Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)(55)

I sighed. "Why does everyone say that? I love Kiyo. We're together. We're going to be together for a very long time."

Leith's earlier joy was rapidly giving way to distress. "But...I mean, with my background and the way we get along, we're a perfect match. Admit it: you are usually happy to see me."

"Of course I am. But that's because I want to be your friend, not encourage you romantically. I like you-like hanging out with you. But that's it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I led you on."

"It has to be more than friendship. I know it is for me." He sighed. "I've never been able to talk to someone so easily. It feels natural."

"That's because you guys always make everything so...exaggerated. There are probably a dozen girls you could sit down with and have great conversations with if you just got rid of the formality."

"No." The grief on his face was killing me. "It's something about you. I just can't help it. I'm falling more and more in love with you every day."

"You barely know me! You can't love me."

"I do," he said in a low voice, and some of that glowing passion returned. "From the moment I saw you. Mother had said you'd be a suitable match politically, but even if that weren't true, I'd still love you. I've never met anyone like you, Eugenie. So brave and beautiful...I'd want to be with you even if we weren't ruling a kingdom together."

"Leith," I said, trying hard to make my voice stern. God-dammit. Why couldn't he have been an annoying jerk like most of my other would-be suitors? Why did he have to be a nice guy? With great effort, I tried to let him down easy instead of in my usual harsh way. "I meant it: I like you. But that's it. I value your help and your friendship, but I'm not leaving Kiyo."

"But I love you." It was weak and plaintive.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

His face fell, and he turned away, wrapped in despair. He started to walk toward the door and then abruptly turned, eyes alight once more. "If things end between you and the kitsune...then I'd be next in line, right?"

"Next in line? Er, well..." Why couldn't I just lie and say yes? Or why not use a "I don't want to ruin our friendship" kind of crap line? "I don't think so, Leith. I just don't think I could ever feel that way about you."

Leith stared at me wide-eyed for several moments, and then at last, his features tightened. "I see. I'm sorry to have taken your time, your majesty. Your workers in Westoria understand my task and should no longer require my help." He gave a small, polite bow and then hurried out the door.

"Leith..." I took a few steps forward, my stomach sinking. I felt horrible. I knew he'd had a crush on me, but I hadn't thought it was much more than the usual Otherworldly attractions I experienced. His face at the end there had broken my heart. I hadn't wanted to hurt him, particularly after all he'd done for me.

Dejected, I returned to my bedroom and ordered wine sent up. It arrived in a jewel-encrusted pitcher, complete with a heavy golden goblet. Had to love gentry room service. I declined any requests to see anyone until Kiyo arrived. I sat down on the floor, leaning against the bed and wondering how much of the wine I could get through before he arrived.

To my surprise, all of it.

I had no clock there but was pretty sure more than two hours had passed. I'd drunk goblet after goblet, thinking about Jasmine, Leith, and Art-and finding no resolution for any of them. I was staring at the bottom of the empty pitcher, pondering the time, when I heard a soft knock at my door. Finally!

I stood up and felt the world sway around me. I gripped the bed for support. "Kiyo?" But it wasn't him. It was Shaya.

Like Rurik, she'd dropped a lot of formalities and didn't bother with a curtsey. Her face was troubled, and I saw her clever eyes assess me and my drunkenness in a matter of seconds. "I'm sorry to bother you...but a messenger just arrived from the Willow Land."

The anger I'd been kindling against Kiyo's tardiness ran cold. "Oh my God. Is he okay?"

Shaya hesitated and then gave a swift nod. "As far as I know, he's fine. It's Queen Maiwenn everyone's concerned about...she's gone into labor."




I stood there for several long seconds, staring at Shaya but not really seeing her.

"Thank you," I said at last, my voice unnaturally flat even to me.

She hesitated, eyes worried. "Is there...is there anything I can get for you?"

More wine, I thought. But I shook my head. Wine suddenly didn't seem strong enough. I wanted to go home just then and raid my liquor cabinet, seeking solace in my own home and its bed, not this godforsaken Dark Ages fortress. The wine was going to make transitioning between the worlds harder, though. It wasn't impossible but would hardly be as smooth as usual. No, it seemed I might be stuck here for a while.

"I need to see Volusian," I said.

She stepped aside for me, and though I didn't ask for it, she followed me solicitously as I headed downstairs, down to the keep's dungeon. It seemed darker and drearier than it had last time, but maybe that was the wine. Jasmine's cell was easy to spot because four guards stood in the hall outside it. I reached it, and through the bars, I saw Volusian standing in one corner, perfectly still, with his arms crossed over his chest. Jasmine sat as absolutely far from him as she could, her face equal parts fear and sullenness.