Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)(34)

By then, Kiyo's hands had moved back to my hips, steadying himself so that he could push even harder. With all that force, it was a struggle to continue bending and not simply get pressed flat against the wall. Then, I felt his body grow tense and knew he was about to come. He made a guttural, primal sound, his thrusts growing long and deep as he came and let his own orgasm explode within me. He pressed his face against my shoulder, his motions gradually slowing down as his body sated itself.

When he was done, he slid his hands from my hips to my shoulders, turning me around and pulling me toward him. We wrapped our arms around each other, gasping as we leaned against the wall. He said nothing but gently kissed my cheek. I smiled, pushing closer to him and drowning in the scent of his sweat and skin.

"Worth enduring the poetry reading?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "Definitely."

The phone woke me up the next morning. Kiyo dozed naked beside me in bed, and I had to practically crawl over him to reach my cell. It was Roland.

"I found out about your crossroads. It crosses over to a town in Texas called Yellow River."

"Texas, huh?" That was unexpected.

"Yep. And there are two shamans who live there already to keep an eye on it."

"Two?" There weren't really that many in our profession. We were spread thin, so more than one in a region (aside from a father-and-daughter team like Roland and me) was surprising.

"It's apparently a big gate. Doesn't take much power or effort to cross through it, so it needs a lot of attention."

Interesting. Crossroads varied in accessibility. Most required more power than the average human or even gentry could use, fortunately. On certain days of the year-like Beltane and Samhain-areas between our worlds grew thin, making it easier for crossings. Those were dangerous times that kept Roland and me busy. A gateway that was usable the rest of the year was even more dangerous.

But, if it was easily accessible, then it wouldn't be too difficult for these girls to cross and seek out humans to father their children. The whole thought made me squirm. A generation of half-Texan, half-gentry kids. God help us all.

"Eugenie?" asked Roland warily. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I need the names of those shamans."

He still seemed troubled at my involvement, but I think he felt better about me getting in touch with others-particularly others who were human. He pushed me a little about what was going on, but I still refused to talk about it. After much thanks on my part for the information, we finally disconnected.

Kiyo had climbed out of bed during the call and was in the shower. As I waited for him, I wondered how I should proceed. Presumably, I should contact these shamans and see if they'd noticed a recent influx of gentry girls. If I could confirm that, it'd ease my worry about bandits (or monsters) kidnapping them, even though it still left the moral dilemma of whether I should be kicking those girls back to their own world.

A drop in temperature and a prickling of my skin signaled Volusian's sudden arrival. He materialized in the darkest corner of my room, expression as sullen and malevolent as usual.

"Well, this is a treat," I said. "I do so love seeing your cheery face in the morning. What's up?" When I'd left the Otherworld last time, I'd kept Volusian on standing orders to ferry any messages over to me. My joking aside, I wasn't overly thrilled to see him because I knew it meant there was something I had to deal with.

"The hulking imbecile who commands my mistress's guards has requested her presence," said Volusian.

"Do you mean Rurik?"

"Yes, unless my mistress has appointed another hulking imbecile to command her guards."

"Did he say why?" If it had been more trade business, Shaya would have been the one to ask for me.

"He wished to tell you that one of the missing girls returned."

"What?"

I sprang out of bed and hastily threw on some clothes. Kiyo returned to the room, astonishingly sexy with wet hair, and gave me a surprised look. "What's up?"

"I got a lead on one of the girls. You want to come with me?"

He shook his head. He held up his white coat. "Can't. I've got to work."

I was disappointed. I would have liked to have him with me, but that petty part inside of me felt better about him working than hanging out with Maiwenn again. So, we made our good-byes, parting with a long kiss-a really long kiss. When we finally dragged ourselves away from each other, Volusian looked as though he wouldn't have minded being smote out of existence.

I sent him on ahead of me and then crossed over shortly thereafter. Nia as usual fell all over herself, but I had to politely dismiss her in my eagerness to find Rurik. He was sitting with Shaya in the parlor adjacent to her room, deep in conversation. Both sprang up when they saw me.

"Your majesty," intoned Shaya politely.

"Where is she?" I exclaimed. "The girl. I want to talk to her and get this settled."

Rurik grimaced. "Ah. About that."

"What's wrong? Volusian said you found her."

"Well, we did, in a manner of speaking. It was the girl from Westoria-the one whose parents spoke to you. She surfaced last night in the village, hysterical and going on and on about how she escaped and how horrible it all was."

"There really was a monster?" I said, surprised. "Or did she escape from the bandits?" I still hadn't ruled out their involvement.