Richelle Mead - THORN QUEEN

“Well, it’ll be worth the hassle if he can solve our water problem and help with the girls.”

“The girls?”

I gave her a quick recap of my interrogation with the prisoners. Her face turned thoughtful as she processed my words.

“Skye and Ley…”

“Do you know those towns?”

She nodded. “They and Westoria are configured in a way that places them equidistant from a gateway. A crossroads.”

“What, to my world?” She nodded again. “Huh. I wonder if that’s a coincidence. I wonder…I wonder if it’s possible that…” One of my crazier ideas came to me. “Do you think those girls could be leaving and going to my world?”

“I don’t know. Shining ones do often cross over. It’s not unheard of.”

“Yeah, I know. To cause trouble. Or to steal women.” I had to fight a scowl on that one. My own mother had been one such woman, abducted and forced to be my father’s mistress. “You think these girls are going to go kidnap guys so they can have kids?” The easy ability to conceive was why so many humans got kidnapped. Usually, it was gentry men taking human women.

Shaya’s smile turned wry. “I somehow doubt it would come to that. Women have been known to cross over, spend time in your world, and return pregnant. They don’t need to bring the men back.”

Fair point. Well, this was certainly a weird development. I’d have to wait and see what Leith reported back, but I supposed if these girls weren’t actually being abducted…well, there was little for me to do. Admittedly, I’d always fought adamantly against gentry sneaking to the human world, but I wasn’t sure where the right and wrong of this situation lay.

“I guess that’d be easier to deal with than a monster taking them. Still leaves that stupid demon problem.” I sighed. “Well, one issue at a time, I guess.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yes. Finally. Thanks for handling this today.”

“Of course,” she said. She actually sounded like she meant it. Her pleased expression turned momentarily hesitant. “Although…there’s something you should know. Someone else responded right away to the trade offer.”

“That’s good news.”

“It’s Dorian.”

“Oh.” Of course Dorian would respond. How could he stay away from an opportunity to put me at his mercy? “You can deal with it, though, right?”

“Well, that’s just it. He’s specifically requested that you talk to him. At his home.”

“What?” I stared. “He…he can’t do that.”

That wry smile of hers returned. “He’s a king. He can do anything he wishes.”

“Yeah, but Leith came here! Dorian just wants me to go to him so that he can taunt me.” And no doubt flaunt Ysabel in front of me.

“Leith’s kingdom needs copper more than Dorian’s. I suspect Dorian is doing this as a personal favor to you.”

“That’s not exactly how I’d put it.”

She shook her head, the amusement now warring with exasperation. “I know there’s tension between you, but I suspect if you could be nice to King Dorian, he might make us a very generous deal. One that could help us immensely.”

A generous deal. The Oak Land was flourishing. I didn’t doubt they had all sorts of food and other items we could use. I thought about those poor people in Westoria and even about my prisoners who’d spoken of having too many mouths to feed. I sighed.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him. And I’ll even be nice.” I started to turn away, needing more than ever to get back to my own home. Then I glanced back behind me. “But Shaya? Just to be safe, you might want to keep looking for more trade partners.”

Returning home was great. I was exhausted mentally and physically and didn’t even mind the onslaught of dogs and cats that greeted me. Tim stood in the kitchen, mixing up some kind of batter. He also wore a full Native American feather headdress that went all the way down his back.

“Isn’t that a Sioux thing?” I asked. “Er, Lakota?”

“I keep getting in trouble when I pretend to be one of the local tribes,” he explained. “So, I figure if I claim to be from out of town, no one can push for details. Besides, you’re one to judge appearance. Did you sleep out in the rain or something?”

Ironically, I had, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. “It’s been a long day. Days. Whatever.”

“Lara called like eighty times. She’s got a real attitude, you know.”

“That’s why she makes the big bucks,” I said with a yawn. “I’m going to go take a nap. Wake me if she calls.”

“You going to go hear me perform tonight?” he called as I headed down the hall.

I froze. “Oh, um, gee. I’ve got plans….”

“You do not!”

“I do.” I turned around. “I’m going to my mom’s.”

“The reading’s late,” he said. “Doesn’t start until nine. You’ll be done by then.”

I had long since accepted Tim’s fake American Indian gig, but accepting it and witnessing it-aside from when he stood in full regalia in my kitchen-were two entirely different things.

“I’ve even written new material,” he added when he saw that he wasn’t making much progress.

“I’m not sure that’s a selling point.”

He held up the bowl of brownie mix. “I’ll make them with walnuts.”

I sighed and turned back toward my bedroom. “You don’t play fair.”

He whooped with joy. “You’ll love it, Eug. I promise.”

I fell asleep pretty easily and woke to two pleasant surprises. One was the scent of freshly baked brownies wafting in the air. The other was Kiyo sitting in a chair in my room, eating one of the aforementioned brownies. With the way he’d been in and out lately, I never really knew when to expect him.

“Nice surprise,” I said, sitting up.

“Likewise,” he said, eyeing my bare legs. I’d gone to sleep in a T-shirt.

“Anything new in the Otherworld?”

“Not much. Maiwenn’s getting nervous about the delivery, but I kind of figured that would happen.”

“She’s got good healers,” I said, wanting to reassure him in spite of all the troubled feelings Maiwenn generated in me. I noticed then that he wore his white coat. “You going into work?”

“Just got out.” Damn. It was later than I’d realized if he’d hung out with Maiwenn and pulled a shift at work.

“Do you want to go see my parents with me?”

Kiyo made a face. “Roland hates me.”

“Hate is a strong word.”

But it wasn’t an entirely inaccurate one. Roland, my shaman stepfather, made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like me spending as much time as I did in the Otherworld. Bringing home an Otherworldly boyfriend hadn’t earned his approval either, even though Kiyo was half-human like me. Still, Roland was always more or less polite. My mother, who didn’t know about Kiyo’s heritage, couldn’t gush over him enough. I think she’d nearly given up on me ever dating anyone, so me landing a veterinarian was quite a coup as far as she was concerned. She was a fantastic cook and so even though Roland made him uneasy, Kiyo still consented to go.

“Are you sure you got enough to eat?” she asked after we finished dinner with them later that night. She operated under the assumption that I was on the verge of malnutrition and that Kiyo was incapable of feeding himself if someone else didn’t cook for him. In truth, Kiyo was a much better cook than me.

“It was great,” he assured her. “Believe me, I had more than enough.”

“Well, don’t be afraid to go back for more. Or take home leftovers.”

“Geez, Mom. He had three helpings. Are you fattening him up for the kill?” I asked.

“There are worse fates,” mused Kiyo good-naturedly.