Thorn Queen. Richelle Mead

it’d be awhile before he changed back. He had the ability to transform to a wide range of foxes, everything from a small, normal-sized red fox to the powerful shape before me. When he spent awhile in this bigger form, turning human again took more effort and time.

      Still, hoping he’d transform soon, I dumped another puzzle on my desk and worked it as I waited. Two hours later, nothing had changed. He curled up in a corner, wrapping his body in a tight ball. His eyes continued to watch me. Exhausted, I gave up on him and put on a red nightgown. Turning off the lights, I finally slipped into my bed, falling asleep instantly for a change.

      As I slept, I dreamed about the Otherworld, particularly a piece of it that bore a striking resemblance to Tucson and the Sonora Desert surrounding us. Only, the Otherworldly version was better. An almost heavenly Tucson, warmed by bright sunshine and ablaze with flowering cacti. This was a common dream for me, one that often left me yearning for that land in the morning. I always tried my best to ignore the impulse.

      A couple hours later, I woke up. A warm, muscled body had slid into bed with me, pressing against my back. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Kiyo’s scent, dark and musky, washed over me. A liquid feeling burned inside of me at his touch. Roughly, he turned me toward him. His lips consumed me in a crushing kiss, blazing with intensity and need.

      “Eugenie,” he growled, once he’d paused long enough to remove his lips—just barely—from mine. “I’ve missed you. Oh God, I’ve missed you. I’ve needed you.”

      He kissed me again, conveying that need as his hands ravaged my body. My own hands slid along the smooth perfection of his bare skin, awakening my desire. There was no gentleness between us tonight, only a feral passion as he moved on top of me, his body pushing into mine with a need fueled as much by animal instinct as by love. He had not, I realized, completely regained his human senses, no matter his shape.

      When I woke up in the morning, my bed was empty. Across the room, Kiyo pulled on jeans, meeting my eyes as though he had some sixth sense that I was awake. I rolled over on my side, the sheets gliding against my naked skin. Watching him with a lazy, satisfied languor, I admired his body and the sexy features gifted to him by Japanese and Hispanic heritage. His tanned body and black hair stood in stark contrast to the light skin and reddish hair my northern European ancestors had given me.

      “Are you leaving?” I asked. My heart, having leapt at his presence last night, suddenly sank.

      “I have to go back,” he said, straightening out a dark green T-shirt. He ran an absentminded hand through his chin-length hair. “You know I do.”

      “Yeah,” I said, my voice sharper than I’d intended. “Of course you do.”

      His eyes narrowed. “Please don’t start that,” he said quietly. “I have to do this.”

      “Sorry. Somehow I just can’t get all that excited about another woman having your baby.”

      There it was. The issue that always hung over us.

      He sat down beside me on the bed, dark eyes serious and level. “Well, I’m excited. I’d like to think you could support me in that and be happy for me.”

      Troubled, I looked away. “I am happy for you. I want you to be happy…it’s just, you know, it’s hard.”

      “I know.” He leaned over me, sliding his hand up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair.

      “You’ve spent more time with her in the last week than with me.”

      “It’s a necessity. It’s almost time.”

      “I know,” I repeated. I knew my jealousy was unwarranted. Petty, even. I wanted to share his happiness at having a child, but something in me prevented it.

      “Eugenie, I love you. It’s that simple. That’s all there is to it.”

      “You love her too.”

      “Yes, but not in the way I love you.”

      He kissed me with a gentleness very different from the roughness of last night. I melted against him. The kiss grew stronger, filling with ardor. With great reluctance, he finally pulled away. I could see the longing in his eyes. He wanted to have sex again. That said something for my charms, I guessed.

      His responsible inclinations winning out, he straightened and stood up. I stayed where I was.

      “Will I see you there?” he asked, voice even and neutral.

      I sighed. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

      He smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

      I nodded.

      He went to the door and looked back at me. “I love you.” The heat in his voice told me he truly meant it. I smiled back.

      “I love you too.”

      He left, and I pulled the sheets more tightly against me and made no motions to get up. I couldn’t stay in bed all day, unfortunately. Other things—like my promise to Kiyo—demanded my attention today. There was a trip to the Otherworld ahead of me, one that would take me to a kingdom I’d reluctantly inherited. You see, Maiwenn wasn’t the only Otherworldly queen in Kiyo’s life.

      Yet, astonishingly, that wasn’t the problem for me today. That was easy compared to what else lay in store for me.

      I had to go to a gentry baby shower.

      Chapter Two

      Crossing over to the Otherworld is easier for me than most people but still requires a bit of work. Once I’d packed up what I needed, I had to drive to Saguaro National Park and hike out to a remote corner of it. Here, two very faint trails intersected in a crossroads—a common marker for gates to the Otherworld. It and the human world lie very close to each other, and certain spots between the two are thinner. Of course, even a thin spot like this wouldn’t always be enough for some people to make the journey in their own bodies. They might end up going in spirit or an elemental form. But me? I bore the blood of humans and of the gentry. I could therefore travel both worlds with ease, though my gentry heritage still unnerved me. It was only a recent discovery, one I had trouble coming to terms with.

      Standing at the crossroads, I closed my eyes, slipping into a trance very similar to the one I used to banish the spirit yesterday. A tattoo of a greenish snake coiled around one of my arms in tribute to Hecate, the goddess who guarded transitions and chthonic magic. Invoking her, drawing on her power, I stretched my body beyond this world. A moment later, I stood in the Otherworld. In a castle. A castle that belonged to me.

      I recovered myself quickly since crossover side effects almost never bothered me anymore. The room I stood in was a small sitting room, sparsely furnished. In the center of it was a rabbit paperweight, white resin with little blue flowers. It was silly, but that rabbit was imbued with my essence, meaning when I crossed over from Saguaro National Park—or any other crossroads of my choice—my body would travel to this spot rather than to some remote place.

      Footsteps sounded on the outside hallway’s stone floor. A moment later, a bright-eyed young woman with long blond hair peered inside. Her face split into a wide grin when she saw me.

      “Your majesty,” she breathed, delighted. Turning back around, she yelled down the hall. “The queen! The queen is here!”

      I winced. Man, I wished I could come here without all the hype. Bad enough I had to come here at all.

      Her proclamation made, Nia ran up to me, squeezing my hand. She was one of my servants. I guess you’d call her my lady-in-waiting since she was responsible for my appearance most of the time. “Everything’s ready to go to the Willow Land,” she told me. “I’ve picked out an amazing gown for you.”

      I shook my head, reaching into the backpack I almost always lugged around. The gentry favored heavy brocades and other elaborateness in their fashion. I wasn’t up for any of that today. “I brought my own.”

      She