It did comfort her to hear directly from Collier not long after she received her enemy’s ominous missive. Her husband had scrawled a quick note confiding his plans to bring the Paeizians to heel. She could easily imagine him in the costume of Feint Collier, dashing around the countryside on his cream-colored horse, and she secretly wished she could join him. In her darkest hours, she could not help but worry for him; Corriveaux had threatened her heart . . . could he plan on attacking her husband? She was anxious for Collier to pass the maston test, but it had taken several months of study for the Medium to permit her to take it.
Her days were no longer full of meetings, as her council was busy implementing the plan they had adopted. She had not inspected the city’s defenses yet, but the city watch was on patrol. Maia had no recent word from Caspur, increasing her sense of dread, but a note had arrived via courier from Dodd that he had three thousand men marching day and night from the north.
Reports indicated that Kord Schuyler’s army was moving slowly, gathering more volunteers each day, but it was still two days from Comoros. Maybe three.
In the late afternoon, she was speaking to Richard in the chancellor’s tower when they were interrupted by the sound of boots rushing up the stairwell. Maia was poring over rosters of provisions and inventories of weapons and hastily set them down, alarmed by the sound. Comoros had a sizable armory and there were plenty of spears, swords, chain hauberks, helmets, shields, arrows—enough to outfit a sizable army . . . if only they had the soldiers to use them. The city blacksmiths were hammering all day long as well, repairing broken weapons and armor and manufacturing new ones.
“I feel comfortable,” Richard said, glancing at the doorway, “that we have enough provisions for a month, maybe two if we ration. I advise using the river to ferry in new supplies from around the realm. If there is a chance the city will be under siege for some time, we will do better to be prepared.”
Simon Fox appeared on the stairwell, his face flushed and pale. He was normally very calm, so the extent of his agitation was alarming in itself.
“What is it, Simon?” Maia asked. The chancellor just stared at their visitor in concern, his brows knit together.
“My lady,” Simon said, almost out of breath. “Pardon . . . but as soon as I found out, I ran all the way from my shop.”
“Speak,” Maia implored, feeling a well of darkness open up beneath her before he even explained the situation.
“Caspur has betrayed you,” Simon said curtly, beginning to pace.
“Oh no,” Maia whispered. “What has he done?”
Simon ran a hand through his hair and continued to walk the room. “When you told me how insistent he was on leading a force against Schuyler’s, I sent some of my men to follow his movements. My lady, he raised a force of ten thousand from his domains. He was urgent in his preparations, acting as my men thought one in his position should. He started them marching almost immediately. That was four days ago. I thought all was well until his army suddenly veered to the north to intercept Schuyler’s.”
Maia closed her eyes, feeling the terrible moment keenly.
“It is worse, my lady,” Simon said vehemently. “By design or not, I do not know, but when Caspur’s army closed with Schuyler’s, the two were camped near each other. In the morn, his men joined Schuyler’s.”
Richard’s expression was even more grave, if that were possible. “They joined, Simon?”
The Dahomeyjan spymaster nodded vigorously. “My lady, combined, they are nearly unstoppable. Even if Lord Price gets here in time, his troops will hardly make a difference. My lady, you are betrayed. Schuyler’s army is also much closer than you realize. The outriders will reach the city limits sometime tomorrow.”
Maia felt light-headed as she turned to look at her chancellor. “We have more money and resources, but we lack time to summon them. My husband is caught fighting his own war. My grandmother left for Hautland, and even if Pry-Ree were willing to offer their support for our internal war, it would take too long for their troops to arrive.”
Simon scratched the back of his head roughly. “This is a perilous hour. I came straight here. No one else knows. If the city finds out, there will be a panic and an exodus.”
“When they find out,” Maia corrected him. “This is not a secret we can keep.” She sighed in despair. “Should I have given him the command after all? I did not believe him capable of such treachery. He and Schuyler are rivals. Caspur stands more to gain if he supports me than his enemy. I am hurt, but I am also astonished. I truly did not believe him capable of such a betrayal.”
Richard stared solemnly at the floor for a moment and then lifted his gaze to her face. “I also did not expect him to betray the Crown. He threw in his lot with you when your father was murdered. Speaking of which, the interment of his body was supposed to happen tomorrow. I suppose that must be altered. Our options, it seems, are few.”