“My subjects don’t cross into the human world,” I said loftily. Of course, the irony was that might not be true, not if the evidence surrounding those girls was any indication. “And I never did any of that other stuff. I just found water.”

He tsked, eyes sparkling with delight. “Yes, which is a hundred times more than most monarchs do. You’re out with your people, maybe not working beside them exactly, but it’s close enough. They think you’re some kind of messiah. I guess that sets a good precedent for your son, hmm?”

I made a face. “Don’t even go down that road. And anyway, I’m not trying to be a messiah. I’m just trying to help.”

“Good gods,” he said, downing the glass in one gulp. “The frightening thing is that you’re actually serious. Were you helping them before you arrived here today?”

“Er, well, a little. We stopped in a village and helped find some water.”

“I can tell. When you use your magic, it wreaths you like some sort of afterglow. It’s very…becoming.”

Something about the way he spoke and looked at me made me want to cross my arms and legs protectively-until I remembered crossing my legs wouldn’t do me any favors. Fucking dress.

“I daresay your control of water is becoming very useful,” he added. “Too bad you didn’t continue your lessons with it.”

“I don’t need your help anymore. I’ve practiced on my own-I’ve gotten a lot stronger.”

“Hmm. I see. And what about the rest of your inherited powers? Have you been practicing with, say, air?”

For half a second, I thought he’d been spying on me. No, that wasn’t his style. He’d guessed I would attempt air magic because…well, he knew me. And because he was Dorian and canny about such things.

“As a matter of fact, I have,” I said loftily. There. Take that.

His lips twitched. “I see. And have you been successful?”

I wasn’t fast enough with my answer. He laughed and moved to sit beside me. I tried to scoot over, but there wasn’t much room.

“Eugenie, Eugenie. When are you going to stop fighting this-stop fighting me? You’re only going to create more trouble down the road if you don’t learn to fully harness your abilities.”

“Right,” I said, trying not to notice the apple and cinnamon scent that always surrounded him. Why couldn’t I shake this attraction when I found him so annoying half the time? “It’s for my benefit, right? Not because of your desire to rule the Otherworld and see the prophecy fulfilled?”

“Of course it’s for those reasons,” he scoffed. One thing you had to love about Dorian was his unflinching honesty. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit too. You don’t think it’d be useful to control air? You don’t think that would aid you in helping those poor suffering souls under your control?”

“Damn it. Don’t involve them.”

“They’re already involved. Learn to control storms, and there’ll never be a drought again.” His voice was low, filled with promise and temptation.

I thought about the things I’d seen, the fields gone barren and hungry faces. I shook my head. “I’m not going to let you teach me again.”

“What if I got you another teacher?”

“What?” I shifted so that we could look at each other eye to eye. “What do you mean?”

“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.