The Thief's Daughter (11 page)

Above all, King Severn of Ceredigion values loyalty. He is known to test the loyalty of those who serve him in ways that truly pierce the heart.

—Polidoro Urbino, Court Historian of Kingfountain

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Etayne

As Severn said those words, Owen could only listen in shock and pain. Evie flinched as if she’d been struck. There were many things Owen wanted to say at that moment. None would have been prudent.

Evie’s face was pale, and knowing her as he did, Owen was certain she was battling a fierce storm of emotions. Still, she rallied and bowed before the king.

“I am grateful to Your Majesty,” she said in a quiet voice, “for the trust you have in me. I will go to Atabyrion as you have commanded.” Though she looked crestfallen, stricken, she put on a submissive air.

“I knew that I could depend on you,” the king said. “I would have you depart within a fortnight. But first, you must speak with my chancellor, who will explain the state of affairs between our two kingdoms. If you are to go there, you must be prepared to threaten Iago. At all times, you are to project strength rather than weakness. My chancellor will also provide you with the funds required to act as my emissary. I have
contacts
at the court of Iago, which Master Mancini will explain to you. You will go with a full diplomatic escort, including several of my court lawyers to serve as your advisors. But I would have it made clear that you represent
me
and are empowered to negotiate on my behalf. You must make him see that his interests are best served with me as a friend and Occitania as his enemy.”

“It is . . . a great honor,” she stammered.

“You have proven worthy of it.” The king gestured her dismissal. “I would speak to Owen next. As you know, he will be going with you as one of your protectors. You may go.”

Owen’s heart was dark and brooding and sizzling with enmity. He cursed himself silently for not speaking to the king about his feelings back at Dundrennan. To expose them now would risk offending Severn to a catastrophic degree. There was only one hope: He was going with Evie to Atabyrion, so perhaps he could prevent the disaster simply by being there.

Evie bowed again, still pale with dread, and left the throne room. She glanced at him once before leaving, her eyes beseeching his. Though Owen ached to follow her, he could only stare at her with pain.

“You as well, Niece,” the king said, though he spoke with compassion. Elyse looked at the king, a small frown on her mouth, but she rose and left as she had been bidden. Was she suffering because she knew what was happening to Owen and Evie? Or was it this business of the pretender that had her so twisted up inside?

As the door shut behind her, Owen turned to face Severn and Mancini. The spymaster gave a nod to tell Clark to stay put.

The king rose from his throne, wincing with discomfort, and began to pace the throne room. He glanced at Mancini. “Fetch her,” he said curtly.

Mancini nodded and walked over to the doorway the king usually used to enter the throne room. The king’s expression was guarded.

“Do you really seek a marriage alliance with Atabyrion?” Owen asked, trying to keep his tone neutral, but he felt his voice nearly breaking.

The king smirked. “An alliance, if possible. If Iago is smart, he will bite at the bait. But
your
assignment in Atabyrion will be quite different from that of the earl’s daughter. As you have no doubt noticed, the rumors about young Piers Urbick have rattled my court and stabbed at the heart of my niece.” His face wilted with pain. “You can imagine it has affected me in an equally painful manner. I have long been under the impression that both of my nephews were murdered. Bletchley left no clues as to the whereabouts of their bodies or even how they were murdered. But my spies in the courts of Brugia and Legault have begun to piece together clues that make this situation very compromising for me. If the lad is who Tunmore claims him to be, then he does have a motive to instigate a challenge to the throne. However, the deconeus is a notorious liar, and he’s using his gifts to propagate the boy’s story. I might control the treasury and the reins of state, but there are clearly many who would prefer a change in government. And benefit from one. I wish to know for
certain
whether the boy is an imposter. Ah, there she is.”

Owen saw movement from the corner of his eye, and then Mancini returned from the passageway with a young woman at his arm. He recognized the girl immediately as the one he had fought with in the tower. She had on a beautiful court gown and her hair was done up in a stylish coiffure—obviously another wig. She wore Ankarette’s jewels still, and when she saw Owen, a sly smile turned the corner of her lips. Still, she did not give off the sense that she recognized him. Their secret would not be revealed by her—not yet.

A flush of heat bloomed on Owen’s cheeks.

“Owen, this is Etayne,” the king said by way of introduction. “She is the King’s Poisoner. Etayne, my dear, this is Lord Owen Kiskaddon. You will be reporting to him, and to him only, on your assignment in Atabyrion. Is that clear?”

“Yes, my lord,” she said. Her eyes were twinkling with mirth at the shared memory of their earlier introduction. “I recognized him—” She paused just long enough to make him squirm a little, then added, “—by the bit of white in his hair.” She bowed gracefully to Owen.

The king scrutinized her, seemingly curious about her comment, but then he looked away. “The two of you will need to become acquainted. It was Mancini’s idea to hire a poisoner. My brother had a girl working for him for many years by the name of Ankarette Tryneowy. You’ve probably heard chatter about her among the Espion.” The name made Owen flinch, but he managed to nod mutely, even as sweat trickled down his ribs. The girl’s eyes were watching him closely, studying him for a reaction. “Etayne is from our country. I won’t go into her past, but we’ve had her trained in the arts over in Pisan. She is very persuasive, and talented in the art of disguise, but this will be her first . . . test. Mancini tells me you are up to the challenge, Etayne. Why don’t you explain your mission to Lord Owen?”

Owen’s heart turned a little darker, a little sicker. Before she even said her first words, he had already figured it out. But it would have been rude to interrupt her.

“My assignment, Lord Kiskaddon, is to help you infiltrate Iago Llewellyn’s court and arrange a meeting between you and the pretender, Piers Urbick—or Eyric Argentine, if you believe his tale. My disguise will be as one of Lady Mortimer’s ladies-in-waiting. If the story is true, we will seek a way to
persuade
him back to Ceredigion to meet the king in person. If the tale is false . . . well . . . then I will ensure that he no longer poses a threat.”

Owen clenched his jaw, struggling to control his own surging emotions. He felt as if he were already aboard the ship to Atabyrion—and the pitching of the vessel was making him queasy. The glee he had felt about journeying alone with Evie was snuffed out like a candlewick.

“I still think the boy is likely an imposter,” Owen said softly. “No matter how many he has managed to convince.”

“He’s not a boy,” the king answered gravely. “He’s older than you, and he has somehow persuaded several rulers in different realms that his claim is legitimate. It is a cruel game they are playing at. My niece is not the only one who is worry struck. There is more. Mancini . . . tell him.”

“As you will, my lord,” the spymaster said. Owen stared at him with loathing, but he was curious to hear him speak. “I’ve seen copies of Urbick’s claims, just as you found in Chatriyon’s tent. According to reports, he was smuggled out of Ceredigion as a boy after his older brother was murdered by one of Bletchley’s men, a killer known as Tyrell. The boy was commanded not to reveal himself and was kept in the company of protectors who helped disguise his true identity. The lad has
sworn
this in front of lawyers. So my Espion stationed in Brugia began a search there. They found a town along a river where the lad’s parents claim to be. I have their sworn statements. The boy is likely being used by the king’s enemies in a great scheme of deceit, but the longer he remains protected by Iago Llewellyn and the other rulers, the more legitimacy he gains. We have a nobleman at Iago’s court who informed us that Urbick did indeed journey to Atabyrion after his defeat at Blackpool. You and Etayne will go to
him
first, and he will try and get you close to the pretender without compromising himself.”

The king came forward, standing before Owen. Sweat glistened on his upper lip. He gripped Owen’s shoulders. “
Now
can you see why I must send you? I suspect he is an imposter. And I believe he has duped so many because he is either Fountain-blessed himself or is relying on the craftiness of Tunmore. But I must know the truth before I act. Elyse needs to
know
. I don’t want to be accused of murdering my nephew a second time. You will be able to tell if he has access to the Fountain, Owen, and I trust that you can discern if he is lying. The pretender’s life will literally be in your hands. You must be very sure. In this matter, I trust you absolutely.”

After the interview with the king and his new poisoner, Owen managed to get Mancini alone in the Espion tunnels.

“You should have told me this,” he said angrily, grabbing the big man’s arm and stopping him as they walked. “Why did you betray me?”

Mancini paused and glanced back at him. “I didn’t betray you; I outmaneuvered you. That isn’t easy to do with a
Fountain-blessed
boy, you know. Especially one who cheats.”

“I can’t believe you would do this to me,” Owen said with growing agitation. “You know how Evie and I feel about each other. You’ve seen us together since we were little!”

Mancini snorted. “You fancy the girl. Anyone can see that. But Horwath has been deluding himself, and it seems you and Lady
Victoria
have been doing the same.” His eyes were sharp as daggers. “There is no way in the Fountain the king would allow your two duchies to be controlled by a single couple. It would rival the king’s own authority. I have consistently advised him to prevent it. Such a union would benefit the two of you, but it would be absolutely detrimental to the king’s interests.”

“I cannot imagine how!” Owen nearly shouted, shaking with rage.

Mancini pursed his lips. “You’re wroth. We should discuss this after you’ve calmed yourself.”

“We will discuss it now!” Owen insisted.

“Your wound is raw and oozing, but it will heal. You want the truth, eh? You and the Mortimer chit are two important powers in the realm. It would be an utter waste of potential to allow you two to unite instead of using you both to increase the
king’s
power.” He jutted his jaw at Owen. “Think on it, lad! Think on it from the king’s perspective! If Iago marries her, then he must swear fealty to Severn in exchange for his domains in Ceredigion. And it brings Atabyrion under our control through their children. You, on the other hand, have lands that border Occitania. You’ve already succeeded in growing your domains through Averanche. It’s only natural that the king wants an ally in Brythonica so that land can be used as a base to launch an invasion of Chatriyon’s realm. That entire kingdom used to be ours until the Maid of Donremy drove us out like a whipped pup. She was Fountain-blessed. Well, so are you! The king has big plans for you, boy. And those plans do not include Elysabeth Victoria Mortimer!”

Owen felt the fires in his heart burn off into ash. He was sick inside. If there had been a bucket nearby, he would have retched into it. He sagged into the corridor wall, staring incredulously at the Espion master.

“I . . . I love her, Dominic,” he said, his throat clenching with agony.

The spymaster gave him a rare pitying look. He reached out and tried to rest his hand on Owen’s shoulder, but the younger man shoved it away.

“And what does
that
have to do with a political marriage?” Mancini said in a disquieting way. “I had begun to fear you’d spent too many years in the North. Horwath has trained you to be a duke. You are his equal, not his inferior. He’s hinted to the king that you and Evie are fond of each other. But the king
never
supported such a match. Best you deal with this disappointing truth sooner rather than later, boy. It will only cause you pain if you hold out hope.”