The feast day of St. Benedick had finally arrived, and Trynne was at once nervous and excited to spend the afternoon with Elwis Asturias in Marq. Her mother’s ship had been gone for nearly a fortnight, and the palace at Ploemeur had already begun to feel like a prison. Trynne still started each morning at the training yard in Averanche before bathing and changing into a gown and returning to Ploemeur in time for breakfast. She had never been more thankful for the ability to use the ley lines to travel.

Today, she wore the gown she had purchased with Captain Staeli on the trip they’d made to Marq. Her stomach was full of butterflies as she stared at herself in the mirror, making sure the lacings were all fastened and tidy. The white blouse was bunched together with garters at the upper arms, elbows, and wrists. The black velvet hat with the silver edging was still waiting at the table. It wasn’t fashionable to wear such hats in Brythonica, so Trynne hadn’t put it on yet. She had enjoyed strolling the city and seeing the canals and gondolas. What would it be like to ride in one with Elwis handling the oars? Her stomach did a little turn.

It occurred to her that they would both be competing at the Gauntlet of Kingfountain shortly afterward. She and the Oath Maidens had been preparing for the event for months. Would she be able to reveal herself at last? She smiled at her reflection in the mirror, but the crooked part of it seemed to mock her.

It was in this very room that Dragan had attacked her.

Just thinking about her father’s enemy kindled a dark, evil feeling in her heart—along with the fear she had long sought to control. She was no longer a helpless child. She remembered sensing Dragan in the room that day. He had the uncanny gift of being able to turn invisible. Well, she knew the word of power that could expose him. And he knew that she could. The last time she had seen him was on her first, fateful trip to Marq. She wondered, darkly, not for the first time, if he had been involved in her father’s disappearance.

A rap at the door startled her, making her heart quicken with a spasm of dread.

“Enter,” she called, fussing over her skirts once again, feeling herself hideous and unworthy of any man’s love.

The door opened and Benjamin entered.

“My lady, there’s a messenger here from Brugia. A captain by the name of Abinante. He says he bears a message from Grand Duke Elwis that he’s to deliver to your hand alone.”

Trynne pursed her lips. “Is he with you?”

“He is waiting in the solar, my lady.”

“You can bring him here,” Trynne said.

Benjamin nodded and quickly departed. A moment later, the door opened and Gannon came in with their grandmother.