Thorn Queen Page 0,24

didn't know what to do with themselves.

"Well," I gasped. "That was one of the more convoluted schemes I've seen yet." Would-be rapists often did attempt to distract me with a seemingly ordinary banishing and then would swoop in unexpectedly. This person had sent the kobolds to lure me out and then that woodland conglomeration to actually subdue me and bring me back as a war prize. Kiyo, as an obstacle to that plan, had had to be eliminated first. I took in his ripped shirt and blood. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine," he said, wiping his face. "It's superficial. What the hell was that?"

"Some monster that a gentry put together with magic. Bound all those animals into one stronger form and ordered it after me."

"Will it come back together?"

"No. I broke the bonds, and they're all spreading apart anyway."

"Um, Eugenie?" Wil's voice suddenly rang down the stairs. "Is everything okay down there? A deer just ran through the living room...."

Kiyo and I both decided later that it was a good thing Smokey had disbanded like he had. Otherwise, if they'd seen his full form, Trisha and Wil would have had enough Bigfoot material for their forums to last until the next century. Goodness only knew what kind of threads and rumors this event alone would start.

Trisha paid me in cash once we frisked the deer out of the house, and I told her she was on her own for the other animals in the basement. As we were leaving, Wil briefly caught me alone, his goofy, paranoid expression replaced by a much grimmer one. "Have you found Jasmine yet?" he asked in a very soft voice.

I bit my lip. No matter how absurd I thought Wil was, whenever I saw how much Jasmine's disappearance grieved him, it broke my heart. I'd never told him the truth of her heritage. The only information I'd given him was that she was on the run and hadn't been kidnapped. I thought he'd take comfort in knowing she wasn't being held against her will, but it hurt him to think she didn't want to be with him. He truly loved his sister, no matter how much she despised the human world. It was really quite sad.

"No, I'm sorry. I really am."

His face fell further, and he gave a weak nod. "Yeah. I figured. I know you'll keep looking, though. And you'll let me know if you find her?"

I tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Sure."

The truth was, I didn't know if I would tell him. It all depended on what state I found her in. If I found her pregnant and bent on conquering the worlds...well, I wasn't entirely sure what I'd do then, but one thing I felt certain of was that there was no way I was ever going to let her return to this world.

Chapter Six

Kiyo always healed quickly, and when we got home that night, he was in fine condition to see who could put on the highest-quality performance in bed. Consequently, he woke in a very cheerful mood the next day, though he still couldn't help a little grumbling about following along yet again. I knew it was all gruffness, though. He liked knowing I was safe, and that warmed something up inside of me.

"You tricked me," he remarked once we'd crossed over to the Otherworld that morning. I was hoping these bandits would be as easy to dispatch as the kobolds, unnatural hybrids of small animals aside. "After that thing you did in bed..." He sighed happily at the memory of a particularly skillful feat my mouth had performed last night. "Well, you know I'd agree to do anything now."

"Come on," I said, still feeling a bit proud. "It has nothing to do with that. Don't you want to see justice served to those who dare torment my subjects?"

"Careful there. People might think you're acting like a real queen."

I glanced down at my torn jeans and Poison T-shirt. "Well, let's not get carried away. Maybe it'd help if I got a crown like Dorian said."

To my astonishment, Kiyo's teasing expression immediately hardened. "No. That's the last thing you should do."

I stared in surprise. "Why not? Too Miss America?"

"It'll make you seem more...official."

I gestured around at the tapestry-draped castle room we'd appeared in. "We're in a fucking castle, Kiyo. I don't really see how it can get any more official."

"You don't understand. I mean, you're a queen, yeah, and they all know it...but a lot just see you