The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3) (48 page)

“Are you awake?” Collier whispered faintly.

She blinked and saw her love hovering above her, sitting on the edge of her bed in the Aldermaston’s manor. A Leering gave off a dim light, filling the room with supple shadows.

“Tell me this is not a dream,” Maia answered, gazing up at him. She lifted her arm and saw she was wearing a nightgown. As the sleeve dropped down, she saw the ugly gashes Murer’s dagger had given her.

Collier gazed at the wounds, his expression hardening. “Did he do that to you?”

Maia knew who he meant. The kishion. “No, it was Murer. I faced her at the hetaera Leering. She is dead now. So is
he
.”

He closed his eyes, as if uttering a silent prayer of thanks.

Then he opened them again. “We sent Jon Tayt after you,” Collier said, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand. “He found you?”

She tried to pull herself into a sitting position and winced with sudden pain. “He did, and I left him gravely wounded. Can you send someone? Can you send someone to save him?”

“Of course. Let me help you up,” he offered. He arranged some pillows against the wooden headboard and helped her sit up, his strong arms shifting her easily.

“She is awake?” Suzenne said from across the room. She walked into Maia’s line of vision, looking tired and worn, but relieved. “I have been holding back the flood of people who want to see you,” she said with a warm smile. “I only let this one in after much persuasion.” She nodded and gave Collier a genuine smile.

Because there were no windows, she did not know what time of day it was. “How long have I been sleeping?” Maia asked, wrinkling her nose.

Collier smirked and glanced at Suzenne. “It
should
be about midnight, by our best estimation.” He looked at Maia with a wry smile. “It is a little difficult to tell, since the sun is directly overhead right now. Everyone is walking the grounds, gazing at the sky in wonderment.” He gave her a pointed look. “The Aldermastons are all wondering when you intend to
release
the Leerings you invoked so that things can return to their normal state.” He smiled and caressed her cheek.

Maia could hardly believe it. “I thought it would end the moment I collapsed—”

He shook his head. “Oh no, my love. You caught the sun in a net and captured it. People want to know what you intend to do with it next. The Naestors, as you can imagine, are terrified out of their wits. They have sued for peace and are imploring all the Aldermastons—there are
several
here right now, I should mention—to entreat you to release the sun before it scorches the earth. Richard Syon asked to be informed the moment you awakened.” He tucked strands of her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered against her skin a moment, making her shiver with pleasure.

“I suppose it would not be proper to greet anyone in my nightclothes,” Maia said. She was aching and sore, but she felt rested and peaceful. She was afraid the tranquility was like a soap bubble and would burst in an instant, but she reveled in it nonetheless.

“Suzenne has a gown chosen for you,” Collier said. “And it meets with my approval. I will go while you change.” He started to rise from the bed, but she caught his hand and shook her head.

“No,” she said. “There is a changing screen over there, and Suzenne is here to chaperone us.” She gave him a longing look. “I cannot
bear
to be parted from you. Ever again.” She squeezed his arm tightly, begging him to stay with her eyes.

Perhaps they were the words he most needed to hear. He looked humbled and a bit shaken, but he did not attempt to leave. He helped her rise gingerly from the bed, and as she walked slowly over to the changing screen, Suzenne holding her arm, she saw him wander to the dressing table and take up a comb. He turned and winked at her knowingly.

Maia would have savored soaking in a tub, but there was not time for that—nor would it have been appropriate, considering the company. She asked Collier dozens of questions about what had happened to him and how he had managed to take the maston test in secret, but he would only promise to tell her all later, when they were alone in the garden.

Once Maia was dressed and Collier was busy combing the tangles out of her hair, Suzenne left to find Aldermaston Syon and his wife, Joanna. As soon as he entered, Maia painfully pulled herself to standing and went to him, hugging him hard, despite the way it made her injuries throb. She was too grateful to see him hale and uninjured after his brush with death. How horrible it would have been had she arrived too late to save him.

“Welcome home,” Richard said soothingly, patting her arm and stepping back. “You could not have arrived through the Apse Veil at a more urgent moment.”

“Indeed, a most desperate moment,” Joanna agreed. She clutched Richard’s hand as if she would never let it go. The look of relief on her face was palpable.

“Were you frightened, Richard?” she asked him, pulling away.

He frowned and shook his head. “If the Medium suffered me to die, I would have joined countless others who have lost their lives defending our beliefs. I was more concerned with how the Medium would punish the Naestors for my death. They have been humbled by what transpired this . . . day?” A smile quirked on his mouth. “I had not even considered halting the setting of the sun and reversing it, but it is mentioned . . . only once . . . in the tomes. A battle was being fought long ago, and the mastons knew they would be defeated if night fell. The Aldermaston leading the fight made the maston sign in full view of his army, and it halted the sun for three hours. That was centuries ago, and it is the only reference I am aware of to anyone invoking that power. The Medium obviously inspired you.”

“Tell her about the Dochte Mandar,” Joanna urged him.

“Let me get to the point quickly. The Naestors are convinced, utterly and completely, that the teachings of the Dochte Mandar are false. When the sun came back, many of their warriors fled in terror. The majority fell down and started worshipping me, thinking that
I
had done it. While the choir was still singing, they hurriedly escorted me back to the abbey as a peace offering, and that was when I learned that it was
you
who had summoned the Leerings. The chieftains rounded up all the Dochte Mandar and seized their kystrels, ripping the chains from those who did not cast the amulets away themselves in fear. They did not fight it. There were eight hundred and fifty to be precise. We have blacksmiths destroying them even now. The Naestors are completely submissive, Maia, and fearful of the future. They rely wholly on the Dochte Mandar to invoke their Leerings in Naess and are afraid of living in the dark and by the light of torches.”

Maia pursed her lips. “We must build an abbey in Naess for them,” she said firmly. “We will send mastons—”

Richard smiled, pleased. “I already suspected you would feel that way. And so this is what I proposed after speaking to the Privy Council as well as the other Aldermastons and leaders who have gathered here at Muirwood. They all wish to know if you approve of their plan. If the Naestors enter into a covenant agreeing that they will not attack the other kingdoms, they will be permitted to leave in peace without their weapons. We, in turn, will promise to continue trading relations with Naess and to teach them the crafts they do not know. Their people are mostly warriors, Maia. Some are fishermen and a few are farmers. They have earned their bread mostly through stealing and raiding. They need to be taught, and we have knowledge to impart to them.”

Maia liked the idea very much. “No retributions,” she said, nodding. “No punishments. But what if they refuse? And what of Corriveaux?”

Joanna looked at her intently and answered. “He and the other Dochte Mandar are under guard. Those who refuse to make the covenant will be banished from the kingdoms forever. The chieftains told us of an uninhabited island between here and Assinica where they can be exiled. The Naestors also promised to release all of their political prisoners, including Chancellor Walraven and your grandmother.”

“Thank Idumea!” Maia sighed.

Richard nodded. “Indeed. Though many of the rulers of the other kingdoms still want vengeance and retribution. The Naestors have hoarded wealth, and there was talk at first about plundering their kingdom and leaving them in poverty. But I thought you would not approve, so it was not made a condition of the Covenant of Muirwood, as we are calling it.”

Maia smiled, feeling her heart swell with love and admiration. “You know my heart, Richard.” She turned and touched Collier’s arm. “What do you advise, my lord?”

“We cannot change the past,” he said softly. “We can only move forward. I say we forgive the Naestors. They have been cruelly duped by the Victus. They see now that they are guilty of the most grievous murders. They need time to heal, Maia. They need to know how the Medium feels when it is not forced. Some of the chieftains said they should be our slaves to repair the damage.” He shook his head, chuckling. “We knew you would not accept those terms.”

“You are right. I accept the terms of the covenant,” Maia said. “If they will agree, then I will set the sun.” She gave Richard a small smile, smoothing the fabric of her gown. “Make it thus so, Chancellor.”

Maia and Collier walked hand in hand into the Queen’s Garden as the sun slipped down past the wall. Though a new day should have been dawning, they were instead moments away from a second sunset.

She squeezed his hand. “Nightfall instead of dawn,” she said. “The poor flowers are confused.”

“Not as confused as the Naestors, I think,” he said. Their pace was slow and languid. “And no Thewliss! He is well, rest assured. I should tell him never to grease the axles of his noisy cart, because I prefer to have a
little
warning that he is coming.” He gave her an inviting look.

Maia smiled at him. “I want to hear your story,” she said. “I am desperate to hear it.”

“You have had a busy day, my love.” He noticed her subtle limp. “You are tired. Here, sit by the flower beds.” Taking her arm, he put his other hand on the small of her back and led her toward the bed with all the blue forget-me-nots. She suspected he did that deliberately and could not keep a tender smile from her lips.

“Thank you,” she said, accepting his help to sit on the wide stone railing surrounding the elevated flower box. She smoothed her skirts and gazed up at him, drinking in the sight of him.

“What do you wish to know first?” he asked her. “I suppose you are wondering about Murer coming to get revenge on me?”

Maia shook her head. “I already know you are faithful to me. She told me herself. She was especially vengeful because of the way you had humiliated her here.”

He winced at that. “Yes, I can see that. I believe there is a maston saying about a woman scorned. I should have remembered.”

Maia smiled and rubbed her palms over the smooth stone of the bench.

“My goal was to fool the Dochte Mandar. I am rather cunning, my lady,” he said with an impertinent look. “I warned you of that long ago. There is another maston saying—you can tell I have been reading my tome every day—about being as wise as a serpent yet as harmless as a dove. That describes the two of us perfectly, I think. I had a suspicion that my messages to Simon were being intercepted. So I deliberately sent him news that would misdirect our enemies, including any possible hetaera.”

Maia stared at him in surprise.

“Devious, I know,” he said with a smirk. “Sometimes I cannot help myself. For example, when I returned to Dahomey, I went straight to the Aldermaston of Lisyeux, confessed my many faults, and asked for his counsel on how to end the war with Paeiz in the shortest time possible, win them to our side, and pass the maston test . . . all in less than a fortnight.” He grinned to himself at the memory. “I could only think of one way. And
that
would mean borrowing some of my then-wife’s meekness and humility.” He paced slowly in front of her, glancing at her periodically to see her reaction. She had the sense he rather enjoyed startling her. Though she admired his handsome looks, she tried not to make that admiration so plain on her face.