“My dear Odile, I assure you I am always serious-well, no, actually that’s a lie. Most of the time I’m not. But this time I happen to be. So make yourself comfortable.”

I sighed, slouched back in the chair, and took out the other Milky Way. Seeing his eyes on it, I broke it in half and handed him a piece. Nodding his thanks, he ate it with the wine, something that looked ridiculous and nearly made me smile.

“Now. Tell me something. Have you ever heard the story of Storm King?”

“No. Is or was he a real guy?”

“Very real.”

“So what, is there, like, a Storm Land or something?”

“Not exactly. He did rule a vast area, but the title was more honorary due to his ability to control storms and the weather.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

He quirked me a half-smile. “I’m guessing you don’t realize just how important that is.”

“Not really. I mean, all of you have some kind of magic, right? Why not storms?”

“Ah, but to control storms and the weather is to literally control the elements. Water. Air. The fire of lightning. To see him in his fury was a terrible and amazing thing. He could call down the very heavens to smite his enemies. Few of us have such strength. I’ve never seen his equal, and I’ve lived almost two centuries. Even when crossing into your world, his powers didn’t dim.”

“What do your own powers do?” That was probably something I should have known before being alone with him.

“I can summon and control materials that come from within the earth. Dirt. Rocks. Magma on occasion.”

“The magma sounds cool, but the rest…well, sorry. Not so impressive.”

Those golden eyes sparkled. “I could call down the stones that have built this keep and reduce the entire building to a pile of rubble within minutes.”

I glanced around us. “Yeah. Okay. That’s impressive.”

“Thank you. Anyway. With power like that, he inevitably drew followers. In those days, we were more fractured…split into smaller kingdoms. Our political and geographic divisions are always changing. Storm King sought to remedy this. He conquered and united a number of the smaller rulers, attempting to unite all of the shining ones under his rule. He made astounding progress.”

“Was he a good king?” I was getting sucked in despite my best resistance.

“Depends on how you define ‘good.’ He was a good war leader, certainly. And he was ruthless-which is an ugly but sometimes necessary part of ruling. But, with such power, he had no qualms about taking what he wanted-no matter the inconvenience to others. Those who angered him died without question. If he wanted land, he took it. If he wanted a woman, he took her. Some of those women thought it was an honor, some were taken forcibly.” Dorian paused, giving me a look both studious and sympathetic. “Some were human.”

I stiffened. “Like Aeson.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“‘Unfortunately’? You’re one of them. You must have a thing for humans.”

“Of course I do. We all do-men and women alike. You all smell like musk and sex. It screams fertility. It calls to our most basic, primal instincts to reproduce. For a people whose children are dwindling, that means something. So, yes, I understand men like Storm King and Aeson, but”-he shrugged-“I’ve never been with a woman who didn’t want me, never taken one by force. Not even a human.”

“You seem to be in the minority.”

“No, as I told you earlier, it’s only a small number of us who infringe on humans. You have your own rapists. They too are only a small number.”

I shifted and leaned my head against the chair’s back. “Fair enough. Get on with the story.”

He paused a moment, looking surprised, like he couldn’t believe I’d conceded a point to him. I could hardly believe it myself.

“Very well. Storm King’s ambitions extended beyond conquering this world. He wanted to conquer yours as well.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Not so. The desire to return to our homeland burns in all of us; it would push many to extreme actions. He drew a lot of support, armies willing to cross over for this dream. He had the power to make it happen. He planned a massive Samhain invasion, consisting of shining ones and spirits alike.”

“What happened? Obviously it didn’t work.”

Dorian had propped up his elbow again, resting his hand in his chin as he had on his throne. That gorgeous hair hung off to one side, a stream of molten copper. “I’ll tell you in a moment. First I’d like your opinion on all of this. What do you think about this plan of his in light of your earlier noble words about conquerors and how the conquered must simply accept their fate? If our forces took yours in fair warfare, would you accept that so easily?”

“I hate hypothetical questions.”

He simply smiled.

“Okay, then. ‘Accept’ is a funny thing. I mean, I guess if our armies and infrastructure were destroyed, I’d have to accept that on a certain level. Would I like it? Would I just let it go? Probably not. I’d probably always keep fighting. Looking for some way to change things.”

“Then perhaps you understand our attitudes toward you and the world you live in.”

“Yeah, but…why not let it go? You have a perfectly nice world here.”

“You’re contradicting yourself.”

“Well, in the scenario you described, we don’t have a new world. We’re subjugated in your new one.”

“Would it make a difference?”

I stared off at one of the flickering torches. “No. Probably not. I don’t know.” He was making me empathize with the gentry, and I didn’t like it. I turned back to him. “What happened, then? Is this Storm King someone I should go hunt down?”

“No, alas. He’s already dead.” Dorian watched me for a moment, weighing me for some purpose I couldn’t understand. “Roland Markham killed him.”

I straightened up. “What?”

“You didn’t know that.”

“No. Of course not. I’ve never even heard of this Storm King guy until tonight.”

This answer turned Dorian pensive, momentarily halting his normal jocosity. “That rather astonishes me. Storm King must have been the greatest conquest of Roland Markham’s career. How can you not know? Isn’t he your father?”

“My stepfather. But he trained me.” I turned the information over in my mind. “I don’t know why he never told me. When did it happen?”

“Oh, about…thirteen years ago. Maybe fourteen.”

That was around the time Roland had started training me. Coincidence? Had the threat of Otherworldly invasion frightened him into defying my mother’s wishes?

When I didn’t say anything, Dorian continued: “Not surprisingly, Roland Markham has his own reputation around here. But some say with your kills, you have surpassed him.”

“I wish you guys wouldn’t paint me like some bloodthirsty avenger.”

“Prejudice works both ways.”

“Yeah, but come on. Half the time, I just send them back here.”

“You kill enough to scare most of the people out in the main hall.”

“But that’s not why you’re telling me this story.”

“True enough.” He poured another glass of wine. “You are brave, Eugenie Markham. You are brave and strong and beautiful. But your perspective and view of the world-worlds-are flawed. You don’t understand us. We don’t behave as we do out of an evil nature. We have reasons for our actions.”

“Just as I do for mine. I don’t kill because I enjoy it.”

“Well, I wonder about that, but yes, I get your point. You do what you do out of loyalty to your own kind. You want to protect them and see that they have the best lives they can.”

“This is where you say you’re doing exactly the same thing.”

He laughed out loud, the sound rich and melodious. “Why, Eugenie, did we just have a moment of rapport?”

“You’ve stopped calling me Odile,” I noted, deflecting the question.

“We aren’t in public. It doesn’t matter.”

“Whatever. So…when Storm King was gathering his armies and followers…were you one of them?”