Overview

On the eve of the duel, Six and Rory visit mountain hot springs where Six admits she cannot swim and nearly drowns before Rory rescues her. Their guard drops into intimacy and trust, and Six secures Rory’s promise to protect the gargoyle and keep searching for the Diviners if she dies. At dawn, Maude outfits Six in heirloom armor and the group ascends to the Ardent Oarsman’s castle, only to find him waiting on a wooden platform over the basin—forcing a fight on water that exploits Six’s greatest weakness.

Full Summary

Rory leads Six from the village at night to secluded hot springs beneath the peaks to ease her training aches. As they walk, Six confesses she cannot swim, a silence passing between them that acknowledges her history of ritual drownings at Aisling Cathedral.

At the springs, Rory strips and enters the water first, teasing but turning away to give Six privacy. Six undresses and joins him, soothed by the heat while loneliness pricks her with memories of the other Diviners. Rory notices her soreness and, with careful consent at each touch, massages her wrist and arm strained by coin practice. Their quiet conversation turns intimate as Six studies Rory’s scars and history; Rory admits killing the Artful Brigand was swift after years of build-up, and Six recognizes his steadfast belief in her.

A playful moment turns when Rory tugs her ankle and Six slips under, triggering a panic of remembered drownings. Rory immediately hauls her up, apologizing in a rush for his failures and nerves around her. Six calms him, calling it an accident, and asks him to continue easing her shoulder so the night will not end in fear.

Close in the water, they flirt openly. Six confesses she once wondered what mark his crooked teeth would leave on her skin. Rory gently bites the base of her thumb, then kisses the mark, saying he would rather the kiss remain. When Six asks him to promise that, if she dies, he will find a home for the gargoyle and keep looking for the Diviners, Rory insists she should not look to omens but to effort—yet he agrees to her request and admits he would do anything she asked. He then withdraws, urging rest, and she returns to the inn, comforted by the beauty of the night and the fresh tooth marks on her palm. She dreams not of Aisling or the Oarsman, but of a knight who does the ignoble things she asks.

At dawn, Maude wakes Six and, with the gargoyle delighted to serve as squire, outfits her in Maude’s family armor, including a helmet. Maude’s solution to losing the heirloom is simple: tell Six to live. Six joins Rory and Benji on the plateau; Rory confirms she will wear the helmet and shroud and returns the Artful Brigand’s coin with the plan to kill the Omen.

The gargoyle ferries them up the waterfall as before. The castle is eerily empty; knocking brings no response and even the shale sprites are absent. Inside, rooms and the coin-filled hall are deserted.

Rory spots the Ardent Oarsman outside, standing on a wooden platform fixed at the center of the crystalline basin that feeds the Tenor. He waits with his oar in hand, clearly intending to fight on the water. Maude grimly explains the tactical nightmare: the oar will let him control movement and destabilize the platform, risking Six’s footing and the coin’s loss to the depths. As Rory pales, the gargoyle innocently reveals that Six cannot swim, adding that she has always excelled at drowning.

Who Appears

• Six — protagonist, former Diviner; admits she cannot swim; nearly drowns and is saved by Rory; asks Rory to care for the gargoyle and seek the Diviners if she dies; dons Maude’s heirloom armor and prepares to face the Ardent Oarsman on a water platform.
• Rory Myndacious — knight and trainer; massages Six’s injuries with care; rescues her from the hot spring; apologizes for past behavior; promises to fulfill her requests; returns the Artful Brigand’s coin; identifies the Oarsman’s position on the basin platform.
• Maude — knight; outfits Six in her family’s armor and insists on helmet use; offers blunt tactical assessment of the water fight’s dangers; urges Six to live.
• Benji — king; accompanies the group to the castle; helps force entry when the Oarsman does not answer.
• The gargoyle — ally; happily serves as Six’s squire; ferries the group by air; inadvertently reveals Six cannot swim.
• The Ardent Oarsman — Omen antagonist; absent from the castle interior but waiting on a wooden platform over the basin with his oar, forcing a duel on water.