Richelle Mead Dark Swan Bundle: Storm Born, Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned & Shadow Heir

by Richelle Mead

I immediately turned toward Jasmine and saw her writhing on the ground. Her face was contorted in pain. “It’s like ... pins and needles ... like my body’s on fire... .”

  “Damn it!” I glared at Maiwenn. Dark clouds rebuilt up above, and the wind swirled restlessly around us. The elements answered my anger. “I should’ve let it hit you! Let her go.”

  “No. You were actually wise to spare me,” Maiwenn said. “I’ve already worked the spell. Her body’s right on the edge of tearing itself apart. Only my control right now keeps it in check. Kill me, and the spell will seize hold with nothing to stop it.”

  “Damn it,” said Jasmine through clenched teeth. “Why ... am I ... always ... the hostage?” I watched her worriedly, but thus far, the spell mostly seemed about pain. She didn’t seem in danger of dying as Pagiel had just done—yet.

  “Now,” continued Maiwenn. “Please don’t make me ask again. Free Kiyo.”

  Without Pagiel’s added pressure, Kiyo had simply been trapped in my misty whirlwind. Inconvenient, but not lethal. Angry and frustrated—but out of options—I let him go. He was still in giant fox form, his fur soaked in water. His eyes assessed the situation quickly, and then he trotted over to Maiwenn’s side. She rested a hand on his head. He stayed in fox form, and I knew from past experience that the larger the fox, the longer it would take him to switch back.

  “We’re going to leave now,” said Maiwenn. “I can hold on to the spell a fair distance and will nullify it once I feel secure. If I see any sign of you following me before then, I’ll release what’s holding it back. The only good thing that will happen then is that she’ll die quickly.”

  “When did you become such a monster?” I demanded. It was hard to believe she and I had once been friends and allies. “Both of you? What you’ve done is worse than anything Pagiel could have accomplished. Even if you escape today, do you really think I’m going to let you get away with this?”

  “What will you do?” she asked, with an amusement that made me want to rip her hair out. “Declare war on my kingdom?”

  “I certainly could,” said Dorian coldly. “You’ve killed one of my subjects within my borders. That’s certainly an act of war by most people’s standards. In fact, you sent a force of armed men on my land just hours ago.”

  “Perhaps,” she agreed. “But are either of you ready to plunge yourselves into war again? None of us have the resources for that, not after the blight. And I doubt you’ll find many allies, not even from those who supported the prophecy. Pagiel thankfully hadn’t established himself enough for anyone to pursue revenge on his part.”

  “I don’t know about that,” I said. Around us, the air burned with the rising storm that had responded to my emotions. “There’s one person who would do it right now.”

  “Two,” said Dorian.

  “Three,” gasped Jasmine.

  Maiwenn smiled again. “As you wish.” She began to back up, Kiyo at her side. “Remember—any sign that we’re followed, and she dies.”

  The two disappeared into the trees. I caught hold of Jasmine’s hand and gave her as reassuring a smile as I could manage. “It’ll be over soon.” I glanced up at Dorian, and my smile disappeared. “She was bluffing, right? Her range can’t be that far. We can go after her once she releases Jasmine. If she does. She’s hardly given us reason to trust her.”

  Dorian brushed some hair out of his face. He looked weary. “No, but I think she’ll avoid another kill if she can. She had some brave words about how killing Pagiel was nothing, but she knows each offense carries consequences.”

  “Pagiel ...” I murmured.

  I looked over at where he lay near Jasmine and felt a sickening sensation in my stomach. I reached out and closed his eyes, then ran a finger over his cheek. It wasn’t fair what she’d done to him. None of this was fair. He was technically older than me in human years, but for all intents and purposes, so much younger. Young and so full of potential. He’d been thrust into a fate he hadn’t asked for, confused by what he wanted and what others expected of him. He’d been killed because of words spoken long before he was born, and now all the wonders he might have done in the world were extinguished.

  Dorian slipped an arm around me and kissed the side of my head. “I know,” he said simply.

  Jasmine suddenly gasped, like she’d been under water and could only now take a breath. “Shit,” she said, examining her arms and legs critically.

  “Better?” I asked, brushing aside my tears. It only freed up space for more.

  She nodded, but her entire face crumpled when she looked over at Pagiel. “No,” she said. “It can’t be true. Not really ...” She shook his arm, willing him to wake up, but as the truth slowly dawned on her, she burst into sobs that made my stray tears look like nothing. Moments of true affection had been rare in our relationship, but I knew then that she was young and she needed me and that I would be there for her.

  I wrapped my arms around her, and she cried into my shoulder. “It’s okay,” I told her, stroking her hair. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” I didn’t really know if that was true or not. At the moment, it seemed unlikely. But as I held her, I realized I was grateful that she was alive and still in my life. Her words about “always being the hostage” echoed in my mind, and I met Dorian’s sympathetic eyes.

  “My loved ones are always used against me,” I said softly. “Why?” It had been a recurring theme. Varia had used it to keep me in check in the Yew Land. Jasmine had been held hostage twice today. It was again one of those moments where I marveled that I could still control a storm above us and be so helpless in other situations, especially when it came to those I cared about.

  “Because that’s what heartless people do,” Dorian said. “They prey on those who love.”

  Taking Pagiel back to his family was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I couldn’t hold animosity against Ysabel and Edria, not for their bitchy personalities and not even for withholding the truth about Pagiel’s heritage. Their grief was too great, and underneath all their schemes, they were ordinary women who had loved and lost someone. I would’ve wailed and lashed out at the world too if it had been Isaac in Pagiel’s place—which it very well could have been.

  It was understandable that part of their grief would transform to rage. They wanted to blame everyone for his death, me especially. The thing was, I’d already beaten myself up over the events of that day, wondering if I could have done something differently. Dorian talked them down, finally convincing them that Maiwenn was the culprit here. The method of Pagiel’s death, gruesome as it was, was proof of that, at least. Ysabel and Edria demanded war on Maiwenn’s kingdom, but he kept his own counsel on that.

  I kept my own counsel on him. There was a lot to contend with in the aftermath of Pagiel’s death, giving me little time to talk to Dorian. I watched him a lot and found that I missed the time we’d had together. I hadn’t forgotten that he’d stood with me in the end. He’d proven himself time and time again. Now it was up to me.

  Still, the timing proved difficult. We were both always so busy. The most I was able to talk to him was the day I left for Tucson, and even that was short-lived.

  “I have to go back for a while,” I told him. “I don’t know how long. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up.”

  Dorian nodded. “I understand.”

  I glanced away. “I wanted to say ... well, thank you. Thank you for everything, for standing by me. I never should have doubted you. And I know there’s still a lot to figure out—”

  He cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. “Eugenie, Eugenie. I told you before. There’s nothing for me to figure out. I know what I want. I want you. Not just as a bedmate or war ally. I want you with me, always. I want to share the same jokes and look into your eyes when I wake up. I think someday—hopefully sooner rather than later—you’ll want this too. Until then, I’ll be here, waiting for you.”

  He gave me a light kiss, and that was our good-bye. It
left me breathless and continued to haunt me as I returned to Tucson. Even so, I still had plenty of other things to distract me. Mom and Roland and I were making plans about bringing the twins to Tucson, something that filled me with eagerness. I was anxious to see them and had little patience for all the things that needed to be done first.

  Not all of my loose ends were unpleasant, though. Although I was sure Candace and Charles would happily give us all the baby gear they’d acquired, my mom and I still spent a lot of time stocking up on our own. Those moments were some of the most peaceful I’d had, and I would spend ages in stores touching and examining baby clothes, wondering how big Ivy and Isaac had grown.

  I was at an outdoor mall one day with my mom, scoping out cribs. They’d all looked fine to me, but she’d gotten into a lengthy discussion with the salesperson, grilling him on every safety detail. I’d begged out to grab a cup of coffee, promising to return soon. I don’t think either noticed I had left. I found a coffee shop on the other side of the shopping center and had just received my latte when a familiar voice behind me said, “Eugenie.”

  I spun around so quickly that half of my coffee sloshed out. Kiyo stood before me.

  The throngs of people around us disappeared, and the focus of my world narrowed down only to him. All the anger and grief I’d felt, as well as watching others cope with their own sorrow these last couple weeks, surged up in me. Maybe Kiyo hadn’t dealt the killing blow, but he might as well have. I couldn’t believe he’d even had the audacity to cross my path. I’d figured he was smarter than that.

  “Watch it,” he warned, glancing upward. I was doing the subconscious storm thing again, and a few people had stopped to stare in amazement at the dark clouds that had literally come out of nowhere. “You don’t want to create a panic.”

  “Wouldn’t be the weirdest weather phenomenon that’s happened around here,” I said. “Neither would you being struck by lightning.”

  He smiled without humor. “You won’t do it, though. Not in this crowd.”

  He was right. I could call lightning with pretty perfect precision, but even so, we were in the thick of humanity, with people brushing past us to get where they needed. I could hit him but might inadvertently hurt someone else along the way. These aren’t even people I know or care about, I thought bitterly. But once again, my hands are tied.

  “I suppose you arranged this,” I said. “Waited for a chance to approach me in public?”

  “Yes, actually. I figured I wouldn’t get a warm reception at one of your castles.”

  “You figured right.”

  He sighed. “Eugenie ... there are a couple things I need to tell you. I debated a long time about whether I should, but ... well, I don’t know. I feel bad about what happened with Pagiel ... and everything else.”

  I had to repress the urge to slap him. “Yeah? Maybe you should’ve thought about that before your fucking girlfriend killed him!” My profanity got a few surprised glances from passersby.

  “I’m sorry it turned out that way,” he said. “But it was better for everyone.”

  I started to turn away. “Maybe I have to let you live today, but I don’t have to listen to your ‘greater good’ bullshit again.”

  “Wait, Eugenie—” He grabbed my shoulder. I immediately jerked his hand off but did come to a stop. “Please. There are two things you have to know.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Hurry up.”

  He took a deep breath. “First ... your children ... they may still be in danger.”

  “I ... what? How?” I demanded. “Isaac’s no longer part of the prophecy.”

  “Maiwenn’s not so sure. She’s afraid that maybe the prophecy will simply roll to Storm King’s next oldest grandson.”

  I couldn’t even speak right away. “Out of all the fucked-up things I’ve heard—and believe me, I’ve heard a lot—that has got to take the prize. Do you know how nuts that sounds?”

  “I didn’t say I felt that way,” he said. There was enough uncertainty in his voice to kill his credibility.

  “If you didn’t feel that way, you’d stand up to her and stop running her errands.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t abandon her. Not yet. We agree on a lot of other things, and I’m not going to go hunting your kids anytime soon. I’m just trying to warn you that others might.”

  “Again, that means little when you can sit by and still be pals with the woman who very well may hunt them,” I growled. “What’s your other ‘important’ piece of info? Is it just as crazy?”

  Kiyo look distinctly uncomfortable now. “I ... well, it depends. Yes. No. I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. “Eugenie, I should have told you this a long time ago. I don’t know why I didn’t. I mean, I had reasons ... but well, I don’t know.”

  I had no patience for this, no matter how pathetic or conflicted of a show he was putting on. “Kiyo, I’m tired of hearing about your ‘reasons’ because they all suck. Just get on with it.”

  Resolved, he gave a quick nod and rushed forward. “Eugenie ... I’m not the father of your children. Dorian is.”

  Chapter 28

  Alabama reminded me a bit of the Oak Land—or rather, the old Oak Land—when my plane touched down. Autumn had come since my last visit, bringing rain at last to the grass and shades of red and gold to the trees. It was beautiful, but I only spared it a brief thought before my mind returned to other, more pressing matters.

  Two weeks had passed since Kiyo found me at the mall. I’d lived those two weeks in a daze, reeling from what he’d told me. I hadn’t believed him at first, of course. I had stared at him in disbelief and then laughed outright. It was hard not to. His words were too ludicrous.

  “Of course you are,” I had said at last. “I didn’t sleep with anyone else around that time—I mean, except Dorian. But that was before I took the antibiotics. Then I was with you.” I wouldn’t trade Isaac and Ivy for anything, but it still bothered me that I’d gotten pregnant from the idiotic mistake of mixing antibiotics with birth control pills.

  “What was the total time span there between us?” Kiyo had asked calmly. “About a week?”

  I’d nodded. “About that.”

  “That’s enough time. Even if you weren’t fertile at that exact moment, you can still conceive shortly thereafter. Find a health book and read up on it.” His lips had quirked. “It probably mentions antibiotics in the same chapter.”

  I hadn’t liked his smirk. “Supposing that’s true, how can you know for certain that it wasn’t you instead of Dorian?”

  “Ah, well. Because I, uh, had a vasectomy.”

  That had been the moment my life transformed from a fairy tale to a daytime talk show. It wouldn’t have surprised me if the crowd around us had turned into a studio audience and a host with a microphone had appeared, ready to show us paternity results. It was too unreal. Too out there, even for me.

  Kiyo had told me the story. Shortly after Maiwenn had gotten pregnant, he’d decided to ensure there were no more unplanned pregnancies in his life. This had been particularly important while he was dating me. Our relationship had been pretty serious, and we’d both expected to be together for a long time. As much as he had wanted that then, he still couldn’t risk me accidentally begetting Storm King’s heir.

  “I can dig out medical records if you want,” he’d added. “Or I’m guessing if you just look at the kids, you won’t see much of me.”

  Yes ... I had already noticed that. I’d simply assumed the twins had taken after me, but if Dorian really was their father ... it would be hard to say whose genes were dominant, seeing as we both had red hair and pale complexions.

  “I don’t know which is the craziest part of this,” I’d told Kiyo. “That you were so adamant about birth control while we were together and never mentioned that you couldn’t have kids or that you let me think you were actually going to kill your own children!” Not that him killing someone else’s children was much better. It was horrible any wa
y you looked at it.

  “I thought ... well, Dorian was already on your side. But I thought—no, I knew—that if he found out they were his, I’d have a much harder time of getting to them.”

  No doubt. Dorian would level a city to keep his children safe. Still, the fact that Kiyo could have been sitting on a lie like this was mind-boggling.

  “Then why are you telling me now?” I had asked. “Why tell me any of these things?”

  Kiyo had shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do, especially after you helped me on the Yew Land trip. Besides, some of the pressure’s off now that the prophecy’s immediate threat is gone.”

  “Not according to your pal Maiwenn.”

  “No. And probably not in the eyes of others. Even people who don’t care about the prophecy are still scared of you, Eugenie. Those kids are leverage against you.”

  Kiyo had left shortly after that, disappearing into the throngs of oblivious shoppers. I’d let him go, both because I could do little to him in public and because I was really too stunned to react anyway. When I’d finally recovered enough of myself, I’d immediately sought out a book on pregnancy and learned he’d been telling the truth, that having sex a week before you were fertile could still result in pregnancy. I learned more about eggs and sperm than I’d ever wanted to know, but with my track record, maybe a little education wasn’t so bad.

  And so, here I was, about to see my children at long last. We were pushing nearly three months since my last visit, and some part of me half expected them to be all grown up and on their way to college. I hadn’t told anyone the news about their paternity. I was keeping that close to my heart, unsure what to do with it. It could have a lot of consequences.

  I rented a car and drove out to the country to see Candace and Charles. The little house looked the same, aside from its landscape no longer being dried and burned out. I’d given them a heads-up about my arrival, and they were practically waiting at the door when I arrived. Candace whooped with joy and barreled into me with a huge hug. Even normally reticent Charles embraced me. Evan was with them too, equally welcoming.