“The duke was the bastard son of the king,” said Estian. “Of the same blood as King Andrew, but sullied. They invoked the game afresh. They each made a covenant, binding them to the rules of the game. Ambition and pride are powerful motives. So is hatred. The game will go on for generations until one side wins. Or the Dreadful Deadman returns.”
Simon’s eyebrows creased with confusion.
“You are speaking in riddles,” Ransom said.
“The bastard duke was convinced that he and his line would make stronger kings than Chatriyon’s pampered sons. In order to play the game, he needed to become a king himself first. He only had the resources of a duke, so he had to conquer a stronger force. He chose Ceredigion over the island nations of Brugia or Legault. And Genevar didn’t have a king, just a doge.”
“The conquest,” Ransom said, nodding. “He defeated King Ethelring and claimed Ceredigion.”
“Yes, he took the hollow crown from Ethelring, and that is when this iteration of the game began. A contest between two realms. Claiming a kingdom, however, was easier than keeping it.”
“So it seems,” Ransom agreed. “There were many fights over succession.”
“Yes,” Estian said with a smirk. “That happens when all the heirs are unworthy. My father taught me it is easier to weaken an enemy from within than to destroy it from without. As I’ve learned to my folly. I thought . . . I believed that I would win the game and end it.”
“By destroying us?”
Estian shook his head. “That was never my intention.”
“Your presence here belies those words,” Simon said mockingly.
It also went against Alix’s threat and the Ondine’s warning.
“Only a fool utters things he does not understand,” quipped Estian in rebuke.
“Enlighten us, then,” Simon responded with a look of distrust.
“I had Alix steal the board back because you do not understand it,” Estian said to Ransom. “You risk destroying us all.”
“If you didn’t seek to ruin us, what was your intention?” Ransom asked. He couldn’t trust Estian to be truthful, but he had to ask anyway.
“To destroy that hated king, Jon-Landon, yes. But not his children. I wanted to rule Kingfountain, not obliterate it. If either side wins the game, everything ends. But there is a way to stop the game. To pause it if you will.”
“How?” Ransom asked.
“Only someone who is Fountain-blessed can retrieve it . . . or put it there. Your kind can reach into the Deep Fathoms itself. When the Wizr board is returned to the waters, the game is . . . ‘paused,’ for lack of a better word. There is less of a press to fight, to conquer. A semblance of peace can be had, so long as there are potential heirs on both sides. So long as there is still an Argentine living when I claim the hollow crown, I could rule all the lands and do what my ancestors could not—bring Andrew’s kingdom back in all its glory. One king, one will, one dominion.”
“The same can be said in reverse,” Ransom surmised. “If Occitania is conquered, one king may rule both realms.”
“Yes,” said Estian. His eyes narrowed. “What is your intention?”
“First, tell me of the Dreadful Deadman,” Ransom said. “I know it is whispered that a scion of King Andrew’s line will be born. That he will restore his kingdom.”
Estian shrugged. “I thought it possible that Constance’s son might be the one. But he is dead.”
“Is this prophecy written in The Hidden Vulgate?” Ransom asked.
The king looked at him in confusion. “What is that?”
“The book Alix stole from Claire in Legault. A tome copied by the Black Wizr.”
The king shook his head. “I know nothing of that.”
“She stole it when she tried to abduct my sons,” Ransom said.
“I know nothing of it!” Estian said angrily, but his confusion seemed real.
“For your side, there is yourself, your son, and Alix herself. What of your sister?”
“Noemie is barren,” Estian said. “She cannot conceive. She was . . . poisoned.” Something flickered in his expression, and a very real horror entered his eyes. “Lord Ransom, Alix will try to claim the throne of Occitania herself while I am imprisoned. My son is in danger!”
“There is a way to summon her,” Ransom said. “I know you’ve done it before. If you move her piece, she will be forced to come.”
“Through the fountains,” Simon said with a nod.
“The fountains are manifestations of an older magic,” Estian said. “Their locations were carefully chosen to fall in areas of magical confluence. They’re called ‘ley lines.’ That is how I returned from the East Kingdoms so quickly. And yes, I can summon Alix.”
“Does she know you lost?” Ransom asked.
“I have no way to communicate with her except summoning her through the board.”
“Then we summon her now,” Ransom said, pointing to it. “In addition to your ransom payment, I want Alix in exchange for your freedom. We take your most valuable piece and agree to bury the board in the water and pause the game.”
Estian blinked quickly. “I’ll do it. My life for hers.”
“She can disappear without a fountain, though,” Ransom said. “How? When she attacked Claire at Connaught—”
“The ley lines run through Connaught,” Estian explained. “Pree too. And Kingfountain. But she needs to be in a fountain to leave.”
Ransom shook his head. “Claire saw her disappear.”
“She can vanish,” Estian said. “She has the ability to turn invisible. When she fled Connaught, she deceived your wife into thinking she was gone. But you, I know, can sense her presence, just as she can sense yours.”
Although Ransom didn’t trust Estian, his explanation fit. Because if Alix had the ability to appear and disappear at will, she would have used it much more frequently. “Summon her. It serves both of our purposes.”
“I will,” Estian said. “If you let me go.”
“Don’t,” Lady Deborah warned.
Ransom glanced at her, thoughtful.
“Lord Ransom, she could get back to Pree in an instant!” Estian implored. “If she believes I’m dead, she will kill my son and take the throne herself. None of you would prevail against her.”
“Summon her to Thorngate,” Ransom said. “That is what she would expect if you won the battle, correct?”
“Yes, but I don’t see how—”
“Then we’ll bring both of you to Kingfountain. See that Devon is crowned. If all goes well and the board reflects it, then I will submerge it and release you to leave by ship.”
“I see. But you will . . . destroy Alix? The only way to kill a Fountain-blessed is to send them over a waterfall.”
When we arrived in Glosstyr, we learned the news of Ransom’s victory at Thorngate castle from Dearley himself. Ransom sent him to Glosstyr to come fetch us to Kingfountain for the coronation of Prince Devon. He will be Devon Tercer, I believe, the third of that name. I’m so relieved. The awful pangs of worry and grief have come to an end. Estian the Black is captured, and he will be brought to Kingfountain as well. Lady Alix is the final threat on the board. Once she is removed from the game, we can all breathe easily. Willem and Dev asked if the princess would be at the palace. They want to introduce her to Sibyl. I asked Dearley to send a knight to the Heath to fetch Ransom’s mother. She is ailing, but she will want to be there to witness her son’s triumph. He will be the lord protector of the realm. At last, at long last, we may finally get a season of peace and solace.