Shadow Heir

Dorian’s voice was very, very quiet when he spoke, which added a surprisingly menacing feel. “If he makes contact, you are to let me know immediately. If he actually surfaces, you will alert my guards and restrain him until they can seize him.”

“Restrain him?” exclaimed Ysabel. “He’s my son! And to be frank ... I’m not sure any of us could restrain him. He ... he’s far more powerful than we are, Your Majesty.” She actually sounded uneasy about that.

I wouldn’t have believed her if I hadn’t seen Pagiel in action myself. He’d grown much stronger in the time I’d known him, partially thanks to me since I’d helped him better his magic in our travels. I hadn’t asked Roland much about the dust storms in Arizona, but I knew how large that type could grow. That was serious magic.

“Nonetheless,” said Dorian, “you will do what you can. Is this understood?”

Ysabel and Ansonia murmured assent. Edria cleared her throat. “It is understood, Your Majesty ... but begging your pardon, may I ask why this is so troubling to you? What do you care for humans? You know they took our world. They have much while we have little. Pagiel is only doing what many—including yourself—think we deserve. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with it, so I’m just having trouble understanding your commands, sire.”

Dorian hesitated only a moment before answering, his eyes flicking briefly to me. “You don’t need to understand my commands. You simply need to obey them. Now. Is there anything else that you have to tell us about Pagiel—aside from your justifications? Any idea of his plans? Who his followers are?”

They swore they knew nothing of his plans but did give us a list of several accomplices. Dorian dispatched a guard to find them, though none of us were optimistic about the success of that. After a few more threats and warnings, he sent the family away. Once we were alone again, his fierce countenance faded and he leaned back with a sigh.

“By the gods,” he muttered. “What a mess.”

“Ansonia knows something,” said Jasmine. It was the first time she’d spoken since before the audience. “I can see it.”

“She definitely looked scared out of her mind,” I agreed. “No surprise with that group. They sure do push her around a lot.”

“It’s more than that,” Jasmine said. “I swear, there was something she wasn’t telling us. I have really good intuition, you know.”

I hadn’t known that but didn’t push it. “I can believe that she doesn’t know where Pagiel is,” I said. “And that’s our biggest issue right now. I’ll go back to Tucson tomorrow and see what I can uncover there. You want to go?”

Jasmine shook her head, still lost in her own thoughts. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll let you know.”

Dorian could hardly resist the opportunity to show us off at dinner. We were gentry celebrities and dressed up to boot. Dinnertime at his castle was always a huge affair, a big party in the dining hall. His court liked the novelty of having other royalty around and was too excited by their own boisterous celebrating to notice the three of us just weren’t into the festive atmosphere. Jasmine left early, and Dorian and I followed shortly thereafter, going to his rooms so we could debrief the Pagiel situation in private.

“You don’t want to go with me, do you?” I asked him, settling down at a little table. I was reminded of that dinner he’d arranged for me ages ago, the one with the Milky Way cake.

He poured wine for both of us, the first alcohol I’d had since the twins. “In theory, yes. But I’m not too proud to admit I can’t function in that world as efficiently as I’d like.” Dorian was strong enough to cross over intact, but he suffered the same adverse reactions to technology as most gentry. “I trust you and Roland can deal with the situation initially. I’ll deal with Pagiel when you get him back here.”

I sipped the wine. It was fruity and strong, reminding me that I should probably exercise caution since I was out of practice. Then again, if ever there was a time to drink, it was now. “Why are you helping me?” I asked after taking another gulp. “I mean, I know you help me all the time, but Edria had a point. Why are you helping me with this? You’ve never had any qualms about invading the human world. You still call Isaac Thundro and talk about him conquering humanity.”

“Thundro really is an excellent name.” Dorian drank some of his own wine, composing his thoughts. “As for the why? It’s simple. You don’t want Pagiel raiding that world.”

I waited for more. Nothing came. “That’s it?”

“What more is there?”

“I ... I don’t know. It’s just ... it’s just hard for me to believe.” I downed my glass of wine, hoping to hide how flustered I felt. I actually could feel the start of a buzz, driving home that I really had lost my tolerance. I used to take down half bottles of tequila. With as confused as I was, the buzz was welcome. Once, Dorian offering to do something for me would have made me suspicious of ulterior motives. Now, I wasn’t so sure.