Iron Crowned Chapter 15

I had two immediate reactions to this. One was that Dorian could wait well-nigh foralways he had no right to train anything of me. My other reaction was forwardrage that he could mystify traipsing into my home when I was banned from his. Admittedly, that was my aver fault. I hadnt put down any cordial reception rules to supporting him bulge. As such, hed be welcomed give care any other non-enemy monarch exactlyterfly weakenicularly by my people. I considered simply sending Volusian to revoke hospitality nonwithstanding then tossed that idea aside. Id take cargon of this myself.I bevy show up to the gateway by my home as fast as I could with prohibited getting a ticket and then crossed over to the anchor inside my castle. Once thither, I hurried through the h all tolds, abstracted to servants leapled stares. I knew whither Dorian would be. My people would have received him in the nicest chamber, the one befitting any visiting monarch.Sure full. Dorian sit inside the parlor, lounging in a central chair with Shaya, Rurik, and others sitting around him. He looked like he was holding court in his own castle. My anger doubled. Everyone except him jumped up at my sudden approach, giving headfirst bows.Out, I snapped. All of you. And shut the door.My wrangling left no motility virtually who exactly I hopeed out. Dorian didnt move, exactly the domiciliate scurried to obey my orders. I saw Shaya and Rurik exchange looks with each other, no surmise worried what was passing to happen with the two monarchs they love.Once we were alone, I dark on Dorian. What the hell are you doing here?He regarded me coolly, portray utterly at ease. Visiting, as is my right. Theres nonhing that understands I smoket. Unless youre revoking my hospitality?I should, I said, treadping for ward with fists clenched. I should have my guards throw you out on your ass.He snorted and absentmindedly smoothed a piece of his long hair. Good flock with that. Theyd th row you out first, if I gave the order.So thats why youre here? To start a rebellion in my own kingdom?No. Im here to remind you of your responsibilities to your kingdom since youve clearly forgotten.Really? I crossed my build up across my chest in an effort to bug myself from doing something stupid. I work out youve forgotten what Ive done for my kingdom. Say, like, saving it from disaster. And risking my life for that fucking crown so that we could finally have peace.If memory serves, you ca determinationd that disaster when you created an inhospitable desert. His voice was muted damnably calm. And that crown is doing you no good.Didnt you prove me? We have peace. The fightings stopped.The fightings temporarily stopped. Katrice is performing you, and youre allow her. Shes dragging her feet, using this negotiation delay to figure out a way out of this. If you really want to end the war once and for all, you ask to get involved and let her k directly youre serious. wave the crown around. Dare her to call your bluff. Show her youre in control and stop all of this for real.I gave a harsh laugh. Thats so typical of you. Attempting to get out the strings, as usual. You dont even have the crown, precisely youre telling me what to do with it.Dorian shot up from the chair, smooth features breaking into annoyance. I am retentiveness what it means to be a king. Im not running away and letting others deal with things that get holdm too hard.Right, I said, keeping an eye on the distance between us. Getting the crown was easy. Which is why, of course, you were right out in that location with me.He narrowed his eyes. You know I would have if I could. So I did the provided thing I could I got you out at that broadcast after it.By lying I exclaimed. I tried to keep my voice pixilated, letting anger be the only perception to slip, further grief cracked me a runty. By creating an elaborate set-up with Masthera in the expect Id seize more land for us. Why d o you not represent how wrong that was?Was it? His volume was starting to match my own. Id so rarely seen emotion seize him, and it was both terrible and beautiful. Do you entail our people think its wrong? The ones whose homes are no longer in danger? The ones who are alive because of this? The crown bought that, and youre going to ruin it all if you dont force her into duologue Not only that, by not acting, youre letting what Leith did to you go unpunished.Oh, he got punished, I said.Yes, hold Dorian coldly. By me. Something you seem to have forgotten, now that youve jumped fend for into bed with that animal.Kiyo isnt part of this. And what you did isnt enough to obligate me to stay in a relationship with someone who constantly deceives me.Dorian false away, lay his back to me. Somehow, this was more insulting than all the glares in the world. I washbowl only assume this is human logic. Achieving peace by bending the the true is deceitful. The greatest sin in the world. still infidelity is moral and fairish.Its not And I wasnt I didnt cheat on you. As far as I was concerned, we were through. I was free to do whatever I wanted.Obviously.I didnt want to show any weakness in front of him, but the thing was, part of me still questioned if having sex with Kiyo back in the wood coaxd had been right or not. Id even felt conflicted at the time. Id let my impulses win out, using muddled logic to satisfy both my lust and need for revenge.Look, I said, trying to calm myself down. I didnt mean to hurt your feelings He spun around so sharply that my words dropped. I didnt fear Dorian, not with my power and in my home, but something in his eyes made me step back. Queen Eugenie, he said formally. Dont trouble yourself over my feelings. Replacing you in my bed isnt that difficult. You have too high an opinion of yourself in that regard.Those words slapped me in the face, despite all the reasonable parts of my brain howler at me that it didnt matter. I had no reason to care what he did. No reason to care about him.So, I said, matching his tone. Ysabel has a place to sell her skills again.Very good ones, he agreed. The question now is if youre going to use yours. Put Katrice in her place. Get her to negotiate so that we can get the concessions we deserve. Stop acting like a human.I am human. You keep forgetting that.He studied me up and down, giving me the opportunity to do the same to him. You dont care, you dont care, I told myself, trying to push aside how much Id loved that gorgeous face.No, he said at last, contempt in his voice. Its unaccepted to forget. Youre acting like one now, refusing to do the right thing fair(a) because Ive asked you to. Youre being contrary out of spite. He strode toward the door. If you dont act soon, youll regret it.I didnt like him being the one to end this conversation. It was more of him ever having the power. ar you threatening me?Dorian put his hand on the doors handle and glanced at me over his s houlder. No. Im not the threat. Katrice is. And while you keep going on and on about how much Ive wronged you and lied to you, I can say with absolute certainty that what Ive just told you is the truth.Noted. Hastily, I made an attempt at acting like the queen around here. You can go now. And dont come back.That earned me a half smile, though there wasnt much liquid body substance in it. Are you revoking my hospitality?I hesitated. No. Im above that. Ill just assume youll do the right thing and stay the hell away from me.Noted, he replied, imitating my earlier tone. He opened the door and walked away without another(prenominal) look. I stared at the empty space where hed been, wondering whod come out on top of that argument.By the time I emerged and found Shaya, Dorian had already left my castle for his own lands. She asked nothing about what had transpired with him, but worry was written all over her face.How close are we? I demanded. How close are we to sitting down with Katrice a nd writing up a treaty?Shaya paled, and I realized I had turned my anger at Dorian on her. Not as close as Id like. She agreed she agreed shed come in person, but only if the talks were held in the Willow globe. Queen Maiwenn has agreed, but Dor King Dorian says thats unacceptable. He suggests the calcium hydroxide fine-tune or the Maple Land. Katrice refuses.Linden and Maple. Kingdoms both staunchly neutral. Maiwenn theoretically was too. Shed always put on the pretense of friendship, and I was certain Kiyo would endorse her hospitality. But something about it made me uneasy. I didnt want to support Dorian but then I realized that instinct came from exactly what hed warned me of wanting to contrast him just out of spite. Our personal mess aside, he was my ally. Neutral screen background was best for us.Reiterate Dorians stance, I said. Linden or Maple. Im going back to Tucson. Let me know what happens.Shaya opened her mouth, to protest or beg for help, I couldnt say. Dorian s words came back to me. Get actively involved. Wave the crown and play Katrice agree to our terms. No. On that, I wouldnt agree with him. I wouldnt use that crown like he wanted me too, even as a threat.Thatll be all, I told Shaya. She nodded, obedient as always.The look on her face as I left made me feel a little guilty. Maybe I could make things easier for her. Maybe I could expedite all this. But for now, there was literally no harm being done. What could Katrices carrell achieve? If she began hostilities again, she ran the risk of facing the crown she obviously feared. My people were safe. The waiting was frustrating, but it had to end soon. Id told Dorian I was human, and thats what I intended to be. I would go home, start following up on jobs, and let the aristocracy deal with this red tape until I was absolutely needed.And that was exactly what I did.I returned to my old life. Kiyo and I continued dating, and being with him, reestablishing our old contact and sex life, w ent a long way toward blocking out images of beautiful, blistering Ysabel in Dorians bed. My workload increased as did my income though my jobs tired me out more than I was used to. That scared me. It made me think about what it meant to be human and gentry. Id fought to keep my human side dominant. Was the gentry part taking over? Stunting my shamanic abilities? No, I firmly decided. This was stress, pure and simple.In the two weeks that followed, though, I had to concede to my gentry side occasionally. The Thorn Land called to me, so I continued my quick visits, keeping the land strong and no matter how much I hated to admit it beef up myself. Unfortunately, I took little joy from that because no good news ever came from the Otherworld. Katrice kept switching back and forth. Yes, shed agree to the Maple Land no, shed changed her mind. Linden. But only if ambassadors went first, then the monarchs. No shed go. But it was back to the Willow Land. Or peradventure some place a ltogether different? What about the Palm Land?Dorian made no attempts at direct contact with me, but there was no need. When I went to bed each night, I could see his face. Wave the crown, wave the crown. Fortunately, my aggressive workload tired me out enough to fall asleep quickly.Good news of sorts finally came one sidereal day when Kiyo and I were out hiking. The temperature had shot up, heralding spring, and Id welcomed the break from work. Traipsing through the wilderness was something Dorian would certainly never do especially in the desert. But like me, Kiyo appreciated the rugged beauty and heat of the land. Id missed these excursions with him.His eyebrows rose when my booth phone rang. You can get a signal out here?Apparently.I was as surprised as him. Looking at the ID, I saw Enriques name pop up. His recent reports, after that brief charge of promising news, had been clipped and vague simple reminders that he was still operative on things.I answered eagerly. Please tell me youve found something.I have, he said. Enrique had that smug tone from when wed met. It had been annoying then, but now, I found it encouraging. I finally tracked down the gun dealer and I didnt hear the rest because a sudden drop in the temperature and tingling in the air heralded Volusians arrival. Apparently, I could get an Otherworldly signal out here too. My minions orders to report all urgent news trumped whatever Enrique had to say.Hey, I interrupted. Ill call you back.What the I disconnected, not giving him a chance to displace his outrage. He probably wasnt used to being hung up on. I turned to Volusian, who waited patiently and quietly for me. He was a spot of darkness on the sunny day he seemed to suck away the light of the world.Please, I begged. Please tell me Katrice has finally given in, so that we can talk.Volusian stayed silent a few moments. I swear, it was for dramas sake, and I felt like strangling him. No, he said. The Rowan Queen has not agreed to negotiations yet, although she has acted.Kiyo and I exchange looks. There was no way this could be good. I was also moderately sure Volusian liked delivering this news.Shes kidnapped your sister, he said. And has a list of demands to be met, if you want to see Jasmine alive again.