distractions from the paranormal nature of the robberies and gave rise to all sorts of theories. Thankfully, it was a human trait to find “reasonable” explanations for weird events before jumping to crazy ones. Well, kind of. There were those who thought the dramatic sandstorms were a sign of the coming Apocalypse. Others blamed climate change and warned of worse to come. No one had suggested a supernatural invasion.
I thought a lot about Dorian in my free time as well. I missed him more than I expected and was torn over whether I could trust him. I wanted to. Badly. He seemed so sincere in his change ... but I’d believed him before, only to be deceived. I’d loved him once and wanted to again, but how could you love someone without trust?
“Eugenie!”
Jasmine’s cry rang through my small house, making me jump. I had been sitting in my bedroom one afternoon, trying to soothe my troubled thoughts by putting together a narwhal jigsaw puzzle. Footsteps came tearing down the hall, and Jasmine appeared in my doorway.
“Eugenie,” she gasped. “On TV ... a haboob.”
I ran to the living room nearly as fast as her. I was just in time to see footage of the haboob, as it rolled over a small city south of Phoenix. Even as someone who had done insane things with the weather, I was a little taken aback. The sandstorm was huge, stretching high in the air and spanning nearly forty miles. The cloud rolled into the city, engulfing it. The storms caused little direct damage but could be lethal for drivers suddenly deprived of visibility. The storm was also an excellent cover for a raid.
“This is live,” I said. “He’s got to be there right now.”
“It’s over an hour away,” she said with dismay. “He’ll be gone before we get there.”
My mind raced. “Yeah, but gone where?”
Fishing through my kitchen drawers, I dug out an old map of Arizona that Roland and I had marked up with gates a long time ago. I had most of them memorized but wanted to double-check. I put my finger on the city Pagiel was in and then looked for the closest gates.
“The nearest is in Phoenix proper,” I said. “Whether they’re on horseback or foot, they probably aren’t going to risk going through the city. There’s another north of Phoenix that goes to the Willow Land, but they’d have to ride around the city. This one, though ...” I tapped my finger on a spot closer to Tucson but off the main roads. “It’s remote and easier for them to get to.”
“You think they’ll jump back to the Otherworld?” she asked.
“I’m positive. They won’t risk being caught by humans, and we know they give away their goods to the gentry.”
“Pagiel’s probably strong enough to jump without a gate,” Jasmine reminded me.
“His followers aren’t,” I said with certainty. “He’ll go to the gate. And we’ll be waiting for him. We can beat him if we leave now.” This was a chance we weren’t going to get again. Any number of places would have too many gates to choose from or else be too far away.
Jasmine followed me as I grabbed my car keys and headed for the door. “Where’s the gate open up?”
“The Thorn Land, actually.”
“Ballsy,” she said.
I laughed. “I suppose so. But I think it’s a pretty remote part of the kingdom. Easy for him to hide out and also close to an Oak Land border.”
I wanted to double the speed limit but knew a ticket would slow me down. Still, we made good time on the interstate. It was once we had to turn off and head into the desert that we slowed. I watched the clock anxiously, constantly running calculations on how long it would take his posse to get there. The odds seemed in our favor, but I’d learned not to assume anything when it came to the Otherworld.
We reached the gate, and I parked the car a little ways from it. Pagiel wouldn’t know it was mine, but I didn’t want him getting spooked if he thought humans were in the area. It was late afternoon, in the middle of desert country, and the heat was in full effect. Jasmine and I had had the sense to bring water bottles, but they didn’t stop the sweat from rolling off of us as the sand radiated back the sun’s merciless rays. We found a spot near some saguaro cactuses. They didn’t offer much shade, but they gave us a sheltered view of the gate. Again, I didn’t want our presence to be obvious to Pagiel.
The afternoon wore on, and I began to doubt myself. Maybe I’d guessed wrong on the gate, especially if Pagiel decided not to risk crossing into one of my kingdoms. Or maybe he’d somehow made better time than I expected and was already gone. Our water was running low, though both Jasmine and I could pull water out of surrounding plants if necessary. I felt bad about that sometimes, but it occasionally had to be done for survival.
“There,” said Jasmine, straightening up. I followed where she was pointing and saw sand being kicked up as a group of horses and riders came into view.
“Unbelievable,” I said. “They rode horses from Phoenix. He really is a modern-day Robin Hood.”
Pagiel was in the lead, easily visible with the way the sun lit up his red hair. There were about a dozen riders with him, which made my heart sink. His initial raids had only contained a handful. A dozen was hardly an army, but it still signified an increase in support. After seeing the passionate reactions back in the Otherworld, I had a feeling he could have recruited more if he wanted. It was a small mercy that the majority of gentry had trouble crossing over to this world.
I waited until he was closer but not close enough to cross through the gate. I jumped up and strode forward, Jasmine right beside me.
“Pagiel!” I yelled.
He flinched in the saddle, and instantly, I felt the wind pick up. It stilled when he saw us, though the wary expression on his face clearly showed he didn’t quite trust us as friends. His riders regarded us with equal caution, and I saw the flash of a few copper blades.
“Your Majesty? Jasmine?” Pagiel glanced between us. “What are you doing here?”
“You already know,” I said, trying to present an air of peace and calm. “We need to talk about these raids you’re on. Pagiel, you know they’re not right.”
“Humans have plenty!” exclaimed one of his followers. “We’re entitled to reap our share.”
Pagiel silenced him with a look, and the guy cringed. Somehow, the boy sidekick I’d befriended had become more of a formidable leader than I’d suspected.
“The people in my kingdom are hungry,” said Pagiel. “They are in yours too. Can you honestly say you don’t want to help them?”
“No one’s starving anymore,” I argued. “We’re on rations, yeah, but at least we’re surviving honorably.”
Pagiel shook his head. “We talked about this before. Honor doesn’t enter into it—only survival. Besides, isn’t this what I’m supposed to be doing?”
I winced at the bitterness in his voice. So. He knew. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. If he’d been back and forth between the worlds in the last few days, word would have gotten to him about his heritage.
“You aren’t ‘supposed’ to be doing anything,” I said gently. “You make your own choices.”
“That’s not what I hear,” he said. “I heard what everyone said when I was back there. They’ve all got plans for me. Even my grandmother does. Why else wouldn’t she have told me?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. There was a raw pain on his face that broke my heart. Maybe he’d technically reached manhood by gentry standards, but he was still a boy in many ways. He’d been thrust into a world he wasn’t ready for, had his life irrevocably changed. I knew the feeling, and I ached for him. “Let me help you. Come back with me so we can talk.”
That set off alarms for him. The wind rose again, whipping my hair around. “‘Talk’? I’m not stupid. I know what that means. You’ll put me in iron and lock me away.”
“Stop that,” I snapped. With barely a thought, I killed his wind magic. He might be strong, but Auntie Eugenie was stronger. He cringed a bit, feeling my magic dwarf his. “I’ll win if we fight, and I don’t want it to come to that. We’re family, Pagiel. And in a lot of ways ... it feels right, you know? You’ve stood by me since we met. I want to do the same for you. I swear to you, I won’t hurt you. Neither will Dorian. We’ll work this out together.”
Indecision warred on Pagiel’s face. He didn’t know who to trust, and I didn’t blame him. I’d been in that position. In a chaotic world, he’d carved out this outlaw niche for himself, one that at least gave him control of something.
“Pagiel, please,” I said. Panic was building in me. I was afraid it was going to come down to a fight, and I really didn’t want that. “I know what you’re going through. I’ve been fighting the destiny that was allegedly laid out
