The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(58)

Maia was determined to learn this secret, but she knew it was not the time. She would ask her grandmother later.

“My lady,” the Aldermaston said. “As you remember, the king is bringing the new Aldermaston for Muirwood with him. You know him as well as I do—Ely Kranmir from Augustin. I received a message that he is to arrive imminently. What would you have me do?”

Sabine looked at him, her eyes widening. “So many snakes in the woods. How to walk without being bitten by one?”

“Is it a sin to thrash an Aldermaston, by Cheshu?” Jon Tayt said gruffly. “We could bar the gates against him.”

Sabine smiled. “Lia did that to his predecessor, I recall. The story is famous.” She began pacing again, shaking her head thoughtfully. “Mutiny at sea, treason by land. If he succeeds in naming his own man Aldermaston of Muirwood, the oldest abbey of the realm, where will his ambitions end?”

“In a grave,” Jon Tayt said with a snort, “as it always does. Even the mastons of the past had to rebel against their fallen king.”

Sabine looked at him and shook her head. “Not without a warning first. The Medium always warns before it destroys.”

“If I may?” Simon Fox said in a deferential voice.

The others looked to him. “Yes, Simon?” Sabine replied.

He stroked his wispy beard again. “There is no easy answer to this conundrum. The stakes are high and the jeopardy is real. Lady Maia, if you will excuse me not using your given name? Thank you. Lady Maia is the only person who has defied the king’s authority without being executed. Many have signed the Writ of Submission—or the Act of Submission . . . pardon me . . . for fear of their life, including Aldermaston Kranmir. Do you believe the king will execute his own daughter? I do not. Therefore, I suggest that as soon as he arrives, we focus the king’s attention on his daughter’s presence. She is lawfully married to my master, King Gideon. If we legitimize the marriage in the eyes of the people and have Lady Maia proclaimed Queen of Dahomey, her father will not be able to overthrow the customs on his authority alone. That is my counsel.”

Sabine looked at him, her brow furrowing. “You are asking me to trust my son-in-law with her life.”

“Yes,” Simon replied, bowing meekly. “In my opinion, the king cannot overthrow the maston order unless Maia submits and signs the act. He was anointed king. His true wife, Lady Catrin, is dead. But Maia’s royal birth means she has the same authority, the same benefit, as her father. Yes, she has been disinherited. Unlawfully. Yes, she has been a pariah. Unpardonably. But she has more right to the throne than any other person besides the king . . . and even he knows that. Think of the mastons in Assinica. Who will they look to as their rightful ruler? Him? Or her?”

Maia felt her knees begin to tremble. Her voice was hoarse in her own ears. “I will not rebel against my father.”

Simon shook his head. “I did not suggest you should. Yet. All I am suggesting is that you do not give in to him. Even if he threatens your life. If you are a maston, even he cannot evict you from these grounds. Perhaps the world should see what happens if he tries.”

Maia swallowed, feeling her stomach twisting into knots.

“I am certain the Medium will not allow Muirwood to fall without a struggle. Let us go,” Sabine said with a determined nod to the Aldermaston and his wife. “Prepare the abbey. It is time Maia took the maston test.”





Belief and character are intermixed. Following the Medium’s whispers over time will forge a strong character that can be called upon in times of desperate need. Character is not developed in moments of temptation and trial. That is when it is intended to be used.

—Richard Syon, Aldermaston of Muirwood Abbey





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE




Forbidden



The nervous feelings inside Maia’s stomach made it difficult to concentrate. Darkness had fallen across the abbey grounds, a solemn darkness that brought with it a weighty silence. Maia and Suzenne sat next to each other in the Aldermaston’s study, wearing simple white learner robes and outer cloaks with veiled hoods. They were to take the test together.

“Are you as nervous as I am?” Suzenne whispered, clutching Maia’s hands.

Maia could not speak. She only nodded.

Suzenne stroked her arm. “Jayn told me the maston rites are nothing to fear. They are . . . solemn. Symbolic. She was . . . different after passing the test. More thoughtful and serious.”

“You are already serious,” Maia teased, nudging her shoulder.

Suzenne smiled, and Maia admired her friend’s regal beauty and good nature. Such a contrast to Maeg, she thought. Maeg and the other learners who were finishing their studies at Muirwood would be taking the maston test the next day. There was so much change coming. A new Aldermaston—what would he do about the Ciphers if he learned of them? Each girl had taken a tremendous risk to be taught to read and engrave. If the Dochte Mandar were to find out, they would all be hunted down.

“That has always been my temperament,” Suzenne said. She sighed. “My parents will be arriving on the morrow. I must tell them I plan to marry Dodd. They will not be pleased, to be sure!”

“It is your choice, is it not?” Maia whispered sympathetically. “And you love him.”