“. . . arrangements are nearly finished, my lady. There will be a feast on the morrow, after the coronation. Then a celebration. A celebration unlike any before. You are most welcome here. You are to be the first Empress of Naess since the days of our ancestors. The people are superstitious by nature. They will worship you truly . . .”
Though she heard Corriveaux’s voice, Maia still saw her father’s face, sensed his deep worry and concern. His hand gripped her shoulder. “You would not believe what has happened since the Dochte Mandar were expelled. The people are murdering each other, Maia! Every day there are new reports of some atrocity. The Dochte Mandar unleashed something in this kingdom before they left. Walraven did, I know it! We never found his kystrel after he died. I think he gave it to someone. Maia, did he . . . give it to you?”
Maia’s throat was dry. She stared at her father. He knew. Somehow he knew. Yet he was not angry. He was . . . hopeful. His eyes were bright with intensity.
“You have it,” he whispered hoarsely, his eyes blinding with joy. “The chain you wear around your neck, I can see it. The chain. You wear it?”
Maia nodded, terrified. Her emotions wavered between exaltation and sorrow and terror. She had never told anyone her secret. Now her father knew. He could execute her. He could destroy her without trial or witnesses . . . the shadowstain on her chest was all the proof he would need.
He gripped her shoulders, his voice low and cautious. “I will not tell anyone, Maia. No one need know. In Walraven’s tome, there is mention of an abbey. A lost abbey. It was in Dahomey. Not Dochte . . . not the one the Blight destroyed. There was another abbey. It has been lost in the cursed lands for generations, but the Dochte Mandar know where it is and how to find it. Only someone equipped with a kystrel can follow the waymarkers to it. There is knowledge there, Maia, knowledge that I seek. The Dochte Mandar say the abbey is protected by Leerings that only a woman can pass. Yet they do not allow women to study, do they? There is knowledge there that will destroy the Dochte Mandar. Maia, it will save our kingdom. It is the only way.” His look was frantic, his voice quivering with intensity. “My spies tell me things. They whisper warnings of invasion. All the other kingdoms have fallen under the sway of the Dochte Mandar and cannot be trusted. The Dochte Mandar are a cult, Maia, with ways of divining the future. When they left, our kingdom began to suffer gross tortures, and they will not relent until we are all under their thrall. You must go to Dahomey. You speak their language fluently, and can speak many more tongues besides. I know Walraven trained you to write as well. I permitted it, Maia. I knew that someday I would need you for an errand like this one. I will send protectors with you. Trusted men who will guard you and protect you at the cost of their own lives. Will you do this for me, Maia? Will you leave aboard a ship and sail to the cursed shores? Will you do it? Will you obey your king? Will you honor your father’s wishes?”
Maia stared into his pleading eyes. He was desperate to save his kingdom from falling into the hands of the Dochte Mandar. If she accepted this quest, would she gain the advantage she sought? Would she finally be allowed to study at an abbey and face the maston test?
“When I return,” Maia had said forcefully. “Father, when I return, will you allow me to study at an abbey? Will you please allow it?”
His look hardened, but he did not release her shoulders. His mouth twisted into a sneer. “You seek to be a maston?” He coughed a chuckle. She could see the look in his eyes, the disdain of a man who had broken every vow.
Maia knew what would happen next. She knew what she was going to say. There was one abbey she longed to visit, the abbey where her mother was banished. Muirwood Abbey.
A dream, it is a dream! This was a trick, a deceit. She clenched her teeth together. A force bubbled up inside her and a spike of anger and rage seared her mind. She had to save Collier. She had to wake up.
Say it! Say it!
“No!” Maia shouted.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Assinica
It was like cracking a mirror.
The shattered slivers slid away from Maia’s mind and she could finally see again, breathe again, feel again. She was awake, fully alert, and herself, and she discovered that she was walking down a corridor on a velvet rug with golden tassels on the fringe, surrounded by Dochte Mandar. The air was heavy with the scent of an ancient incense. Leerings lit the corridor, several different kinds, each resting on a plinth of marble. The men who surrounded her were armed with swords fixed with rubies in the pommels, but they were not guarding her. She was being escorted in a royal manner, Corriveaux at her side, her golden dress making a gentle whispering sound as it dragged along the carpet.