The Shadow Queen (48 page)

“Well,” she said, trying for a bracing tone and hoping no one—except Ranon—heard the worry, “at least we know Cassidy isn’t alone.”

“Why do you think that?” Ranon asked.

“Because I can’t find Vae either.”

 

“I guess when you get rid of a wardrobe, the mirror and trunk go with it,” Cassidy said, rubbing her forehead with a grimy hand as she studied the latest combination of furniture. Why hadn’t she thought to bring a jug of water? She was parched, and Vae was panting.

It was tempting to give up, since they had circled and wandered the damn attic long enough to have crossed their own footprints a few times, but the answer was up here. Somewhere.

*Tired, Cassie,* Vae said.

And there were times when sense should override a foolish need to do one thing right.

“Me too. Last one. If we don’t find anything this time, we’ll go downstairs and get some help looking.” Maybe they could just pitch every mirror, trunk, and wardrobe onto the lawn until they found the right one. And Theran could damn well help with the pitching and searching. After all, this was his inheritance, not hers.

Taking a deep breath—and coughing from the dusty air—Cassidy crouched in front of the trunk and warily held out a hand. Some of the trunks . . . Whatever they contained was so vile, she couldn’t get near them without feeling sick. This one . . .

Expectation. Anticipation. An odd feeling of hope.

She slipped the key into the trunk’s lock . . .

. . . and the wardrobe door opened.

“Well, that’s clever.” She pulled the wardrobe door open a little more, then pushed the nearest box of whatevers against it to hold it open before she created a ball of witchlight.

“It’s a room,” Cassidy whispered. She stepped back and looked at the discarded furniture and boxes. Part real and part illusion? Had to be, but she wasn’t sure her hands would be able to tell the difference, even now when so many centuries had passed since that spell had been cast.

“Vae, you stay out here.”

*Why?*

“Because if that door closes and I get trapped in there, you’ll need to find Theran and rescue me.”

Vae sat down, wagged her tail in agreement—and sneezed.

“Let’s see what Lia left for her heirs.”

Trunks lined two of the walls. Sturdy shelves rose above them, filled with boxes and bags—and more journals. The third side, to her left, had racks for storing paintings.

She pulled out the first painting, easing away the protecting cloth—and wondered how a portrait of Theran had gotten up there. Then she uncovered the next painting and saw the same man, older. His arms were around a woman who wasn’t pretty, but had her own kind of beauty.

Jared and Lia.

She wanted to uncover the rest of the paintings, wanted to spend hours studying these people who were still the heart of their land. But Theran and Gray should have the pleasure of that discovery, so she replaced the cloths over the paintings and began to check the shelves to get an idea of what was there before she went downstairs to tell the others what she’d found.

Bags of gold and silver coins. Even a few gold bars. Loose gemstones. Enough, she judged, to repair the estate and support a prudent Queen’s court for several years so that the tithes could be put back into the Provinces and villages, helping Blood and landens alike to rebuild Dena Nehele.

And a few pieces of jewelry, carefully preserved in velvet-lined boxes and fit for a Queen.

Family heirlooms. Dishes and trinkets that were worth more for their history than for whatever price they might fetch.

Then there was the box with the sealed message resting on top.

“Where in the name of Hell have you been?” Theran said the moment Cassidy stepped out on the terrace, looking happy and incredibly dirty. “Gray’s been frantic, worrying about you.”

Hell’s fire, was he relieved to see her! At that moment, he wanted to strangle her for scaring them all so much, but he was relieved to see her.

“Do you realize it’s midafternoon now and there’s been no sign of you—none!—since the maid found the breakfast tray outside your door?”

“So late?” She looked startled. “I didn’t realize.”

“Where have you been?” he shouted.

She shifted away from him. “I was up in the attic.”

“What for? And why didn’t you tell someone? We were ready to tear apart the town looking for you.” Not to mention having to go to Sadi and tell him they had lost the Queen.

Vae joined them, so filthy he imagined the housekeeper was having a fit about the dog tramping through the house, and since he knew who would end up washing the little bitch, he wasn’t quite as relieved to see her.

Especially when she growled at him.

“And you,” he snapped, pointing at Vae. “You couldn’t have told us where Cassidy had gone? You’re always yapping about everything else.”

*I do not yap.*

Theran snorted.

“Prince . . . ,” Cassidy began.

“Cassie!”

He didn’t need to watch Gray running for the house. He watched Cassidy . . . and the way her eyes lit up when she saw Gray.

At least that answered one question.

“Cassie!” Gray stopped at the edge of the terrace. “There’s . . . there’s something I want to show you.”

She smiled. “I have some things to show you too.”

“Mine first,” Gray said.

Her smile widened. “All right.” Then she looked at Theran and held out a rectangular wooden box, its top decorated with the Grayhaven seal. “This is for you.”

As he took the box, his eyes asked the question.

“I found the treasure,” Cassidy said, her face glowing with excitement under the grime. “It’s up there, Theran, along with so much of your heritage.” She took a step toward Gray, then turned back. “You look like him, you know. Jared. You look like him.”

Stunned, he watched as Gray clasped her hand and tugged her to the surprise in the garden. Talon had told him that a few times, but how would Cassidy know?

 

“Gray, wait,” Cassidy said. Too many emotions pouring off him.

She couldn’t tell if he was happy or upset, angry or excited.

Maybe all of them. Which meant her court would be equally upset by her unexpected absence.

Assuming any of them noticed or gave a damn.

You’re tired, so you’re bitchy,
she scolded herself. “Gray, wait.”

He stopped, but he looked like he was about to receive a crippling blow.

“I’m parched. Can I have some water before I see the surprise?”

“How did you know it was a surprise?”

Hell’s fire. She wasn’t supposed to know that. “Since I don’t know what you want to show me, it must be a surprise.”

As he rubbed a thumb over her cheek, he made one of those lightning shifts from boy to man.

“You’re not hurt?” he asked.

“No, Gray, I’m not hurt. I was up in the attic and lost track of time. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Scared me, Cassie. That’s a lot more than worry.”

“Yes, it is, and I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “There were too many years when someone going missing meant they weren’t coming back. Captured or killed. Sometimes Talon found what was left of them. Most times not.”

“Oh, Gray.”

He shook his head again. “Dena Nehele isn’t a safe place yet. It will be, someday, but for now it’s still not safe to go off on your own and not leave a direction for someone to follow.”

“I’ll remember that.”
I’ll miss you, Gray.

“Let’s get you some water.”

She drank her fill. Then Gray worked the pump for her so she could wash some of the grime off her face and hands.

He called in a small towel and handed it to her, and there was a question in his eyes that she couldn’t figure out.

“Close your eyes,” he said.

When she obeyed, he put an arm around her shoulders and guided her around the garden.

“Open your eyes now.”

She looked at the flower bed and thought,
Home.
Then she looked more closely.

“Common ground,” Gray said quietly. “Not quite the same, but similar. Not quite home, but it could be home—if you wanted to put down roots. And if you don’t, if you can’t, maybe I could put down roots in Dharo.”

It was her mother’s garden, and yet it wasn’t.

Then what he said sank in all the way.

“Dharo?” she asked, finally looking away from the flowers. “You want to live in Dharo?”

“I want to be with you.” He drew her into his arms.

“Theran needs you,” Cassidy said.

“And I need you. I know it’s not easy for you because your ways are so different from what we’ve known here, but maybe we can find some common ground there too. Can’t we try, Cassie? Can’t we at least try?”

He kissed her slowly, deeply, as if she truly mattered.

As if she were the only thing that mattered.

“Cassie?”

She looked into his eyes. Not quite a man, but no longer a boy. She didn’t know if they had a future together, but she did love him—and wasn’t love the most fertile ground of all?

“I’d like to try, Gray,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I really would like to try.”

His alarmed expression changed to thoughtful. “Are those happy tears?”

She hugged him hard. “Yes, these are happy tears.” Then she stepped back, rubbed her face, and smiled. “Show me the garden.”

 

Theran watched Gray kiss Cassidy, but that quickly felt intrusive, so he turned away and opened the box.

Under the wax-sealed paper was a Green Jewel that still held some of the psychic resonance of the woman who had worn it.

And some of the power,Theran realized as he felt that power fade, its last task completed.

The wax seal was so old, it crumbled when he tried to open it, but the words were clear enough.

 

“Theran?”

Talon stood inside the open terrace doors, out of the afternoon sunlight.

His throat was too tight for words, so Theran handed the letter to Talon and focused on Gray and Cassidy, who had their arms around each other’s waists and were pointing at parts of the new flower bed Gray had planted for her.

“Mother Night,” Talon said as he finished reading.

Theran opened the box.

“Lia’s,” Talon said, sounding hoarse. “I recognize it. It was her Birthright Jewel.”

“I wish I could see her the way he does,” Theran said as he turned, again, to watch Gray and Cassidy. “Not romantically. He loves her, and he deserves to be happy. But I wish I could see the Queen he sees when he looks at her. The Queen you see when you look at her. I didn’t stand with her for her sake,Talon. I did it for Gray. I did it because it would destroy him if something happened to her.”

“You still made the choice to stand with her. First time in a long time the Grayhaven line has defended a Queen. I guess that was enough.” Talon folded the letter and gave it back. “What are you going to do?”

Theran vanished the box and letter. “I’m going to learn how to be a good First Escort.”

“For Gray’s sake?”

“And for Dena Nehele. And for my own sake.”

Ranon joined them, looked toward the garden, and grinned, his relief at seeing Cassidy evident on his face. “Looks like Gray found her. That’s good.” Then the grin faded, and he looked wary. “Remember the letter Cassidy wrote to the Shalador Queens?”

“I remember,” Theran said.

“Well, they’re here. And they would like to meet the Queen.”

Theran probably looked as startled as Talon did. No one had expected the Shalador Queens to come out of hiding, much less leave the reserves.

He hesitated, automatically stalling for time until he could think of a reason why the other Queens couldn’t meet with Cassidy.

As he looked at Talon and Ranon, he realized they expected him to make an excuse. Maybe it was time for him to stop feeling disappointed that he hadn’t gotten what he’d wanted from this bargain, because Dena Nehele had gotten what it needed—a Queen who could help their land and all of its people.

It was time to be a First Escort.

“Wait here,” he told Ranon.

Then he walked over to the new part of the garden, where Gray and Cassidy were still talking about the flowers they could see and the ones that were still just seeds in the dirt.