The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3) (15 page)

“I . . . was hoping you would stay until after the coronation,” she stammered.

He shook his head. “If Dahomey is going to stand with Comoros when the Victus comes, we need to be at our strongest.” He brought her hand up higher and stared down at it as if he were going to kiss it, but he did not. “I must go tomorrow. But I do not want to.”

Fear of death is a terror unequaled. That is why we created the threat of the Void—the extermination of every man, woman, and child. The Medium uses it to enforce obedience. The maston saying is true. Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence.

—Corriveaux Tenir, Victus of Dahomey

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Parting

M
aia trudged through a dense forest, cold and shivering. There were little cuts from the branches across her skin as well as spider bites that itched mercilessly. A chill, rank mist clung to the treetops, sending feathery tendrils down. The crunch of boots against foliage and the short huff of labored breathing filled her ears. She was cold, weary, and weighed down with heavy sorrow, sorrow so thick she could hardly breathe through it.

Flicking her eyes up, she saw a figure before her, swathed in a tattered cloak. It filled her with dread. The march halted at the edge of a clearing. She heard someone else’s voice, a voice with a whine to it, but the words were garbled and impossible to understand. Staring ahead, Maia saw a field of bones and a Leering crowning the heap.

She started, remembering the place vividly. The hooded man turned and she saw the torn ear, the scars. The kishion looked at her knowingly, sharing her remembrance of the place.

Fear shook her to her core. She wanted to flee, to escape, but somehow it was impossible. The mist was raining down upon them. She could see the puffs of breath coming from the kishion’s mouth.
I am asleep. This is a dream
, she told herself. She wrestled against it, trying to rouse herself. Terror and sorrow battled for domination in her mind. If she were truly asleep, did the cogent quality of the dream mean she was once again being controlled by Ereshkigal? Before, the Myriad One had controlled her while she slept, controlled her while she revisited her most painful memories in her sleep. With anguish, she fought to surface from sleep.

Her eyes blinked open, her heart shuddering beneath her ribs. Cold sweat clung to her skin, and she shivered beneath a thick blanket.

A warm hand touched hers and she flinched, jerking away in fear until she distinguished her husband’s face in the dim light of a small Leering. A spasm of relief flooded her. She looked around, recognizing the room as her private chambers. She was on an elegant four-post bed draped with simple white veils. There were wardrobes and chests and a slightly crooked mirror in the corner. A deep bath was by the wall next to a water Leering. She filled her senses with every small detail, grounding herself in the reality of the place, the moment, and the nightmare slowly faded.

“Was it a dream . . . or something worse?” Collier asked her tenderly, his look serious and intense as he sat at the edge of the bed.

“Hold me,” she whispered, opening her arms and pulling him close. The terror and sadness of the dream still wrenched at her heart. She felt as if she had lost someone dear to her. Her memory raced to find a source. Was she grieving her mother’s death? Her father’s? So many conflicting, tangled emotions writhed inside her.

Collier held her close, wrapping his arms around her and softly stroking her hair. She felt the first sobs bubble up and tried to choke them down.

“Ssshhh,” he soothed, stroking her. “I am here.”

“But you are leaving,” she said with distress. “I want you to stay.”

He sighed. “Believe me, this is painful for me also, Maia. Your kingdom is so vulnerable right now.
You
are vulnerable. I want to be here for you. To help you take your first steps as the ruler of Comoros. But it is as I told you. You are the heir. It is yours to rule by right, not mine. Simon will help you. He will deliver my letters to you.”

“You will write to me?” she asked, pulling away and looking up at him hopefully.

“Every day,” he replied. He stared into her eyes, his face full of shadows. Stubble covered his chin and jaw. She realized he had not been sleeping; he had watched over her during the night.

“I could come to your realm through the Apse Veil?” she suggested. She was aware of the warmth coming from him. Aware she was wearing a thin chemise and he was still dressed in his clothes—his disguise as he prepared to cross the sea to Dahomey in one of Simon’s cargo ships.

He pulled her cheek against his chest and then started stroking her hair again. “I will be at war, not near the abbey. What were you dreaming about, my love?”

She scrunched her face at the memory. “It was awful.”

“Tell me,” he said soothingly.

She could hear his heartbeat beneath the padded shirt. It was soothing, repetitive. “I was in Dahomey.”

He grunted. “That does not sound terrible to me,” he joked.

“It was the cursed shores. Spider bites and ticks.”

“Ah, yes. That is not a place where I intend to build a palace for us. Go on.”

“There was a place there. A place full of bones, topped with a Leering. A graveyard, really. We found it while we were looking for the lost abbey. My heart was heavy . . . so heavy. It felt like I was drowning in sadness.” She shook her head a little, pressing her nose against his shirt. “It was terrible. The kishion was there.” She shuddered, grateful for the comfort of Collier’s presence.

“Him again. Was it a dream?” he asked her.

“I thought not at first,” she replied. “I was afraid that falling asleep in the castle had doomed me. To be truthful, I do not even remember falling asleep.”

She heard the chuckle in his breath. “It happened quite quickly, I assure you. You are exhausted, Maia. You changed into your chemise and were asleep within moments of lying down on the pillow. You tried to talk to me at first, but I could see it was pointless.”

She smiled in embarrassment, hiding her face further. “I am sorry. I do remember that. I so wanted to talk before you left. Have you been awake all night?”

His hand rested on the back of her neck. “It is night still,” he answered. “Though I was going to wake you soon, for I must leave. You were sleeping peacefully, Maia. It was only at the end that you seemed disturbed. I enjoyed watching you sleep.”

She pulled away, brushing some hair behind her ear, and looked into his piercing blue eyes.

“You do not understand, do you?” he said wryly. “You are beautiful, Maia. I could watch you always and never grow tired of it.”

There was a burning feeling in her chest, one that throbbed with happiness, and it extinguished the fear and sorrow that had clung to her from her dream. She let herself bask in the feeling for a moment, but only a moment.

“I have never fully trusted handsome men,” she confided. “I will not always be young. My father’s behavior taught me that most men cannot be trusted.” It was a fear she had held in her chest ever since she had admitted to herself that she loved him.

His look grew serious. “A fair accusation. Considering how we met and my . . . disposition at the time, I have given you reason to think your fears are justified. At the time, I was not a man worthy of your good faith.” He had the good grace to look abashed and she loved him all the more for it. An uncomfortable silence hung between them, but then he looked up and gazed into her eyes. “But I am not that man anymore.”

She licked her lips. “You have changed, Collier. So have I.” She swallowed, summoning her courage. “I want this to work. Between us. I am still . . . fearful, but I trust you.”

“Do not prove me by my words,” he said seriously. “Prove me by my actions. You are a treasure to me, Maia.” He slid his fingers into her hair gently. “You are worth more than a ransom to me.”

Her heart felt like it would burst. “Come back to me,” she whispered, taking his other hand in hers and squeezing his fingers. “Please come back to me!”

A small quirk twisted on his mouth. “With such an incentive, I pity the King of Paeiz. He will regret the day he chose to invade Dahomey. I will do my best to defeat him and perhaps even win him to our cause. You will not stand against the Victus alone, Maia. Neither storms nor gales will keep me away.”

She reached out and hugged him around the neck, savoring the feeling of his hands, his arms.

The door rattled and opened and Suzenne entered, catching them midembrace. “Forgive me!” she gasped with shock, blushing. She hurried to leave, but Maia called her back.

“It is all right, Suzenne. Please stay.”

There was a splotch of crimson across Suzenne’s cheeks as she reluctantly returned to the room. Collier laughed at the look on her face and stood, pulling Maia up with him.

“I thought you had returned to Muirwood last night,” Suzenne stammered. “I was coming early to light the Leerings and get your gown ready for the Privy Council meeting. I am sorry—”

“Do not apologize,” Collier said offhandedly. “If there is one thing I have come to learn as king, it is that privacy is a rare gem, and as such, must often be stolen.” He switched his language to Dahomeyjan. “I depart with the tide for my kingdom. Look after my lady while I am gone.”

Suzenne did a formal curtsy and replied in the same language. “I will, my lord.” She turned her back on them and started fussing with Maia’s gown for that day, giving them a moment without being observed.

Collier walked over to the window and parted the curtain. “It is time. Simon will be anxious to have me on board. He is the type of man who will tell you the truth, even if you do not want to hear it. Such a man is worth fifty thousand marks.”

“I will heed him then,” Maia replied, following him to the curtain. “Safe journey, Husband.”

Collier smiled when she said it and pulled her into a final embrace. “I like the way you say that,” he answered, toying with the earring in her earlobe. He had given them to her before her journey to Muirwood, and she had worn them ever since. “Rule wisely, my love. May the ancient enmity between our kingdoms and our Families finally be healed.”

“Make it thus so,” Maia whispered in benediction as he left the room with a final backward glance.

Maia and Suzenne walked arm in arm down the corridor toward the private room that had been chosen for the Privy Council’s meetings. Out of the endless array of gowns at her disposal, Maia had chosen a simply designed cream-colored gown. It had a woven sash bedecked with beads around the front and a fur-lined robe that fastened with a royal brooch. It was one of the simplest gowns that had been sent to her, and she had chosen it in the hopes of setting an example for the court. Suzenne had helped to arrange her hair in a simple yet comely design. It was the kind of elegant look that Sabine favored.

The corridor was decorated with polished bronze torches. The ground was capped in smooth stone tiles inlaid with gold. The workmanship was exquisite and ostentatious and it made Maia shake her head with anger. The people starved in the streets, yet she and her courtiers trod on gold.

At the end of the long hallway, she could see Captain Carew waiting outside the new council room.

“I am sorry,” Suzenne whispered again in her ear, “about interrupting you this morning.”

“You are my friend as well as my chief lady-in-waiting, Suzenne. I am certain there will be other embarrassing occasions in the future.”

“I know. But if someone had walked in on Dodd and me, I would be mortified.”

Maia reached and squeezed her hand. “Let us not talk of it again. I am so pleased to have both of you on my Privy Council, you know. You are the first woman to be invited. Please do not be daunted to give your advice, Suzenne. I will expect you to speak your mind. You must speak for the women and the children of the realm.”

Suzenne paled at the thought, but her expression was determined. “It is a privilege, Maia.” She squeezed her hand in return.

Maia nodded to Captain Carew as they neared him. “Good morning, Captain!” she said cheerily.

“Your Grace, good morning,” he replied, stiffening to a bow. His injured leg had been healing well, and he no longer winced when he put weight on it. “Your first Privy Council meeting is underway. They await you.” He opened the handle and invited her inside.