Iron Crowned (16 page)

After that, I guess we were kind of dating again. The next week or so passed in an easy pattern. I saw Kiyo almost every day, and we slipped back into our old routines. I started taking more jobs, much to Lara’s relief, while Kiyo alternately worked at the vet clinic and checked in with the Otherworld. At night, he and I were always together, either at my place or his. My body began to remember what it was like being in a relationship, and slowly, my heart did as well.

I only crossed into the Otherworld once during that time, both from Thorn Land withdrawal and curiosity over the war proceedings. No progress was being made with Katrice. I was grateful for the lack of fighting, but the hoped-for peace talks still seemed a ways off. It was frustrating.

“She’s being difficult,” said Shaya, when I asked about it. Understandably, she looked weary. “These are delicate matters. They take time.”

I left it at that, feeling impatient, but figuring she knew better than me. Back in Tucson, I also got sporadic updates of another sort: Enrique’s. To his credit, he called almost every day to report what he’d done or investigated. At first his attitude remained the same, full of that cockiness and irritability that said this was a waste of his time. Then, one day, things changed.

“I think,” he said. “You might be right.”

I’m not sure who was more surprised by this: him or me. I’d honestly started to believe he wouldn’t turn up anything at all as evidence of either a suicide or a murder. I gripped the phone tightly.

“What? That someone killed her?”

“Yeah … I found a couple things. Did you know her husband has a girlfriend?”

“Deanna told me. She seemed okay with his moving on.” It had been a few months since her death, too soon to start dating in my book, but still a semi-respectable time frame. According to Deanna, he’d begun seeing someone a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, well, he moved on before she was dead. The girlfriend? His alibi.”

I frowned. “Seriously?” Deanna’s husband had been removed from suspicion because he’d had a solid witness to his whereabouts when she’d been killed. He’d been at a real estate agent’s office; the agent was helping him with a vacation home for their family. “Maybe their relationship started after Deanna died …”

“Not if a witness I found is reliable. I also might have a lead that proves Deanna wasn’t the one who bought the gun.”

“If that’s true …” I couldn’t finish right away. Deanna acquiring the gun that had killed her had been one of the most damning pieces of evidence for suicide. “If you can prove that, then it could reopen everything.”

“Yes,” said Enrique matter-of-factly. “Yes, it could. I’ll be in touch.”

We disconnected, and I suddenly wished he hadn’t been quite so good at his job. If he was right about all this and turned up the evidence he needed … well, someone was going to have to break the news to Deanna that her husband had murdered her. And that someone would be me. She currently believed some crazed killer had done it, one that was after her family now. The thought of it all sickened me.

As I sat there in my room, an Otherworldly presence made my skin tingle. For half a second, I thought Deanna was appearing unsummoned—something I wasn’t ready to deal with. I’d essentially given her a “don’t call me, I’ll call you” directive. But, no. It wasn’t her. It was Volusian, his red eyes as malevolent as always. Lately, his appearance meant news from the Otherworld. I hoped it would be good.

“What’s up?” I demanded.

“Shaya requests your presence immediately.”

Something good at last. “The peace talks?”

“No. She needs you because the Oak King is at your castle, demanding to see you.”

I had two immediate reactions to this. One was that Dorian could wait around forever; he had no right to demand anything of me. My other reaction was outrage that he could come traipsing into my home when I was banned from his. Admittedly, that was my own fault. I hadn’t put down any hospitality rules to keep him out. As such, he’d be welcomed like any other non-enemy monarch—particularly by my people. I considered simply sending Volusian to revoke hospitality but then tossed that idea aside. I’d take care of this myself.

I drove out to the gateway by my home as fast as I could without getting a ticket and then crossed over to the anchor inside my castle. Once there, I hurried through the halls, oblivious to servants’ startled stares. I knew where Dorian would be. My people would have received him in the nicest chamber, the one befitting any visiting monarch.

Sure enough. Dorian sat inside the parlor, lounging in a central chair with Shaya, Rurik, and others sitting around him. He looked like he was
holding court in his own castle. My anger doubled. Everyone except him jumped up at my sudden approach, giving hasty bows.

“Out,” I snapped. “All of you. And shut the door.”

My words left no question about who exactly I wanted out. Dorian didn’t move, but the rest scurried to obey my orders. I saw Shaya and Rurik exchange looks with each other, no doubt worried what was going to happen with the two monarchs they loved.

Once we were alone, I turned on Dorian. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He regarded me coolly, face perfectly at ease. “Visiting, as is my right. There’s nothing that says I can’t. Unless you’re revoking my hospitality?”

“I should,” I said, stepping forward with fists clenched. “I should have my guards throw you out on your ass.”

He snorted and absentmindedly smoothed a piece of his long hair. “Good luck with that. They’d throw you out first, if I gave the order.”

“So that’s why you’re here? To start a rebellion in my own kingdom?”

“No. I’m here to remind you of your responsibilities to your kingdom—since you’ve clearly forgotten.”

“Really?” I crossed my arms across my chest in an effort to stop myself from doing something stupid. “I think
you’ve
forgotten what I’ve done for my kingdom. Say, like, saving it from disaster. And risking my life for that fucking crown so that we could finally have peace.”

“If memory serves, you caused that disaster
when you created an inhospitable desert.” His voice was still damnably calm. “And that crown is doing you no good.”

“Didn’t you hear me? We have peace. The fighting’s stopped.”

“The fighting’s temporarily stopped. Katrice is playing you, and you’re letting her. She’s dragging her feet, using this negotiation delay to figure out a way out of this. If you really want to end the war once and for all, you need to get involved and let her know you’re serious. Wave the crown around. Dare her to call your bluff. Show her you’re in control and stop all of this for real.”

I gave a harsh laugh. “That’s so typical of you. Attempting to pull the strings, as usual. You don’t even have the crown, but you’re telling me what to do with it.”

Dorian shot up from the chair, smooth features breaking into annoyance.
“I
am remembering what it means to be a king. I’m not running away and letting others deal with things that seem too hard.”

“Right,” I said, keeping an eye on the distance between us. “Getting the crown was easy. Which is why, of course, you were right out there with me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You know I would have if I could. So I did the only thing I could: I got you out there after it.”

“By lying!” I exclaimed. I tried to keep my voice strong, letting anger be the only emotion to slip, but grief cracked me a little. “By creating an elaborate set-up with Masthera in the hope I’d seize
more land for us. Why do you not see how wrong that was?”

“Was it?” His volume was starting to match my own. I’d so rarely seen emotion seize him, and it was both terrible and beautiful. “Do you think our people think it’s wrong? The ones whose homes are no longer in danger? The ones who are alive because of this? The crown bought that, and you’re going to ruin it all if you don’t force her into talks! Not only that, by not acting, you’re letting what Leith did to you go unpunished.”

“Oh, he got punished,” I said.

“Yes,” agreed Dorian coldly. “By
me.
Something you seem to have forgotten, now that you’ve jumped back into bed with that animal.”

“Kiyo isn’t part of this. And what you did isn’t enough to obligate me to stay in a relationship with someone who constantly deceives me.”

Dorian turned away, putting his back to me. Somehow, this was more insulting than all the glares in the world. “I can only assume this is human logic. Achieving peace by bending the truth is deceitful. The greatest sin in the world. But infidelity is moral and just.”

“It’s not! And I wasn’t—I didn’t cheat on you. As far as I was concerned, we were through. I was free to do whatever I wanted.”

“Obviously.”

I didn’t want to show any weakness in front of him, but the thing was, part of me still questioned if having sex with Kiyo back in the forest had been right or not. I’d even felt conflicted at the time.
I’d let my impulses win out, using muddled logic to satisfy both my lust and need for revenge.

“Look,” I said, trying to calm myself down. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings—”

He spun around so sharply that my words dropped. I didn’t fear Dorian, not with my power and in my home, but something in his eyes made me step back. “Queen Eugenie,” he said formally. “Don’t trouble yourself over my ‘feelings.’ Replacing you in my bed isn’t that difficult. You have too high an opinion of yourself in that regard.”

Those words slapped me in the face, despite all the reasonable parts of my brain screaming at me that it didn’t matter. I had no reason to care what he did. No reason to care about him.

“So,” I said, matching his tone. “Ysabel has a place to sell her skills again.”

“Very good ones,” he agreed. “The question now is if you’re going to use yours. Put Katrice in her place. Get her to negotiate so that we can get the concessions we deserve. Stop acting like a human.”

“I
am
human. You keep forgetting that.”

He studied me up and down, giving me the opportunity to do the same to him.
You don’t care, you don’t care,
I told myself, trying to push aside how much I’d loved that gorgeous face.

“No,” he said at last, contempt in his voice. “It’s impossible to forget. You’re acting like one now, refusing to do the right thing just because I’ve asked you to. You’re being contrary out of spite.” He strode toward the door. “If you don’t act soon, you’ll regret it.”

I didn’t like him being the one to end this
conversation. It was more of him always having the power. “Are you threatening me?”

Dorian put his hand on the door’s handle and glanced at me over his shoulder. “No. I’m not the threat. Katrice is. And while you keep going on and on about how much I’ve wronged you and lied to you, I can say with absolute certainty that what I’ve just told you is the truth.”

“Noted.” Hastily, I made an attempt at acting like the queen around here. “You can go now. And don’t come back.”

That earned me a half smile, though there wasn’t much humor in it. “Are you revoking my hospitality?”

I hesitated. “No. I’m above that. I’ll just assume you’ll do the right thing and stay the hell away from me.”

“Noted,” he replied, imitating my earlier tone. He opened the door and walked away without another look. I stared at the empty space where he’d been, wondering who’d come out on top of that argument.

By the time I emerged and found Shaya, Dorian had already left my castle for his own lands. She asked nothing about what had transpired with him, but worry was written all over her face.

“How close are we?” I demanded. “How close are we to sitting down with Katrice and writing up a treaty?”

Shaya paled, and I realized I had turned my anger at Dorian on her. “Not as close as I’d like. She agreed … she agreed she’d come in person, but only if the talks were held in the Willow Land.
Queen Maiwenn has agreed, but Dor—King Dorian says that’s unacceptable. He suggests the Linden Land or the Maple Land. Katrice refuses.”

Linden and Maple. Kingdoms both staunchly neutral. Maiwenn theoretically was too. She’d always put on the pretense of friendship, and I was certain Kiyo would endorse her hospitality. But something about it made me uneasy. I didn’t want to support Dorian … but then I realized that instinct came from exactly what he’d warned me of: wanting to oppose him just out of spite. Our personal mess aside, he was my ally. Neutral ground was best for us.

“Reiterate Dorian’s stance,” I said. “Linden or Maple. I’m going back to Tucson. Let me know what happens.”

Shaya opened her mouth, to protest or beg for help, I couldn’t say. Dorian’s words came back to me. Get actively involved. “Wave the crown” and make Katrice agree to our terms. No. On that, I wouldn’t agree with him. I wouldn’t use that crown like he wanted me too, even as a threat.

“That’ll be all,” I told Shaya. She nodded, obedient as always.

The look on her face as I left made me feel a little guilty. Maybe I could make things easier for her. Maybe I could expedite all this. But for now, there was literally no harm being done. What could Katrice’s stalling achieve? If she began hostilities again, she ran the risk of facing the crown she obviously feared. My people were safe. The waiting was frustrating, but it had to end soon. I’d told Dorian I was human, and
that’s what I intended to be. I would go home, start following up on jobs, and let the gentry deal with this red tape until I was absolutely needed.

And that was exactly what I did.

I returned to my old life. Kiyo and I continued dating, and being with him, reestablishing our old connection and sex life, went a long way toward blocking out images of beautiful, voluptuous Ysabel in Dorian’s bed. My workload increased—as did my income—though my jobs tired me out more than I was used to. That scared me. It made me think about what it meant to be human and gentry. I’d fought to keep my human side dominant. Was the gentry part taking over? Stunting my shamanic abilities? No, I firmly decided. This was stress, pure and simple.

In the two weeks that followed, though, I had to concede to my gentry side occasionally. The Thorn Land called to me, so I continued my quick visits, keeping the land strong and—no matter how much I hated to admit it—strengthening myself. Unfortunately, I took little joy from that because no good news ever came from the Otherworld. Katrice kept switching back and forth. Yes, she’d agree to the Maple Land—no, she’d changed her mind. Linden. But only if ambassadors went first, then the monarchs. No—she’d go. But it was back to the Willow Land. Or maybe some place altogether different? What about the Palm Land?

Dorian made no attempts at direct contact with me, but there was no need. When I went to bed
each night, I could see his face.
Wave the crown, wave the crown.
Fortunately, my aggressive workload tired me out enough to fall asleep quickly.

Good news of sorts finally came one day when Kiyo and I were out hiking. The temperature had shot up, heralding spring, and I’d welcomed the break from work. Traipsing through the wilderness was something Dorian would certainly never do—especially in the desert. But like me, Kiyo appreciated the rugged beauty and heat of the land. I’d missed these excursions with him.

His eyebrows rose when my cell phone rang. “You can get a signal out here?”

“Apparently.”

I was as surprised as him. Looking at the ID, I saw Enrique’s name pop up. His recent reports, after that brief surge of promising news, had been clipped and vague: simple reminders that he was still working on things.

I answered eagerly. “Please tell me you’ve found something.”

“I have,” he said. Enrique had that smug tone from when we’d met. It had been annoying then, but now, I found it encouraging. “I finally tracked down the gun dealer and—”

I didn’t hear the rest because a sudden drop in the temperature and tingling in the air heralded Volusian’s arrival. Apparently, I could get an Otherworldly signal out here too. My minion’s orders to report all urgent news trumped whatever Enrique had to say.

“Hey,” I interrupted. “I’ll call you back.”

“What the—”

I disconnected, not giving him a chance to finish his outrage. He probably wasn’t used to being hung up on. I turned to Volusian, who waited patiently and silently for me. He was a spot of darkness on the sunny day; he seemed to suck away the light of the world.

“Please,” I begged. “Please tell me Katrice has finally given in, so that we can talk.”

Volusian stayed silent a few moments. I swear, it was for drama’s sake, and I felt like choking him. “No,” he said. “The Rowan Queen has not agreed to negotiations yet, although … she has acted.”

Kiyo and I exchanged looks. There was no way this could be good. I was also pretty sure Volusian liked delivering this news.

“She’s kidnapped your sister,” he said. “And has a list of demands to be met, if you want to see Jasmine alive again.”