for her father’s army to reach Guilme. Sinia, who had remained at Kingfountain to advise Queen Genevieve, informed her of the progress through messages left in the fountain. Each morning, Trynne returned to Averanche to train the ladies the queen had sent to her. She practiced in her new armor, getting used to the heft and feel of it. She had also sewn a war banner for herself—a horse’s head painted blue. Because of her many duties in Averanche and Brythonica, her grandparents had assumed the primary responsibility for her brother’s care, and he enjoyed the time spent with his cousins. But he missed his mother deeply, and Trynne found herself consoling him at the end of each day. She spent time reading him stories from The Vulgate. He liked the adventures and the names of the heroes from the past, especially the Fountain-blessed ones. Often he’d fall asleep while she read, his face a picture of peace that melted her heart. She imagined that her father might have looked like Gannon as a child, except for the dark hair with the tuft of white. Seeing her brother in that way filled her with tenderness.
It was an agonizingly long fortnight. Gahalatine’s army was encamped outside the city of Guilme. Strangely, it had not yet begun to test the city’s defenses. The fleet of treasure ships blockaded the harbor, preventing aid from reaching the city by water. Grand Duke Maxwell and Prince Elwis had set up camp within a league of Guilme to keep an eye on the hostile army. Reinforcements arrived every day as King Drew’s army began to build. Despite the detailed reports, Trynne longed to be at the camp herself.
She spent time studying the charts with the ley lines to determine the course of her arrival. She could disembark from the ley line anywhere along the strand, although it would be easier to arrive at a fountain. There was a village west of Guilme along the same line where she could purchase a horse, though she imagined they would be costly during a time when the army would need them.