Shadow Heir

It was understandable that part of their grief would transform to rage. They wanted to blame everyone for his death, me especially. The thing was, I’d already beaten myself up over the events of that day, wondering if I could have done something differently. Dorian talked them down, finally convincing them that Maiwenn was the culprit here. The method of Pagiel’s death, gruesome as it was, was proof of that, at least. Ysabel and Edria demanded war on Maiwenn’s kingdom, but he kept his own counsel on that.

I kept my own counsel on him. There was a lot to contend with in the aftermath of Pagiel’s death, giving me little time to talk to Dorian. I watched him a lot and found that I missed the time we’d had together. I hadn’t forgotten that he’d stood with me in the end. He’d proven himself time and time again. Now it was up to me.

Still, the timing proved difficult. We were both always so busy. The most I was able to talk to him was the day I left for Tucson, and even that was short-lived.

“I have to go back for a while,” I told him. “I don’t know how long. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up.”

Dorian nodded. “I understand.”

I glanced away. “I wanted to say ... well, thank you. Thank you for everything, for standing by me. I never should have doubted you. And I know there’s still a lot to figure out—”

He cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. “Eugenie, Eugenie. I told you before. There’s nothing for me to figure out. I know what I want. I want you. Not just as a bedmate or war ally. I want you with me, always. I want to share the same jokes and look into your eyes when I wake up. I think someday—hopefully sooner rather than later—you’ll want this too. Until then, I’ll be here, waiting for you.”

He gave me a light kiss, and that was our good-bye. It left me breathless and continued to haunt me as I returned to Tucson. Even so, I still had plenty of other things to distract me. Mom and Roland and I were making plans about bringing the twins to Tucson, something that filled me with eagerness. I was anxious to see them and had little patience for all the things that needed to be done first.

Not all of my loose ends were unpleasant, though. Although I was sure Candace and Charles would happily give us all the baby gear they’d acquired, my mom and I still spent a lot of time stocking up on our own. Those moments were some of the most peaceful I’d had, and I would spend ages in stores touching and examining baby clothes, wondering how big Ivy and Isaac had grown.

I was at an outdoor mall one day with my mom, scoping out cribs. They’d all looked fine to me, but she’d gotten into a lengthy discussion with the salesperson, grilling him on every safety detail. I’d begged out to grab a cup of coffee, promising to return soon. I don’t think either noticed I had left. I found a coffee shop on the other side of the shopping center and had just received my latte when a familiar voice behind me said, “Eugenie.”

I spun around so quickly that half of my coffee sloshed out. Kiyo stood before me.

The throngs of people around us disappeared, and the focus of my world narrowed down only to him. All the anger and grief I’d felt, as well as watching others cope with their own sorrow these last couple weeks, surged up in me. Maybe Kiyo hadn’t dealt the killing blow, but he might as well have. I couldn’t believe he’d even had the audacity to cross my path. I’d figured he was smarter than that.

“Watch it,” he warned, glancing upward. I was doing the subconscious storm thing again, and a few people had stopped to stare in amazement at the dark clouds that had literally come out of nowhere. “You don’t want to create a panic.”

“Wouldn’t be the weirdest weather phenomenon that’s happened around here,” I said. “Neither would you being struck by lightning.”

He smiled without humor. “You won’t do it, though. Not in this crowd.”

He was right. I could call lightning with pretty perfect precision, but even so, we were in the thick of humanity, with people brushing past us to get where they needed. I could hit him but might inadvertently hurt someone else along the way. These aren’t even people I know or care about, I thought bitterly. But once again, my hands are tied.

“I suppose you arranged this,” I said. “Waited for a chance to approach me in public?”

“Yes, actually. I figured I wouldn’t get a warm reception at one of your castles.”

“You figured right.”

He sighed. “Eugenie ... there are a couple things I need to tell you. I debated a long time about whether I should, but ... well, I don’t know. I feel bad about what happened with Pagiel ... and everything else.”

I had to repress the urge to slap him. “Yeah? Maybe you should’ve thought about that before your fucking girlfriend killed him!” My profanity got a few surprised glances from passersby.

“I’m sorry it turned out that way,” he said. “But it was better for everyone.”