Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)(80)

Girard erupted into laughter. It was a rich, honey-filled sound. "I treasure my neck too much to risk the captain of your guards wringing it."

It took me a moment to catch on. "Who, Rurik? He doesn't like Shaya...not that way, at least. She's too, I don't know, refined. He only goes after trashy kitchen girls."

Girard merely shrugged.

"I'm serious!" I wasn't sure why this astounded me so much. "They might seem close, but it's because they work together. They're just friends."

Girard flashed another grin. "Didn't you just hear what I said about men and women being friends?" He dared a wink and bowed again. "Until tomorrow, your majesty."

I watched him go, that flamboyant red cape swirling around him. I was still in disbelief. Shaya and Rurik? No, it was ridiculous. I was certain she had no interest in him, and if he did want her, it was only for the same cheap reasons he wanted any woman. She was too smart for that.

"You give my lord gifts yet still claim no interest."

I turned and saw Ysabel standing near a corner in the hall. She'd apparently overheard my conversation with Girard. Did this woman have nothing to do except lurk in halls and wait for me? "He's done a lot of favors for me lately. It's the only way I can really repay him."

"No doubt there are other ways you could repay him," she said snidely.

I started to give the "friends" line but had already had enough of that with Girard. "Please, I don't want to go through this same old song and dance. And you know, we both fulfilled our side of the deal with Dorian. I let you teach me. You're free. He's coming here tomorrow to help with the demon problem. Go home with him afterward."

Those big blue eyes widened in surprise. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you let me go?"

"Because you don't want to be here. You gave me the foundation of what I need to know, and I've been building on it pretty quickly." With a shiver, I recalled how I'd nearly suffocated that gentry in my yard. That had been intentional. I had no accident excuses as I'd had with her. It was probably something I shouldn't mention to her quite yet. As it was, she looked troubled enough.

"Yes...you have learned quickly. The magic burns so strongly in you, I don't think it needs much of an excuse to burst out. You really are like Storm King."

"Did you know him?" I asked curiously. I was always conflicted on hearing about him. Part of me wanted nothing to do with him, yet the other part longed to know more.

"I wouldn't say 'know,'" she mused. "My father was one of his bodyguards, so I saw Storm King a few times. He was...terrifying. Terrifying and awe-inspiring." She tried to hide her fear but shuddered anyway.

"From what I hear, that's the reaction most people have." Kiyo too had seen Storm King in his youth, and I'd once had a flashback of my own brief meeting with my father.

"The power you try to summon...he was able to bring it about in a heartbeat. He had only to think about a storm and the world would tremble with its force."

"Well, I guess everyone can rest easy. I'm a long ways from that."

"Do you know why?" she asked.

"Practice?"

She shook her head and pursed her lips. "Because for all your titles and regard and impressive use of magic so far...you are still human in your heart." Human, by her tone, was a very ugly thing to be.

"Not according to my stepfather." It didn't seem like I'd ever fit anyone's expectations.

"You think like one. You want to divide everything up logically. The way you approach magic, it's very...scientific." Not a word gentry used very often. "You treat it coldly. You parcel up each fragment of air and categorize it. Magic requires control, yes, but at its heart, it is tied to your emotions. You said you'd summoned lightning accidentally. What was going on?"

"I was scared." It had also happened, I realized, when I was aroused. "And, um, excited."

"You were lost in your emotions, and the power seized you. But you'll never be able to do that regularly, never by choice. You repress your emotions. You don't give in to them." Her smile turned triumphant. "And that is why my lord will never love you like he does me."

Of course. I should have known there was a barb waiting at the end of this lesson. I wondered what she'd think if she knew her lord had been pretty willing to love me up yesterday.

"Well, thanks for the pep talk, but I'm going to my room now. I meant what I said. Go with Dorian tomorrow and love him as much as you want. I'll carry on without you somehow." No point in hiding the sarcasm I felt.

Ysabel gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. "You're presuming you'll come back."

I jerked around and gave her a sharp look. "Are you threatening me?"

"Certainly not. I have nothing to do with your adventure tomorrow. But you're going to face demons. Anything can happen. And if you don't return, I won't weep."

Great. Nothing like a good omen to go into battle with.




I woke up the next morning, lying on top of my covers, with sunlight streaming in through the eastern windows. It was barely sunrise, but already the air was warming up. It was, as the saying went, going to be a hot one. If I truly was connected with the land, I wondered what a heat wave said about my mood. Was it indicative of my preparedness for battle?