Thierry shook his head. “Apparently not. He was found comatose next to a corpse—a woman in very fine attire who looked to be of his own race. They’re both unnaturally tall and pale, unlike the rest of the Chandigarli we’ve seen wash up on shore.”

“Take me there,” Trynne said. Then, turning to one of her captains, she gave orders for her people to continue clearing debris from the beach before the next tide came in late in the afternoon.

They walked together briskly, Thierry leading the way. “One of the soldiers brought a series of maps to me,” he confided as they went. “They had navigation charts that show the entire coastline of Brythonica, including the secret coves. There were even charts revealing the tides based on the moon phases of the year. They knew exactly when and where to strike. I do not know how they obtained such detailed maps, my lady. They were written in a foreign hand but show an intimacy with our seasons and borders that no foreigner should have been able to access.”

The implications sent a chill down Trynne’s back. “What you are saying is that the maps were copied from ours.”

Thierry nodded. “My lady, it implies there is a traitor among us.”

“The Espion don’t have any maps of Brythonica,” Trynne said. “They’ve never been allowed inside the duchy other than to deliver messages.” Though she hated to suspect him of something so ugly, Fallon had been raised in Ploemeur as a boy. He knew her people and had won their trust. He had also recently visited her. Another possibility was Morwenna. Hadn’t Trynne spied her copying something from the library? What had it been? Her mind struggled with the memory. Would the king’s sister have betrayed them?

Trynne’s mind shot to something Gahalatine had said to her in the oasis while trying to stop her.

I know of you.

That statement had troubled her. What did it mean? Had Gahalatine heard rumors about a Fountain-blessed girl at the court of Kingfountain? As far as Trynne knew, she and Morwenna were the only two. Had he heard of the poisoner or the duke’s daughter? What did it all mean? If Rucrius was captured, there was a possibility he could provide some much-needed answers to her questions.

“I hadn’t considered it being the Espion,” Thierry said. “The Genevese come here often enough. Surely they have created their own maps.”

“That’s true,” Trynne said, walking more briskly. Would that the maps had come from them. “How far is it?”

“See that treasure ship?” he said, pointing. “He was found near it. It’s almost exactly where a whale was trapped on the beach when your mother was a child.”