Shadow Heir

medieval medicine.”

“I doubt Eugenie appreciates the thought of any of us making decisions for her.” That almost made me scoff. Dorian was notorious for making “helpful” decisions on my behalf, so it was comical that he’d now take the high ground about my independence.

“Enough,” I said. “Both of you. Dorian has a point—I have been getting healthy reports. But ... it’s hard for me to entirely let go of modern medicine.”

“‘Modern’ indeed,” said Dorian dismissively.

“Easy enough to talk healthy now,” said Roland. “But childbirth’s an entirely different matter. You’ll want our doctors then. You don’t know what can happen.”

“Given birth to lots of children, have you?” asked Dorian.

“What’s your infant mortality rate around here?” returned Roland. I saw Dorian flinch ever so slightly. Once they were adults, gentry were extremely healthy and hard to kill. Infants were another matter, and that—coupled with the difficulties gentry had conceiving—made having children in general pretty difficult.

“It’s irrelevant if she gets herself killed with all this world crossing!” exclaimed Dorian in a rare show of frustration. “If she stays put here and doesn’t venture out of her lands, she’ll be safe.”

I could see Roland starting to get almost as worked up as Dorian. “Putting aside the medical part for a moment, she’s hardly safe with her enemies right on her doorstep. Even if she is in her own ‘lands,’ how long do you think those bastards will leave her alone once they realize she’s holing up here?” The “right on her doorstep” part reminded me of Ilania’s invitation to the Yew Land and arguments about how I’d be safer once I wasn’t actually sharing borders with Maiwenn. I had no intention of accepting that invitation, but Roland’s words still drove home the same truth. Staying here might not be wise either.

I expected Dorian to come back with one of his stinging remarks and escalate things further with Roland. It was simply Dorian’s nature, plus this was an issue he felt passionately about. I was about to silence them both when Dorian took a deep breath and said, “Look, I don’t want to pick a fight with you. I respect you too much, and at the heart of this, our goals are the same. We both just want her safe.”

Roland’s blue eyes narrowed as he sized Dorian up. I caught my breath, wondering what Roland’s response would be. Agreeing with a gentry was not his normal operating procedure.

“Agreed,” Roland said at last. “We do want the same thing. Arguing methods is counterproductive.”

I exhaled and stared at both men in astonishment. Contrary Dorian and stubborn Roland ... in agreement? If not for the fact that threats on my life were the source of their accord, I would’ve reveled in this as a landmark moment of gentry and human peace. Unsurprisingly, this tranquil interlude couldn’t last. Guards burst into the room, with Pagiel right beside them. It was almost a repeat of last week at Dorian’s, and I half expected Ysabel to be in tow, ready with some new bitchy comment. Pagiel’s expression told me, however, that something much direr was at stake.

“What’s wrong?” Dorian and I asked in unison.

Pagiel’s face grew grim, and I had a feeling he was trying very hard to behave in a calm and controlled manner. A glint in his eye suggested his outrage was so great that he just wanted to burst out with it. “Ansonia,” he said.

I cast a quick, questioning glance at Dorian to see if this made any sense to him. His puzzled look said he was just as much in the dark as I was. Pagiel’s sister had left shortly after the wedding, and I’d hardly talked to her while she was here.

“What about her?” I asked.

“She was attacked this morning by Willow Land riders on the outskirts of the Oak Land, on her way to see our grandmother.”

That got Dorian’s attention. He leaned forward. “The Oak Land? My Oak Land?” As if there was any other.

“Was she alone?” I asked.

Dorian stood up, his face as furious as Pagiel’s. “It’s irrelevant. Alone or not, a young girl should be able to ride the length and breadth of my kingdom without feeling threatened by any brigand—let alone militants from another kingdom! Maiwenn has gone too far. This is an act of war! This is—”

“Is the girl okay?” asked Roland, his quiet voice cutting through Dorian’s outrage. At first, Dorian looked offended at the interruption, but then he—like me—seemed to realize that we all probably should’ve asked that immediately.

Pagiel nodded and took another steadying breath before continuing. “She’s with a healer now and is recovering. Maiwenn’s people beat her up pretty badly but were interrupted when some passing merchants noticed what was happening. By that point, the attackers realized they’d made a mistake and were ready to flee anyway.”

Something twisted in the pit of my stomach. “What do you mean ‘made a mistake’? What was their intent?”

Pagiel’s face was still hard and angry, but I was pretty sure I caught the faintest glimpse of apology in his eyes at what he had to say next. “They had no actual interest in her personally, Your Majesty. They attacked her because ... because they thought she was you.”

Chapter 5

Whatever look came over my face, it was enough to finally crack Pagiel’s anger. He blanched and hurried forward, falling to his knees. “Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“No, no,” I said, putting out a hand to stop him. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” His words had stunned me, making everything I said and did sluggish. I felt as if I were moving underwater.

Dorian gave me a sharp look. “Neither did you.”

“How can you say that?” I exclaimed. “That poor girl was beaten because of me!”

“Not because of you. Because of them. Although ...” He shrugged, his expression considering. “When I think about it, I suppose there is a remarkable resemblance between the two of you. An easy—if stupid—mistake.”

“That doesn’t help,” I grumbled. “Not one bit. All that means is that every girl in our kingdoms with hair like mine now needs to watch her back.”

“They were fools to do this,” declared Dorian. “Not just because of the violation of my land, but also because they should’ve known you wouldn’t travel alone. If any one of them had half a brain, they would’ve deduced right away that they had the wrong girl.”

“And yet that changes nothing.” I sighed and turned back to where a worried Pagiel still knelt before me. “Get up,” I told him. “Where is she now? You said she was with a healer. In the Oak Land?”

Pagiel got to his feet. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I should go see her,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.

Dorian scoffed. “Oh, yes. That will certainly improve the situation. Go take a jaunt between kingdoms. Expose yourself to more risk.”

My temper flared. “What else do you expect me to—” I bit my lip on any other angry protests as I reminded myself we had an audience. Swallowing back all the things I wanted to say to Dorian, I attempted to put on as calm a look as I could for Pagiel. “I’m very sorry this happened to Ansonia. I can’t promise immediate retribution for it, but I can promise you it won’t ever happen again.”

Pagiel nodded, his face growing fierce once more. “I understand. But if you do strike back at some point —”

“Then you can definitely be part of it,” I finished, guessing what he was going to ask. I didn’t like to encourage revenge, especially in someone so young, but he was certainly entitled to his outrage. “We’ll let you know. In the meantime, go back to Ansonia. If there’s anything she needs, anything at all, just have her ask Dorian’s staff and they’ll take care of it.” I felt no moral qualms about speaking for Dorian, especially since he ordered my own people around half the time too.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Pagiel glanced at Dorian. “Your Majesties. I believe my mother is, uh, already