Iron Crowned (20 page)

“I … I’ve heard from King Dorian a number of times.”

Kiyo shifted uncomfortably beside me, and I felt that familiar prickle of anger run down my spine. All the memories of Dorian’s lying and betrayal came back to me. It stung all the worse because in the end, he’d gotten exactly what he wanted: the Iron Crown had done its job. He probably wanted me to take still more lands.

“What’s he want?” I demanded. “The war’s over. We’re no longer in a partnership.”

“Well, that’s just it. Since you are—were—allies in the war, he says he deserves some of the spoils of your victory.”

“He … what?” My fury increased. “He doesn’t deserve anything. I was the one who won and used the crown.”

She nodded, still looking like she wished she could be anywhere else. “Yes … but he argues
that he was the one who sent you to get the crown. And that his armies lost as many lives as yours.”

That last point silenced me. His soldiers had fought with mine. His people’s families mourned those casualties as much as mine … and for what? To fight against a slight that had nothing to do with them, not really. I didn’t owe Dorian anything, of that I was certain, but I was indebted to his subjects.

When I didn’t respond, Shaya continued. “Some of his people are also helping hold the Rowan Land.”

“Oh, are they?” Of course Dorian would have swooped in. “I never asked for that.”

She shook her head. “Nonetheless, you need it. Many are still having trouble accepting your rule. There’s a lot of seething resentment. No violence has broken out yet—but that’s largely because of the sizable presence Rurik sent to keep control. Dorian’s helping with that.”

I’d meditated with the Thorn Land as soon as I’d arrived, making me feel a little better, but the pressure and continued political complications were already draining me. I wasn’t meant for this. “What’s he want? Half the kingdom?”

“No. Trade. Tribute. The Rowan Land is a huge food producer, and he wants part of that.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I said tentatively.

“I’m guessing he wants it at low, low prices,” said Kiyo, speaking up for the first time.

Shaya nodded. “He does. And he’s entitled to it to a certain extent. But his current demands are extreme enough that it could endanger the Rowan
Land’s economy. Maybe that’s not an issue. It all depends on what you want for them.”

I thought about the refugees at the gates. What did I want for those people? I wanted them to prosper. I wanted things to return to normal. “Can you negotiate with him to something in the middle?” I asked Shaya.

“Most likely.”

“Then do it.”

She bowed her head in acknowledgment, and I knew that’s what she’d already known had to be done. She was simply giving me my dues as queen, going through the motions and reminding everyone that ultimately, I still held the authority around here.

When Kiyo and I finally made it to the Rowan Land, I felt the land’s relief and welcome. Its energy burned into mine, strengthening me. At the castle, we saw little sign of the Rowan military but plenty of mine and Dorian’s. They were stationed everywhere, keeping the order Shaya had told me about. They bowed low when they saw me, their actions mirrored by the kingdom’s citizens. Only, Katrice’s subjects didn’t bow out of respect and deference. There was fear in their eyes, confusion in some, and an obvious show among a few that their actions were forced.

Rurik was still in residence, personally overseeing the occupation. I felt secure in his control and listened as he explained what needed to be done next. I understood it only a little better than the economics Shaya had pushed on me, the main point being I’d need a governing body here soon.
Picking that staff would be a problem. Shaya was one in a million, but even she couldn’t be in two places at once. Seeing my dismay, Rurik hesitantly added that Dorian had offered to provide people for the job. My expression at those words gave Rurik all the answer he needed.

The Rowan Land’s energy continued to flow into me when I set out to have my meditation session with it. The nature of the connection was similar to what I had with the Thorn Land, but the kingdom’s feel was totally different. The Thorn Land was harsh—filled with life, yes, but life that fought fiercely against the elements for survival. The Rowan Land was softer, its life bursting forth easily and radiating through its many trees and plants.

“Eugenie,” said Kiyo, following me out to a small garden behind the castle. “Look.”

I paused and glanced behind me. Where I’d walked, flowers had blossomed, small red ones scattered throughout the grassy path. I knelt down, inhaling their heady scent. “Why’s it happening?”

“You’re its ruler. You’re giving the land life and energy.”

I thought about how being here had made me feel marginally better. “It’s strengthening me too … but this doesn’t happen in the Thorn Land. I don’t have that kind of effect.”

“Don’t you?” he teased, a mischievous smile on his face. “You make it rain….”

A memory came to me of when the Thorn Land had floundered in drought. While connecting with the land, I’d had sex with Kiyo, and the energy
from that union had empowered the kingdom, breaking the dry spell and sending much-needed rain that made the people and plants flourish.

I smiled back at him. “Looks like we don’t have to worry about that today. This land doesn’t need as much help.”

He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him, voice husky. “But imagine the results if we did. Extra credit.”

Leaning down, he brought his lips to mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth with a rough passion. I felt my body answer, and for a moment, the offer was tempting. I pictured what it would be like to make love among all this greenery, here in the sunshine. Would a bed of red flowers fill the ground below us? Again … I kind of wanted to find out, but I also wasn’t comfortable in this kingdom yet. I didn’t want to risk discovery of my sex life, even if it wouldn’t be a big deal to the gentry. Reluctantly, I pulled away from him.

“Another time.”

After a few more protests, he let me be. I sat on the ground while he waited, closing my eyes and opening myself to the world around me.
We are one,
I assured the land.
I am here.
I felt its answer, felt warmth spread through me and lost track of time. When I finished, I was startled at how far the sun had moved across the sky. Kiyo sat on the ground cross-legged, looking at ease as he watched me.

“Crap,” I said, jumping up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you wait so long.”

He stood as well. “It’s no problem. You needed it.
You both needed it.” I knew he was right. I was more energized, and the land felt strong and content.

After another check with Rurik, Kiyo and I headed back to the Thorn Land. Here, he parted from me, again to “take care of a few things.” He assured me he’d be back in Tucson as soon as he could, but I saw the look Jasmine gave me when she overheard. I could guess her thoughts: more reports to Maiwenn.

Jasmine was impatient to go to Tucson, but before leaving, I impulsively set out alone to where I’d communed earlier with the Thorn Land. It had been on a distant part of the grounds, one of my favorite places, in the shade of a mesquite tree. Its perfume rivaled that of the Rowan flowers, and around it stood cacti in all shapes and sizes, some of them small and squat and some tall and foreboding like sentries.

Almost all of them were blooming.

A chill ran down my spine as I stared at the flowers on the cacti. They formed a brilliantly colored perimeter, right around where I’d been meditating, the petals in all shapes and sizes. The flowers were beautiful. Exquisite.

And none of them had been there earlier.

I didn’t know what the flowers meant. Nothing like that had ever happened when I’d meditated in the Thorn Land. Over the next few days, I just kept thinking about what Rurik had said, that no other monarch save my father had ruled more than one kingdom in recent history. It had taken great power and magic for me to exert my dominance over the lands…. Were they feeding it back to me in return? I certainly felt stronger with them, but I’d never expected any sort of unconscious physical manifestation. What else was I capable of? What could I make the land do?

I didn’t mention the matter to anyone, not even Kiyo. He’d seen the red flowers but brushed them off. If I told him about the Thorn Land, I feared he’d grow upset about the thought of my magic increasing. He grudgingly accepted what I already possessed but still feared it would turn me into my father, no heir needed.

And although I’d felt physically better in the Otherworld, I grew weak again after a day or so
back in Tucson. I didn’t mention this to Kiyo either, but Jasmine was around enough to pick up on it.

“Are they calling to you again?” she asked over breakfast one day. She was devouring Pop-Tarts, another love we apparently shared. I was too worried to have an appetite and simply watched. “You look like crap.”

“I don’t know,” I said, drumming my fingers against a glass of water. “There’s no precedent for this—at least not anymore. No one knows what to expect from me having two kingdoms.”

“I bet Dorian would know.”

I bet he would too, but I shook my head. “He’s not all-knowing no matter how much he wants to be,” I countered. “And I’m done with him.”

“Okay.” She didn’t fight it. For a while, she’d kept telling me I’d made a mistake in breaking up with Dorian, but Kiyo had been growing on her. I still wasn’t sure if she approved, but at least I didn’t have to listen to teen advice about my love life anymore. “But you might just have to go back soon. I mean, think about it. You’re bound to two lands in the Otherworld. Aren’t the lands and the monarch one? Part of you’s there. It makes sense you’d have to be there twice as much.”

I winced at the idea, though it had been on my mind too. “If I were there any more, I’d be living there permanently.”

She swallowed the last of some crust. “You may not have a choice.”

Her flippant tone irritated me. “There’s always a choice. I rule them. They don’t rule me.” I stood
up abruptly and briefly became dizzy. It felt like the lands were mocking me.
Damn it,
I thought.
You will not call me back so quickly. I’m staying in this world for a while. I’ll come and go when I please.
“I just need to stop thinking about it. I’m going to see if Lara’s got a job.”

“Yeah,” said Jasmine dryly. “That’ll fix everything.”

Lara did have a job for me, several actually. Even though she was all but living with Tim—in my house—she still kept meticulous records and took all my calls. She looked disappointed that I only accepted one from her growing list of jobs, a small one at that: a simple haunting that would probably take about five minutes. She said nothing, but I knew that she worried if I didn’t make any money, she wouldn’t either. So, remembering Enrique’s comment about needing help but not being able to trust anyone, I gave her his card with the suggestion she call about part-time work.

“Are you firing me?” she asked.

I smiled as I gathered up all my weapons. “No, but I want you to have a backup plan in case you get laid off.” Her eyes widened in alarm at the joke. Or, I suddenly wondered, was it a joke?

I brought Jasmine with me to the job because I still felt uneasy about leaving her alone. Besides, she was finally getting her fill of the human world, and I had a feeling her insistence on me returning to the Otherworld was partly selfish.

Later, after I’d finished the job, I kind of regretted bringing a witness.

“Wow,” she said, as we drove home. “You got your ass kicked.”

“I did not.”

“Did too.”

So. This was what it was like having a sister.

“I banished it, didn’t I? You saw it go to the Underworld.”

“Yeah,” she admitted, “but it sure did take a long time. I felt like I could have done it, and I’ve never banished anything before.”

I gritted my teeth, refraining from commenting that I still had her chains. The troubling thing was, I had kind of sucked. I’d been in no real danger—not with a ghost that minor—but it had beaten me up more than it should have. I was off my game, a little slower, a little weaker. I’d walked away with some bruises and now noticed as we drove that my shoulder itched. For a moment, I thought the ghost must have hit me there, but there was no pain. The stitches. I’d nearly forgotten about them, now that they’d finally been able to heal. My skin had probably started to grow over the threads. I needed them out.

No one was at my house, much to my disappointment. I’d hoped Kiyo had stopped by and could remove the stitches. Trying to be optimistic, I decided he must be pulling a shift at the veterinary hospital and wasn’t with Maiwenn. Thus far, I’d heard no official word from her about my new double-queen status. Other monarchs had weighed in, though. Some had responded by showering me with congratulatory gifts and groveling. Others had let me know—in an amiable
way—about other monarchs they were pals with, monarchs with big armies. It turned out everyone did fear the Iron Crown.

I called my regular doctor, hoping to get an appointment this week as backup, in case Kiyo stayed absent. To my pleasant surprise, they’d had a cancellation that afternoon and could remove the stitches right away. It was good news for me but an annoyance for Jasmine, who’d just gotten comfortable on the couch.

“Oh, come on,” she said, stretching out. “We just got home. Can’t you please leave me here? I promise not to conquer the world or get pregnant while you’re gone.”

“You know,” I said, “Lara and Tim had sex right where you’re lying.” She jumped up.

A half hour later, we arrived at my doctor’s office.

I left Jasmine in the waiting room, deeming her safe enough with her iPod and magazines for the five minutes it would take to remove my stitches. Maybe she’d read some contraception pamphlets to pass the time.

“They did this in the ER?” the doctor asked when I was admitted to an examination room and had taken off my shirt.

I’d been seeing Dr. Moore for a couple years now. She was a pleasant, mid-fortyish woman who had eventually learned not to ask too many questions about my injuries. She thought I was a “contractor” who practiced martial arts on the side.

“Not exactly,” I said. “I tore the ones the ER did, so my boyfriend had to redo them.”

She took hold of tweezers and a tiny pair of scissors and leaned over. “Well, his work’s neat, and it didn’t get infected. If I’d seen you when this happened, I would have confined you to your bed. I would have known better than to assume you wouldn’t promptly rip these out.”

“Yeah, I really pulled one over on the other doctor.”

She snorted a small laugh and proceeded to pull the stitches out. They stung where they tugged the skin, but honestly, it was nothing compared to my normal wear and tear.

“There you go,” she said, stepping back. “You’ll have a scar.”

I put my shirt back on and faced her. “Battle trophy.”

She rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall with crossed arms. “You shouldn’t joke about that.”

“Sorry.” I picked up my purse, but her expression said we weren’t done.

“Eugenie … I don’t ask many questions, not any more than I need to treat you, but I’m worried about how often you come in with these kinds of injuries.”

If only she knew how many I didn’t come in for. “I—”

“No, no,” she interrupted. “I don’t need to know all the details of your life. I try not to judge—but
you
might need to. There are jobs out there that are physical in nature. That’s life. But whatever you’re doing … maybe you should reevaluate it. To be blunt, you look terrible today.”

“Oh, that.” Crap. I could hardly explain that it
was the residual aftereffects of a magical battle in the Otherworld, during which I’d fought for dominion of a fairy kingdom and become its new master, thus doubling my reign. “I’m just, uh, coming down with something. Just kind of tired, you know.”

She arched her eyebrows.

Double crap.

“Then let’s do some quick blood and urine tests,” she said, straightening up. “Check your electrolytes, thyroid …”

I fumbled for an excuse. I’d never been comfortable with those kinds of tests since discovering I had gentry blood. I was pretty sure human medicine couldn’t detect that sort of thing, but I didn’t want to take any chances. “I don’t have time. My sister’s waiting for me in the lobby.”

“I’m sure she’ll be okay,” said Dr. Moore. “This’ll take five minutes.”

“Fine.” I sat back on the table, defeated. “But can you send someone to make sure she’s still out there? She’s the sullen one.”

Dr. Moore’s nurse returned to send me to the bathroom and then drew blood when I came back. She was in the middle of telling me they would send the tests out to a lab, when Dr. Moore herself stuck her head back in.

“Can we talk for a moment?” she asked.

The nurse discreetly left, and once we were alone, I braced for another lecture about my lifestyle. “I really need to get back to my sister,” I told her. “You don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“Eugenie.” Dr. Moore’s voice was kind but firm.
“Most of those tests we have to wait on, but there are a few we do right here with urine.”

“And?”

“And, you’re pregnant.”

I thought about this for a moment and then enlightened her.

“No. I’m not.”

Those eyebrows rose again.

“Your test came back positive. Now, we can’t tell how far just from a urine test, but based on—”

“Your test is wrong!” I sprang up from the table. My world was starting to reel again. “I can’t be pregnant!”

To her credit, she took my outburst calmly, but that was probably part of her training. “The test is very accurate, and it would explain why you aren’t feeling well.”

“I
can’t
be pregnant,” I repeated adamantly. There was a mistake here. A terrible, terrible mistake, and she needed to understand that. Until she did, I refused even to process what she was claiming. “I take my birth control pills. Every day. Same time. Just like I’m supposed to. I’m not going to lie: I do other stupid shit all the time. But not with pills. I take them perfectly. I did with the antibiotics too. I’m careless with stitches but not prescriptions.”

That calm expression shifted to surprise. “Antibiotics? When were you taking antibiotics?”

I pointed to my shoulder. “When I got this. The ER doctor gave me a prescription.” I frowned. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? I told you: I took them correctly, all of them.”

“Antibiotics can negate birth control pills,” she said. “Didn’t you know that?”

“I … What? No. That’s not … No.”
A mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake.

“Women taking both need to use some other form of contraception until the antibiotics have run their course.”

A horrible, cold feeling began spreading over me. “How was I supposed to know that?” I asked in a small voice.

“Your pharmacist should have told you when you got the antibiotics. The interaction would have shown up in your records.”

I thought back to that night, how my mom and I had stopped at the place closest to the hospital. “I didn’t go to my usual pharmacy….” And I had gotten out of there as fast as I could, not bothering to talk to the pharmacist because I’d taken antibiotics lots of times in my life. I certainly hadn’t bothered with the enclosed pamphlets.

Dr. Moore seemed to think she’d gotten through to me. “Now, we can figure out how far along you are if you know when your last period—”

“No,”
I exclaimed. “No, no, no. I can’t be pregnant! Don’t you understand? I can’t be. I can’t have a baby.
I can’t!
” I was shouting again and wondered if this place had security.

“Calm down,” Dr. Moore said. “Everything will be all right.”

No, no, it wouldn’t. Everything wouldn’t be all right. Nausea welled in me, nausea I’d felt for a few weeks or so—and that had nothing to do with inheriting the Rowan Land. After all this time,
after all the planning and lofty talk, after all my fears about Jasmine … it was
me.
Human medicine had screwed me over. No,
I
had screwed me over. I’d fucked up. My own carelessness had brought this about. Everything anyone had ever said about the Storm King prophecy began to run through my mind.
Sformi, King’s first grandson. An invasion of the human world. Led by his mother. Domination and blood.
And I, I was bringing it about…. I was the instrument….

“Eugenie!”

Dr. Moore was supporting me, and I had a feeling she’d said my name a few times. She glanced at the door and opened her mouth, about to call her nurse.

“No!” I clutched at her white coat. “Don’t. Listen to me.” My voice was raspy and desperate. “I can’t. I can’t have a baby. Don’t you understand?”

She peered at me through her glasses, regarding me knowingly. “Then you don’t have to. There are options—”

You can’t have a boy,
some voice inside me said.
What if it’s a girl?

“Wait,” I interrupted her. “When can you tell the gender?”

That got a shocked look. “You’d base an abortion on gender?”

“I—no, wait.” Fuck. I couldn’t think. I was panicked and scared and confused. I needed to get my head together. What did I do? I had to get rid of this baby, pure and simple. People did it all the time. It was easy in this day and age, right? “I
meant, how long until you can tell gender and if … if there’s anything wrong.” I groped for something reasonable, something that wouldn’t make me seem like a heartless woman who’d kill her son. “You can do those tests, right? Like, genetic tests? I … I’m so afraid of having a baby and having there be something wrong. My family has a bad history. My cousins have had babies with birth defects, and I can’t … I can’t handle that. I have to know. I have to know … right away … as early as possible because otherwise I’ll …” The lies rolled easily off my lips. Anything. Anything to know the gender.