Page 1 (2/2)

Thirty faces turned tohere I stood near the doorway, and there was a mad scramble as almost everyone shoved back their chairs and tried to rise for a hasty bow I sighed I’d been coht’s journey as I watched this absurdity unfolding inwas up now I threw backon all the queenly airs I could

"The reports of erated," I announced I had a feeling I’d messed up the Mark Twain quote, but in this crowd, nobody knew the reference anyway Most thought I was si the facts Which, really, I was

The Rowan soldier’s flushed face suddenly turned white, his eyes bugging out He took a few steps backward and glanced uneasily around There was really nowhere else he could go

I gestured for those ere standing and bowing to sit down as I walked up toit up from the floor, I eyed it critically "You broke the clasp" I studied it for a few lare on him "You broke it when you ripped it off- not when you killed uy last night He’d been one a many I’d lost him in the midst of the chaos, but apparently, Katrice had decided to send him here with a story after he’d captured this "evidence"

"You look a dead, my dear," called Dorian "You should really coht"

I ignored Dorian, both because he expectedMy clothes were ripped and dirty, and I’d accrued a few cuts in last night’s battle Judging fro out of the corners ofup in about a hundred different directions It was already turning into a hot day, andasped the Rowan soldier "You can’t be alive Balor swore he saw you fall - he told the queen - "

"Will you guys stop this already?" I de in close to his face This uards step nearer, but I wasn’t worried This loser wouldn’t try anything, and besides, I could defendevery rue proclamation? Haven’t you ever heard of habeas corpus? Never mind Of course you haven’t"

"Actually," piped in Dorian "I know Latin"

"It won’t work anyway," I growled to the Rowan guy "Even if I were dead, it’s not going to stop our kingdo yours"

That pulled him out of his stupefied state Fury lit his features - fury spiked with a little bit of insane zeal "You half-breed bitch! You’re the one who’s going to be blighted fro, and everyone else who lives in your cursed lands Our queen is otiations with the Aspen and Willow Lands to unite against you! She will grind you with her foot and take this land, take it and - "

"Can I kill hiray eyes looked at ly, and she’d taken the headphones off What should have been teenage sarcasm was actually deadly seriousness It was days like these I regretted keeping her in the Otherworld, rather than sending her back to live with humans Surely it wasn’t too late for reforenie You know I haven’t Letto hi," replied Shaya automatically Protocol was her specialty

Dorian turned toward her "Blast it, wo them in with immunity Wartime rules be dae

"But he is protected," I said, suddenly feeling exhausted Last’s night battle - more of a skirmish, really - had ended in a draeen ,the loss of life on both sides seeuards forward "Get him out of here Put him on a horse, and don’t send him with any water Let’s hope the roads are kind to hiuards bowed obediently, and I turned back to Katrice’s man

"And you can let Katrice know that she’s wasting her time, no matter how often she wants to claies it We’re still going to see this war through, and she’s the one who’s going to lose She’s outnuht, and no one else is going to help her with it Tell her that if she surrenders immediately, then lared at me, his malice palpable, but offered no response The best he could ed hih, I turned away and looked at the breakfast table They’d already brought up a chair fordoearily

Toast was not a cootten used to my human preferences They still couldn’t make decent tequila, and Pop-Tarts were totally out of the question But toast? Toast ithin their skill set Someone handed a basket of it topeacefully Well, al at all of us like ere crazy, which I could understand

"How can you be so calm?" she exclaimed "After that man just - just - and you " She looked ive me, Your Majesty, but your attireYou’ve clearly been in battle Yet, here you are, sitting as though this is all perfectly ordinary"

I gave her a cheerful look, not wanting to offend our guest or project a weak iantly told the Rowan soldier that his queen would never gain any allies, but his co with the Aspen and Willow Lands hadn’t been lost onfor allies in this war Dorian was ht now, and I didn’t want to risk any chance of that changing

Dorian caught avea little of the frustration I felt Soet h this war I’d inadvertently stumbled into I’d never wanted it I’d never wanted to be queen of a fey kingdo me to split my time between here and my human life in Tucson I certainly hadn’t wanted to be at the center of a prophecy that claiive birth to humanity’s conqueror, a prophecy that had driven Katrice’s son to rapeI still didn’t regret, even though I hated every day of the war that had followed in the killing’s wake

I couldn’t tell Ranelle any of that, of course I wanted to send her back to her land with an i would think allying with us was a smart move A brilliant move, even I couldn’t tell Ranelle my fears I couldn’t tell her howup at my castle, poor petitioners whose homes had been destroyed by the war I couldn’t tell her that Dorian and I took turns visiting the arhts, the one asn’t fighting never got any sleep Despite his flippancy, I knew Dorian had felt a spark of fear at the Rowan soldier’s initial clai to demoralize us Both Dorian and I feared that so the truth It ht now, run away from all of this and just wrap ain, I re over, I gave Dorian a soft kiss on his cheek The sht produce "Actually," I told her "This is a pretty ordinary day for us"

The sad part? It was true