“Hey!” I turned back to him and was treated to a full-on Dorian smirk. “That is not what I said. Not exactly.”
“But it’s very reasonable,” he teased. “I have skills no one else can teach your children. And it’d be a shame not to pass my legendary charm and charisma on to the next generation. A tragedy, even.”
“Legendary, huh? That might be an exaggeration.”
“It’s truth, my dear. And I’m willing to put it all at your disposal—I’m willing to put anything at your disposal—if it’ll help you and yours. As I keep saying: What wouldn’t I do for you?”
I met his eyes, expecting to see some Dorian sarcasm, but he was utterly serious. I was uncomfortably reminded of this morning, when I’d woken up and seen him alive and well. Something inside of me had opened and felt more joyous than I’d been in a while. I was starting to feel that way now, and it frightened me.
We kept our conversation to ourselves, but our growing rapport was noticeable to others. Kiyo had a lot to say about it.
“So,” he said to me as we took a midday break, “I see you and Dorian are allies again.”
I took a long drink from a water jug as I contemplated my answer. We’d just crossed into another kingdom, as was typical when traveling. It was always a little disconcerting to leave the place you were going to, but Volusian had assured us we’d be back in the Yew Land before long.
“Dorian and I have always been allies.”
“Not the way I remember it,” said Kiyo darkly. “Didn’t he lie and trick you into winning the Iron Crown?”
“He did,” I agreed. “I don’t like it, but I’ve become more understanding of why he did it. It was for the greater good.”
“It was for his own selfish ambition!” Kiyo cast a glance over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. “You know that. You know how he is. He wants to use you for his own ends.”
“Maybe,” I said, thinking back on recent conversations with Dorian. “But I also think he wants what’s best for me and my children.”
“He wants what he thinks is best for you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, considering that involves my children staying alive, I’ll gladly take that over you advising on what you think is best. You really have no business preaching to me about this, especially after I was the only one yesterday who even bothered to—”
A shout from Rurik immediately turned me from Kiyo. The others in my party were already looking in the direction we’d just come from, and I quickly spotted what they had. I leapt to my feet and drew my weapons as a group of people on horseback emerged around a bend in the road. Seeing us, they came to an abrupt halt and drew weapons of their own.
“Stay right where you are,” warned one of the men in the strange group. He had a curly blond beard and wielded a worn but effective-looking copper sword. “Attack us, and you’ll regret it.”
Rurik grinned at him, but there was no genuine humor to it. “If you don’t lower your weapons, you’ll regret it. Set them on the ground now before we have to take them from you.”
All this did was make the strangers tense and brace for battle. My group did the same, myself included. Yet, as I did, I took the opportunity to study our combatants more closely. They were all gentry, all armed, but their weapons didn’t have the uniformity or maintenance of the Beech soldiers’. This group wore nothing resembling uniforms either. Their clothing was worn and, in some cases, mismatched. Cloaks and furs were draped in front of them on their horses, like they’d been hastily pulled off when the climate had changed. Some of their faces were smudged, and all looked like they hadn’t been eating well.
“Wait,” I said, hurrying forward.
“I wouldn’t advise it,” said Rurik, gaze fixed on the strangers. “Stay back for your own safety.”
I halted in the middle of our two groups. “Who are you? Where are you from?”
The new group eyed me suspiciously. “Who are you?” asked the blond-bearded man.
“You’re from one of the blighted lands, aren’t you?” I asked, positive I was right.
Nobody changed their stance, but the bearded guy regarded me with new interest. “What of it?”
“So are we,” I said. “We’re from ...” What was that absurd name Dorian had come up with the other day?
“... the Lilac Land,” he said, coming to stand beside me. He held his sword still, but his posture was more relaxed. I think he’d come to the same conclusion I had about these people.
“Never heard of it,” said a woman from the newcomers. A spotted falcon sat upon her shoulder and watched us with equal suspicion.
“Most haven’t,” said Dorian, deadpan. “It’s very far away.” He glanced between her and the blond man and must have decided she was a better bet. Dorian gave her one of his charming smiles. “What’s your kingdom called?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, and then she said, “The Hemlock Land.”
“You’ve suffered considerably,” said Dorian. “Just as we have.”
My next leap was drastic, but again, I felt pretty confident of my instincts. “You’re going to surrender to Varia, aren’t you?” It seemed logical. They weren’t a big enough force to stage a rebellion, but underneath the wear and tear, something about this group said they weren’t commoners. I was certain they were here to negotiate. “So are we.”
Some of them shifted uncomfortably. “It’s the best thing for our people,” the woman said, almost defensively. “That’s what matters.”
“It is,” I agreed, hoping I sounded compassionate. “There’s no need to be ashamed.”
“We never said we were,” she said. Clearly this was a sensitive topic, which I understood perfectly.
The blond man lowered his sword, which I took as an excellent sign. “Are you going to Withywele?”
“Yes,” said Dorian quickly, before anyone could mess up the story. He lowered his sword too. “We assumed that would be the place to find the queen. A guide gave us directions.”
“You’ve never been there?”
“No.”
The spokesman turned and murmured a few words to his group. Most of them nodded, though a couple—like the woman—shook their heads emphatically. At last, the blond man turned his attention back to us. “We know the way. If you wish, you may travel with us. It will certainly help to have more of us to face the peacekeepers.”
I glanced at Dorian and was met with a puzzled shake of the head. “What are the peacekeepers?”
“A jest of a term,” said the Hemlock woman, scowling. “Queen Varia leaves certain enchantments and obstacles in her subservient kingdoms to keep them in line. The residents are given ways to avoid them and be safe ... unless they displease her. The peacekeepers also discourage outsiders.”
Kiyo spoke up. “Would you consider a group of dryads part of this, uh, peacekeeping?”
The woman nodded gravely. “Most certainly. They’re an excellent force to be used against strangers—but can be coaxed to leave natives alone.”
“Give us a second,” I said.
Hoping I wouldn’t be attacked in the back, I turned and walked back to the group with Dorian. “I don’t trust them,” said Rurik promptly.
“Nor should we,” said Dorian. “Not entirely. Though, they may be useful if they know the Yew Land—and about these ‘peacekeepers.’ That certainly would’ve been helpful information earlier when we met those wenches.”
“Volusian couldn’t have known,” I said, barely believing I was defending my minion.
Kiyo sighed. “I don’t like the idea of traveling with strangers, but we certainly need all the intel we can get.”
“They don’t look any happier about traveling with us than we do with them,” said Pagiel. It was a remarkably observant statement. “We could probably pretty much keep to ourselves until we got to Withywele. Even there, they might be able to help us with the city.”