Storm Born Page 0,74

heard this part, seeing as you didn't leave any witnesses."

"I felt...scared. Weak. Defenseless."

"You don't strike me as someone who's scared a lot."

"No, actually. I'm scared all the time. Stupid not to be. What's that saying? Only the dead are without fear? Or is that hope? Dunno. At that point, I sure as hell didn't have any hope either. I felt like I was out of options."

"And so you chose the only option left to you."

"I didn't choose it exactly. Not consciously."

"No. But sometimes our souls and the secret parts of our minds know what we need."

He walked over to a large, sheltering maple tree. Presumably it too had those wonderful colors, but the near-darkness made such things impossible to see. Taking off his robe, he spread it on the ground and sat down, leaving space beside him. A moment later, I sat down as well.

"So what have you come to ask me, Eugenie Markham?"

"You already know. I can hear it in your voice."

"Hmm. So much for crafty subterfuge."

"I need you to teach me how to use the magic. So it doesn't take over again. I don't want to kill someone the next time I freak out."

"Or," he added, "you just might want to kill someone with it. On purpose, that is."

"Maybe." I shivered. "I don't know."

He didn't speak right away. The darkness around us grew deeper.

"What you did to Corwyn was akin to using a brick to swat a fly when much finer, much simpler methods would suffice. The storms you can conjure are great and powerful things, absolutely. The gods know your father made effective use of them. But I think you'll find your real power is in controlling the storm's finer elements. A child can throw paint on a canvas; a master works with fine brushstrokes. You learn the small things, and then the storms will be second nature."

I took a deep breath. "So can you teach me? Will you teach me?"

Even in the dark, I knew he had that laconic smile on his face. "If someone had told me during our last meeting that we'd have this conversation, I would have flogged him for insolence."

"I don't have anyone else to go to. Maiwenn offered, but she doesn't have - "

"Maiwenn?" he interrupted. His tone startled me. "When did you talk to her?"

"After the attack." I explained the circumstances of our meeting. When he didn't respond, I grew defensive. "There's nothing wrong with that. If anything, it's kind of nice to have someone on my side who doesn't want to see me get pregnant and take over the world."

"And for that very reason, you shouldn't trust her. I want to see Storm King's heir born. Therefore, I have good reason to make sure you stay alive. She does not."

I remembered thinking how Maiwenn would have had a lot less to worry about had I died in the attack.

"She didn't seem so sinister," I replied haltingly, suddenly struck by a thought. If Maiwenn's noble philosophy involved killing me, then would Kiyo follow her in that?

"The sinister ones never do."

"You're just trying to sway me to your side."

"Well, of course. I'd be trying to do that regardless of her involvement."

I sighed. It was all plots and posturing after all. Above all else, Dorian was still one of the gentry. "Maybe coming here was a mistake."

"Coming here was the smartest thing you've done so far. So tell me, what will you give me for teaching you to control your power?"

"You can't get something for nothing, huh?"

"Oh, please. Don't sound so superior. I helped you last time without asking anything in return, and now here you are again asking more of me. You demand a lot of the gentry you consider so greedy."

"Fair enough." I leaned against the tree a little. "If you'll help me...I'll let...I'll let people think we're, you know..."

There was a pause, and then his warm laughter filled the orchard. "Sleeping together? Oh, you really have made my night. That's not fair. Not fair at all."

I blushed furiously in the dark. "You'll one-up Aeson. He'll think I'm willingly giving you what he tried to take by force."

"And all the while, I'll actually be getting nothing except tantalizing glimpses of you in outfits like this."

"I'll cover up more if it makes a difference."

"What would make a difference is if you were sleeping with me for real."

"That's not fair either. Not for a few magic lessons."

"'A few'?" He laughed again, his voice carrying the kind of incredulity that seemed to amuse