What have you done?”
Ravenna turned about as Maximilian entered her tent. “You speak so harshly to me,” she said.
Maximilian barely managed to keep his anger under control. Gods, the nerve of the woman! She stood so pale, her eyes so huge, her hand just so faintly trembling as it hung at her side, and all of it, he knew, was pretense.
“You tried to kill Ishbel,” he said, coming to a halt and trying, largely unsuccessfully, to keep his hands from clenching at his sides.
“I tried to help you.”
“You—”
“Maxel, please, listen to me! I know you love Ishbel, but—”
“Do you have any idea how sick I am of hearing this petty chorus?”
“You have seen the vision! Do you have any idea of how heartsick I am that you continue to ignore it?”
Maximilian half turned away, hands now on hips, smothering a curse.
“Ishbel loves you, but she will murder you, Maxel, and murder Elcho Falling. Nothing shall come of her but sorrow.”
“What must I do to prise you out of my life?” Maximilian said, turning back to Ravenna. “What must I do to—”
He stopped, staring. His movement in turning back to Ravenna had altered his stance enough that he could now see beyond the chair that stood just behind Ravenna.
He could see a hand, and a pale arm, outstretched on the carpet.
He pushed past Ravenna, dropping on one knee beside Venetia.
Her skin was gray, clammy, and very cool.
She was dead, her throat torn apart by strong, cruel fingers, and he finally knew from where had come the blood that had spattered over Ishbel.
Maximilian laid a hand on Venetia’s forehead, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he stood and looked at Ravenna, the expression on his face making her take a step backward.
“You killed her,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Yes? Yes? Why?”
“She tried to aid Ishbel—”
“She was your mother! Your mother! And you killed her?”
Ravenna’s eyes were wet, and a tear slid down one cheek. “I loved her, Maxel. But she tried to stop me from preventing Ishbel—”
Maximilian stepped forward and hit Ravenna so hard that her body jerked in a half circle and she fell to the floor.
He paused, waiting until Ravenna had raised herself on one elbow, staring at him in shock, then he reached down and hauled her to her feet.
“If you were not pregnant, Ravenna, I swear to the gods I would kill you right now! What can be worth the murder of your own mother, eh?”
“You have no idea what is coming, Maxel! I keep trying to warn you but—”
“Don’t you ever call me that again! You are gone from my life, Ravenna. Get out of this tent. Get out of my company! Walk into the night, Ravenna, and never, never walk back into the light again in my presence!”
Ravenna just stared at him, too shocked by his words to speak.
He gave her a hard, painful shake. “Get out of my life, Ravenna.”
“Why do this to me, Maximilian, when you have been my entire delight, and all my joy?”
“Oh, for all the gods’ sakes, Ravenna. Go.”
“I have ever stood ready at your hand, to—”
“Go!”
Ravenna pulled herself away from him. “You do a great wrong, Maximilian,” she said softly. “You do me a great wrong, to cast me off with such discourtesy.”
“Don’t you ever speak to me of discourtesy, not when you just tried to murder my wife—”
Wife, she thought numbly. He called her his wife.
“—and took your mother’s life when she tried to aid Ishbel!”
Maximilian stepped forward and shoved his hand against Ravenna’s shoulder, hard enough to make her stumble back. “Get out of my life, Ravenna, and be grateful I leave you with yours.”
Ravenna took a backward step to the tent flap, then another, then bent down and retrieved her cloak from the floor without shifting her eyes from Maximilian’s face.
“I saved you from the Veins, Maximilian Persimius. I have waged life and land for you, and for this discourtesy? I do not think you worth the struggle, and so I shall save my efforts for your son.”
With that she turned on her heel and was gone through the tent flap.
Maximilian stood for a few minutes once Ravenna had gone, trying to calm himself, trying to let go of his anger.
To kill your own mother. Gods, how deluded was Ravenna to do that?
Finally, calm enough that he had stopped shaking, Maximilian went back to Venetia’s body, and knelt by it for a little while in prayer, feeling a profound guilt over her death.
In time, he rose, called for one of the Emerald Guard, and asked him to fetch help to prepare Venetia for burial, then went to see Ishbel.
Garth had moved her back to her own tent, where she was asleep in her bed.
When Maximilian entered, Garth moved over to him, motioning him to speak softly.
“Maxel?” Garth said. “What is wrong?”
“Is my face that bad?”
“Maxel?”
“Venetia is dead. Ravenna killed her. If Ishbel managed to survive her attempt to unwind the Weeper, then that was all Venetia’s doing. Ravenna attacked Ishbel, and when Venetia tried to stop her, Ravenna killed her.”
Garth stared, mouth agape.
“I’m sorry, Garth. I know you loved Ravenna.”
“I loved Venetia, too. And Ravenna…she has not grown into the woman I expected. Maxel, what have you done with Ravenna?”
“I wanted to kill her. So badly. Garth, I was so angry, I thought it would kill me. I’ve never been that angry…”
Garth laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and Maximilian felt calmness radiate through him.
Maximilian sighed, allowing some of his anger and guilt to dissipate. “Ravenna is gone, Garth. I should have done it many days ago, but she is gone now. Where, I don’t know and for the moment I don’t care. I told her I never wanted to see her face again. I should have killed her, but I couldn’t, not with the child…”
Garth wrapped both his arms about Maximilian and hugged him for a long moment. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Garth,” Maximilian said, “I have been so stupid, I—”
“You haven’t—”
“Everything is muddled because of my stupidity.”
“Then everything will unmuddle itself. Maxel, I will take care of Venetia, all right? Go and sit with Ishbel.”
“She is well?”
“Yes, just very tired. She needs her sleep, but it will do you good to sit with her, and it will do her good to see you when she wakes.”
“Did she say anything about the Weeper?”
“She woke only briefly as I moved her back here, and she said only that she needed to speak to you.”
“I wonder what happened. Could it have been worth Venetia’s death?”
“No one will know until Ishbel wakes. Maxel, go sit with her.”
Maximilian took one step toward Ishbel. Then he stopped and half turned. “Garth, will you ask Egalion to make damned sure that Ravenna is gone? Perhaps escort her a few leagues into the wilderness. I don’t care. Just make sure she is gone.”
“I will do that. Sit, Maxel, and rest.”
Maximilian sighed again, then went to sit at Ishbel’s bedside.