“Dori—”
My scream was cut off by cold, clawed hands. One covered my mouth, and the other gripped my throat. Dorian had spun around before my cry, making me think he’d sensed something before I had. He leaped toward me, but four wet, human forms materialized in the air before him, blocking his way. Nixies. Water spirits.
Two were male; two were female. Legends whispered they could shape-shift into more beautiful forms, but here they appeared drab. Clammy skin, mottled and gray. Clothes sodden and dripping. Seaweedlike hair hanging down. The one holding me pushed me down flat to the ground, all the better to cut off my oxygen that much faster. Water dripped onto me from her hair, and her eyes gleamed a sickly green in the waning light. She hissed with pleasure and pressed harder while I frantically assessed my options.
I finished the assessment pretty quickly because I had no options. I was fully armed but unable to reach anything because of Dorian’s fucking bondage fetish. Covering my mouth stopped me from summoning a minion. The world flickered with starbursts as my air disappeared. My lungs and throat heaved, trying desperately to latch onto something. Her claws dug into the tender flesh of my neck, and I half-wondered if she’d rip it out rather than wait for suffocation.
My only hope was Dorian, but he wouldn’t get to me anytime soon, not with his own army of—
Every stone and pebble in the area suddenly lifted off the ground. Shortly thereafter, the really large stones and boulders followed suit. Those big ones exploded, fracturing into thousands of tiny shards. All those little pieces of rock rose higher, joining each other, slowing rotating in a clockwise manner.
My captor’s grip had lessened slightly, probably from surprise. It didn’t return my air, but I twisted my head enough to see Dorian standing with his arms raised up like some sort of symphony conductor. Above him, that cyclone of sharp rocks spun faster and faster, a blur to the eye. Then, as though giving the song’s grand finale, he brought his arms down sharply.
And down came the rocks.
A portion of that maelstrom swooped and soared, the primitive predecessors of bullets. At first their movements seemed chaotic, and I feared falling into their path. But it turned out every rock had its own plan, its own target. Those sharp pieces honed down on the nixie holding me, piercing and slicing with a fierce precision. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as blood splashed onto me, and her torn body collapsed in a bloody, wet pile. I twisted out from under her, taking in big gulping breaths of air.
Beyond her, Dorian gave another downward motion, urging his orchestra to its next climactic moment. The rocks swooped into another nixie, cutting it to pieces. Then another…and another…until the nixies were nothing but ribbons of blood and gore. Their task complete, the rocks gently fell to the earth, as soft and placid as drops of rain.
The entire counterattack had taken less than a minute.
Immediately, Dorian knelt by my side, helping me sit up as I gasped my way back to life. “Easy, easy,” he warned. Blood covered both of us. “Small breaths.”
“Untie me! Get me out of this!”
He pulled the silver athame from my belt. In moments, he sliced open the cords, freeing my arms and hands. I jerked away, my adrenaline still surging. He reached for me, but I flailed against him.
“Damn you! You almost got me killed!” I yelled, hearing the hysteria in my voice. “You almost got me killed!”
He grabbed my upper arms with a solid strength, pulling me to him and forcing me to stillness. “Eugenie, calm down. Eugenie!”
He shook me—hard—where I still struggled, and I halted abruptly, quelled by the harsh sound of his voice and ferocity of his grasp. I could no longer find the silly, languid gentry king. There was a stranger holding me, his face hard and commanding.
“Do you think I’d let anything happen to you?” he demanded, almost shouting. “Do you think I’d let anything harm you?”
I swallowed, still in pain from the nixie’s claws on my throat, and found my body shaking. His grip was so tight, I might as well have been tied up again. He scared me, having turned into someone else. Someone powerful and awe-inspiring. Looking into his eyes and seeing the sweat on his face, I realized fear had touched more than just me. He was scared too, not for himself, but for what had almost happened to me. Something inside me eased up, and I nearly slumped into him.
“I can’t believe what you did,” I whispered. I killed all the time without much thought or effort, but this…this had been something else entirely. And he wasn’t even at full strength in this world. “You slaughtered them.”
“I did what I had to do.” The heat in his voice had faded, replaced with a deadly calm. “And you’ll be able to do the same someday.” One of his hands released me and moved to my head, smoothing my hair back. He pressed our bodies together and rested his cheek against mine so his soft words could spill into my ear. “You will surpass me, Eugenie. Your power will be so great, none will stand against you. Armies and kingdoms will fall, and they will bow down before you.”
I found myself trembling again, feeling the same fear and excitement that had filled me during our last kiss. Only this time, I didn’t know if my feelings came from his body’s proximity…or the promise of power he offered.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The similarities between the fachan and nixie attacks weren’t lost on me. Both types were water creatures, and all had seemed much more interested in killing Storm King’s daughter than fathering her child. Recalling how Dorian had said someone powerful would have had to force them to come out to the desert, I decided that figuring out who that could be needed to move to the top of my list of priorities. Rape was horrible. Death was…well, final.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t really sure I trusted my new gentry contacts to give me unbiased advice. So I turned to my next-most relatively neutral sources.
Like always, my spirit minions took a long time in answering my question. Nandi and Volusian were compelled to answer eventually, but I think they always sort of tried to wait each other out. This time, it was Nandi who finally gave in.
“Mistress, there are many among the shining ones who could summon such creatures. Far too many for you to hunt down or investigate. To do so would be akin to counting grains of sand on a beach. The task is impossible. Were you to try, you would fall into a despair so dark and deep that it would undoubtedly shatter your mind and force you into insanity.”
Volusian sighed loudly and shuffled so that he stood farther into the shadows of my bedroom. “Metaphors aside, mistress, she is correct. Perhaps there are not quite so many suspects but still enough to make a search difficult.”
Finn, moving around my room in lazy circles, stopped his flight and scoffed. “Why are you wasting your time with all these other people? It’s obvious who’s doing it. Maiwenn is.”
I sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed a piece of my Milky Way. “Maiwenn can’t control water. Besides,” I added bitterly, “everyone keeps going on about how weak and sickly she is lately anyway.” I honestly didn’t get what the big deal was with her being so debilitated by pregnancy. I’d worked at a restaurant in high school, and there’d been a waitress there who’d stayed on her feet until the day she delivered.
“Maiwenn doesn’t have to do it herself,” argued Finn. “She’s the mastermind. Other people hated Storm King. She’s probably collaborating with them and directing them to attack you.”
“That seems kind of elaborate.”
I swear, Volusian almost smiled. “Spend more time around the gentry courts, mistress, and you’ll find a plan like that would be childishly simplistic. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely the Willow Queen is involved. It is not in her nature. She would not kill without provocation. She is more likely to wait and observe than act on her emotions.”
“Unless there was something more personal involved,” said Finn slyly. “You know, maybe a little jealousy…”
Apparently my romantic difficulties were no secret. Honestly, I
didn’t get how gossip spread so fast in the Otherworld, particularly considering how they had no telephones, TV, or Internet.
I glared at him. “She has nothing to be jealous about. Not anymore.”
“Agreed,” said Volusian. “Besides, the Willow Queen is not an adolescent girl who would risk her rule to take petty revenge. She—and her peers—are far too clever. And ruthless.”
Finn crossed his arms and glared at Volusian. It was kind of a bold move, considering Finn looked like a cartoon character and Volusian looked like he ate the souls of small children. For all I knew, he probably did.
“Of course you’d say that. You’re trying to throw Odile off Maiwenn’s trail. Makes it easy, doesn’t it? Then Maiwenn’s assassins can do your dirty work for you. We all know you’re just waiting to kill her off.” Finn jerked his thumb in my direction.
Volusian went rigid, his eyes narrowing to red slits. “Make no mistake. When I kill our mistress—and I will—I will not depend on some gentry to do it. I will rip her flesh and tear her soul apart myself.”
Silence fell.
“Truly, mistress,” Nandi said at last, “it is a wonder you even have the will to carry on.”
“Enough,” I groaned, rubbing my eyes. “Being around you guys is like being on the Jerry Springer Show sometimes. As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Volusian.” Finn started to speak, and I cut him off with a gesture. “But I still want to talk to Maiwenn. If she is guilty, maybe I can find out. If she isn’t, maybe she’ll help me figure out who is.”
“You’re crazy,” exclaimed Finn. “You’re playing right into her hands.”
“And your opinion has been duly noted for the record. I don’t need to hear it anymore.”
He disappeared with a huff. I shook my head and turned to the others.
“Show me where the closest crossover to her home is.”
It turned out to be an hour and a half drive from Tucson, but considering how much Otherworldly travel I probably would have had to do by crossing somewhere else, I didn’t mind. This proved doubly true when the crossroads in the Willow Land deposited me within eyesight of her castle.
It was only a small consolation, considering it was still freezing in her land. Back home, the weather had been hot and perfect. Worst of all, today was Cinco de Mayo. I should have spent the rest of the day drinking copious amounts of tequila, followed by a blissful blackout under a table somewhere.
At least there was no wind now, but the air held a sharp, biting chill. It was dry too; I could sense its lack of moisture. Ice and snow drifts glittered with crystalline beauty in the stark winter sunlight, but it was a dangerous beauty. If you stared at the blankets of white too long, you could almost get afterimages from the brightness.
I trudged down the cold road, admiring the castle in spite of myself.
Unlike Aeson’s and Dorian’s, it lacked the blocky, fortress look. It was…well, pretty. Graceful, fluid spires rose up, their silvery white surface gleaming and sparkling. The entire structure had a curved, almost sinuous look, like a calla lily. I wondered if this simply resulted from the difference between male and female monarchs. Maybe Maiwenn just had better taste.
The guards turned rightfully alarmed when I informed them who I was. They tried to coax me inside to wait for Maiwenn’s admittance, but I refused to take one step until they’d requested hospitality for me. It took awhile—during which time the number of guards circling me doubled—but Maiwenn finally sent back word that I could see her and would be under the protection of her home.
A lady-in-waiting led me to Maiwenn, and she made it clear in both body language and words that I had no business disturbing her queen. She led me through twisting halls, at last leaving me in a cozy, brightly lit sitting room. Maiwenn rested in a comfy plush chair, propped up by pillows. A heavy satin dressing gown wrapped around her, and someone had tucked a blanket over her lap. Even pale-skinned and messy-haired, she looked gorgeous.
She smiled at me and gestured for the servant to leave. “Lady Markham, what a pleasant surprise. Please, sit down.”
Uneasily, I eased onto a delicate plush pink chair. “Call me Eugenie.”
She nodded, and we both sat there awkwardly. Watching her, all I could think about was how she was carrying Kiyo’s baby. It would create a lifelong bond between them that I could never share. Not that I wanted anything like that, of course. Kiyo was out of my life.
Maiwenn’s sense of propriety, being better than mine, soon kicked in. “I’m happy to receive you, but I suspect this isn’t a social call.”
“No…I’m sorry. I wanted to talk to you about…” I hesitated, suddenly feeling foolish. What had I been thinking to come here and ask her outright if she wanted to kill me? Well, it was too late to back out. Might as well go for it. “I’ve had a couple of nasty attacks lately. Attacks meant to kill me. And I was wondering if…if maybe you knew anything about them….”
Her turquoise eyes regarded me knowingly. “Or more to the point, you want to know if I had anything to do with them.”
I averted my eyes. “Yes.”
“It’s no wonder Dorian likes you so much. Your bluntness must amuse him to no end.” She sighed and leaned her head back in the chair. “You may believe me or not, but the answer is no. I neither ordered nor know anything about any attempts on your life. What happened?”
Figuring it couldn’t hurt regardless of her involvement, I told her everything about the fachan and the nixies. Her face stayed mostly blank, though I did see surprise flash in her eyes a few times. When I finished, her response was not what I expected.
“Why do you live in a desert anyway? Willingly even?”
I felt surprise cross my own face. “It’s my home. It’s not that bad.”
She shrugged. “If you say so. But Dorian is right in his assessment of getting those creatures to you in the first place. Someone powerful and motivated would have had to do it.”
“Do you know who?”
“No. Like I said, you have no reason to believe me, but I had nothing to do with this.”
She was right. I had no reason to believe her. And yet…some part of me noted that Kiyo trusted her. Whatever anger I felt over his withholding of information, I had to believe he wasn’t an entirely unreliable judge of character.
“Could you give me names of people who could do it?”
“I could give you dozens. Wouldn’t do you much good.”
I scowled and slouched into my chair. The same response as the spirits.
“I’m sorry I can’t be more help.” She sounded sincere. “I won’t lie: The thought of you having Tirigan’s grandson terrifies me. But I don’t believe in punishing you for something that has not yet happened—especially when you are trying to not make it happen. However…” That placid expression turned hesitant. “May I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“I know what you told me, and yet…well, I hear more and more stories about your involvement with Dorian. Kiyo said…” She tripped over the name. “Kiyo said I had nothing to worry about.”
“You don’t. It’s an act. Dorian’s teaching me to use my magic, and in exchange, I play his girlfriend.” No point in mentioning our recent bargain.
She considered. “So you’ve decided to embrace your heritage after all.”
“Only enough to not do something stupid.”
“You’re right to do that…though I’d feel better if you had another teacher. Your bargain may seem safe enough for now…yet I doubt he’ll let it stay that simple for long. Don’t let his charm blind you to his agenda. He’ll use you to get what he wants—and he wants the prophecy fulfilled.”
“Hey, I can handle Dorian. And his charm.”
“There’s more to it than just that, however. Your very life may be at risk.”
“From Dorian? I doubt it.”
“From his enemies.”
That was a new one. “I didn’t really know he had any unless…well, you and he differ i
n opinion…and I guess he and Aeson don’t get along either.” I sat up straighter. “Do you think his enemies are the ones trying to kill me? To get back at him?”
“Any number of people could be trying to kill you. The list of his enemies is no shorter than the ones I referred to before. Most of his have nothing to do with where he stands on the prophecy. He’s powerful, and many fear that—with good reason. When this part of the Otherworld rearranged itself, he fought to seize much more of it than he did. Only at the last minute did Katrice, queen of the Rowan Land, emerge as a contender and slice up more. The land recognized her and allowed her a portion, cutting Dorian out of larger territory.”
I shivered. I had heard Roland speak of the Otherworld’s sentience, how it continually changed form and boundaries. Still. The thought of it “allowing” someone to do something creeped me out.
“Many know he has never accepted that outcome,” she continued. “He would like to expand, and they see you as the means of doing it. Your human powers have been feared for years. If you manifest Storm King’s as well, they believe you and Dorian will conquer the other kingdoms. And possibly beyond.”
“Everyone’s so obsessed with conquest,” I grumbled. “Why can’t they just leave things the way they are?”
“Your king has grander plans than that, I’m afraid.”
I wondered not for the first time who was getting the better end of this deal Dorian and I had contrived. What was it he really wanted from me? “So even people who agree with the prophecy don’t necessarily like him.”
She nodded. “They would rather see your son fathered by someone less ambitious—someone they could control. Those same people could very well attempt to remove Dorian. Or, others who wanted Storm King to succeed in theory secretly believe it will never happen, so now they simply worry about the immediate threat you present to the kingdoms here.”