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“Shortly after our return from the Yew Land, Pagiel left to visit the village he’d grown up in, on the far edge of my kingdom,” said Dorian thoughtfully. “You knew he lived out there before Ysabel dragged him to my court, right? He was worried that those villagers hadn’t fared as well as the people in my castle during the blight and wanted to help them rebuild. I haven’t heard from him since and just assumed he was preoccupied with the rebuilding. ”
My guards were still hovering around, waiting for orders. I gestured to one of them. “Go find the Lady Jasmine and bring her here. ” When he was gone, I turned back to Roland and Dorian. “There must be some mistake. Pagiel wouldn’t do this. ”
“He did it before,” pointed out Roland.
“Yeah, when the land was blighted and his people were starving,” I countered. “Everything’s fixed now. ”
“Well,” said Dorian reasonably, “not everything. None of us are in quite the same shape with food as we were before. My people will be eating leanly for a while, and I assume the same is true with yours. ”
Roland glanced between us. “Leanly enough that the boy might get it into his head to do a little supplementing from the human world?”
I started to deny it but reconsidered. As Roland had said, Pagiel had done all this before. Maybe the Oak Land wasn’t in the same dire situation, but those Pagiel cared about were still suffering. Pagiel had made it perfectly clear he thought humans were overweight and had too much—which was true to a certain extent. Really, his feelings on the matter had never changed. He’d only stopped his actions because I’d brought him with me to the Yew Land.
Jasmine joined us shortly thereafter, not looking thrilled that she’d been summoned by a guard. Her face brightened when she saw Roland since he usually brought her little luxuries from the human world.
“Jasmine, when was the last time you talked to Pagiel?”
She looked startled by my harsh tone. “Uh, I don’t know. Not since we all got back. He was supposed to get in touch but never did. ”
“You mean that?” I demanded. “You’re telling the truth?”
Hurt shone on her face, and a bit of that old dark temperament leaked through. As our relationship had grown, we’d established a lot of trust, and me asking a question like that was insulting.
“I’m sorry,” I said before she could answer. “I don’t mean to accuse you of lying. I just need to be sure you don’t know anything that’s going on with him. ”
“I’m sure,” she said, looking slightly pacified. A note of bitterness laced her next words. “I wish I had heard from him. I don’t know what his problem is. ”
“From the sounds of it,” I said, “he may actually have a few problems. ”
We told her what had happened, and I studied her face carefully as she listened. Her shock was genuine; she’d been telling the truth. Unlike me, however, her initial response wasn’t a denial or insistence that there was a mistake.
“He talked about it a lot,” she said with dismay. “While we were on the road. All about the wealth humans had and how it was our legacy—you know, from when the shining ones walked the earth. He never wanted to hurt anyone, but he didn’t think it was right that we’re denied the surplus in that world. ”
“A classic Storm King sympathizer,” mused Dorian. “No wonder he was so eager to serve you, Eugenie. ”
I made a face, not liking the implications. “He’s a confused boy, caught up in propaganda and stories of greatness he hears from others. And, unfortunately, he’s also a boy who can easily cross worlds. ”
“He’s not bad,” exclaimed Jasmine. “Or evil. Or even . . . stupid. He just wants to help people, that’s all. He had to take care of his family growing up, you know. His dad died early, and the only person around to help his mom was that witchy grandmother of theirs. He had to be the man in his family. No one else would do it. ”
Dorian gave her a kind smile. “Easy, there. No one’s doubting Pagiel’s bravery or devotion. I’ve heard a little about his early years too and can understand why he’d have some of these beliefs. That doesn’t make them right, however. ”
I shot Dorian a questioning look. I don’t know if he just didn’t see me or if he was ignoring me, but he kept his attention on Jasmine. Before, Dorian had been rather blasé about Pagiel’s raids, and I’d kind of expected more of the same this time. I let it go because honestly, it was kind of nice to have him on my side.
“Speaking of his family life,” I said, “that’s the place to start. We need to find him, and I have a feeling he’s lying low in whichever world he’s in. Ysabel and Edria might know where he’s at. ”
“And I know where they’re at since I saw them just before I left,” replied Dorian. His forehead wrinkled with a frown. “Which brings up the disturbing realization that they’ve probably known about this and weren’t telling me. ” Dorian’s seemingly carefree attitude often fooled people into thinking he was a lax ruler. He wasn’t. He didn’t like having his authority undermined or people keeping secrets from him.
“I’ll go back with you to talk to them,” I said. Leaving my kingdoms wasn’t easy, and the only reason I’d imagined doing it had been because of Isaac and Ivy. A trip to the Oak Land to investigate the return of Pagiel’s Robin Hood ways had never been on the table. I turned to Roland. “You want to go?”
He shook his head. “You two are better suited for that. I’ll go back and do damage control if they strike again. There’s no real predicting where they’ll be, though, and I’m usually too late. If I do find them . . . ” He hesitated and studied me carefully. “What would you like me to do?”
I grimaced, but it was a question that had to be addressed. “Ideally, banish them to this world. If something happens . . . I mean, if there are innocent human lives in danger . . . ”
I couldn’t finish, but Roland gave a curt nod. “Understood. I’ll do what I can. ”
We all made preparations to leave that day. My kingdoms were back in capable hands, and it was a relatively simple affair to head over to Dorian’s—especially now that I wasn’t under the constant threat of attack. Traveling to the Yew Land had made me a pro at horseback riding, and I felt pretty confident my body had returned to its former state. Thinking of that made me think of making out with Dorian earlier. Yeah. My body was definitely recovered. Watch it, Eugenie, an inner voice warned me. Look what happened the last time you did that. Besides, aren’t you mad at Dorian?
Watching him sidelong as we traveled, I really didn’t think I was anymore. My feelings for him were muddled, and I was glad that he was too preoccupied with Ysabel and Edria’s deceit to pay much attention to my pensiveness.
When we arrived, I saw that the Oak Land was well on its way to healing too. Most startling was how green everything was. It was the first time (aside from the blight) that I’d seen Dorian’s land not in the throes of a magical autumn. Instead, all the plants and trees bore the look of late summer, green and bursting with fruit.
I received a lot of curious glances from his staff as we entered the castle. I was well known to them, and the ups and downs of our alliance and romance had been a source of gossip that rivaled Hollywood starlets. People never knew what to expect when Dorian and I surfaced together. This was no exception.
He was all business and ordered his guards to bring Pagiel’s family to one of his receiving chambers immediately. Before Dorian left for his own rooms, he gave me a once-over. “Damn. Should have had you bring a dress. ”
“What’s wrong with this?” I asked, gesturing to my jeans and Peter Frampton T-shirt.
“Nothing really,” he said with a small smile. “As always, I like the view of your legs. But I think it’d be better if we carried the weight of our full royal status when staring down Ysabel and Edria. You, come here. ” A servant passed by and immediately came to a halt at Dorian’s command. “Take the Queen of Rowan and Thorn to someone who ca
n dress her properly. Then bring her to the east room when she’s ready. ”
“What about me?” grumbled Jasmine as she and I followed the servant. “He doesn’t care how I look, apparently. ”
I patted her back. “You’re already in gentry clothes. Besides, if you want something nicer, I’m sure they can rustle a dress up. ”
We were escorted to a group of maidservants who were all too eager to dress Jasmine and me. I didn’t know if they were in the service of some noblewoman in Dorian’s court or if he just always kept them on hand to beautify women passing through. I decided it wasn’t worth pondering too much.
I traded my jeans and T-shirt for a long dress with a lace-up V neckline. It had short sleeves, which I preferred to the latest gentry trend in bell sleeves, and was made of a light material perfect for summer. I kept calling the color “lightish greenish,” but Jasmine and the maids kept correcting me and saying it was “celadon. ” Whatever. My hair was pinned up in a simple bun—nothing like the crazy towers of hair from the Yew Land—and I had to admit the final result was rather queenly. Jasmine wore a similar dress in dark blue.
Dorian nodded in approval when we were taken to him. “Celadon. Excellent choice. ”
He was also in regal attire. He’d traded his traveling clothes for a robe of black with silver embroidery. His attire usually consisted of pants and linen shirts, paired with rich, flamboyant cloaks. Apparently, he’d been serious about throwing around his royal status.
“That’s a badass robe,” I said as I sat down. “Dorian, Slayer of Souls. ”
“Well, I did tell you I was envious of that nickname,” he said, stretching back in an ornate armchair. “You two are lovely, as always. ”
I glanced around. “Aren’t Ysabel and Edria here yet?”