Shadow Heir

Kiyo was difficult, and I nearly skipped him for an entirely different set of reasons. Jasmine’s parting words really didn’t help because they were all I kept thinking about as I sat next to Kiyo. Maybe he was our ally now, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t about to let the prophecy go. Even if our blight quest had a happy ending, what then? There’d be no peace for me. Far easier to get rid of him now when Dorian couldn’t come to his defense.

But as I’d told Jasmine, taking advantage of Kiyo’s situation would be as despicable as what he’d done to me. I wouldn’t stoop to that level, and even though I intended them to grow up without him, he was still the father of my children.

“I’m sure Maiwenn will want to see you again,” I began awkwardly. Were they romantically involved? Those two were always on and off again, but I wasn’t up on the latest gossip. Talking about her wasn’t my favorite topic, but Kiyo’s young daughter with her was a bit easier. “And I know Marta will too. She must be so big now. Does she walk and talk? Maybe I’ll see her someday. Regardless, you have to break this spell so you can get back to her. Even being on this journey must be hard. You’re probably missing all kinds of neat things she’s doing. I know how you feel. I keep thinking about Isaac and Ivy and how every day keeps me from something amazing. So hurry up and come back to us so we can get you back to the Willow Land.”

Some cynical part of me noted that I could probably inspire him if I started reminding him that he had to break the enchantment and keep hunting me and my children. It might very well work, but there was no way I could hint at him harming my children—even if it might save his life. I’d refused Jasmine’s offer to kill him outright, but I’d gladly let him die from the dryads’ magic before giving any acknowledgment to his crazy attitude about the prophecy.

So I stuck to Marta and Maiwenn and how Kiyo had to help us defeat Varia. I even mentioned the menagerie of pets he had back in Arizona. When I felt I’d made a decent effort, I moved on to Pagiel, who was a bit easier. I praised his bravery and loyalty and talked about his family, even saying kind words about Ysabel and Edria. After Kiyo, those two women no longer ranked so high on my list of despised people.

That left Dorian. It was weird because I probably knew him the best, and yet ... I really wasn’t sure exactly which words would get through to him. As it was, I had a hard enough time making myself say anything. It was too weird seeing him so lifeless. Dorian was always in motion. Even when he was deceptively calm, there was an energy that crackled within him. He was always thinking something, always planning ahead. But now? This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how he was supposed to be. How many times had that little smirk of his infuriated me? I’d give anything now to see it replace this listlessness.

I stared at him for a long time. Panic seized me, mostly because I was suddenly afraid I would fail. There was so much between us that I’d been putting off. Had I lost my chance forever? It took me three tries to finally talk to him because I kept choking up.

“We can’t do this without you,” I managed at last. “Everyone talks about my powers, but you’re the badass here. We need you to pull this off—and for more than just your magic. Who else is going to be smart enough to get us to those gifts? Even Volusian’s not sure where they’re at. We need you for the planning—and I know you’re sure as hell not going to let that Varia bitch get the best of you. The Oak Land means too much to you. It’s everything to you.”

I exhausted those topics as much as I could, praising his strength and cleverness. I knew there were deeper topics to address but couldn’t quite get myself to go there. I was about to start the rounds again with the other guys when I heard someone coming through the woods. I turned, silently cursing Volusian for not warning me, and then saw it was Jasmine and Keeli. They and their horses looked as if they’d been traveling at breakneck speeds. Keeli climbed down practically before her horse even came to a halt and proudly showed me several vines of mistletoe.

“More than enough,” I said in approval. “Any trouble? Were you spotted?”

“Never saw anyone,” said Jasmine, joining Keeli. “We were lucky enough to find some oaks not far from the border that had this stuff growing.”

I took one of the vines. “Okay, then. Let’s try this. Remember—just one berry. We want ‘fantastically ill,’ not dead.”

We went around and carefully placed a berry under each man’s tongue. It was a little gross but not much weirder than half the things I did on a daily basis. Part of me had kind of hoped for a miraculous transformation the instant the mistletoe was placed, but it was obvious this enchantment was still a ways from being broken.

“We should keep talking to them,” I told Jasmine and Keeli. “Do either of you know anything about Alistir? Like his personal life?”