The Scourge of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #3)

She had woven together the threads of story in strands from everyone in the kitchen while the storm had raged over the Hundred. Marciana and Kieran had been escorted from Comoros but ambushed. Since Lia had Gifted him, his recovery had been startlingly dramatic. As Dieyre’s men attacked and began killing the knights who escsorted them, he had fended the attackers off, killing them all and stealing their tunics and horses to disguise their movements as they rode back to Muirwood. Upon reaching the Abbey, they had hidden as wretcheds, wearing simple clothes and helping with simple tasks to aid in their disguise. Edmon had finally summoned the courage to face the maston test and when he learned it was more about oaths and promises than knowledge learned from tomes, he had encouraged Sowe to face it as well. It was Marciana’s wish that she be adopted into her Family when she learned of Colvin’s promise. The Aldermaston permitted it, knowing they were approaching the end of his authority at the Abbey.

The day after they had passed it, the Aldermaston of Augustin arrived, claiming to be the new Aldermaston. He presented his charge and then summarily dismissed Demont and his mastons from the Abbey under his new authority. With the new Aldermaston against him, Demont had left and they had heard he was murdered by poison as he journeyed to Comoros to take control of the city and prepare for an invasion.

With a new Aldermaston, the Queen Dowager was finally released from her captivity and she summoned her vassals to Muirwood to bring her safely away. But the entourage did not leave immediately as they had promised. Each day brought another delay. Her power and influence continued to grow, much to the surprise of the new Aldermaston who found her to be intractable and unwilling to simply walk away. He also began to discover that the wealth he had suspected to exist at Muirwood was as elusive as the wind. There was no treasury, no hoarded funds supporting Demont’s army. He realized at the end that he had given up a wealthier Abbey for a lesser one.

On Twelfth Night, both Aldermastons were executed on the Tor. They were bound to maypoles and forced to watch the Abbey below begin to burn. From what Lia had heard, the Aldermaston of Augustin had howled and wept and begged for his life. The true Aldermaston had silently faced his death without a word after Seth, his hunter, had been stabbed by soldiers while trying to defend his master. His body had been left on the lawn, but it had vanished with the storm.

Lia looked up at the charred remains of the Aldermaston. She knelt before the post, knelt in the soaked ashes, and she sobbed. She had lost two fathers in her life and she was not sure which hurt most – the one she had never met or known, or the one who had been prepared for her by her true father. In anguish, she had let the others leave for Pry-Ree, never able to tell them who she really was. Somewhere in the world was a tome, written by her father, sealed with a binding sigil. Until it was found, she would be forever silenced. Her true story would never be known. It was the same for the Aldermaston. He had died in disgrace, accused of horrid crimes he had never committed.

She spoke out loud, to herself but also to him. “If only I had come sooner, I could have saved you from your fate. Or you could have died and the Apse Veil would still be open. I am sorry for that. I did not know what was happening to you. I was mostly only aware of my own pain. I am sorry.”

The wind tugged at her hair. She cried softly.

“There were so many lies told about you. People always believe the worst, even when rumors might later be proved false. I know the truth and so do a handful of others. It seemed sometimes that you never cared what others thought about you. But so many will never know who you truly were. They will never know you as I knew you.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I miss you, Aldermaston. I miss your counsel and your advice. You believed in me. I always felt that from you. I remember when you sent Jon Hunter to rescue me from the Bearden Muir. He told me that I was welcome back. That you said I could come back home. Do you know how much that meant to me? How much your trust meant to me?” She hugged herself, shivering with her emotions. “I wish I had told you how much I depended on you. How much I learned from you. How sorry I was for all the rude things I said. My disobedience and childishness. You were so patient with me. I see now that I was not just a wretched to you. Thank you, Aldermaston. I am grateful I was sent to your care. You helped to mold my faith. I could not have done what I did at Dochte Abbey without you.”

She knelt there until her knees cramped and ached and her tears finally exhausted. She breathed deeply and swallowed the hiccups that threatened her.

“I will carry a mark on my heart for the rest of my life. I will never forget your words and teachings. And I will never forget what you suffered because of me.”

In the stillness that followed the storm, she felt something light graze the back of her head. It was feather-light. She opened her eyes and turned around, but there was nothing behind her. It had felt like a…hand?

She blinked in the stillness and closed her eyes again.