Shadow Heir

“I’m sorry,” said Jasmine. “I wish we didn’t have to— especially since those bastards are probably responsible for this mess.”

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “You had to feed the people, and the copper was doing us no good.”

A servant arrived just then to announce a group of guests had arrived: Dorian, Shaya, Rurik, and Pagiel. “How’d they get here so fast?” I asked, once the servant went to fetch them. Jasmine had said she’d sent word, but even with magical communication, the trip from Dorian’s land would’ve taken a while.

“They were all in the Rowan Land,” explained Jasmine. She nodded toward Roland. “He gave us a heads-up that you might be coming one of these days, so Dorian’s been hanging out there. He brought Pagiel because he figured you’d want to talk to him.”

“He was right,” I said. Despite his quirks, Dorian always had a good feel for what I was thinking.

My heart leapt when I saw him. After the dreariness of the blight, Dorian’s presence was a breath of life and excitement. He swept in grandly, as though this were an ordinary state visit. He wore his typically rich, brightly colored garments, with the centerpiece being an emerald green cloak made out of satin and adorned with gold embroidery. It matched the green of his eyes and made his long hair look like a wave of fire that gave the illusion of warmth. Neither he nor any of the others were wearing heavy outerwear, so they must have shed it before entering the room. Probably whatever Dorian had for the cold weather wasn’t fashionable enough for him.

He held my eyes for a moment, and I was suddenly flooded by a million thoughts. How we’d said good-bye. The memories of his body that had haunted me these last couple of months. The way I’d missed him. And again, the knowledge that he maybe loved me again.

“The wayward queen returns,” he said as though none of those other matters existed. A quick assessment revealed to him what Jasmine had also discovered. “Considerably less of her.”

His tone was light, but I could tell that, also like Jasmine, he was uncertain of what had become of my pregnancy and was hesitant to presume.

“That’s because I left my children behind,” I said. I kept my words light too, but their meaning left an ache inside me. “They were born about a month ago and are doing well.”

Shaya looked awestruck. “Truly? They’re thriving after being born that early?” She shook her head in amazement. “Human medicine,” was all she said on the matter. From the moment I’d met her, she’d been very outspoken about humans “twisting technology,” but I think this had made her reconsider the benefits. Probably not enough to handle hearing about my C-section and the NICU, though.

Her awe soon gave way to joy. She embraced me, and even Rurik did too. Dorian and Pagiel didn’t, both keeping their distance for entirely different reasons. Once the welcomes were done and we were all seated, Rurik leaned back and sighed with satisfaction.

“Well, then,” he said. “Now that you’re back, we can get rid of this blight.”

There it was again. I grimaced. “Why does everyone think I can fix things?”

“You’re Storm King’s daughter,” he replied. “The weather obeys you.”

“Not this weather,” I said. “I mean, the little parts, yeah, but all of it? It’s an enchantment that’s bigger than just a weather pattern. It’s permeated the core of the land ... corrupted it.”

Dorian nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. And I suspected as much—that your formidable capabilities wouldn’t be enough to break this.”

Rurik seemed undaunted. “Even if it’s not a matter of controlling the weather, can’t all of you just ... I don’t know ... band together and break the spell?”

I glanced to Dorian for this answer. Roland had hinted that something like what Rurik was suggesting had already been attempted. “Several of us monarchs tried to unite our powers and break through,” Dorian confirmed. “It was ineffectual, and I didn’t get the feeling that we were close—like if we had one more person, we could have managed it. This enchantment is going to require something more, I’m afraid.”

“Maiwenn helped you,” I said, trying not to sound accusing.

He shrugged. “What is it humans say? ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ Right now, the blight is everyone’s enemy. Maiwenn wants to end it as badly as we do, and she’s a force that shouldn’t be easily dismissed.”

“She plotted to have me and my children killed!”

“Yes,” Dorian said. “I can see where that would bother you.”

I arched an eyebrow at that. “Bother” was kind of a mild way to put it.

Shaya’s face had initially reflected Rurik’s enthusiasm, but now she’d grown grave. “We have to do something. We can’t go on like this.”

My gaze fell on Pagiel, who was watching me warily. “We also can’t raid the human world for food.”

He straightened up, and I knew he’d been bracing for this. “Why not? There’s plenty of food there! It just sits around. And most of those humans are fat anyway. They don’t need it.”