Dark Swan Bundle (24 page)

“Lady Markham,” she returned. Mild curiosity showed on her face. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thought we'd…you know, talk.”

One delicate eyebrow rose. She glanced over at the eager throng of men and turned back to me with a half-smile. “It seems like you have plenty of guests to talk to.”

“Please,” I whispered. “I know we aren't friends, but just talk to me like we are. Just for a minute. I can't stand it. I need a break. I'm so tired of hearing about how big each guy's estate is…not to mention other things.”

She laughed, the sound rich and sweet. Linking her arm through mine, she led me idly around, like we were indeed friends.

“I've heard stories about the things you've faced down. And yet, in the end, it's a group of desperate nobles who undo you.”

She allowed me a few minutes' solitude, and we talked about trivial things. As we did, I realized something: She was really funny. And intelligent. And…nice. I'd dismissed her upon our first meeting as a prissy gentry bitch, my attitude fueled partially by my capture and partially by the antagonism at dinner. But here she was, hanging out with me like any other person would, her comments both witty and astute.

“I have to go. Rurik's looking for me,” she said at last, letting go of me. She smiled again, amused and compassionate. “Put up with them a little longer. They're nothing more than a nuisance.”

I shook my head. “They're so blunt and straightforward. It's strange.” Kiyo and I had once mocked the pretenses in dating, but right now, a little less honesty had its appeal.

“Then be blunt back. If you're too nice, they'll think they have a chance and will try another time. Most now consider you a high-ranking noble; arrogance is expected. They won't think you're rude.”

I thanked her and watched her leave, just as a hand tapped my shoulder. I sighed. Time to face the wolves again.

Or fox, as it turned out.

“Hey,” I said. “Nice threads.”

Kiyo stood before me in a beautifully tailored tux, its clean black and white lines standing out in sharp contrast beside the flowing colors of the other men.

“I wore it for you. Figured you might like a change from velvet and silk. And as for you…” His smoky eyes did a quick assessment of me. “I've been hearing a lot of guys drool over your dress tonight.”

“You've been here for a while? And didn't come talk to me?”

He grinned. “You looked pretty busy.”

“Well, stay with me now. Maybe they'll leave me alone if they think I'm occupied with someone.”

We found a two-seated bench against a wall, padded with brocade-covered cushions. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. He put an arm around me.

“I wish I was out patrolling like I usually do tonight. Fighting spirits and whatnot isn't half as exhausting as this.”

“And so Tucson goes undefended, eh?”

“Roland's on it, much to my mother's dismay. I just hope I've drawn a lot of the action here instead of back there.”

We sat quietly for a while, watching the party. It reminded me of the bar. Alone but not alone. Like any other party, people were getting more drunk as the night progressed. That unabashed sexual contact popped up more and more frequently, and a number of people danced wherever they found room. They moved in graceful strides, reminiscent of ballroom styles I knew.

“I've been thinking…about last night.”

I looked up at him. “Yeah. I've thought about that a few times myself.”

“You were…I don't know. I've never seen you like that. Not that we've done it all that much, but…wow. You marked me up pretty good.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He smiled. “No. I don't think so.” His fingers brushed my chin and tipped my face up. “But what was going on? How'd a nightmare bring that on?”

I turned my face away. “It wasn't exactly a nightmare.”

“What, then?”

“Just a dream…or a memory. It was about my father. And magic.”

“What happened?”

“I…well, it's hard to explain.”

“Eugenie—”

I kept my demeanor light and playful. “Forget about it. For tonight at least, okay? It isn't the right time. We can talk later.”

He hesitated, then nodded. I moved my face closer, and he brushed his lips against my forehead, down to my cheek. I closed my eyes and sighed, luxuriating as his lips moved delicately down the side of my neck. We turned toward each other, our mouths drawn by some unseen force. And as we kissed, I forgot all about the crazy propositions tonight. There was only this. Me and Kiyo.

“No groping,” I warned, seeing his hand slyly move toward forbidden areas. “I don't care how many other people are doing it. Or how much attention we don't draw to it.”

“Then let's go somewhere private,” he murmured, trailing kisses along my shoulder.

“I can't. You know I have to leave with Dorian. Nothing's going to happen,” I added, seeing him open his mouth. “It's just for appearances. We can get together tomorrow.”

He considered and nodded. “All right. But I'm giving you a good sendoff tonight.”

He moved back, and we continued our kissing for a bit until a voice said, “The gods know I've seen some strange things in my life, but never did I expect to find a kitsune trying to make himself ruler over all of us.”

We looked up in surprise. I hadn't expected another suitor while clearly busy with Kiyo.

Aeson stood there.

I shot up, anger coursing through my body as I stared at that smug face. A heavy, bejeweled crown sat atop his brown hair, and he wore a close-fitting black satin dinner jacket.

“Don't look at me like that, Lady Markham,” he told me in a voice both pleasant and hostile. “Dorian will not protect you if you start trouble in his home, no matter how advantageous you are as a lover.”

“Fine. I'll just have to kill you somewhere else.”

“Your plan didn't work so well last time.”

“Neither did yours.”

He leered. “That dress is exquisite, you know. It outlines every part of your body beautifully.”

I crossed my arms instinctually. “Don't waste my time with compliments.”

“Just tossing in my own bid for your body, just like everyone else here.”

“Yeah? Haven't you paid attention? None of their compliments have worked either.”

“Bah. They're petty lordlings and leeches scraping for power,” he said with a sneer. “The general consensus is that you've refused everyone simply because you've yet to be approached by anyone worthy.” He cut a glance at Kiyo as he spoke.

“Or maybe because I'm with Dorian. Not that it makes any difference. I'd fuck that trowe over there before I'd go anywhere near you.”

“I think I'd like to see that, especially considering he comes to your knees.”

“If this is the part where you tell me how well-endowed you are, save it. There's nothing you can say that would get me near your bed, so just give it up and leave.”

His features hardened, a cold and sardonic smirk turning up his lips. “I suppose I can't argue with that. Not that it matters. I won't be alone tonight.”

He stepped aside, just barely, and inclined his head. I followed the motion across the room. Jasmine Delaney stood among a group of gentry nobles. She was watching us, an unreadable look on her face. A long dress, heavy with brocade and jewels, draped her slight form, and her gray eyes looked even more enormous than last time.

I clenched my fists, remembering the look on my mom's face when she described her captivity. Wil's picture of a lonely girl, lost in her fantasy world, circled around my mind. “I
will
kill you, you bastard. But first I'll make sure you beg me for it.” I sounded like Volusian.

“Eugenie,” murmured Kiyo, laying a hand on my wrist. His voice was firm and cautionary. He apparently feared I'd do something stupid. It was a good fear.

Aeson seemed unconcerned. “Those are kind of extreme measures, don't you think? Especially when there are much simpler ones.”

“Such as?”

He shrugged. “I'll turn her over to you tonight.”

“Let me guess. If I go live with you instead?”

“No such commitments. Come with me just for Beltane. One night, and both you and she walk free. Not a bad offer, especially since there are still a number of men out there plotting to carry you off for an extended period. Considering the other drivel that's approached you, you could do a lot worse. I'm powerful. Rich. Influential. A worthy consort.”

I looked Aeson up from head to toe, glanced at the still-watching Jasmine, and then turned back to him. “I think I'd rather just kill you.”

He gave me a mocking bow, face still hard. “I look forward to the attempt.” He started to walk away, then gave Kiyo a considering look. “I suppose you could pick worse men to father your child. This one's already proven he can do it.”

Aeson swept away from us and headed back to his group. Sliding a possessive arm around Jasmine, he leaned over and kissed her hard, pressing her body up against his. With the difference in their heights, he looked like he was molesting a small child—which, I supposed, he actually was. Puberty be damned.

The anger that sight inspired in me solidified into ice as I turned back around to face Kiyo. The look on his face made something inside of me curl up into a ball.

“What's he talking about?”

He started to open his mouth and then paused, apparently reconsidering what he wanted to say. My incredulity exploded.

“Kiyo! This is where you tell me he's full of shit and you have no idea what he's talking about.”

“Eugenie…” he began slowly.

“Oh, my God.” I turned around. The ice inside of me melted and made me queasy. “You have a kid you never told me about. You have a kid somewhere.”

“No. Not yet.”

I spun around. “What the hell is that supposed to—” I stopped. “Maiwenn. Maiwenn is pregnant.”

Poor Maiwenn. Poor sick and weak Maiwenn. I'd heard a number of comments made about her condition and never questioned it. It was a sign of my distraction in the last month. Gentry didn't really get sick. They could get killed in battle, die from an infected wound, or die of old age. That was about it.

Even now, looking across the room, I saw her sitting and talking with a few others. She was smiling but looked pale under her tan. The dress she wore was loose and voluminous. The one she'd worn at my house had been similar, albeit not made of silk. She wasn't currently showing off her body.

“You should've told me,” I whispered.

“Yes,” he said simply. “I should have.”

“You should have told me!” I repeated, my voice loud and strained. Most of the room's noise muffled my cry, but a few people nearby gave us curious looks.

“Shh.” Kiyo took my arm and steered us back toward the wall. “I was waiting. Things were so uncertain between us. I wanted to have a steady foundation before I told you.”

“Did you ever consider that telling me now might help that ‘steady foundation'? What happened to all the honesty rhetoric?”

“And how would you have taken it?” he asked quietly. “You've had a hard enough time knowing she and I were together at all.”

“No, I haven't.”

“Eugenie, I see it in your face whenever her name's mentioned.”

“It doesn't matter. This is big.”

He shook his head. “It happened in the past. She and I aren't together. We're friends now. You and I are together.”

“So what? You're not going to do anything with this baby because you guys aren't together anymore?”

“No! Of course not. I'll be there for the baby, and I'll support Maiwenn as much as that requires.”

“Then that's not the past,” I snapped. “That's your future.
My
future too if you were planning on being with me.”

His face turned even more sober than it had been. “You're right,” he said after several drawn-out moments. “It was wrong of me. I'm sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”

I gave a harsh laugh that bordered dangerously on being a sob. “Yeah. Everyone wants to protect me lately. My parents did too. You guys think if I don't hear bad things, then they won't exist anymore. But you know what? They
do
still exist, and I
do
end up hearing them. And I wish to God that I could have heard them from the people I love first.”

I turned and started walking away. Kiyo grabbed my shoulder. I tried to tug out of his grasp.

“Don't touch me,” I warned. “We're done here.”

“What are you saying?”

“What do you think? You think I'm going to smile and forgive all this? I can barely forgive my parents, and I've known them my whole life. I've barely known you for a month. That doesn't really count for much.”

He flinched. The hand on my shoulder dropped.

“I see,” he said stiffly, face darkening. “Then I guess we are done here.”

“Yeah.”

We stood staring at each other, and where heat once had smoldered between us, only a lonely chasm remained. I turned on my heels and stormed across the room without even knowing where I went. Eager men approached me, but I brushed past them all, apparently showing the arrogance Shaya had said was expected of me. I just couldn't face them right now.

It was too much. All of it. The crazy propositions. My so-called legacy. Aeson and Jasmine. Maiwenn and Kiyo.

Oh, God, Kiyo. Why had he done this to me? I'd tried to write him off after our first night together, and he'd made me care about him again. Now it only hurt twice as much. The words from last night came back to me.

You're mine.

Apparently not.

I stopped in the middle of the crowded ballroom floor with no clue where I was going. I'd gotten disoriented somehow and forgotten where the exit was. The throne was over there, so that meant—

“Yo, Odile. Some party, huh?”

My navigation attempts were interrupted by Finn's approach. I still hadn't adjusted to seeing him in his more humanlike Otherworldly form.

“Finn! I need you to get me out of here.”

He frowned. “You can't leave yet. Etiquette says—”

“Fuck etiquette,” I snarled. “Get me out. I want to be alone.”

His standard cheery expression faded. “Sure thing. Come on.”

He led me not toward the main doors but rather to a small doorway tucked near a corner. Delicious smells wafted out from inside. This was some sort of back way to the kitchen. A number of scurrying servants gave us startled looks as we passed through twisting corridors and banks of ovens, but Finn moved with purpose, never breaking stride. People tend not to question if they think you know where you're going.

With a flourish, he gestured me to a small alcove far from the bustle of the cooks. Hooks with cloaks and coats covered the walls, and I realized this must be where the staff had stashed their personal things. A small bench sat below the hooks.

“Good enough?” Finn asked.

“Yes. Thank you. Now go away.” I sat down and wrapped my arms around myself.

“But shouldn't I—”

“Just go, Finn.” I could hear the tears in my voice. “Please.”

He gave me a mournful, almost hurt look and then walked away.

The tears took a long time to come, and even then, they did so reluctantly. Only a couple streaked down my cheeks. I had felt helpless with the mud elemental, but this was a different kind of helplessness, one with mental, not physical, consequences.

My heart ached inside for Kiyo, and my stomach burned with fury against Aeson. Neither ailment looked to have a remedy anytime soon.

I don't know how long I sat there before Dorian came. I could only make out his shape in my periphery, but the scent of cinnamon gave him away. He sat down beside me for a long time, saying nothing. Finally, I felt his fingertip gently run along my cheek and wipe away one of the tears.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“Nothing. Not unless you'll let me break hospitality and go do some damage.”

“Ah, sweet one, if that were possible, I would have long since strangled several of my nobles, lest I be forced to listen to more of their idiotic blather.”

“What's the point of being a king, then?”

“Not sure that there is one. The food maybe.”

“You make a joke out of everything.”

“Life's too painful not to.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

We lapsed into silence until Dorian called someone's name. A moment later, a small, harried servant appeared. “Bring us some of that chocolate cake Bertha made. Two slices.” The man hurried off.

“I'm not hungry,” I mumbled.

“You will be.”

The cake arrived. It was one of those flourless kinds, so it was more like cake chocolate than chocolate cake. Raspberry sauce pooled around it. I found myself eating every bite.

“Better?” Dorian asked.

“Yeah.”

“You see? I told you it was the food.”

I set the plate on the floor and tried to give voice to an idea that had slowly been percolating in the back of my head. An idea that probably would never have dared surface had I not been so furious at Aeson and Kiyo tonight. Indeed, it was Aeson's preposterous proposal that had reminded me of it.

“Dorian?”

“Yes?”

“When we first met…you told me that if I slept with you, you'd go with me to get Jasmine. Does that offer still stand?”

The first surprised look I'd ever seen on him crossed his face. I took a certain amount of pride in realizing I'd finally caught him off-guard.

“My, my,” he said softly. “This is unexpected. So. Desperation and fury achieve what all my charms could not, hmm?”

A flush spilled over my cheeks. “Well, no…it's not like—”

“No,” he said abruptly. “The offer does not still stand.”

“But I thought—”

“I saw you fight with Aeson and the kitsune. I won't have you come to my bed out of some misguided sense of revenge on the two of them.”