“You found me quickly.”
It was Colvin.
Lia’s thoughts spun with surprise and shock. She turned on her heel, staring as he emerged from around the trunk. His face was mud-spattered. His leather jerkin soiled and damp, his fingers stained with mud. Bits of bark and nettles stuck in his clothes. He looked like she usually did after a foray into the Bearden Muir.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper. “Colvin, what is wrong? Are you hurt?”
“You seem surprised to see me,” he answered, his face a mask of intensity and anger.
“Of course I am surprised. Why are you here?”
“You truly do not know?” his voice was thick with disbelief.
“I would never lie to you. You know that. I never have. Where are Marciana and Ellowyn? Are they nearby? I only saw one set of steps to follow.”
“I was hoping, Lia, that you would tell me,” he replied stiffly. His face contorted with rage. “The Aldermaston betrayed us. Martin led us into a trap.”
He may have well punched her in the stomach. She shook her head. “No, that cannot be true.”
“Would I lie about this?” he snapped impatiently. His eyes burned with fury and another look – desperation. “Please. I need your help. I did not know where else to go. You can help me, Lia. You are the only one who can.”
She shook her head, still amazed that he was standing before her. “I do not understand. The Aldermaston told me he did not know where Martin was taking you. It breaks a maston oath, does it not? To swear falsely?”
He cringed as she said it. “Do not speak of things you know nothing about. I believed him, but would Martin have betrayed him? I was assured of his loyalty, and he led us into a trap. But you can help me, Lia. If you get the Cruciger orb, you can show me the way to them. I must find them.” His face looked even more desperate. “They have my sister too,” he choked out.
“What?” Lia demanded, unable to pull her thoughts together. “The Queen Dowager has them?”
“No!” Colvin said fiercely. “The Pry-rians! We were ambushed. We were led right into their midst. Martin said they were taking Ellowyn back to Pry-Ree, back to her true family. They took my sister as a hostage.”
“Where is Edmon then?” Lia asked, sick.
Colvin shook his head. “Though they warned us not to follow, I told Edmon to follow after, in case they let my sister go. I came straight here, but as you can imagine, I do not know my way through the Bearden Muir. There are still remnants of the Dowager’s men in the woods below the grounds, so I had to wait until dusk to approach unseen. I knew you made your run of the grounds around this time and hoped to encounter you as I did and persuade you to abandon the Aldermaston to help me.” He gripped her shoulders with both hands and it made her shiver. “Please, Lia. I must beg you to help me. Help me rescue my sister. Help me save Ellowyn. I swore an oath to protect her. On my life, I swore it. I promised her I would safeguard her. Please – I will do anything you ask if you help me fulfill my vow.”
Lia stared at him, at the panic in his eyes. She could only imagine at the depth of desperation that had driven him back to Muirwood to seek her help. No doubt he remembered his coldness. No doubt he remembered they stood in the same grove of apple trees where he had scorned her. No doubt he remembered that he had not fulfilled his previous promises – to teach her to read or the dance with her. He was a proud man. Yet his determination to fulfill his duty and to protect his sister outweighed the personal humiliation he was enduring.
His fingers burned into her shoulders, as if he clutched her like a drowning man to a rope. His expression was exhausted. He had probably walked without sleeping. Was he hungry? When was the last time he had some water? She looked at his face, his concern, his helpless expression.
A feeling of tenderness and sympathy moved her. Even though he had spurned her, she chose to help. His earlier scorn still stung, and she could not bring herself to try and comfort him with a hug or murmured assurances that all was forgiven. She winced, not with the pain of his fingers stabbing her shoulders, but at the conflict boiling inside of her. Helping him would mean being near him, even if that closeness would make her heart ache.
“Of course I will help you,” she whispered, her throat catching on the last word.
* * *
“No maston ever became wise by chance.”
- Gideon Penman of Muirwood Abbey
* * *
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE:
The Chase
Lia knelt by the bedside and clasped the Aldermaston’s hand. His grip was surprisingly strong, his face flushed. Great drops of sweat dripped down his forehead. The clenched jaw of his mouth shook with repressed anger and unbearable pain.