Shadow Heir

“I need to talk to someone, don’t I? Aside from my little darlings here.” She paused to scratch the dogs’ chins. Both had jeweled collars and little bows on their heads. “And men have proved far too disappointing. I gave up on them years ago, except for the necessary pleasures, of course. Mostly, they bore or irritate me. I would greatly welcome smart female companionship. It’s lonely having all this power.” There was a wistful, melodramatic way to her delivery of that last line that made me want to punch her.

“Sorry if I don’t feel bad for you. It’s hard for me to muster a lot of empathy for someone who’s been responsible for so much innocent death and destruction.”

Varia laughed merrily. “Innocent? There are few who can really claim that. And what would you think if I told you that I can focus the Winter Enchantment more harshly on specific kingdoms? You find me cruel, but the enchantment as it currently stands still allows life to go on in your kingdoms.” The laughter died, and she leaned slightly forward. “I have the means to focus the spell and increase its intensity. If you liked, I could focus on the Willow Land and completely destroy it.”

I gaped. “You’d completely destroy a kingdom full of innocent people?”

“Including Queen Maiwenn,” she pointed out. “That would be terribly convenient for you. And a nice bit of revenge after all she’s done to you—she certainly hasn’t balked at hurting innocents. Why not return the favor?”

I didn’t have a great opinion of the person who’d created the blight, but this conversation was making her credibility deteriorate even more rapidly.

“There’s revenge ... and then there’s madness and cruelty,” I said. “And I would never kill off her entire kingdom for what she’s done.”

“Easy to say with your children alive and well. Still, I hope it emphasizes what a great friend I could be to you. Believe me, I really do prefer it that way. This situation only has a couple of possible outcomes for you, and you willingly signing on as my ally would be preferable to all of us.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” I said, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. “And all you’d ask in return for these friendly feats of destruction is us being pals and having a little girl time now and then.”

Varia’s lips quirked. “Well, as an important ally, I have no doubt you’d want to help me out now and then.”

Gentry wheeling and dealing. At least it was familiar territory.

“Here we go,” I said. “Let me guess. You want to help lead my son’s armies when we conquer the human world?”

“Human world?” She shook her head in amazement and looked as though she was ready to burst into laughter again. She lifted one of the dogs and peered into its face. “Did you hear that, Lady Snowington? How silly.” She returned the dog to her lap and looked back at me. “Why on earth would I care about humans when there’s plenty to entertain me here in this world? This is the world I want. The problem is, it’s such a nuisance keeping my subject kingdoms in line. Even though they surrender and allow my forces within their borders, I’m constantly having to reassert my power with dramatic shows of force. It’s very tiring.”

“How terrible for you.”

She continued, either not noticing or no longer caring about my sarcasm. “That’s the nature of the game, however ... unless I had a more permanent way to bond to all of these lands, one that would give me unbreakable authority without the constant maintenance.”

I gave a harsh laugh. “Sounds pretty easy then. Just kill off all the monarchs and take the lands’ bonds and—” My smile faded, as a terrible, sinking realization hit me. “That’s it. That’s why you want to be my ‘friend.’ You want the Iron Crown.”

Varia didn’t deny it. “It makes things so much simpler.”

What made the Iron Crown so deadly was that it broke the bond between a monarch and his or her land. As I was constantly reminded, that bond ran deep. It was tied into my life and being, and short of death or a monarch inexplicably losing power, there was no way to end that bond or pass it on. If there had been, I likely would’ve given the Thorn Land away when I first won it. Then, the discovery of the Iron Crown had changed everything. With the Iron Crown, I’d ripped away Katrice’s connection to the Rowan Land. Left unclaimed, the land had then been ripe for me to bond with it and take control.