“Exactly what I sound like. As hard as it is to believe, I’m not the only one who knows how to use magic around here. True, I’m the most stunningly attractive and dazzlingly intelligent, but if you’re dead set against my help, there are others whom you could benefit from.”
I turned away and stared off across the room. The water finder I’d worked with today had certainly been useful. She was actually the first gentry I’d met who had any sort of magic compatible enough to mine to teach me anything. Dorian’s magic was actually completely different from my own, but he was skilled enough to still transfer the basic principles. But what if I had someone else to tutor me? Someone more in sync with my powers-who wasn’t always trying to get me into bed?
No. Self-chastisement instantly arose. Magic was dangerous. It made you crave more of it, and the more I used, the more I embraced my gentry side and lost some of my humanity. Kiyo had advised against it over and over, and I didn’t even want to think about what Roland would say.
And yet…
“You’ve actually got someone in mind?” I asked, turning back to Dorian.
He nodded. “She’s not an exact fit for your powers-honestly, no one is-but she’s close and is an excellent instructor.”
She. That was promising. No one who’d want to father a child on me.
He seized on my hesitation. “Eugenie, why resist this? It’s obvious you want to learn more, no matter how haughty you pretend to be about dirtying your hands in the affairs of the shining ones. Stop your pandering and accept this as a gift.”
“What do I have to do in return for this gift?” I asked warily.
“Nothing except learn. If you take my tutor back with you to the Thorn Land, I just want you to promise me you’ll give her a fair chance.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes. You already know all my other motivations for doing this, so there’s no trick there. The rest is on you.”
True. He had been up-front about his larger designs on me and his megalomania. “Okay…” Kiyo was going to freak out. “I’ll give her a chance.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Somehow, every time I agreed to something with Dorian, I always felt like I was signing my soul away.
“Excellent,” he said. “We’ll make an all-powerful queen out of you yet.” He reached his hand over and smoothed out where some of my dress’s fabric had wrinkled up near the slit. His motion actually covered up more of my leg with the skirt, though it did involve his fingers brushing against my skin. For a brief, dangerous instant, I kind of wished he’d move his fingers underneath the dress. Instead, he simply left his hand on my thigh.
“Dorian,” I said warningly.
“Hmm?”
I looked pointedly down.
He followed my gaze. “Oh, look at that. It seemed so natural, I hardly noticed,” he said cheerfully, removing the guilty hand. I almost felt…disappointed. “Let me fetch your new teacher since I’m guessing you won’t be lured into staying for dinner.”
“You guessed right. You really are dazzlingly intelligent,” I said wryly.
He stood up and flashed me a grin. “And stunningly attractive?”
“Just go get her.”
He left the room, and I watched the way his long, lean build moved and how the sunlight streaming through a window turned his hair every shade of red, orange, and gold. Dorian was trouble. Yes, I suspected I really had made a deal with the devil.
Particularly when I saw who his instructor was.
“Her?” I exclaimed.
I shot up from my chair. Dorian had just entered the room, and standing beside him was Ysabel-the Eugenie-clone strumpet from the party. Her blue eyes widened when she saw me. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had been caught by surprise.
“What is this?” she demanded. “You said you wanted me to instruct someone.”
“I do,” he said calmly. “You’re going to pack your things and return with the Thorn Queen. You will teach her to use her magic to the best of her ability.”
“No,” she said icily. “I will not.”
His pleasant demeanor dropped. “Yes, you will. This isn’t a request. You’re my subject, ergo you follow my commands. And I am commanding you to go with her. Unless you’re openly defying me?”
I couldn’t help a shiver. I’d occasionally seen this hard side of Dorian, and it always unnerved me. It was such an abrupt change from his usual laconic self, the self who bantered and tried to feel me up…and I found the change kind of terrifying.
“Dorian,” I said uneasily. “Don’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
She glared at me. “I don’t need your assistance here.”
“What she wants is irrelevant,” said Dorian. I was a bit surprised at how casually he was able to order her about and objectify her. I’d assumed whomever he was sleeping with at any given time would be someone he had feelings for. Who knew? Maybe he cared about her a lot but was still able to treat her as a subject. Or maybe he just cared about me more.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want her,” I retorted.
“Also irrelevant,” he replied, eyes still fixed on Ysabel. “You made a promise to give your teacher a fair chance-unless you’re going to be human and go back on your word?”
“This isn’t quite what I expected!”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re either going to keep your promise or you won’t. And you,” he said to Ysabel, “are either going to obey or not.”
Ysabel’s eyes were ablaze with rage, and her breathing was heavy. I had the feeling she wanted to burst forth with a million expletives, but she bit her lip as though physically forcing them back. At last, she swallowed and took a deep breath. When she spoke, her words were to Dorian, but her gaze was on me. I hadn’t seen malevolence like that in quite some time-no, wait. That wasn’t entirely true. Her look was a lot like the one Volusian often gave me.
“Of course, I will obey, your majesty. With great pleasure.”
Chapter Eleven
Along with Ysabel, Dorian sent me back with some shipments of food on credit. I almost would have thought he was trying to soften the blow of me being stuck with her, except Dorian was the type who would actually enjoy the thought of us having an uncomfortable trip. He would get a kick out of knowing how irritated I was and probably regretted he couldn’t be there to witness our interactions. Nonetheless, I mitigated the discomfort by riding at the head of my group, sticking Ysabel all the way in the back behind my guards and Dorian’s servants.
Shaya was understandably surprised when we arrived back. I left her to distribute the food and deal with Ysabel. “Put her somewhere. Anywhere,” I said. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
“But why…why is she even here? That’s Dorian’s mistress.”
“Oh, yes,” I said, watching as a scowling Ysabel stepped aside for the rest of the entourage spilling into my castle. I kind of took offense at the sneer she gave my residence, despite the fact that I knew it was in disarray compared to those of other monarchs. “Believe me, I know she is.”
Shaya seemed mollified and distracted enough by Dorian’s gifts that I was able to slip away without too much argument. I made the crossing back to my world, not even bothering to change clothes before I went. When I finally got back to my own house, I had the pleasant surprise of finding Kiyo lying on the couch. Three cats slept on the couch’s back while one rested on its arm. The fifth lay sprawled across Kiyo’s stomach.
