The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(76)

“You cannot imagine how surprised I was to find her wandering in my realm, Your Majesty.” Collier winked. He hooked his arm inside Maia’s and patted her hand. “I was swayed by her beauty and charm. You did promise her to me, after all.”

The tension in the room intensified, and Maia could see the rage building in her father’s eyes. She swallowed, her heart trembling in fear.

Collier seemed to notice it as well, and his tone softened. “Our kingdoms have always been at odds, my lord. But with a careful union of interests, we have managed to avoid war. Being the weaker kingdom, I did take advantage of the situation. As a ruler, I am sure you can understand why,” he said with a wry smile, trying his best to look apologetic. “We can discuss the dowry terms later.”

His words had an immediate effect, seeming to soothe some of the fierceness in her father’s eyes, which slowly cooled. He still looked displeased, but the fit of passion was ebbing.

“How is my daughter?” her father asked shortly, his eyes glittering as he looked at her.

“I am well,” Maia replied thickly, trying to quell her violent emotions. She was so grateful to have Collier standing beside her, but she feared for him too. She feared what could happen to him if were caught in a fit of her father’s rage. “It is good to see you, Father.”

He sniffed, trying to compose himself, his feelings for Maia obviously as tangled as her own for him. She wondered how much of her mother he still saw when he regarded her. Her mother who had defied his will unto death.

“Did you accomplish your errand in Dahomey?” he inquired, his eyebrows arching. “I have expected you to return to the palace to bring me word of your journeys. Why have you not come?”

Maia swallowed down her fear. “Because I learned of a duty I must fulfill here first,” she answered simply.

“You have a duty to your father.”

“I do,” she agreed, trying in vain to console him. “But I also have a duty to the Medium. A charge that was given to our Family.” She glanced at Sabine, who nodded discreetly.

“Ah, yes,” her father said smugly. “Your mother often spoke of it, to my frustration. The Apse Veil, is it not? What gives you the impression that you are meant to fulfill it?”

Maia swallowed again. “It was . . . written in Lia’s tome.”

Her father nodded, his expression full of intrigue. “Have you read it yourself, Daughter? Or did someone read it to you?” He glanced at Sabine warily.

He was endeavoring to trap her with her own words, she realized. If she were to admit she could read—as he knew she could—it would invite the wrath of the Dochte Mandar on the kingdom. Not just her kingdom, but Dahomey as well. He seemed to take perverse delight in what he was doing.

Sabine stepped forward. “I shared the information with her, Your Majesty. I am the guardian of Lia’s tome. It was handed down to me. She saw the future in her visions, my lord. She knew it would take several generations before one of her descendants grew strong enough in the Medium to reopen the Apse Veil. Maia is the one.”

“So you say,” he replied curtly. He turned to Aldermaston Kranmir and chuckled. “You were right, Aldermaston. He warned me that you would try something like this, Sabine.”

“I do not understand,” Sabine said, confused but respectful.

“You knew that I intended to overrule your authority in my realm. I have made little secret that I despise the maston customs. I expelled the Dochte Mandar from my realm. I can expel your followers too.” His jaw began to gnash with suppressed fury. “The Naestors are sending an armada against me. They think I will be surprised, but I am not. And while they may have supremacy by sea, they will find this kingdom and its castles and keeps to be unconquerable. They may harass the coasts. They may starve us of trade, but if we—Comoros and Dahomey and Pry-Ree—unite against them,we will not be defeated. This is not the time to threaten me with mystical curses and old-fashioned morals. I am the King of Comoros, and I will not yield one span of dirt in this kingdom without fighting for it. Do you think the Naestors will care about your precious abbeys? Do you not think they will loot them and defile them and burn them? I will not let them seize what is rightfully mine. This is for the best, Sabine. I hope you have the sense to see that.”

He was nearly growling with anger and determination. Maia could see the purpose in his eyes. He believed in a twisted interpretation of the Medium . . . that a strong will and a determined mind could achieve what it desired. There was not good or evil, only the pursuit of one’s desires.

Sabine shook her head slowly. “Your Majesty, your spies have interpreted the situation incorrectly. The armada is not coming to Comoros.”

He barked out a laugh. “They are! You are daft if you believe otherwise. We are expecting the invasion imminently. I am celebrating Whitsunday at Muirwood, and let it be known that I was, because it is the most defensible by sea! They cannot surprise us here.”

“Your Grace—” Sabine said, “—hear me, please. The armada is not coming. I have it from the highest authorities within Naess itself that the armada sails for the maston homeland—Assinica. They are helpless there. They have been waiting for our abbeys to be restored, for the Apse Veils to be opened so that they might return. Your Majesty, your kingdom is about to swell with refugees from another country.” She strode forward, her voice sharp and forceful. “Now is not the moment to give in to pride and rash action. These people will come here looking for a king-maston to rule them. You must be that man! If the Apse Veils are not opened, these people will be slaughtered. The armada will murder them all to prevent them from adding to your power. These are artisans, my lord. Poets and scholars and artists and musicians. These are people who have lived in a land of peace all their lives. We must shelter them and protect them, and they will add to the wealth of your kingdom a hundredfold!” Her voice throbbed with passion. “Now is not the time to make a schism, Your Grace. Let us heal the breach between us.” She reached out her hand, a gesture of invitation. “I forgive you for what you did to my daughter. I bear no malice toward you. The Medium put you on your throne for this very moment, for this very decision.” Sabine reached out and griped Maia’s arms, hugging her. “Maia is your rightful heir, Your Majesty. She is the one who can open the Apse Veil. I know it with every feeling in my heart. Please, Your Majesty, I beg you! Do you not feel the Medium saying this is true?”