The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(104)
Keeping his hand locked on her arm, Trefew drew Maia toward the rear of the palace and Pent Tower. For years she had been terrified that her father would one day send her there. Her heart filled with dread as she marched toward that fate.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Deorwynn’s Fall
Lady Deorwynn sat in the dank cell, shivering uncontrollably. Every noise startled her, every groan from her fellow prisoners in the ward made her twitch. She was terrified beyond her wits, and she dreaded the brightening of the dawn sky. It would be the dawn of her execution. Would it be possible, somehow, to suspend the brightening light by staring at it? She blinked feverishly, her stomach twisting with panic. At least her death would be quick. A whimper escaped her lips, and she could not refrain from shuddering.
Her daughters were also in Pent Tower, locked in a cell together. She had heard Jolecia shriek for hours until she fell into a fitful sleep. Murer was calmer. Murer was more like her; she hid a cunning mind behind the flirting smiles. Sometimes Lady Deorwynn regretted how much her daughter had learned from her, especially when she used those very stratagems against her. Lady Deorwynn clamped her hand over her mouth, stifling a tremulous sob. She would not see her children again. Her young boys had been sent to one of her husband’s manors under guard. What would happen to them?
The groans outside turned into shouts for mercy and Lady Deorwynn lifted her head. Something had changed in the mood of the corridor. Soon she heard guards approaching, and her pulse quickened with the anticipation of what was to come.
The flirting and affairs had felt so trivial at the time. After all, everyone in court was engaged in it. Her own husband’s acts were much more depraved, fawning over girls as young as his own daughter. She had grown to hate him over the years. A sizzle of heat and jealousy spiked through her heart when she thought of Jayn Sexton’s demure eyes. Her refusals to give in to his passions only inflamed him more. She trembled with fury and hatred and sickening fear.
The key rattled in the lock and the door opened. She rose quickly, panting, to face her executioners. To her surprise, her uncle entered—Aldermaston Kranmir.
“Am I to be freed?” she gasped with a spasm of desperate hope. She could see from his expression that it was a foolish question.
He looked calm and dreadful, his eyes narrowing coldly. “Did you really believe he would forgive you?” he whispered darkly. He motioned for the guards to leave them alone, and the door was shut and locked.
“Please, Uncle!” she begged. “Why not banishment? I would leave Comoros—”
“You are wasting your precious last breaths with such talk,” he said. He shook his head as if she were a simpleton, and it galled her. “Your husband wants you dead. He wanted it before you went to Muirwood. You never learned to curb your anger, child. To better control your malice. Even a little brook can wear down stones. I pity you, truly. But you will die this morning.”
Lady Deorwynn felt herself nearly faint. She sat on the stone-rimmed pallet covered in moldy straw. She had suffered all night from cold, wishing in vain for a brazier to offer some warmth. The memory of Maia suffering with cold in the attic was like a sword wound in her breast. She grunted with the pain of it.
“Remorse, child?” Kranmir said mockingly. “It ill suits one of your temperament. You made yourself Queen of Comoros. That was quite a triumph. You climbed the steep pole of power, enjoyed a few tottering moments at the apex, and look how fast you fell. Was it worth it?”
She turned the dagger of her gaze to him. “Look what you have lost, Uncle,” she seethed. “What of your ambition? You lost Muirwood. You will soon lose your own abbey.”
Kranmir looked at her placidly, unconcerned. “How much you still have to learn.”
“Me? Who helped you rise to power, Uncle? Who softened the king’s heart toward your counsel and secret advice? I did!”
“And at the same time, you alienated him against his own flesh and blood, his only child. Deorwynn, can you not see the extent of the damage you did yourself by persecuting the princess?”
“She is not a princess!” Lady Deorwynn shrieked.
He took a step toward her. “She is. And you were a fool not to see it. Not to understand your enemy better. You made her powerful by treating her with shame and contempt. The people are thundering for her to be named the king’s heir again. They are rioting. If they knew she was in the city right now, all Sheol would be loosed on us.”
Lady Deorwynn gaped at him in astonishment. “What do you mean? How can she be here?”
He shook his head sadly. “The Apse Veil, of course! That foolish girl, after everything you have done to her, came here with the notion of saving you.” He snorted with disdain. “Yes, the Apse Veils are open again. I have had word that certain Leerings in Augustin began to shine for the first time last night. I believe what was said. The refugees from Assinica are coming.”
“You do not seem very concerned about losing your abbey,” she said again.
He chuckled softly. “Still, you do not see the possibilities. I have not lost anything yet. The king needs me. He needs legitimacy. He needs to have power over the maston order, and he uses me to accomplish that. Trust me, Deorwynn, if the people will riot to acclaim Lady Maia, then she is of no further use to the Crown. She will join you in an ossuary in the cemetery. Shortly.”