I heard the catch in his voice, and it really struck me that he just might love me after all. It gave me a strange feeling, one I didn’t know how to cope with. Dorian loving a person was almost incomprehensible. I thought of him as loving only his own amusements and ambitions.

“I do love Kiyo,” I said in a low voice. “And if we can work it out…I’m going to-”

He shrugged, carefree and lax again. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t mind sharing you.”

“You told Aeson you don’t share.”

“As a general rule, no-and certainly not with the likes of him-but I don’t think you’ll give me exclusivity, so I must compromise.”

“There isn’t going to be any exclusivity or compromise.”

“So you say. You also said you’d never come to my bed in the first place. Or that you’d ever use magic. You probably said a dozen other things too. We all saw how those turned out.”

“Stop it. I’m serious about this.”

“And so am I. You’re a queen now. You control part of this world. Ally with me, and we’ll be the greatest power since your father.”

“I don’t want the power or the Alder Land.”

“It’s the Thorn Land now.”

“I-what?”

“The land conformed itself to you. The Alder Land was Aeson’s domain. Yours is the Thorn Land. You’re the Thorn Queen.”

“The smokethorn,” I recalled. If someone tried to force a crown of thorns on me, that was going to be seriously fucked up.

“Very fitting actually. A tree covered in beauty yet possessing a sharp and deadly core.”

I shook my head. “I don’t care about metaphors. I don’t want to rule this kingdom.”

He moved into my space, something passionate kindling in those gold-green eyes. “So what? You think you can just ignore it? Pretend it’ll go away? The land conformed itself to your will! You can’t turn away from that. Its survival depends on you-particularly since, for reasons only the gods know, you turned it into a wasteland.”

I faltered. “Well…I’ll get one of those people…you know, someone who rules in your place…”

“A regent? That’ll only work for so long. You can’t avoid the land. You have to come back and visit it, or it will die. You’re connected now.”

“I didn’t want this, Dorian.” I felt tired. Maybe getting up hadn’t been such a good idea after all. “You shouldn’t have done it.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that, but I’ll do what I can to make amends. Take Shaya. She’d make an excellent regent. And I’ll give you Rurik and Nia and any other servants you seem to like reasonably well.”

“I don’t really like Rurik.”

“No, but he’ll be as loyal as that dog I just had. More so, actually, considering what an unreasonable little bastard it was. Rurik will sift through what’s left of Aeson’s guard and keep only those who’ll support you.”

“You mean who support Storm King.”

“It’s the best I can do,” he said with a shrug. “You may take it or not. And you’ll still have to fill other positions yourself. Nia will do nicely for a lady-in-waiting, but she’s not quite up to being a seneschal. You’ll need one of those. And a herald too.”

He spoke like he was reciting things I needed to pick up at the grocery store. “Oh, God. I’m trapped in the fucking Chronicles of Narnia.”

“I’m sure that would be an amusing reference, if I understood it. For now, I can do no more. I’m giving up some of my favorites for you. The rest is in your hands.” There was a smile on his face, but his eyes were serious. “No matter what you think of me and my motivations, I swear to you I wouldn’t have had you seize Aeson’s land if I didn’t think you were worthy. There’s power burning inside of you, Eugenie. I meant it when I said you’d surpass us all.”

I shook my head and turned away, unable to hear this. “I’m leaving now. I really don’t want to see you again. Nothing personal. Well, yeah, actually it is.” I started walking toward the door.

“What about your magic lessons?”

I froze. “What about them?”

“Don’t you want to continue them?”

I slowly turned around. “I have some control now. Not great control, but enough to keep me from doing something stupid.”

“And that’s good enough for you?” He took a few steps toward me. “You killed one of this world’s greatest magic users with a novice’s control of water. Imagine when you master it-and the other elements.”

“No. I’m not going to. I don’t need to.”

“I thought you liked the way it made you feel.”

The ghostly memory of power flared up in my mind, and I swallowed, willing it to go away. I shook my head at him. “Goodbye, Dorian.”

I started to turn again, but he caught my shoulder and pulled me into a kiss. He deserved to be slapped, but the kiss was exquisite, just like all his kisses. And feeling him against me reminded me of our night together, how he’d brought me to a wildness I didn’t think myself capable of.

“That’s the last time you’re going to kiss me,” I warned when it ended.

He smiled knowingly, and in his eyes, I could see his own memories of that night. “So you say.”

I left him and returned to my own world.

Kiyo found me a few days later, as I’d know he would. I’d been out running errands and came home to see him sitting on my doorstep, in human form. He wore a white cotton shirt, tucked neatly into khakis. The black hair was brushed away from his face, and his dark eyes were as smoky and sensual as ever. He looked good-and healthy. Like Dorian, he’d enjoyed the benefits of gentry healing magic. In fact, Kiyo had received the very best: Maiwenn had tended him during his recovery.

“Come on in,” I said, unlocking the door.

He entered wordlessly, following and waiting as I put away my keys and purse. I offered him iced tea and then sat down with him on the couch, wanting to say so much and not knowing where to start.

“You look better than the last time I saw you,” I finally said.

His teeth flashed in a lovely smile. “Wouldn’t take much.”

I looked away. “Maiwenn did a good job.”

I felt his hand reach out and turn my face toward him. Those fingers held the same warmth I remembered, the same electric tingle.

“The way I hear it, it was more you than her.”

“I didn’t do so much.”

He tsked me. “Honesty, Eugenie.”

“All right, it was bad. Really bad. But I’d do it again.”

“You’re a crazy, wonderful woman. I can’t repay what you did.”

I started. “There’s nothing to repay. Why on earth would you think that?”

“Because I didn’t deserve it. Not after the way-”

“No. Forget it. I…I shouldn’t have freaked out over it. Not over something that happened before you even met me.” What I didn’t add was that I could suddenly empathize with how dangerous certain bits of information could be to a relationship. Like, say, revealing how a gentry king had initiated you into sexual bondage.

“I still should have told you.”

“Yeah,” I conceded, “you should have. But it’s done. I can live with it.”

His arm had snaked around me in that subtle way he had. “What are you saying?”

“You know what I’m saying. There’s too much between us…I’m not ready to give that up yet.”

The arm pulled me closer, and there was a slight tremble in his voice when he spoke. “Oh, God, Eugenie. I’ve missed you so much. You’re like a part of me.”

“I know.”

We held each other for a quiet moment, and then I heard him say in carefully measured tones, “I hear you’re a queen now.”

“That’s what they say.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Use your imagination.”

“Dorian had no right to do that.” There was a growl in Kiyo’s voice.

“You’re preaching to the choir here. I already had that argument with him. He doesn’t see it as wrong. He thinks I should keep progressing in magic too.”

The hand stroking my face stopped moving. He pulled away slightly so he could look me in the eyes. “That’s an even worse idea. You aren’t going to, are you? I mean, you got what you needed from him, right?”