Trynne gave Genevieve a fierce hug. “Don’t you worry about me, Genny. I’m confident that I can get away if I need to. I didn’t only take the staff from Rucrius. He was also carrying a device the Chandigarli call a Tay al-Ard. It’s one of the magics of the Deep Fathoms, I think, and it allows the user to transport from place to place without using the ley lines at all. Morwenna doesn’t know that I have it.” She paused, then added, “I don’t think Rucrius is truly loyal to Gahalatine. When I interrogated him, he said he knew where my father was. That he’s been held prisoner, forced to wear a mask. Somehow his memories have been stolen from him. If Morwenna wants to prove her loyalty, then perhaps she can help us get information about where he’s being kept.”
Genevieve nodded. “While you are in the Forbidden Court, learn what you can about our enemy. We need to understand Gahalatine. We need to understand how he can afford to pay such exorbitant bribes. His wealth cannot be unlimited. Find that out, if you can. Then perhaps we can discern where he will strike next.”
The conversation with the queen had filled up Trynne’s reservoir of magic. She had always loved discussing politics with her father, plotting and planning maneuvers that would help them achieve their ends. A memory struck her in a flash that could only have come from the Fountain.
She smiled eagerly. “I think it was Ankarette who said that the best way to predict the future is to make it happen. Why wait to see where Gahalatine strikes next? We know what he wants. The hollow crown. He will go to wherever Drew is to get it. Some say Castle Beestone is the most defensible fortress because it is in the center of the land, but I know from my father that it is riddled with tunnels and caves. No, the strongest fortress is Dundrennan. It is the source of the river that flows down here. Fighting a battle in a winter storm would make any soldier quail. Even ones who can fly.”
The smile that came onto Genevieve’s face made Trynne flush.
“I am so grateful,” the queen whispered tenderly, “that you are on our side.”
Trynne stood in her room at the castle of Averanche, holding the Tay al-Ard in her hand. She had forewarned Mariette that the queen would summon her to the palace. The beautiful widow had bowed graciously, failing to conceal a look of eager excitement. Trynne had also spoken privately with Reya.
Trynne was prepared for her journey, dressed in the outfit Reya had worn while fleeing Chandleer Oasis, with two of the hook swords that Reya had commissioned from the blacksmith concealed in a long lute case strapped around her shoulder. She had used them in the training yard with Reya and liked how light and fast they were. She’d also had a scroll case brought to her to conceal the Tay al-Ard.
It was Trynne’s plan to avoid setting a time for their departure from Kingfountain. She did not want to give Morwenna the opportunity to plan an ambush.
Trynne stared at the device in her hand, then at herself in the mirror. The disguising ring was on her finger, but she had not yet activated it. One of her ideas was to make herself look like Reya until she reached the zenana. Then she would wander around the place until she found Lady Evie and dropped her disguise. But she hoped Reya’s outfit might be enough to help her blend in with the local populace.
Only at the end, if Morwenna proved trustworthy, would she reveal she had the Tay al-Ard. The betrayal, if it happened, would likely occur as soon as they were away from the protection of the ley lines.
After examining her costume in the mirror, she turned the device in her hand. There were no buttons or symbols on it. Her whole plan hinged on it working. When the Wizrs had used it in her presence, none of them had uttered a word of power aloud. Perhaps the device was sentient and could know her thoughts?
She fixed her thoughts on the queen’s private chamber, imagining it in as much detail as she could muster. Before she could think the word of power that allowed her to travel across the ley lines, there was a jolt, followed by a searing spasm of movement, and then an instant of nausea and dizziness. She had just finished blinking when she realized it had worked. She was in the queen’s private chamber. The rod tingled in her hand, and she felt the ebbing of Fountain magic. Not from her stores, though. The journey had taken nothing from her at all.
Smiling in triumph, she strapped the device to her forearm, covering it with the sleeve of Reya’s loose garment. Everything she had prepared for the journey had come with her. There was no one else inside the chamber.
When she left Genevieve’s room, she startled the guards who had been standing at attention. She smiled at them, nodded politely, and then started walking down the corridor toward her intended goal. She passed servants, who gave her strange looks, and found her way to the iron door that was always locked. Standing at the door, she gripped the handle.