Richelle Mead Dark Swan Bundle: Storm Born, Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned & Shadow Heir (108 page)

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Authors: Richelle Mead

BOOK: Richelle Mead Dark Swan Bundle: Storm Born, Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned & Shadow Heir
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Roland grimaced. “I hope it doesn't come to that. He's a bright boy, the kind others follow.... Hopefully none of them will have the initiative to act on their own. I'll be on watch, though.”
Outdoors, the same bitter cold greeted us. Roland was bundled up again, but I'd foolishly ventured out in just my jeans and sweater. Not far from the door, his escort waited discreetly and patiently. I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Roland ... if something happens to me ...”
“Eugenie ...”
“I know, I know. It sounds pessimistic, but well ... everything's changed. There are things we have to plan for.”
“The twins,” he said grimly.
I nodded. “If something happens to me, then I totally trust you to do whatever you think is best. If that means leaving them where they're at, fine. If you and Mom want to take them, fine too. Whatever will give them a good life and keep them safe from my enemies.”
Roland's face showed he didn't like this conversation but knew it was necessary. “I hate to echo Dorian, but if something does happen to you, you probably won't have many enemies left to come after them.”
“Then something good comes out of this, right?”
He gave his head a rueful shake. “Be careful, Eugenie, so that we never have to find out the answers to any of these things.” He hugged me and then shooed me inside. “Get back in there and get warm. If you think about it, send that fiend of yours to me every once in a while with an update.”
“I will,” I said. It was difficult watching him go. He was my last bit of contact with humanity. I was now once again fully enmeshed in Otherworldly affairs.
Before I returned inside, I caught the attention of a sentry standing a little ways down the hall. She inclined her head politely at my notice. “Your Majesty.”
I glanced back at the door and frowned. “When I first ruled here—back when the desert took out all the crops and water—we had refugees showing up here. And for the war too. Why hasn't anyone come this time? They're in just as bad a shape, right?”
The sentry's face fell. “I'd say they're in worse shape, Your Majesty. The blight has killed more people than either of those times. For many, journeying here through these conditions would prove far more deadly than making do where they're at, no matter how miserable.”
I thanked her and went upstairs, her words hitting me hard.
Since my party's plan was to depart from the Thorn Land tomorrow, I set out tonight for a quick journey to the Rowan Land to do what I could for it. An escort of guards went with me, and we again rode to save time. I also continued using my magic to clear the snow. Some part of me worried about expending my energy, but I felt strong and couldn't stand to watch the men and horses struggle.
The people in the Rowan castle bore the same looks of hope that their Thorn brethren had. I was glad to give them something positive in these dreary times but worried once more about whether I could deliver. They were equally excited to hear my children had been born safely and were hidden away among humans. The gentry nodded along as though there was nothing weird about this, and thinking once more about fairy tales, I wondered if maybe those stories had some basis in history.
Communing with the land had to be done outdoors, so while my men warmed up inside, I bundled up and sat down in the courtyard. I reached out to the land and received an answer—and better understood what Jasmine and Dorian had described. It took a lot of energy to reach the land's heart and establish any sort of connection, explaining why she'd been wiped out. But, I could also feel what she'd meant about the land not burning through energy very quickly. It needed the power and welcomed my support, but in the blight's hibernation, the land mostly used my energy to keep its core strong. Nothing was being expended on the living, breathing, day-to-day maintenance of the kingdom. This saddened me, but I hoped it would mean the land really could survive a while without me.
Once that was done, we had little time to dally. My men and I traveled back to the Thorn Land, and there, in the evening darkness, I performed the same type of magical connection with my kingdom. The response was the same, and when I was finally able to trudge into my bedroom, I was certain I'd fall right to sleep. Normally, I felt flustered when servants waited on me, but tonight I was grateful someone else was off packing and taking care of my supplies for tomorrow.
Those same servants had piled the fire high in my room, bringing the temperature to a level that might even be too hot later—but which was wonderful now. The staff had also taken pains to pile my bed with blankets and pillows. What I was pretty sure they had not placed on my bed, however, was Dorian.
I sighed. “What are you doing here?”
He was sprawled on top of the covers, propped up on some of the pillows with his hands resting behind his head. From the way he'd been gazing upward, he had the look of someone lost in dreams and imaginings. Or world-dominating machinations.
“I came to talk to you, of course.” He stayed where he was, and I took a chair near the bed's side. “You didn't really think I would accept your cursory explanation about where you've been all this time?”
“You know where I've been. And why I was there.”
He managed a half shrug. “Yes, yes. But what about your children? Aren't you going to tell me more about them? I'd hoped Shaya would do the womanly thing and interrogate you in detail, but she let me down. And of course
I
couldn't quiz you on such things in front of the others.”
“Of course,” I agreed, rolling my eyes. “Wouldn't want to ruin your harsh, manly reputation.”
“It would take a lot more than talking about infants to do that, my dear.”
I stretched out my legs, surprised at the small aches in them. “Okay. What do you want to know? I'm
not
going to tell you where they are.”
“Wouldn't dream of it.” He turned his thoughtful gaze back up. “I don't know. Tell me the essentials. What are they like? What are their names? Are they really in good health after being born so early?”
“Their names are Isaac and Ivy,” I began.
“Isaac?” he repeated.
“It's a nice name. A human name.”
“I'm aware. But it's not the name I'd give to a conqueror of worlds,” explained Dorian. He considered. “I would've gone with Thundro or Ragnor. I might just call him Thundro anyway.”
“That's ridiculous, and you know it. Their names are Isaac and Ivy. And my son's not going to be a conqueror of worlds.”
“So you say. Now go on.”
I thought back to his questions and felt my stomach turn queasy as the twins' faces flashed to my mind. “They're like ... well, they look like me. So far. No trace of ...
him
. Other than that, it's hard to guess too much what they'll be like. And they're small, of course. Smaller than what's ideal. But everything's there—there and perfect. Plus, they're growing more and more each day. Pretty soon they'll be able to go home.” I didn't elaborate on what “home” meant—partially because I wasn't even certain—but did go on to explain what had happened in the NICU. Dorian bore the usual gentry look of surprise and confusion at the technical lingo, but when I was finished, he actually seemed impressed.
“Well, then, it sounds like it's a blessing they were somewhere that could help them get through all of this,” he said. “But tell me, how are
you
handling all of it?”
I stifled a yawn. “Not looking forward to a long journey in the snow. Also not excited that we don't know exactly where we're going, but compared to the alternative, I guess it's—”
“No, no,” he interrupted, sitting up so that he could meet my gaze. “Not this Yew Land nonsense. I'm talking about being away from Ivy and Thundro. How are you coping with that? It can't be easy, being apart when they're both so fragile.”
My answer was a long time in coming. Aside from Roland—who had actually seen how difficult my parting from the twins was—no one had asked much, so far, about how I felt about having to leave them. Everyone had wanted to know about their births and that Isaac and Ivy were safe and accounted for, but my feelings on the matter had never been brought up. I was Eugenie, Queen of Rowan and Thorn, Storm King's daughter. It was expected that I would slip easily into this new adventure and do my duty.
“It's terrible,” I said at last, unable to look into his eyes. I hated when he turned all serious. “I didn't want to come back, even when Roland told me how bad things were. Leaving their bedside was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm wracked with guilt over every option. I hate myself for leaving them and would've hated myself for abandoning all of you. I feel split between worlds.”
Dorian swung his legs over to the side of the bed. “You've felt that way since the moment I met you.”
I thought about it. “I suppose so.”
“Well, don't worry. I'll help you settle this blight problem so that you can get back to them soon.” He stood up and caught one of my hands in his. “I promise.” His lips brushed the top of my hand, and then he released it. I stared dumbfounded as he walked to the door. Before he left, he glanced back at me. “Oh, and for what it's worth? I'm sorry you had to come back under these circumstances, but I
am
glad to see you again.”
“Thanks,” I said stupidly, unable to formulate anything more eloquent. I wished I could say a hundred other things, like that I appreciated his compassion now and how he'd tried to help me before I left. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for not confiding in him before ... but the words stuck on my lips.
He left me, and I was amazed. No snark, no innuendoes. Just honesty and sincerity. He'd seen my pain and offered his comfort. I wasn't so sure cleaning up this “nonsense” would be as easy as he'd made it out to be, but the sentiment still meant a lot to me. This wasn't the Dorian I'd left two months ago.
Despite how awestruck his behavior had left me, I couldn't ponder it much longer. We had a big day tomorrow, and my body was exhausted. I had enough presence of mind to strip off my outerwear and then slide into the heavily layered bed. Just before I fell asleep, I thought I caught the lingering scent of apples and cinnamon from where he'd been lying.
Dorian was back to his usual bantering self the next morning. It wasn't biting or sarcastic, though, and I could tell he was actually trying to boost everyone's spirits with his jokes and quips. Although tense, everyone in our party actually seemed excited about our venture. I think they'd been inactive for too long and were grateful just to be doing
something
to try to rectify this problem.
Along with Dorian, Jasmine, Pagiel, and Rurik, I also had two of my own guards and one of Dorian's. All three were strong fighters, and Dorian's man—Alistir—was also a healer. Shaya came out to see us off, and from the way she and Rurik had to be pried apart, it was obvious they'd long since made up their differences from yesterday.
We set out on horseback into another icy, blustery day. Jasmine, Pagiel, and I all wanted to use our magic to facilitate our journey, but Dorian cautioned against it so early on. “The road will be manageable. The horses are strong right now, and so are we. Don't start expending yourselves quite so soon—especially since we don't know if there's worse weather to come.”
The path did indeed grow a little easier once we reached one of the main roads, so I heeded his advice. From what they'd told me, the blight could occasionally whip up into ravaging blizzards. That was when we'd likely need magical assistance.
We'd been on the road for about half a day, still maintaining our good mood, when the land shifted over to the Cedar Land. Its king was one of my allies, though I'd rarely spent time here. The snowy landscape looked the same as the others, which is why I didn't really notice when someone stepped onto the road until he was directly in front of us.
I recognized him immediately. I yelled Volusian's summoning words as I climbed off my horse. By the time my feet touched the ground, I had my gun and silver athame out. Striding forward, I drew the air's power around me. It built up, tense and strong, waiting only for my command to be released. I heard swords drawn behind me but paid them no heed as I came to a halt before the newcomer.
It was Kiyo.
The last time I'd seen him, he'd been trying to kill me. He looked exactly the same, with his tanned skin and chin-length dark hair. A North Face coat covered his well-muscled body. He regarded me levelly and didn't flinch, not even when I put the blade to his throat.
“You have no idea what you've just walked into,” I said, in a voice that rivaled the cold surrounding us.
The guards were in position around me now, but it was Dorian who spoke up. “My dear, you might not want to skewer him quite yet.”
“Why not?” I asked, never taking my eyes off of Kiyo.

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