The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3)(110)

Maia closed her eyes, trying to absorb the information flooding her. Collier had been a maston for weeks. Simon had known.

“It was only later that I learned you had kissed the Prince of Hautland,” he said, drawing her from her reverie.

“That is not true!” Maia said defensively.

He smirked at her. “I know. Richard told me, and Aldermastons cannot lie.” He then knelt down in front of her, resting one hand on the stone railing, one hand on her knee. Even with him kneeling and her sitting down, he was nearly at eye level with her. “Then,” he said in a low voice, “I knew I had to tell you everything, so I came on the Argiver after I sacked the armada at Comoros. I knew that you would know it was me if I took that ship. You cannot know how it tortured me to learn that you had been abducted by that . . . man.”

Maia touched his cheek with her palm, her heart fluttering with new emotions. She sensed he wanted to kiss her. “And you cannot know how it felt when I believed I had lost you,” she whispered, her throat seizing up with tears. She moistened her lips, which suddenly felt dry as dust. The feeling in her stomach was like a whirlwind. “The dagger wound was fatal, I thought. But when you kissed me . . .” She shut her eyes and lowered her head, shuddering with the memory of those dark emotions.

She felt his fingers lift her chin.

“I was wounded, but not fatally as I supposed. Jon Tayt is quite able. When he brought me back to Muirwood, I could not stand up by myself. Within a day, I was walking. Within two, I could move freely. Richard told me that the prince’s symptoms began immediately after he kissed you. They kept me apart from everyone else after I told them about our kiss. But there was no sickness. Nothing. And then the truth struck me.”

Maia could hardly concentrate on his words. His face had gotten closer and closer as he spoke. She already knew the truth he was about to say. It sent tingles throughout her body.

“I realized your kiss would harm anyone else in the world . . . but me.” He smiled. “Or my Family, but I do not feel inclined to share you very much.” He gazed at her. “I have given you my kingdom, Maia. I have given you my heart.” He snagged her fingers with his own. “Please tell me that you are mine. Forever. Always.”

Maia stared into his vibrant blue eyes. “Forever,” she whispered. And then she planted a kiss on his warm lips. She pulled back, barely noticing the little burn on her shoulder, her tingling lips. “For always,” she whispered next and kissed him again.

Collier kissed her back and drew one arm around her waist. Then, parting from her for a moment, he gently lowered her onto the bed of tiny forget-me-nots. He joined her on the bench and proceeded to kiss her ardently, claiming her mouth with his own, claiming her heart and all that she was and wanted to be. And she kissed him back without timidity, digging her fingers through the thick locks of his hair until she was breathless.

The crushed blue flowers cushioned her hair, filling the air between them with the sweetest of fragrances. Her shoulder throbbed dully from her wound, but she could hardly feel pain through the blissful sensation of his mouth on hers. She surrendered to his kisses, feeling as if her heart would burst apart.

They both heard the creaking of the cart wheels as it approached the garden.

Collier lifted his head, cocking it to listen, sighed deeply and with exaggerated anguish, and they began to laugh.





Where there is darkness, there is courage. Where there is ambition, there is power. Where there is will, there is dominion. I thank the Medium for an unconquerable soul.


—Corriveaux Tenir, King of the Kjavik Wastes





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT




Irrevocare Sigil





Never before in the history of the kingdoms had so many leaders assembled in one place at one time. Emissaries from all the kingdoms descended on Muirwood, either by ship or by Apse Veil, summoned to a Great Council by Maia, Queen of Comoros, and her betrothed, King Gideon of Dahomey. Some of the rulers were the age of her parents. Some were older. She and Collier were by far the youngest, but they were both treated with a deference and respect that surprised her.

A meeting had been called for that afternoon, during which all the leaders of the realms would be informed of what had caused the sun to linger in the sky. Every kingdom had experienced it. The people were frightened; they were struggling to understand what the Medium was saying. As she walked with Collier, greeting the various nobles, thanking those who had sent their support and assistance, Maia noted the conspicuous absence of one person she desired to see above all—her grandmother, the High Seer.

Collier touched her elbow and pulled her away from the chatter and noise. They were in the audience hall in the Aldermaston’s manor, the same room where Collier had danced with her and declared that she was his wife.

“There is that look in your eye again,” he told her softly. “And the fidgeting. I see how you keep glancing at the delegation from Pry-Ree.”

She forced herself to stop wringing her hands and smoothing her dress. It still felt strange to her to wear a filigree coronet in her hair, but she had to admit that Collier’s crown made him look even more handsome.

“You know me too well,” she said. “I worry about my grandmother.”

He took her hand, his fingers firm and steady. “You know that my fleet captains are assembling the provisions to strike for Naess tomorrow. If the Naestors will not surrender your grandmother, as they promised they would, then I will make them.”