Marlin, the queen’s consort,” Shaya whispered.
“Look at you, look at you!” Katrice continued, still bubbling over. “How could a little thing like you have killed Aeson? Hmm? Old Tirigan Storm King would be so proud.”
I jerked with surprise, taken aback by the callous reference to both my slaying of Aeson and my father’s name. Not noticing my reaction, she gestured frantically to a young man passing nearby. He had slim good looks and raven-black hair tied back in a ponytail. He too wore red and white, and I remembered once seeing the Rowan Land’s flag, a rowan tree bordered in red and white. Apparently, they were a patriotic group.
“Darling, darling! Come meet the Thorn Queen.” Smiling, he hastened to her side and gave me a courteous nod. “This is my son, Leith. Leith, Queen Eugenie.”
He took my hand and kissed it very properly, as was the custom. “A pleasure, your majesty.”
“Likewise.”
I studied him, curious at seeing a gentry prince. With all the gentry reproductive issues, none of the other monarchs I’d met—aside from Maiwenn—had any children. They tended to be solitary rulers.
He looked so nice and friendly—and like he wasn’t currently make plans to get in my pants—that I wanted to make conversation, but I was never very good at initiating that kind of thing. Katrice took the dilemma out of my hands.
“Isn’t she beautiful, Leith? I was just saying how I can scarce believe she killed old Aeson. Can you believe that? What was it that I heard, my dear? That you drowned him?”
I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “Um, no, not exactly. I sort of summoned all the water out of his body and blew him apart.”
“Oh!” She clapped her hands together as though it were the most wonderful thing she’d ever heard. “Oh! Oh! Isn’t that fascinating? And so clever!”
Apparently noting my discomfort, Leith hastily said, “Mother, I’m sure the Thorn Queen would prefer to discuss more pleasant topics. This is hardly the place to talk about death.”
I flashed him a grateful smile. We did indeed move to more mundane topics, and I found he managed a conversation far more effectively than his mother did. “I saw your expression over the rubies,” he teased. “You don’t think the baby will appreciate those?”
I made a face. “Maybe if they can decorate a crib with them. Or maybe make a mobile. Are those kinds of gifts normal?”
“I’m afraid so,” he said, still smiling. “As I heard you say, there isn’t much this baby won’t get from Maiwenn. Most of these nobles are more interested in making the queen happy, not the baby—hence all the useless gifts.”
“Why, Leith,” scolded his mother. “That’s ridiculous. I’m sure Maiwenn’s child will absolutely love the crystal dinnerware we brought.”
When I finally excused us, Leith kissed my hand again and spoke in a voice too low for Katrice to hear.
“I’m sorry about her. She doesn’t always think before she speaks.”
I laughed. “It’s okay,” I murmured back. “She’s a queen. That’s her job.”
More loudly and properly, he said, “I hope you’ll come visit us. Mother’s been dying to receive you at our court.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “One of these days.” I tried to reciprocate the politeness. “You should come visit us too. I’m not around much, but you’re welcome whenever.”
He brightened, as did Katrice who actually stayed silent for a change. “Thank you, your majesty. I’d love to. I’ve heard amazing things about your land. They say it’s very fierce. Fierce, but beautiful.”
Shaya laughed softly as we departed. “Oh, you don’t know what you’ve done.”
I stared at her. “What do you mean? I think I handled that well, considering that woman’s endless chattering.”
“Don’t let her surface fool you. She’s shrewder than you think. And powerful. Unfortunately, her son is not.”
“Leith? What do you mean? Magically?”
She nodded. “His magic is almost nonexistent. He won’t be able to inherit her kingdom.”
“Whoa…” Considering how long gentry lived, I’d never thought much about inheritance issues. “But he seemed pretty competent. Very intelligent.”
“He is. Extremely so. He’s an inventor of sorts. He’s created things that have revolutionized their kingdom—and the others, slowly. He most recently created tools to print text in books the way your people do. It’ll save a fortune in scribes.”
“Like a printing press? Wow.” Who knew? Leith was like a fairy version of Gutenberg. Cool. Maybe the Otherworld was well on its way to the Industrial Revolution. “And that doesn’t count for anything with ruling?”
“No.” Shaya didn’t sound sympathetic in the least. Magical strength was the greatest measure of a gentry’s worth, which is why my bastard father had been held in such high regard. Those who believed I would match him one day regarded me similarly. “Ingenuity alone is not enough to inherit the throne or bind the land. However, his odds might improve if he had a powerful consort.”
I suddenly tripped on my own feet when I caught her meaning. “What, you mean me?”
“By their estimation, you’re a good match. Powerful, already ruling a kingdom. Your human blood and ability to conceive makes you extremely attractive, your role in the prophecy doubly so.”
“Christ. You people are nuts.”
She seemed to be enjoying my dismay. “Like I said, Katrice is shrewd. She wasn’t lying when she said she wanted to meet you. She’s probably planned this for a while. You inviting Leith to visit fulfilled her dreams. Just wait, he’ll come soon.”
“How come you guys have no concept of ‘just friends’ around here? Why is every guy I meet a potential mate? Leith was nice enough and cute, but I mean…come on.”
I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised, really. The gentry had much looser sexual mores than humans—as a few couples in the room’s corners were currently demonstrating—so they probably treated everything as a possible romantic encounter. Considering the wights’ less-than-romantic bid for my affections earlier, I should have been grateful for Leith’s more civilized courtship. Still, I found it all wearying.
Shaya introduced me to a number of other nobles that afternoon. Most blurred together. I simply smiled and nodded a lot, fantasizing about being home in bed with Kiyo. Near the end of the party, one new person actually caught my attention.
The first interesting thing was just how dark his skin was—a rarity in the otherwise Caucasian gentry of this portion of the Otherworld. His black hair hung around his face in a shower of tiny braids, perfectly setting off the burgundy satin cloak around him. He bowed low over my hand, sweeping his cloak away with a flourish.
“Your majesty,” he said with a faint French accent. “It is an honor and a privilege. The stories of your beauty do not do you justice. I am Girard de la Colline.”
I accepted his hand kiss with astonishment. “You must be from very far away.”
The Otherworld mirrored my own world in geography. The residents here, near Arizona, spoke variations of American English. I wondered idly if those who ruled now had supplanted an American Indian version of the gentry.
“Such a journey is well worth it to be in your presence, but sometime, if you like, I would be honored to tell you stories of my homeland. Its beauty is enough to make a man weep, though I’m given to understand that the terrible beauty of your own kingdom can make men weep as well—for different reasons.”
I laughed. “I suppose