THORN QUEEN

“Yes, but not in the way I love you.”

He kissed me with a gentleness very different from the roughness of last night. I melted against him. The kiss grew stronger, filling with ardor. With great reluctance, he finally pulled away. I could see the longing in his eyes. He wanted to have sex again. That said something for my charms, I guessed.

His responsible inclinations wi

“Will I see you there?” he asked, voice even and neutral.

I sighed. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

He smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

I nodded.

He went to the door and looked back at me. “I love you.” The heat in his voice told me he truly meant it. I smiled back.

“I love you too.”

He left, and I pulled the sheets more tightly against me and made no motions to get up. I couldn’t stay in bed all day, unfortunately. Other things-like my promise to Kiyo-demanded my attention today. There was a trip to the Otherworld ahead of me, one that would take me to a kingdom I’d reluctantly inherited. You see, Maiwe

Yet, astonishingly, that wasn’t the problem for me today. That was easy compared to what else lay in store for me.

I had to go to a gentry baby shower.

Chapter Two

Crossing over to the Otherworld is easier for me than most people but still requires a bit of work. Once I’d packed up what I needed, I had to drive to Saguaro National Park and hike out to a remote corner of it. Here, two very faint trails intersected in a crossroads-a common marker for gates to the Otherworld. It and the human world lie very close to each other, and certain spots between the two are thi

Standing at the crossroads, I closed my eyes, slipping into a trance very similar to the one I used to banish the spirit yesterday. A tattoo of a greenish snake coiled around one of my arms in tribute to Hecate, the goddess who guarded transitions and chthonic magic. Invoking her, drawing on her power, I stretched my body beyond this world. A moment later, I stood in the Otherworld. In a castle. A castle that belonged to me.

I recovered myself quickly since crossover side effects almost never bothered me anymore. The room I stood in was a small sitting room, sparsely furnished. In the center of it was a rabbit paperweight, white resin with little blue flowers. It was silly, but that rabbit was imbued with my essence, meaning when I crossed over from Saguaro National Park-or any other crossroads of my choice-my body would travel to this spot rather than to some remote place.

Footsteps sounded on the outside hallway’s stone floor. A moment later, a bright-eyed young woman with long blond hair peered inside. Her face split into a wide grin when she saw me.

“Your majesty,” she breathed, delighted. Turning back around, she yelled down the hall. “The queen! The queen is here!”

I winced. Man, I wished I could come here without all the hype. Bad enough I had to come here at all.

Her proclamation made, Nia ran up to me, squeezing my hand. She was one of my servants. I guess you’d call her my lady-in-waiting since she was responsible for my appearance most of the time. “Everything’s ready to go to the Willow Land,” she told me. “I’ve picked out an amazing gown for you.”

I shook my head, reaching into the backpack I almost always lugged around. The gentry favored heavy brocades and other elaborateness in their fashion. I wasn’t up for any of that today. “I brought my own.”

She stared at the dress I produced, then looked back up at me with raised eyebrows. “You’re jesting, your majesty, right?” Those blue eyes pleaded. “Right?”

I was saved from an argument when others entered the room. Still staring mournfully at the dress, Nia retreated so my senior staff could talk to me. Yeah. Senior fairy staff. Three months still wasn’t enough time to get used to this.

A tall, very lovely woman with glossy black braids strode in, her movements both athletic and graceful. Her name was Shaya, and I depended on her more than anyone else around here. She was my regent, handling all the dirty work I didn’t want to deal with, and I was grateful and lucky to have her.

With her was Rurik, the captain of my guard. Having guards was also something that took a lot of getting used to-particularly since they always wanted to follow me around. Rurik and I had gotten off to a bad start, probably because he’d tried to rape me the first time we met. Sporting a large build and pale blond hair, he’d proven himself a capable servant, though I’d often found him fooling around with other women who worked here. I had let him know in a very pleasant voice that I’d rip him apart if I ever found out those women hadn’t consented to his advances.

A few others trailed in, officials that I’d inherited with the castle when I killed its former king. I couldn’t remember half their names.

“Welcome back,” said Shaya, smiling. She didn’t possess Nia’s rapture but still seemed genuinely pleased to see me.

“Your majesty,” the others intoned, bowing.

They waited for me to sit in one of the chairs, joining me a moment afterward.

“Nia says we’re ready to go?” I asked, unable to hide my dismay at the upcoming trip.

“Yes,” Shaya told me. “We simply await your command. At an easy pace, we should be able to do it in three hours.”

I groaned. “Three hours. Do you know how crazy that is? I could do it in half that time by driving to a gateway in my own world and crossing over closer.”

She regarded me indulgently, having heard this argument before. “You can’t show up at Queen Maiwe

Rurik, sprawled lazily in a chair, flashed me a grin. “It’s part of your image, your majesty.”

I rubbed my eyes. “Alright. Whatever. Any word on Jasmine?”

His smile faded. “No. We’ve still got scouting parties roaming the kingdoms, but they’ve found nothing.”

“Incredible. You guys can make trees come to life and raise stones from the earth, but you can’t find one pouty teenage girl.”

“We’ll find your sister,” Rurik said grimly. I think he’d taken this mission as a matter of personal pride. “It may take awhile, but we’ll find her.”

I nodded because there was nothing else to do. The waiting infuriated me. Every moment that passed meant Jasmine, a mere fifteen years old, had another chance to get pregnant and give birth to a prophesied heir that would allegedly conquer the human world. I was subject to the same prophecy but was smart enough to use birth control.

“Anything else? How are things going otherwise?”

Shaya schooled her face to neutrality. “We manage, your majesty.”

She kept her voice as blank as her expression, but I could see badly feigned disapproval on the others’ faces. They didn’t like the way I neglected my duties here. I suspected Shaya disapproved as well, but it didn’t stop her from sparing me the details of the Thorn Land’s day-to-day affairs. She knew I didn’t really want to hear them, no matter my asking, so she didn’t tell me.

I noticed then just how truly oppressive the heat was in here. Everyone was sweating.

“My God, it’s hot,” I said.

They all stared at me, and I immediately felt stupid. What had I expected? When I’d conquered the kingdom, it had shaped itself to my will, transforming itself into my idea of perfection: the Sonora Desert. The castle had not changed, and remained in its constant state: thick blocks of stone. Black stone. Stone that absorbed heat like crazy and had little ventilation. It was the kind of place more suited to cold, misty moors.