Shadow Heir

I smiled. “If I did keep him with me nonstop here, it’s possible I would grow too weak to bind him as my servant anymore. True, he’d be able to kill me then—but not while I was in the Yew Land. Because as soon as he broke free, there’d be nothing to pull him back. He’d be banished once again. I think he wants to be here, and I’m the only way to make that happen.”

“Do you think he wants revenge?” asked Dorian.

I recalled Volusian’s animosity when he’d first seen the ambassador’s statues. “Absolutely. Although ... I’m not sure on whom since everyone from that era is dead.”

“Still, you might be courting trouble in allowing him to be here. He might act out on his own—and you might not be able to keep him in check.”

“I know,” I said, wondering what Volusian on a rampage would look like. Not something I wanted to ponder too much. “But he’s still useful to us, which is something I don’t think we can put aside. Besides, this sounds terrible ... but all of us have the same end goals, even him. None of us like the Yew Land.”

“Correction. Volusian doesn’t like the Yew Land. We don’t like Varia.”

“True. Does that mean you think I’m making a mistake in keeping him around?”

“No,” said Dorian, shaking his head. “He’s an asset. And I know how much those mean to you. You certainly told me that enough when I was entranced.”

I groaned and looked away. “I’d been wondering how much you’d remember.”

“Probably more than you’d like,” he said, sounding far too cheerful. “But I found it quite delightful. In fact, I’m very pleased to be invited to train up little Ivy and Thundro. That was most kind of you.”

“Hey!” I turned back to him and was treated to a full-on Dorian smirk. “That is not what I said. Not exactly.”

“But it’s very reasonable,” he teased. “I have skills no one else can teach your children. And it’d be a shame not to pass my legendary charm and charisma on to the next generation. A tragedy, even.”

“Legendary, huh? That might be an exaggeration.”

“It’s truth, my dear. And I’m willing to put it all at your disposal—I’m willing to put anything at your disposal—if it’ll help you and yours. As I keep saying: What wouldn’t I do for you?”

I met his eyes, expecting to see some Dorian sarcasm, but he was utterly serious. I was uncomfortably reminded of this morning, when I’d woken up and seen him alive and well. Something inside of me had opened and felt more joyous than I’d been in a while. I was starting to feel that way now, and it frightened me.

We kept our conversation to ourselves, but our growing rapport was noticeable to others. Kiyo had a lot to say about it.

“So,” he said to me as we took a midday break, “I see you and Dorian are allies again.”

I took a long drink from a water jug as I contemplated my answer. We’d just crossed into another kingdom, as was typical when traveling. It was always a little disconcerting to leave the place you were going to, but Volusian had assured us we’d be back in the Yew Land before long.

“Dorian and I have always been allies.”

“Not the way I remember it,” said Kiyo darkly. “Didn’t he lie and trick you into winning the Iron Crown?”

“He did,” I agreed. “I don’t like it, but I’ve become more understanding of why he did it. It was for the greater good.”

“It was for his own selfish ambition!” Kiyo cast a glance over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. “You know that. You know how he is. He wants to use you for his own ends.”

“Maybe,” I said, thinking back on recent conversations with Dorian. “But I also think he wants what’s best for me and my children.”

“He wants what he thinks is best for you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Well, considering that involves my children staying alive, I’ll gladly take that over you advising on what you think is best. You really have no business preaching to me about this, especially after I was the only one yesterday who even bothered to—”

A shout from Rurik immediately turned me from Kiyo. The others in my party were already looking in the direction we’d just come from, and I quickly spotted what they had. I leapt to my feet and drew my weapons as a group of people on horseback emerged around a bend in the road. Seeing us, they came to an abrupt halt and drew weapons of their own.

“Stay right where you are,” warned one of the men in the strange group. He had a curly blond beard and wielded a worn but effective-looking copper sword. “Attack us, and you’ll regret it.”

Rurik grinned at him, but there was no genuine humor to it. “If you don’t lower your weapons, you’ll regret it. Set them on the ground now before we have to take them from you.”