Richelle Mead - Iron Crowned

Kiyo followed me into my bedroom. “You think she’s safe out there?” he asked. “Alone?”

“Yeah, I do actually.” Jasmine and I weren’t the same size, but I found some drawstring shorts that would likely fit. “I don’t know why … but I feel like I can trust her.”

“Be careful,” he warned, sitting on the bed’s edge. “For all we know, she was happy to be captured and have Cassius throw himself at her.”

“He didn’t do anything.” I found the smallest T-shirt I could; her frame was more slender than mine.

“So she says.”

I sighed and faced him. “Kiyo, you’ve got to trust me. I can’t explain it, but she’s telling the truth. Is she going to turn into a normal teen and forget about her plans to have Storm King’s heir? Unlikely. But for now, she’s in shock and not dangerous.”

“If you think so. Just be careful, Eug. You’ve been tricked by people you’ve trusted before.”

“Surprise, surprise. A slam on Dorian.” I crossed my arms, holding the clothes to my chest. “Soon to be followed by a lecture on seizing the Rowan Land.” I’d been bracing myself since it all happened, but during the ensuing damage control, he’d held back. I appreciated that but still dreaded the inevitable.

“Actually,” he said, “no.”

“No?” I’d started to take a step toward the doorway and froze.

He laughed, though there wasn’t much humor in it. “No.”

“But I just thought … well, after last time … You weren’t very happy about the Thorn Land …”

That small smile faded. “No. And it’s not like I’m happy about this. But the truth is, you did find a—relatively—bloodless way to end all of this. When we were out there, you asked me what other solution could fix things. I didn’t have an answer. You did. It’s not great … but it didn’t kill Katrice or those other people. It didn’t get you captured.” He shrugged. “Not ideal, no, but better than the alternatives.”

I leaned back against the wall, still shocked at his reaction. “If it makes you feel better, it’s not like I wanted this either. I wanted to sneak in and out and get Jasmine.”

He nodded, but there was a sharp look in his eyes. “And yet, you brought the crown.” I hadn’t mentioned that to him when we first set out to the Rowan Land.

“Her note said she didn’t believe I had it! I was hoping waving it around might do something to help us.” He stayed quiet. “Don’t look at me like that! You can’t believe I planned to use it.”

“I do believe you.” He approached me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “And I’ll help you in any way you need.”

Something inside my chest released, and I leaned into him, taking comfort in his warmth and the security he offered. “Thank you. I’m definitely going to need you.”

Kiyo pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m here.”

I felt a small smile pull at my lips, though as with his earlier laughter, I didn’t really find the situation funny. “I suppose if there is a silver lining here, maybe I can do a better job ruling the Rowan Land than she did. Some sort of greater good.”

To my surprise, his hold on me stiffened, and he stepped back. The smile he offered me looked tight. “Maybe.”

We went back out to Jasmine, who was still riveted to the TV. The only acknowledgment we got was when I handed her the clothes, and she examined them. “What’s ‘The Clash’ mean?”

I ignored the blasphemy—and Kiyo’s obvious amusement at my pain. “If you want to shower, everything you’ll need is in the bathroom. Towels, shampoo.”

That too got her attention. “A shower … oh, man. I’ve missed showers.”

“Will you two be okay?” asked Kiyo, all signs of his earlier discomfort gone. “I need to take care of a few things.”

I nodded. “We’re fine. Will you be back soon?”

“As soon as I can.” He kissed me again, this time on my lips. I must have worn another pained expression because he cupped my chin, his brown eyes full of love and compassion. “It’s going to be okay, Eugenie. Everything will be okay.”

I nodded once more and watched wistfully as he left. I wanted his arms around me again, to hold me and let me escape this mess. A small part of me wouldn’t have minded Dorian’s arms either. I sat beside Jasmine, whose attention was back on some reality show.

“He’s running off to Maiwenn, you know.” Her gaze didn’t move. “Off to report on what happened.”

My ire started to rise at her accusation, except … I had a feeling she was right. Even if there was no more romance between them, he was still devoted to her. The recent developments were going to rock the Otherworld, and she’d want the story straight from him. I wondered how she’d take it; she’d always feared my becoming like my father.

“Probably,” I admitted. I rubbed my eyes. “God, I’m so exhausted. I feel like I could fall over.”

This time Jasmine turned to me. There wasn’t exactly sympathy in her face, but something surprisingly close. “No shit. You just stole a kingdom and took it over.”

“It sounds so ugly when you phrase it that way.”

She shrugged and looked back at the TV. “You’ll probably do a better job.” Her words echoed my earlier comment to Kiyo. “You know,” she added conversationally, “everyone acts like our dad was such a bastard, like he just wanted more power. I mean, he did, but you know what Aeson told me? He said that Storm King was always talking about how he could do a better job too, that the other monarchs weren’t as good. He said he was doing the people a favor.”

I froze, unable to respond. That was why Kiyo had reacted the way he did earlier. He’d heard that about Storm King’s “good intentions,” I realized. I’d expressed exactly the same sentiment as my father.

Jasmine didn’t notice the effect of her words and instead jumped subjects in that easy, short-attention-span way of hers. “Hey, do you think you could get Wil to come over? I want to see him.”

“Sure,” I murmured automatically. My mind was still lost in her earlier words. “Sure.”

Wil was surprised to hear from me the next morning, more surprised still when I told him the reason I was calling. He said he’d be over in five minutes.

Jasmine had asked that he come alone after I’d mentioned he now had a girlfriend. Still, she’d been curious. “Seriously? What’s she like?”

I thought back to my one meeting with Wil’s ladylove. Once I’d banished the monsters living in their house, she hadn’t shut up about conspiracy theories and assorted coverups. “Exactly like him,” I’d replied to Jasmine.

The reunion between brother and sister was strange. They stood there awkwardly, both staring at each other and assessing all the ways they’d changed. Then, with no communication, they hugged each other. Jasmine’s face was filled with legitimate emotion, and for once, Wil didn’t seem like the crazy, paranoid guy he usually was.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, voice trembling. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Jasmine swallowed, and I was pretty sure there were tears in her eyes. “I … I missed you too.” And it was the truth. She’d told me once she didn’t care about this world—or about the half brother who’d raised her. But she did. This whole time, despite her Otherworldly plans for domination, she’d always loved him.

Things grew increasingly bizarre when it became obvious the two weren’t quite sure what to do with each other. Wil didn’t chastise her for her absence, and at last, she simply asked if he wanted to hang out and watch TV. I think that was partly because it provided a concrete activity and partly because she’d become obsessed with making up for lost TV time.