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Chapter 31

That night was Frost’s night, and he see down his stomach when Andais’s voice came like an evil dreaht I wish to see, not by my own Darkness You have one minute, then I will clear led in the sheets, and nearly fell Frost said, "My Queen, Doyle is not here We will fetch him for you, if you but wait"

She ht, ive you two minutes to find him and free this mirror, or I will do it for you"

"We will make haste, my Queen"

I was already in the doorway "Doyle, the queen on the mirror, now She wants to see you" My voice , because Doyle rolled off the couch, shirtless, wearing just his jeans He was inside the bedroom, one hand outstretched, as Frost pleaded for just one more minute

I climbed on the bed as the fastest way to make room for both of the men to stand in front of the lass flashed once with light, then cleared Then there was so in the mirror I couldn’t see much of it around the two broad backs of the lad , dark stone walls, and soft, hopeless one beyond the need to screa but that utterly hopeless ht that the wailing of ghosts ely, ghosts don’t make noises like that Or at least none that I’ve ever met

"How dare you lock me out, Doyle, how dare you!"

"I asked Doyle to block the viewing on theto the backs of both of the men

"I hear our little princess, but I do not see her If we are going to fight, then I wish to see her face-to-face" Her voice held anger like a cup filled to the bri

Theon the bed, in the tangle of sheets and pillows Andais was suddenly visible, as well She was standing in the middle of the Hallway of Mortality, where I’d known she was The viewing mirror in the torture area was set so that you couldn’t see any of the devices, but Andais had h

She was covered in blood as if someone had thrown a bucket of it over her Her face was speckled with little drying bits, and one side of her hair was caked with blood and thicker things It took a ore soaked and wore nothing else She was actually so covered in blood and bits that I hadn’t realized she was nude at first

I took air in through h my mouth for a few breaths while Doyle filled the silence

"We have had ht unprepared for visitors"

"Who else has been calling you, niece?"

I sed hard, let out the breath I’d been half holding, and my voice came out just fine, not a tremble Good for me "Taranis’s secretaries mostly"

"What does he want?" She nearly spit the word he

"I was invited to the Yule ball, but declined" I added the last hastily I did not want her to think I’d snub her court

"How terribly high-handed, and how terribly typical of Taranis"

"If one may be so bold, my Queen," Doyle said softly, "you are in an exceptionalyourself heartily What has so displeased you?"

Doyle was right I’d seen Andais coore and huood time by her standards, but she wasn’t

"I have taken those who I dee the old ones I have questioned thes, they would have talked by now" She sounded tired, the anger beginning to leak away

"I ah," Doyle said

She looked at hi fun of me?"

Doyle bowed as far as the mirror would allow "Never,blood across her white skin "No sidhe in our court did this, my Darkness"

"Then who, if not our people?" Doyle asked He did not rise from his bow

"We are not the only sidhe, Doyle"

"You mean Taranis’s court," Frost said

Her eyes flicked to him, and they narrowed in a very unfriendly manner "Yes, that’s what IDoyle "I meant no disrespect, Your Majesty"

Doyle said, fro of his peril?"

"He refuses to believe that anyone in his beautiful shining court could do such a thing He says that none of his people would kno to raise the old dead gods, and that none would touch the Na to do with thehosts, and that is an Unseelie problem, as well"

"What exactly would be a Seelie problem?" I asked I almost hated to have her attention back on me, but I wanted to know If none of this was Seelie business, then what exactly was their business?

"That, niece, is an excellent question Of late, Taranis see of i with hi more and more in his own little dreaic" She crossed her stained arhtful "It has to be one of his court It has to be"

"What can we do to get him to see that?" I asked

"I don’t knoish I did" She waved her hands "Oh, for pity’s sake, get up, both of you Go sit on the bed Look comfortable"

Frost and Doyle stood and came to sit, one on either side of er at the excited pitch it had been before the queen called He sat with his hands in his lap, half hiding himself Doyle sat on the other side ofnot to draw the eye of the predator I didn’t often think of Doyle as a prey aniht, the only predator was staring at us from the mirror

"Move your hands, Frost Let me see all of you"

Frost hesitated, the briefest of seconds, and then let his hands drop away to either side of his lap He sat there nude, eyes downcast, no longer comfortable in his nudity

"You are truly beautiful, Frost I had forgotten that" She frowned "I sees lately" She sounded alain Just the tone made all three of us stiffen, almost shiver, and it was a shiver of anticipation, but not of pleasure

"I have not enjoyed myself this day These were people whoain be my allies They will fear me, but they feared me before, and fear is not truly the sa that, at last Give ht by Let hts froht like fireworks"

The three of us sat there for a second, then Doyle said, "I have had ht with the princess Frost has ht"

"He will share if I say that he will share," Andais said It was hard to argue with her, blood soaked and nude, looking like sos but we tried

"I would ask that Your Majesty not do this," Frost said He wasn’t looking arrogant He was looking alhtened

"You would ask? You would ask? What is it you are asking ofso that the shine of his hair hid his face "Absolutely nothing" He sounded bitter and sorrohen he said it

"Aunt Andais," I said, keepingto talk a crazy person out of setting off the bo to displease you We have done everything we can to please you Why would you punish us for that?"

"Were you going to have sex tonight?"

"Yes, but -- "

"You are going to fuck Frost tonight, are you not?"

"Yes"

"You fucked Doyle last night, correct?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then what difference does it ht?" Her voice was rising again, losing its calan to unravel " I have not been with both of thee a trois ame I think that Doyle and Frost are both too dominant to share me comfortably"

She nodded "Very well"

I think we all relaxed, let a breath out

"Then replace one of theive ht"

I’d done reed with it, and it hadn’t helped us I looked froestions" I hoped Andais thought I estions on who to invite in or who to replace But I hoped that thea way out of all this

"Nicca is less dominant," Frost said slowly

Had he understood what I meant?

"Or Kitto," Doyle said

"Kitto had his turn today, and Nicca isn’t due for twoalloo turns back-to-back"

"Agree?" the queen said "Why do thetheot a schedule and we usually stick to it"

"A schedule, a schedule?" She began to srin "And how did you arrive at this schedule?"

"It was alphabetical," I said, trying not to sound as puzzled as I felt

"She has an alphabetical schedule, alphabetical" She began to laugh, a low trickle of sound at first, then it grew into a huge genuine belly laugh She half doubled over, clutching at her sides, laughing until tears trailed out of her eyes to trickle through the blood

Belly laughs are usually infectious; strangely, this one was not Or rather, it wasn’t to us I could hear others behind her joining in Ezekiel and his assistants probably thought it was a hoot Torturers have such an odd sense of huain, wiping at her eyes I think ere all holding our breaths, wondering what she’d say She hter still thick in her voice, "You have given ive you all a reprieve Though I fail to see what is so wrong with doing in front of me what you will do when I leave you I do not see the difference"

Wisely, we kept our opinions to ourselves I think we all knew that if she didn’t already understand the difference, there was no way to explain it to her

The queen went away, leaving the three of us to stare into the mirror I looked shell-shocked, stunned by our near ot to his feet and screah the roouns drawn

Rhys looked around the room, puzzled "What’s happened?"

Frost wheeled toward hi fearsome in him "We are not animals to be paraded for her a the others back Rhys looked atthe door softly behind them

Doyle spoke softly to Frost So talk, but some was more insistent "We are safe now, Frost," I heard Doyle tell hirabbed Doyle by the shoulders The pressure of his pale hands mottled Doyle’s dark skin "Don’t you understand yet, Doyle? If we are not the one who fathers Merry’s child, then we are back to being Andais’s playthings, her neglected playthings I don’t think I could bear it again, Doyle" He shook hio back to that, Doyle, I can’t!" He shook the otherDoyle to break his grip, to force hirip Frost’s arht the shine of tears through the silver of Frost’s hair He slowly fell to his knees, his hands sliding down Doyle’s ar contact He pressed the top of his head against the otheron "I can’t do it, Doyle I cannot do it I’d rather die I’ll let an to cry in earnest, great racking sobs that seemed to come from deep, deep inside him Frost cried as if it would break him in two

Doyle let hiet Frost into bed We laid hi fro sexual about it We held hiazed at each other over Frost’s curled body The look in Doyle’s eyes, his face, was ore

I watched a fearful purpose be born that night Maybe it had been born a long tio back, either I saw it in his eyes We held Frost; and finally we both slept, as well

Soot up and left us I woke up when he ently on the forehead, then laid his hand against the soft glimmer of Frost’s hair

He spoke softly, his deep voice like a purr, h to ask, "Promise what?"

He just s the door softly behind hiled down beside Frost, but sleep eluded h for sleep Dawn’s light had greyed thebefore I drifted into a fitful rest