Yet none of us are safe while that poisoner is free. I know she saved Ransom when he was a young knight. He will want to spare her life for that and because she is Emiloh’s daughter. But can so much guilt be purged with forgiveness?
—Claire de Murrow
Fortress of Glosstyr
(We ride by horseback. The roads are thick with mud.)
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Poisoner’s Fate
All was in preparedness. Ransom had iron cuffs around his wrists, but they were not secured and could be shrugged off. His knights, including Dawson, wore the livery of the Occitanian king and stood in a semicircle around the fountain within the trampled gardens behind the keep at Thorngate castle. Within the trees perched Hans Dragan with no less than three loaded crossbows. The drawbridge of the keep was up, so there was no way for Alix to get to the queen and her children, who were sheltered with Lady Deborah and guarded by Cecily. There were no fountains within the keep.
The Wizr board was set on a small stool before the fountain, its lid propped open to reveal the set. Estian stood next to Ransom, waiting for the order to move the piece that would summon Alix.
Ransom wore a hauberk beneath his muddied tunic. Although he was posing as a defeated man, he still wore his sword, the scabbard positioned at his back. An Espion, garbed as a servant, held a knife at Estian’s back. They had hastily assembled the scene, knowing that every moment increased the odds that a survivor of the battle would return to Tatton Hall with news of the crushing defeat.
Ransom met Dawson’s eyes. Would they be able to capture the poisoner? Estian’s suggestion of how they might execute her, by plunging her alive over the falls, was tempting.
“What do we wait for?” Estian asked with a nervous edge in his voice.
Dawson nodded. If the knights could subdue her, they’d lock her in chains, which were at the ready in a nearby sack at Dawson’s feet. Hans Dragan would send a crossbow bolt through her heart if she tried to escape.
No one knew how she would react to the betrayal. She might try to kill Estian too, which was why Ransom would be at the king’s side.
He let out a calming breath.
“Bring her,” he announced and dropped to one knee, his whole body tensing and ready for action. His Fountain magic had been depleted during the battle, but he had an ample store remaining. He would fight, and he would prevail against her this time.
A bird dived and flew away. The smell of mud and wet lawn filled the air. The whole moment felt charged with meaning, with anticipation.
Estian reached into the Wizr set and put his fingers on the piece representing Alix. A trickle of sweat went down his cheek as he slowly dragged it to Thorngate castle.
All eyes were fixed on the fountain.
It only took a moment for the waters of the fountain to start rippling. But Ransom saw no poisoner. She was invisible.
So Estian had been honest about that, at least.
“Show yourself, Alix,” the Black King said curtly. “And bring our prisoner back to Pree.”
His words hung in the stillness for a moment, and then Alix appeared in the fountain’s waters. She had a dagger in an underhanded grip. She wore a cloak that swayed where it touched the waters. Her eyes went from Estian’s to Ransom’s.
Ransom lowered his gaze, trying to look defeated. The chains clinked as his shoulders sagged.
“He’s still alive?” Alix said. Her voice was taunting.
“He was not easy to vanquish,” Estian said. “Bring him to Pree and then meet us at Kingfountain.”
Ransom swallowed, his throat dry.
“I would like to bring him to Kerjean,” she said. “May I look after the prisoner?”
“You may have your revenge on him later,” Estian said. She still hadn’t left the waters. Ransom hoped his knights wouldn’t foolishly try to grab her from there. Patience and subtlety were not traits that came easily to men who preferred killing with swords, but if they attempted that now, she would elude them.
“I will have him,” Alix said, her voice throbbing with revenge.
“As I promised,” Estian replied. “Now take him. We must depart.”
Alix turned and looked at the keep. What was she thinking? Ransom risked a slight glance in that direction and saw nothing to give them away.
“As you command, my king,” Alix said in a haughty tone. She stepped out of the water and approached Ransom. When the scent of lilac hit Ransom’s nostrils, memories pummeled him in a fierce cascade. Of kissing her. Of listening to her lies and deceit. Of all the men and women she had killed. His emotions roiled, but he commanded them. He was the Fountain’s creature now.
“Rise, Ransom,” she said. “Your suffering is only about to begin.”
Ransom rose, and as he did so, he flicked his wrists. The chains dropped to the grass with a rattling noise and heavy thump.
Alix’s eyes widened with surprise.
He grabbed her by the wrist of the hand that held the knife, the same one bearing the pearl bracelet, and squeezed hard enough to make her wince and drop it.
“Stand back,” he said to the king, but Estian was already withdrawing out of her reach.
Her look of surprise turned to one of betrayal. She gazed at Estian, her eyes widening until the whites could be seen around her irises.
“You lost?” she whispered to Estian.
“Dawson, the chains,” Ransom said urgently.
The knights came around quickly and blocked her access to the fountain. They each had a dagger in hand, having set their swords aside to avoid telegraphing their intentions. Ransom had even asked his men to shave before putting the ruse into action, so that they resembled Occitanian knights. It had worked.
Alix looked into his eyes. The sight of her face, so hauntingly like Emiloh’s, stabbed him in the heart. He felt her arm muscles tense, and he tightened his grip.
“Don’t,” he warned her. “I’ve a crossbowman with orders to kill you. The tables have turned, Alix. You are my prisoner now.”
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked him, glancing briefly at Dawson as he approached from the left, pulling the chains from the bag. There were four manacles, one for each wrist and ankle.
“You’re going into the falls,” Estian said with a throb of triumph.
Alix flinched at the word. She gazed at the king with a look of hatred and then lowered her head and held out her other arm.
Ransom kept hold of her until the shackles were in place and the dagger taken away. He removed the pearl bracelet himself and stuffed it into his pocket.
As their horses were prepared for the ride to Kingfountain, Cecily searched and disarmed the poisoner. When she was finished, Ransom was summoned to the solar as Alix was escorted out by Dawson and three other knights to the dungeon. The chains had been designed to restrict a knight, but they’d ensured that the cuffs were narrow enough for her smaller wrists and ankles. Ransom was given the stubby key that would open them. Alix didn’t even look at him as she was shuffled past.
Lady Deborah, who had been in the room for the search of Alix’s person, gave a sigh of relief.
A small round table contained the different artifacts of the poisoner’s trade. Daggers that had smudges of oil on them. Sharp hair pins. Jewelry with hidden compartments. Cecily picked up one of the rings and twisted the crown of it, revealing a small needle. She showed it to Ransom and grinned. Several vials sat on the table too, tiny ones that might only contain a few drops of deadly poison.