The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3) (12 page)

Sabine shook her head sadly. “I cannot. After I make the changes we discussed, I must go to the other realms and continue to open the Apse Veils in those abbeys. I will do what I can to win support for you and help your cause. But you are the ruler of Comoros, Maia. Not I.”

It made her cringe to think of her grandmother leaving again so soon. She had hoped at least to have her company and guidance for a few months. Having the High Seer as an ally would make all the difference to her rule. Her father had flouted his relationship with the mastons. Maia would need it in order to survive.

“How much time do I have, Grandmother?” Maia asked.

Sabine did not need to ask what she meant. “Not long,” she whispered. She took Maia’s hands again, kneading the knuckles with her thumbs. “In a few months, your kingdom will be plunged into war. The Victus will try to unite all the others against you. Pry-Ree will help defend you. Trust that. With Dahomey on your side as well, we have a chance. But if all the other kingdoms do join forces against us, we will fail. If we can persuade one more to join . . . just one, it may help tip the balance.” Her look was grim. “That is what the Victus fear. They have conspired to hold our kingdoms in subjugation. They do so with cunning and wealth. Breaking their grip on our necks will not come without bloodshed. I believe we have years of war ahead of us. You will not have much time to prepare, I am afraid. Even if the other kingdoms learn the truth about Assinica and the fate the Victus has planned for them, they may look only to protect themselves.”

Maia sighed deeply, and was about to speak, when the main door creaked open. Turning, she noticed Collier pausing in the archway, watching them. He had a grim look on his face. A
restless
look.

She reached out her hand to him, inviting him closer.

Breaking his pose, he rushed to her side as if physically drawn there. Suzenne squeezed Maia’s hand and rose to leave, making room for him.

“Good morning, Gideon.” Sabine smiled at him, but he did not return her smile.

“What is it?” Maia asked, staring into his troubled eyes.

He gave a little bow to Sabine. “I did not expect to find you here, High Seer. You returned from Assinica?”

She nodded. “I did. The refugees have come.”

“I will have ships brought to Muirwood if any would like to settle in Dahomey.”

“That is kind of you. Your kingdom is already constrained in land. Your people would not give it up willingly.”

“They will if I persuade them,” he replied. “I must return soon. It . . . presses on me.” He looked at Maia, his gaze dark and brooding. “I heard you were up all night.”

Maia sighed. “I cannot sleep here. But I will return to Muirwood and get some rest. I plan to offer Richard Syon the role we discussed, and I would like to spend some time with the Assinicans.”

“A wise choice,” Collier said. He fidgeted, which was unusual for him, and looked as if he felt uncomfortable in his own skin.

“What is it?” Maia asked again, reaching out to touch his arm.

“You are not safe here,” he whispered curtly. “And though it is not what I want, the Medium tells me to leave you.” His jaw clenched and he stared down at the floor for a moment. “I have Simon inspecting the palace. There are secret doors and hidden passageways throughout. I am surprised the walls themselves do not crumble.” Collier scratched his neck. “The tunnels even lead to your chambers, Maia. You are not safe
anywhere
in this place.”

Maia stared at him. “I do not think he intends to harm me,” she said softly, for she knew he spoke of the kishion.

He pursed his lips. “Oh, I agree. But what
does
he intend after you become queen? He has brought down his fair share of rulers in this kingdom.”

“You are shrewd to be concerned,” Sabine said softly, her eyes narrowing. “Maia, the tomes describe people such as the kishion. The records are full of warning. When men hire other men to kill for power, it grieves the Medium. It cannot abide murder, especially when it is done so deliberately. When murderers are permitted to operate within a kingdom, it will always bring a Blight. The tomes warn of this. It will not be easy to . . .
evict
him.”

Maia looked down at the ground. “I do not believe he is working for hire, Grandmother. And he has saved my life more than once. I doubt the Victus—or anyone else, for that matter—control him anymore.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean?” she asked apprehensively.

Maia looked at them both, feeling at once confused and anguished. “I think he . . . cares for me.”

The sun lowered across the horizon, drawing shadows across the pathway ahead as Maia and Collier walked hand in hand down the steps leading into the palace gardens. It was a place where she had sought refuge more than once in her life. Large pots full of flowers and Leerings of various sizes and designs brightened the grounds.

“I prefer Muirwood,” Collier said, squeezing her hand. “That place has many tender memories. I am afraid my memory of your castle will always be of me wishing that wall would collapse so I could be the one to rescue you. I have to admit I am still bitterly jealous that it was the
kishion
who saved you.” His frown clashed with a smile, and he shook his head. “I am struggling to cope with it.”

Maia sighed, swinging his arm as they started down the path into the gardens. She smoothed some hair over her ear. “Do not be angry with him for saving me,” she chided.

“Not for saving you. I owe him a debt for that. But you are my wife, and it is my privilege to protect you. I would have gladly faced off against Schuyler and Trefew. Five at once, even. It would have been a feat for the minstrels.” There was some levity in his voice, but she could tell his own helplessness in the situation had left a wound.

“There is a little fountain over there,” Maia said, tugging on his hand. “Follow me.”

They passed a Leering with a sun-faced visage. She remembered brushing her hand against it on her last visit to the garden. The dusk of night had faded from the area around the light Leering in an instant. After walking a little farther, they reached the circular fountain with the fish Leering spouting water in the middle. The joyful pattering sound helped mask the tumult of the city noises beyond the wall.

She sat on the edge of the fountain’s stone railing, and Collier stared at the fish, a far-off look on his face.

“What is it?” Maia asked him.

“Another memory,” he said, then shook his head to brush it off. “You like this garden?”

She shrugged. “The last time I was here was the night my father summoned me to go to the lost abbey.” She clasped her hands together and pressed her thumbs against her lips. “We argued, of course. I came here afterward to think about what he had said. It was a strange night. That was right before I first set foot in
your
kingdom.” She put her hands down on the stone and looked up at him. “Before you deceived me.” She gave him a wry smile.

Collier did not look chagrined. He folded his arms and put one boot up on the railing next to her. “I do not recall you confessing who
you
were either. I hope you do not regret that I took the liberty of dancing with you at the Gables?”

Maia smiled with pleasure and shook her head. The sinking sun made the shadows lengthen. She needed to cross the Apse Veil back to Muirwood to get some rest. Unfortunately, Collier was not yet a maston and could not travel there with her.

“You look bone weary,” he murmured softly. “The noise from this fish Leering is going to lull you to sleep.”

She started to rise, but he reached out and took her hand, helping to draw her up. She nestled against his chest, drawing her arms around him tightly. She felt his hands gently smooth her hair.

“I wish I did not have to go,” she murmured.

“I wish I could go with you,” he said darkly. “Soon, my love. Once the Paeizians are subdued, I will do my best to pass the maston test quickly. One cannot rush the Medium, I believe, but if it is at all possible, I will try.”

She lifted her gaze up to his face, saw the tender look there. “Will you walk me to the abbey?”

Collier nodded with a pained smile. Then he smoothed a lock of hair over her ear. “He does not care for you . . . as I do,” he whispered thickly.

Word has reached me that Lady Marciana will shortly be crowned Queen of Comoros. She surrounds herself with mastons, and listens only to their whispering in her ear. This will upset those in the realm who have betrayed the order. Her own people may topple her before the fleets even return. Then we will crush them all to cinders.

—Corriveaux Tenir, Victus of Dahomey

CHAPTER NINE

Wyrich

S
he awoke to darkness. Her heart tremored with fear, for the kishion had haunted her in her dreams. With a thought, she summoned light from a nearby Leering, and was startled to discover she was back at Muirwood in the room that she and Suzenne had once shared. The familiarity of the beds, changing screen, and even the tub in the corner by the fire Leering brought her comfort and helped dispel the gloom of her night terrors.

Because the room had no windows, she did not know what time it was or how late she had slept. Her body was sore and weary, but ever since she had arrived back at Muirwood, she had felt gloriously free. No longer was she subject to the oppressive taint of the Myriad Ones. All was peaceful, except for her own turbulent thoughts. She knew that she could not forever return to Muirwood to sleep at night, but until she found a way to rid the palace of the Myriad Ones and their influence, she needed to avoid the possibility of being overwhelmed by them.

Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she remembered the look on the kishion’s face. The look that had told her more clearly than any words that he cared for her.

What a contradiction he was—the severed portion of his ear and his many scars were a gruesome reminder of his bloody deeds and dark past, of how ruthless and remorseless he could be. Yet she remembered sharing strawberries with him in the gardens of the lost abbey and seeing him smile. And he had saved her life twice. Still, it made her shudder to imagine him roaming through Comoros unchecked. Though it would seem he was not a danger to her, he
was
a danger. The knowledge that he would not abandon her willingly weighed on her. And she knew he would kill any man who tried to uproot him.

She straightened the blankets on her bed and quickly splashed water on her face to help wipe away the remnants of sleep. Then she hurriedly dressed in a simple gown and unbolted the door.

The Aldermaston’s manor was thrumming with activity. People scurried around everywhere, carrying crates and boxes, and the halls were filled with a veritable crowd of newcomers she did not recognize. Most wore simple clothing, not of any particular style—the men were in ribbed shirts the color of fleece, covered by leather vests with simple decorations along the fringes, and the women wore unadorned dresses and girdles of various colors, their hair partly concealed beneath simple scarves.

Maia was ravenous, so she left through the rear of the manor and headed to the kitchen where she and Suzenne had shared so many meals. It was no surprise to find Collett there, but in addition to the two kitchen helpers—Davi and Aloia—there were at least a dozen other young girls punching dough and stirring soups. There was bread baking in the oven fires, and meat was sizzling on spits near the ovens, at least ten hens with flakes of spices sticking to their glistening skins.

“Well, my lady,” Collett said with her usual sternness, “you find us much changed. Both of the kitchens work night and day now, and the menfolk are constructing two more kitchens over by the fish pond.”

“Poor Thewliss,” Davi said with a grin. “He cannot abide the crowds!”

Maia smiled and greeted the girls and quickly committed the new girls’ names to memory while Aloia fetched her something to eat. The kitchens were usually a place of quiet solitude, but she realized things had been changed permanently. With so many refugees from Assinica, the grounds of Muirwood Abbey would never be the same.