“I think you do,” Trynne agreed.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve imagined us being here together,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s so much of the North that I long to show you. The falls. The ice caves where our parents found Drew’s sword. There’s a man here named Carrick. He’s Fountain-blessed—a hunter. I learned that he was called on to investigate your father’s disappearance. I was wroth that he kept the secret for so long, but eventually I wheedled it out of him. Don’t blame him, Trynne, he was forced between his duty to me as his duke and to his loyalty to your family. When I came to Gannon’s funeral, I brought him with me so he could show me the place where he’d found the evidence. He stayed at a farm outside Ploemeur.

“That’s why I didn’t want you to bring me back to Kingfountain when you offered. There were no more bootprints, obviously. I just wanted to see it with my own eyes. There is something about that cave, Trynne.” He shook his head, gazing downward, his arms still folded.

Then he looked at her, meeting her eyes without flinching. “I should have told you. My heart was hurting because of what happened to your brother. I was sure Dragan was behind it, and it made me sick to think of him walking free after everything he’s done. But how does one catch a thief who can turn invisible? Well, I’ve thought about that for a long time. The answer was greed. Dragan loves to steal, and the harder the target, the more it interests him. So I built a trap for him in my treasury. I commissioned a very expensive champion’s medallion and hired someone to build a trapped box to contain it. I kept it a secret, but I knew that workmen talk. I counted on it. The gate was installed so that if someone lifted the box, the trap would be sprung and the gate closed. I couldn’t care less about the treasure. I wanted to capture Dragan. I knew he would strike while I was at Kingfountain participating in the Gauntlet. He’s been trapped here for days, his power dwindling because there is no one to steal from. I only found out I’d caught the rat in my trap after arriving here with Morwenna. We’ve fed him prisoner’s rations through the bars so he won’t die, but it’s not expected he’ll live long now.”

Trynne gave him an encouraging smile. “That was fairly clever, Fallon Llewellyn.”