The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3)(74)
Maia felt an oncoming sigh. “She will not tell you?”
Suzenne shook her head. “Should I have her wait until tomorrow?”
“No,” Maia said, touching her friend’s arm. “Send her in.”
After Suzenne left, Maia shot a worried glance at Jon Tayt.
“I remember the lass,” he said candidly. “Pretty face. Mean as a cat whose tail was run over by a cart.”
Maia stifled a smile as the door to her private room opened and Suzenne ushered Maeg inside. She shut the door after the girl, leaving her alone with Maia and Jon Tayt.
The gown Maeg wore was instantly and painfully familiar. It marked her as one of the servants of Lady Shilton. Maia herself had eventually been given a gown after the same fashion. She had worn it on the Blessing of Burntisland. She had worn it while facing the lost abbey. She had worn it across Dahomey and into Mon. Seeing Maeg wear a similar gown made her draw up short.
“You serve Lady Shilton?” Maia asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Maeg said, fidgeting with her skirts. She looked uncomfortable . . . no, she looked terror-stricken. Her eyes were haunted.
“What is it?” Maia asked, rising to her feet and walking toward the other girl. “What has happened?”
“I tried to come earlier,” Maeg said, her voice low and soft. She glanced around the room surreptitiously. “We are truly alone except for the hunter?”
Maia felt a spasm of fear. “Yes. Suzenne said you wanted to tell me something. Why could you not share the truth with her?”
The suggestion made Maeg look even more miserable, if it were possible. “Because it concerns her as well, and she was my friend once . . . before she was yours.”
“Tell me,” Maia said softly, stroking the girl’s arm. “I am not your enemy, Maeg.”
Maeg tried to laugh but could not. She sighed, mastered her emotions with apparent difficulty, and continued. “I did find a position after Muirwood,” she said. Smoothing the skirts of her gown, she continued, “with Lady Shilton. Aldermaston Joanna . . . she encouraged it discreetly, believing it would help you to have a Cipher in that household.” She paused and stared down at the ground for a moment before speaking again. “My apparent dislike of you, Your Majesty, actually helped me earn the position.”
Maia tried to listen patiently, but she could sense the news would be terrible. “Go on.”
“Just before the Hautlander ships arrived, a ship from Dahomey came.” Maia’s heart flinched, and she tried to keep her expression guarded. “Secret visitors entered Lady Shilton’s manor. One was a man, a Dochte Mandar. He bore a Dahomeyjan name . . . Corriveaux . . . and he seemed to know Lady Shilton.” Maeg swallowed, fidgeting more. “There were other men with him . . . dangerous men. Men that made me shudder. They guarded the house, and no one was allowed in or out during his visit. They gave something to Lady Murer. At first I thought it was just a necklace . . . but Maia, it was a kystrel.” Fear flashed in her eyes. “I watched her summon its power. Her eyes glowed silver. I have never been so frightened.”
“By Idumea,” Maia whispered in horror.
Corriveaux had taken from her the kystrel that Chancellor Walraven had given her. It was full of Maia’s memories and fears and emotions. She knew, without being told, that this was the same kystrel he had given to Murer.
“That was before they took Lady Murer,” Maeg added.
“What? They took her?”
Maeg’s fidgeting worsened. “I know where they went. Lady Murer . . . you should have heard her boast of it. As soon as she put on the kystrel, she changed. She had been miserable since losing her position. She would mourn and then rage about it often. Once she had the kystrel, she became imbued with power. She wants revenge against you and anyone close to you.” Maeg gave Maia an imploring look and took her hand. “Murer went north. She is going to destroy Dodd’s army and burn Billerbeck Abbey. And she plans to ruin your relationship . . . with the King of Dahomey. She left two days ago. I tried to escape, but the house has been guarded until today. Corriveaux returned this morning, alone, and took the others with him and fled the city. I cannot go back there, Maia. They will know I betrayed them. They will kill me.”
Maia stared into the other girl’s eyes, into the well of conviction and despair she saw there, and then looked over at Jon Tayt. “Your strongest army is in the north,” he said, his own gaze full of wrath. “He will hold his own, by Cheshu. He better.”
But Maia could not bear to tell him what she knew about the powers of a kystrel. And if Murer’s goal was to travel to Dahomey, it meant only one thing.
Her stepsister Murer was turning into a hetaera.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Burning
It was nearing midnight when Lady Shilton and her household arrived at the palace under guard. Maia was weary, but she dared not sleep. Guards roamed the corridors and the city was restive and uneasy. Some families had abandoned their homes during the day, and more were beginning to trickle out.
Maia waited impatiently in the solar with Jon Tayt as her silent companion. It was the room where she had met her father the night he had sent her to seek the lost abbey. It was full of memories. She was heartsick from the knowledge that her impulsive, selfish stepsister was on the loose . . . and that she was likely wearing Maia’s former kystrel. The power the kystrel contained was enormous, and she had no doubt that Murer would not exercise the restraint Chancellor Walraven had always encouraged in her. After Maeg left, Maia had shared her news with Suzenne. The look on her friend’s face would haunt her nights for weeks to come. Suzenne trusted Dodd’s integrity, but she did not trust him completely against the power of a kystrel wielded by a jealous woman. While Lady Shilton had never implied Dodd would be a target for revenge, Maia and Suzenne knew the ways of the hetaera. With a face chalk white with dread, Suzenne had begged to go to Claredon Abbey to travel by Apse Veil to Billerbeck to warn Dodd about the invasion. She had left hours before, and there was still no sign of her.