He waved dismissively toward the door. “Oh, yes. We found them right away. I just like making them wait. Like I always say, the more you can unsettle someone, the better.”
“Oh? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that,” I remarked.
He flashed me a smile. “That’s because I’m usually practicing it on you, my dear.” Jasmine rolled her eyes, and he turned toward a sentry waiting near the room’s entrance. “All right. Go fetch them.”
The brief levity faded, and dresses and robes suddenly seemed irrelevant compared to what we had to contend with. I couldn’t believe Pagiel was back in the human world. Worse, before Roland had left, he’d told me that Pagiel’s range had actually expanded last time. He’d been spotted in New Mexico too.
Ysabel and Edria were soon ushered in, with an unhappy-looking Ansonia. Much like before, I got the impression she’d been dragged along against her will. Her mother and grandmother displayed an interesting mix of emotions. Irritation, fear, and ... a trace of guilt.
“Goddamn it,” I said, not even letting Dorian start whatever grand, intimidating speech he had planned. “You guys do know. You’ve known for a while.”
Ysabel gave me a tight smile. Her lips were painted as red as her hair today. “I beg your pardon? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The fact that she was being polite convinced me even more that she was lying.
“Before you say another word,” said Dorian, with a terrifying look I’d rarely seen him wear, “you will show the proper respect to me and Queen Eugenie. The lot of you have gotten lazy and disrespectful in your time here, and you’ll be lucky if I just turn you out and don’t imprison you for treason.”
Ysabel’s smile vanished, and she and the others quickly dropped into the lowest, most respectful curtsies I’d ever seen.
“Your Majesty,” said Edria. “I don’t understand this talk of treason. We are your most loyal subjects, and you need only ask us to serve.”
Dorian rose to his feet and stormed over to Edria, leaning only a few inches from her face. “If you were my ‘most loyal servant,’ you would’ve told me immediately that Pagiel had resumed raiding humans! Now. Where is he? And I warn you, I’ll know if you lie, so save yourselves while you can.”
Ansonia was guileless and wide-eyed and probably would have spilled whatever she knew then and there. Ysabel and Edria were a different story, and I could practically see the wheels spinning in their heads as they tried to figure out what strategy would get them in the least trouble.
“We thought Your Majesty approved of such actions,” said Ysabel at last, apparently deciding truth mingled with faux ignorance was the way to go. “After all, you’ve always spoken out in favor of Storm King’s prophecy. We didn’t tell you, simply because we thought it didn’t matter. We certainly weren’t trying to hide anything.”
Dorian had backed off and returned to his chair. “Yes, I’m sure that’s all there was to it.”
“You never answered the other question,” I pointed out. “Where is Pagiel now?”
“We don’t know.” Belatedly, Ysabel added, “Your Majesty.”
“Ysabel ...” warned Dorian.
She blanched. “It’s the truth, sire. We’ve hardly seen him since he returned from the Yew Land. He comes back every so often from the human world to distribute his goods—only to those in need, I assure you—but otherwise, I don’t know where he stays. Perhaps here, perhaps there.”
I weighed the truth in her words and knew Dorian was doing the same. Studying all their faces, I actually believed Ysabel was being honest. She really didn’t know where Pagiel was. Perhaps that was intentional on his part. Plausible deniability.
Dorian’s voice was very, very quiet when he spoke, which added a surprisingly menacing feel. “If he makes contact, you are to let me know immediately. If he actually surfaces, you will alert my guards and restrain him until they can seize him.”
“Restrain him?” exclaimed Ysabel. “He’s my son! And to be frank ... I’m not sure any of us could restrain him. He ... he’s far more powerful than we are, Your Majesty.” She actually sounded uneasy about that.
I wouldn’t have believed her if I hadn’t seen Pagiel in action myself. He’d grown much stronger in the time I’d known him, partially thanks to me since I’d helped him better his magic in our travels. I hadn’t asked Roland much about the dust storms in Arizona, but I knew how large that type could grow. That was serious magic.
“Nonetheless,” said Dorian, “you will do what you can. Is this understood?”
Ysabel and Ansonia murmured assent. Edria cleared her throat. “It is understood, Your Majesty ... but begging your pardon, may I ask why this is so troubling to you? What do you care for humans? You know they took our world. They have much while we have little. Pagiel is only doing what many—including yourself—think we deserve. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with it, so I’m just having trouble understanding your commands, sire.”
Dorian hesitated only a moment before answering, his eyes flicking briefly to me. “You don’t need to understand my commands. You simply need to obey them. Now. Is there anything else that you have to tell us about Pagiel—aside from your justifications? Any idea of his plans? Who his followers are?”
They swore they knew nothing of his plans but did give us a list of several accomplices. Dorian dispatched a guard to find them, though none of us were optimistic about the success of that. After a few more threats and warnings, he sent the family away. Once we were alone again, his fierce countenance faded and he leaned back with a sigh.
“By the gods,” he muttered. “What a mess.”
“Ansonia knows something,” said Jasmine. It was the first time she’d spoken since before the audience. “I can see it.”
“She definitely looked scared out of her mind,” I agreed. “No surprise with that group. They sure do push her around a lot.”
“It’s more than that,” Jasmine said. “I swear, there was something she wasn’t telling us. I have really good intuition, you know.”
I hadn’t known that but didn’t push it. “I can believe that she doesn’t know where Pagiel is,” I said. “And that’s our biggest issue right now. I’ll go back to Tucson tomorrow and see what I can uncover there. You want to go?”
Jasmine shook her head, still lost in her own thoughts. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll let you know.”
Dorian could hardly resist the opportunity to show us off at dinner. We were gentry celebrities and dressed up to boot. Dinnertime at his castle was always a huge affair, a big party in the dining hall. His court liked the novelty of having other royalty around and was too excited by their own boisterous celebrating to notice the three of us just weren’t into the festive atmosphere. Jasmine left early, and Dorian and I followed shortly thereafter, going to his rooms so we could debrief the Pagiel situation in private.
“You don’t want to go with me, do you?” I asked him, settling down at a little table. I was reminded of that dinner he’d arranged for me ages ago, the one with the Milky Way cake.
He poured wine for both of us, the first alcohol I’d had since the twins. “In theory, yes. But I’m not too proud to admit I can’t function in that world as efficiently as I’d like.” Dorian was strong enough to cross over intact, but he suffered the same adverse reactions to technology as most gentry. “I trust you and Roland can deal with the situation initially. I’ll deal with Pagiel when you get him back here.”
I sipped the wine. It was fruity and strong, reminding me that I should probably exercise caution since I was out of practice. Then again, if ever there was a time to drink, it was now. “Why are you helping me?” I asked after taking another gulp. “I mean, I know you help me all the time, but Edria had a point. Why are you helping me with this? You’ve never had any qualms about invading the human world. You still call Isaac Thundro and talk about him conquering humanity.”
“Thundro really is an excellent name.” Dorian drank some of his own wine, composing his thoughts. “As for the why? It’s simple. You don’t want Pagiel raiding that world.”
I waited for more. Nothing came. “That’s it?”
“What more is there?”
“I ... I don’t know. It’s just ... it’s just hard for me to believe.” I downed my glass of wine, hoping to hide how flustered I felt. I actually could feel the start of a buzz, driving home that I really had lost my tolerance. I used to take down half bottles of tequila. With as confused as I was, the buzz was welcome. Once, Dorian offering to do something for me would have made me suspicious of ulterior motives. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
Dorian set down his goblet and walked over to me, surprising me by kneeling so that he looked up at my face. “I told you earlier. What wouldn’t I do for you? I don’t know what else I can say to convince you. I’ve tried to make amends for the Iron Crown, Eugenie. I guess I’ve failed.”
My heart lurched, and I sank to the ground beside him. I caught hold of his hands. “No, you haven’t. It’s not your problem anymore. It’s mine. I’m the one who has to get over the past and start trusting again.”
He ran his fingers over mine. “With everything that’s happened to you, I don’t blame you for not trusting anyone.”
“I trust lots of people,” I said. A memory of this afternoon came to me, and traitorous lust coursed through my body. “Including you.”
I brought my lips to his and was flooded with that warmth and sweetness from earlier, that sense that Dorian and I belonged together. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me so that I practically sat on his lap. I increased the intensity of the kiss, nipping his lip with my teeth. He responded in kind, reaching up to grab my hair and jerk my head back so that he could bring his hungry mouth down to my throat. I wondered if I’d have marks there tomorrow but didn’t really care one way or another.