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hair back. He pressed our bodies together and rested his cheek against mine so his soft words could spill into my ear. "You will surpass me, Eugenie. Your power will be so great, none will stand against you. Armies and kingdoms will fall, and they will bow down before you."

I found myself trembling again, feeling the same fear and excitement that had filled me during our last kiss. Only this time, I didn't know if my feelings came from his body's proximity...or the promise of power he offered.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The similarities between the fachan and nixie attacks weren't lost on me. Both types were water creatures, and all had seemed much more interested in killing Storm King's daughter than fathering her child. Recalling how Dorian had said someone powerful would have had to force them to come out to the desert, I decided that figuring out who that could be needed to move to the top of my list of priorities. Rape was horrible. Death was...well, final.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure I trusted my new gentry contacts to give me unbiased advice. So I turned to my next-most relatively neutral sources.

Like always, my spirit minions took a long time in answering my question. Nandi and Volusian were compelled to answer eventually, but I think they always sort of tried to wait each other out. This time, it was Nandi who finally gave in.

"Mistress, there are many among the shining ones who could summon such creatures. Far too many for you to hunt down or investigate. To do so would be akin to counting grains of sand on a beach. The task is impossible. Were you to try, you would fall into a despair so dark and deep that it would undoubtedly shatter your mind and force you into insanity."

Volusian sighed loudly and shuffled so that he stood farther into the shadows of my bedroom. "Metaphors aside, mistress, she is correct. Perhaps there are not quite so many suspects but still enough to make a search difficult."

Finn, moving around my room in lazy circles, stopped his flight and scoffed. "Why are you wasting your time with all these other people? It's obvious who's doing it. Maiwenn is."

I sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed a piece of my Milky Way. "Maiwenn can't control water. Besides," I added bitterly, "everyone keeps going on about how weak and sickly she is lately anyway." I honestly didn't get what the big deal was with her being so debilitated by pregnancy. I'd worked at a restaurant in high school, and there'd been a waitress there who'd stayed on her feet until the day she delivered.

"Maiwenn doesn't have to do it herself," argued Finn. "She's the mastermind. Other people hated Storm King. She's probably collaborating with them and directing them to attack you."

"That seems kind of elaborate."

I swear, Volusian almost smiled. "Spend more time around the gentry courts, mistress, and you'll find a plan like that would be childishly simplistic. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely the Willow Queen is involved. It is not in her nature. She would not kill without provocation. She is more likely to wait and observe than act on her emotions."

"Unless there was something more personal involved," said Finn slyly. "You know, maybe a little jealousy..."

Apparently my romantic difficulties were no secret. Honestly, I didn't get how gossip spread so fast in the Otherworld, particularly considering how they had no telephones, TV, or Internet.

I glared at him. "She has nothing to be jealous about. Not anymore."

"Agreed," said Volusian. "Besides, the Willow Queen is not an adolescent girl who would risk her rule to take petty revenge. She - and her peers - are far too clever. And ruthless."

Finn crossed his arms and glared at Volusian. It was kind of a bold move, considering Finn looked like a cartoon character and Volusian looked like he ate the souls of small children. For all I knew, he probably did.

"Of course you'd say that. You're trying to throw Odile off Maiwenn's trail. Makes it easy, doesn't it? Then Maiwenn's assassins can do your dirty work for you. We all know you're just waiting to kill her off." Finn jerked his thumb in my direction.

Volusian went rigid, his eyes narrowing to red slits. "Make no mistake. When I kill our mistress - and I will - I will not depend on some gentry to do it. I will rip her flesh and tear her soul apart myself."

Silence fell.

"Truly, mistress," Nandi said at last, "it is a