I groaned and sank back into a chair.
“We sent out a search party as soon as we heard,” he added somewhat hopefully.
“Well, that’s something, I guess. It’s one girl…she can’t be that hard to find, right?”
Rurik and Shaya exchanged doubtful looks. I groaned again. With the way the land was around here, it was likely anyone who wanted to disappear could. I’d had parties out looking for Jasmine for the last three months and found no clue to her whereabouts.
“We need to start putting faces on milk cartons,” I muttered.
“I beg your pardon?” asked Shaya.
“Never mind. Anything else I should know about? Any word from Leith?” I figured I’d go do my meditation and connection with the land and then head back to Tucson.
“Nothing yet,” said Shaya. “However…we did hear from Dorian.”
Right. Another of my problems. She seemed a little nervous about going on.
“He sent a message wondering why you hadn’t contacted him yet about trade. And…”
I rolled my eyes. “Go on. I expect the worst.”
She looked embarrassed. “He said if you can’t be troubled to come in a timely manner, then he’s going to rescind his offer.”
“That might not be horrible,” I pointed out. “I mean, you’ve told other people, right? We’ve got other kingdoms wanting to buy the copper, don’t we?”
Her look of discomfort grew. “Well, not so many.”
“How many is not so many?”
“Aside from the Rowan Land? None.”
“Son of a bitch.” Honestly? I wouldn’t have put it past Dorian to influence others not to trade with me just so he could play these games. I steeled myself and met Shaya’s pleading gaze. “I don’t suppose he specified what a ‘timely manner’ is?”
“He did, actually,” said Shaya. Rurik was smiling, which I took as a bad sign. “Today.”
Chapter Ten
I set out to Dorian with a sense of foreboding, made worse by the fact that I wore a skirt with a slit all the way up to my hip. Both Shaya and Nia had wanted me to go see him in a dress, arguing it befitted my station and would endear me to Dorian. I’d argued that I wouldn’t be able to ride in a dress, and this slit thing had been their solution. And like always, I had a handful of guards in tow. Their constant presence still continued to make me feel like a child. In this case, a kind of slutty child.
In keeping with the Otherworld’s bizarre geography, we passed through another village. My visit was brief, just long enough to see how they were doing. Their situation wasn’t too different from Westoria’s, though they had a woman who was pretty adept at finding water sources. Her technique, the way she wove magic, was more skilled than mine, though she didn’t possess my strength. After observing her, I mimicked what she did and managed to find a spot ripe for well-digging. The dress kept me from getting out there and shoveling along with them, but it didn’t matter. I left regarded as a savior yet again.
Reaching Dorian’s took less time than it had taken to get to Maiwenn’s. Unlike that journey, much of our trip today passed primarily through my own land, with no respite in one of the more temperate kingdoms. The heat beat down on us, and I sweated profusely into the violet silk of my dress. I would have given anything for a breeze, anything to stir that stagnant air. My own Tucson was often windy; I didn’t get why the Otherworldly version wasn’t.
My father had been able to control all things connected with storms: water, air, charged particles, temperature, et cetera. So far, I only had a hold of water, but every once in a while I could feel the air with the same senses that could touch and control water. Reaching out now, I had that same experience: I could sense the air. It hummed to me. It called. But when I called back, nothing happened. Over and over I tried, attempting the same technique I used with water, urging it to bend and stir and cool me off. Nothing. I finally gave up when Dorian’s castle came into sight. It was stone like mine and somehow managed to be both imposing and graceful.
Where once I had been greeted with hostility and suspicion, I was now welcomed with respect and a fair amount of groveling. And, yeah, some wariness too. My guards were led away, and Dorian’s servants fell all over me, offering me any refreshment I wanted. I declined. I simply wanted to get these negotiations done with.
A servant led me to an opulently decorated chamber and announced me, titles and all. Dorian sat there, casual in a long-sleeved, cream-colored shirt, leaning over a chess board. An old man with a beard that went all the way to the floor sat opposite him. Dorian’s green-gold eyes lifted at my name, and he broke out into a dazzling smile. Honestly. The man was too good-looking sometimes, and he knew it. A moment later, Dorian turned a disapproving glance toward his chess partner.
“By the gods, Kasper. Have you no manners at all? The Thorn Queen is here. Show some respect before I have you flogged.”
I started to protest as the old man rose. The hunched-over posture he’d held in the chair appeared to be permanent, and it took him forever to actually get up. He managed something that passed for a bow-really, it was hard to tell the difference between that and his normal stance-and gave me a grave “Your majesty.”
And as the old man’s back was to the board, Dorian leaned over and moved some of the pieces around.
I opened my mouth, more in shock than to make any sort of protest. Dorian raised one finger to his lips in a shushing motion. I swallowed my comments and smiled at Kasper. “Thank you. Please sit down again.”
“And you, my dear,” said Dorian. “Come join us.”
The servant who’d led me in hastily pulled a velvet-cushioned chair over to the chess table. I thanked him and sat down, crossing my legs out of habit. When I saw half the skirt spill over and reveal nearly the whole length of my leg, I hastily uncrossed them. Dorian saw the leg, of course. He always saw everything.
Kasper’s eyes, underneath his bushy gray brows, were fixed on the board. He made a play, capturing one of Dorian’s pieces. Dorian frowned briefly, then put his smile back on as he turned to me.
“You are radiant as always,” he said. “That dress is particularly lovely. Kasper, look at her. Do you see the way that shade matches her eyes?”
Kasper looked like he wanted to study the board, but he turned to me obediently and gave a quick bob of the head. “Yes, your majesty. Most becoming.” Dorian quickly swapped a few more pieces and then put on a look of deep pondering when Kasper turned back around.
With a sigh, Dorian moved his bishop. “Not my greatest play, but it’ll have to do.” He seized one of Kasper’s pieces.
The move clearly took Kasper by surprise, not all that astonishing considering the pieces weren’t where they’d been the last time he looked. He studied the board for almost a minute and then moved a knight, though it didn’t yield a capture.
“Eugenie, you look as though you’ve been stranded in a desert,” mused Dorian. “But then, I suppose that’s the case, isn’t it? Such a shame, all those towns suffering and starving, towns like Songwood.”
The old man looked up sharply, eyes wide as he stared at me. “Songwood?”
“Songwood?” I asked in equal confusion. Dorian covertly moved more pieces.
“I was born in Songwood,” said Kasper. “People are starving there?”
“Oh, wait,” said Dorian. “Songwood’s in the Willow Land, isn’t it? Sorry for the scare. I was thinking it had been part of Aeson’s kingdom. I’m sure Songwood’s perfectly fine.” He studied the board for a moment and then deftly moved his queen. “Checkmate.”
Kasper gaped. “That’s not…” His eyes roved over the board, no doubt looking for any possible way to counter Dorian’s move.
“You can’t fight against the queen,” said Dorian glibly. “Once she’s decided to take the king, you might as well give in and enjoy it.” I rolled my eyes. Kasper sighed.
“Excellent game, your majesty.”
