Maia sighed, swinging his arm as they started down the path into the gardens. She smoothed some hair over her ear. “Do not be angry with him for saving me,” she chided.
“Not for saving you. I owe him a debt for that. But you are my wife, and it is my privilege to protect you. I would have gladly faced off against Schuyler and Trefew. Five at once, even. It would have been a feat for the minstrels.” There was some levity in his voice, but she could tell his own helplessness in the situation had left a wound.
“There is a little fountain over there,” Maia said, tugging on his hand. “Follow me.”
They passed a Leering with a sun-faced visage. She remembered brushing her hand against it on her last visit to the garden. The dusk of night had faded from the area around the light Leering in an instant. After walking a little farther, they reached the circular fountain with the fish Leering spouting water in the middle. The joyful pattering sound helped mask the tumult of the city noises beyond the wall.
She sat on the edge of the fountain’s stone railing, and Collier stared at the fish, a far-off look on his face.
“What is it?” Maia asked him.
“Another memory,” he said, then shook his head to brush it off. “You like this garden?”
She shrugged. “The last time I was here was the night my father summoned me to go to the lost abbey.” She clasped her hands together and pressed her thumbs against her lips. “We argued, of course. I came here afterward to think about what he had said. It was a strange night. That was right before I first set foot in your kingdom.” She put her hands down on the stone and looked up at him. “Before you deceived me.” She gave him a wry smile.
Collier did not look chagrined. He folded his arms and put one boot up on the railing next to her. “I do not recall you confessing who you were either. I hope you do not regret that I took the liberty of dancing with you at the Gables?”
Maia smiled with pleasure and shook her head. The sinking sun made the shadows lengthen. She needed to cross the Apse Veil back to Muirwood to get some rest. Unfortunately, Collier was not yet a maston and could not travel there with her.
“You look bone weary,” he murmured softly. “The noise from this fish Leering is going to lull you to sleep.”
She started to rise, but he reached out and took her hand, helping to draw her up. She nestled against his chest, drawing her arms around him tightly. She felt his hands gently smooth her hair.
“I wish I did not have to go,” she murmured.
“I wish I could go with you,” he said darkly. “Soon, my love. Once the Paeizians are subdued, I will do my best to pass the maston test quickly. One cannot rush the Medium, I believe, but if it is at all possible, I will try.”
She lifted her gaze up to his face, saw the tender look there. “Will you walk me to the abbey?”
Collier nodded with a pained smile. Then he smoothed a lock of hair over her ear. “He does not care for you . . . as I do,” he whispered thickly.
Word has reached me that Lady Marciana will shortly be crowned Queen of Comoros. She surrounds herself with mastons, and listens only to their whispering in her ear. This will upset those in the realm who have betrayed the order. Her own people may topple her before the fleets even return. Then we will crush them all to cinders.
—Corriveaux Tenir, Victus of Dahomey
CHAPTER NINE
Wyrich
She awoke to darkness. Her heart tremored with fear, for the kishion had haunted her in her dreams. With a thought, she summoned light from a nearby Leering, and was startled to discover she was back at Muirwood in the room that she and Suzenne had once shared. The familiarity of the beds, changing screen, and even the tub in the corner by the fire Leering brought her comfort and helped dispel the gloom of her night terrors.
Because the room had no windows, she did not know what time it was or how late she had slept. Her body was sore and weary, but ever since she had arrived back at Muirwood, she had felt gloriously free. No longer was she subject to the oppressive taint of the Myriad Ones. All was peaceful, except for her own turbulent thoughts. She knew that she could not forever return to Muirwood to sleep at night, but until she found a way to rid the palace of the Myriad Ones and their influence, she needed to avoid the possibility of being overwhelmed by them.
Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she remembered the look on the kishion’s face. The look that had told her more clearly than any words that he cared for her.