Thorn Queen. Richelle Mead

him. My breathing had grown heavy, and I willed it to slow down.

      He hadn’t expected that reaction. A slight widening of his eyes showed rarely expressed surprise. Leaning his face toward mine, his thumb stroked the skin on my arm while the rest of the fingers maintained their hold.

      “Just like old times, hmm? It seems you haven’t entirely lost your taste for restraint. Yet, like everything else, I’m sure you deny yourself that as well.”

      “You think so?” I asked nastily. “You should try fucking Kiyo. Lots of restraint there.”

      Amusement lit his face, contrasting with the dark desire in his eyes. “Since I’m presuming you don’t mean you finally bought him a leash, let me say simply that there is a big difference between allowing an animal to ravage you and allowing yourself to be ravaged. One is common. The other is art. It is planned. Crafted, even. Only capable of being done by a master.” His next words came out so conversationally, we might as well have been discussing the weather. “As it is, I’ve been planning out what I’d like to do the next time we make love. I think I want you to lie on your stomach, with your hands bound to the front of the bed. We’ll have to shift your hips up a bit, put you on your knees just a little, but otherwise you’ll stay prostrate, almost like you’re bowing in humble obeisance as I kneel behind you and take you.” He paused. “Unless you have other suggestions?”

      I broke from his grasp and backed up, surprised to find I was shaking.

      This was Dorian. The same dangerous, presumptuous, and scheming Dorian I’d first met months ago, no matter the sweetness and charm that poured off of him. He had no right to speak to me like that, not after I’d parted ways over his trick with the Thorn Land, not after I’d told him I wanted to stay with Kiyo.

      And yet, he had once been my friend and my teacher and my ally in battle…and my lover. And as I stood there staring at him, I could imagine everything he’d just described. I could feel it. And, God help me, I wanted it. My whole body tingled with the arousal his words wrought.

      “I have to go,” I said. It took two tries for my dry mouth to get the words out. “I have to find Shaya.”

      He inclined his head politely. “Of course.”

      I turned and walked away, but not before I heard him call after me.

      “Eugenie? Don’t forget, if you change your mind, my offer still stands. For all things.”

      I bit my lip so as not to retort and was so focused on maintaining control that I nearly ran into a woman heading in the direction I’d just come from. She was gorgeous, with red hair that stood out like bright flames against her fair skin. She wore a puff-sleeved dress that matched the sky blue of her long-lashed eyes and reminded me a little of Cinderella’s ball gown. Of course, Disney would have never allowed that much cleavage. The woman stepped gracefully aside, just barely avoiding a collision. And then, to my complete and total shock, she sidled up to Dorian and wrapped herself around him, pressing her lips to his cheeks.

      “Ah, there you are,” he said happily. He returned the kiss—except, well, it was on her lips. And lasted awhile. With tongue.

      I stood there, frozen, urging myself to ignore them and keep moving. Yet, I couldn’t. Dorian, seeing me still there, gave me one of his grander smiles. “Queen Eugenie, a moment. Have you met my charming young friend yet?”

      That, of course, was one of Dorian’s more annoying habits. He knew perfectly well I’d never met her but enjoyed playing the innocent.

      “I haven’t,” I said stiffly, crossing my arms over my chest.

      “Queen Eugenie, may I present Ysabel, one of my subjects in the Oak Land. She’s been spending some time…in the castle.” I took the subtext to mean that said time was specifically being spent in his bed.

      Ysabel bowed, giving me a polite “Your majesty.” Yet, when she straightened up, I saw the look in her eyes was anything but polite. There was a distinct hostility there, and it was directed at me. I was a bit taken aback until I realized what it was. Jealousy. This woman was insanely, adamantly jealous of me. She pressed herself closer to Dorian, almost possessively, her hands roaming over his body in the way that was so commonplace among their kind.

      “A pleasure,” I replied. I turned around to leave again, having no desire to watch Ysabel grope Dorian. If she wanted to make me jealous, she was wasting her efforts. Dorian and I were finished. There was nothing more between us, nor would there ever be again.

      “Dorian’s latest lover,” Shaya explained later.

      “Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”

      “My understanding is that he went an astonishingly long time without a consort ever since…” She didn’t finish. She was referring to when Dorian and I had been involved.

      “How long is a long time?” I asked.

      “Mmm…a couple of weeks.”

      “A couple of weeks after we broke up? That’s a long time?”

      “For King Dorian? Yes. I believe she’s his fourth since then, but she bears a distinct resemblance to all the others.” Shaya looked at me meaningfully.

      “So?” I asked, not getting the point.

      “Always fair skinned. Always redheads. Violet eyes are harder to find, though, so he’s settled on blue.”

      It took me a few moments more to catch on. “Wait. Are you saying Dorian’s been taking lovers that look like me?”

      “It could just be a coincidence,” she said diplomatically.

      “Jesus Christ,” I said, suddenly freaked out. Had I really made that big of an impression on him?

      Shaya paused a moment, face thoughtful. “I don’t think Ysabel likes you very much.”

      “I kind of figured that out too. She was trying to make me jealous.” Then, in case there was any question, I added, “But I’m not.”

      “As you say,” replied Shaya, voice and face perfectly pleasant.

      I couldn’t tell if she believed me or not, but it didn’t matter. I knew the truth. I really wasn’t jealous of Ysabel and Dorian.

      Well, not much, anyway.

      Chapter Four

      We left as soon as etiquette said we could. I tried using Shaya’s argument about eccentric queens doing whatever they wanted, but it didn’t work on her. She said if we didn’t stay a certain amount of time, I’d appear intimidated by Maiwenn. So, we stuck around a bit longer than I liked before finally making formal farewells to the others. Kiyo was preoccupied with a group of well-wishers, but he looked up at my departure and smiled. He mouthed the word soon.

      My group rode back in a subdued mood. The urgency was gone, and I think my glum attitude threw a cloud over everyone. Seeing Maiwenn and Kiyo had bothered me more than I liked to admit, and Dorian…well, that was another story. For now, I wanted nothing more than to cross over to my own world, throw on pajamas, and watch mindless TV. Possibly while eating ice cream.

      And as our journey continued, ice cream sounded more and more appealing once we crossed back into the Thorn Land. The sun was sinking, but heat still radiated off the sand and rocks. It wouldn’t dissipate for another couple hours, and even at midnight, the temperature probably wouldn’t drop below seventy. I’d changed back to my shorts and sunglasses before leaving Maiwenn’s, so again, the heat didn’t bother me as much as it did the others. Dorian had claimed my sundress would catch on as a fashion trend; I wondered if shorts would as well.

      “There’s a village ahead,” murmured Rurik.

      I snapped out of my daydreams and followed his gesture. Sure enough, a small cluster of buildings darkened the horizon. Like my castle, it was something more suited to a medieval British landscape than the desert. Considering how infrequently I visited