Shadow Heir

I frowned. “I’m sketchy on my botany … but isn’t mistletoe poisonous?”

“Not always fatally so,” Volusian replied. “Especially in such a minute amount. At most, they will get fantastically ill, but that hardly seems worse than their present condition.”

“‘Fantastically ill.’ What a great image,” I said. “Then what? They’re cured?”

“No. Mistletoe simply weakens the dryads’ magic—but it cannot break it. To fully pull them out of the spell, you must give them a reason to come back. The dryads weave an enchantment of perfect contentment. Most don’t want to leave that.”

I thought back to our waterside slumber party. I wouldn’t exactly say I’d been perfectly content, but I had been charmed enough by simple hairstyling to obliviously waste part of the day. If we’d felt that way from just a brush of dryad magic, what would the full force of it do?

“So … when you say give them a reason, do you mean talk to them? Can they even hear us?” I glanced at the blank gazes around me. “It sure doesn’t seem that way.”

“If what you have to say is meaningful enough to them, they will hear it. That and the mistletoe may be able to free them of the enchantment. Much depends on the individual’s will. The weak rarely escape.”

I didn’t like the implications. “Well, this is a pretty strong group. If anyone can break free, they can. So … we need mistletoe and a pep talk.”

Keeli stepped toward Volusian and crossed her arms. “Spirit, what kind of mistletoe is required? White?”

“That would work best,” he confirmed.

Whoa. I hadn’t even known there were multiple types. I only knew about the kind you kissed under at Christmas, which was usually plastic in my experience. “You know plants?” I asked Keeli.

“Enough to get by,” she said. “And enough to know that we’re not likely to find white mistletoe in this climate.”

“It grows in the Yew Land,” said Volusian. “And we are very close.”

“How close?” I asked, a bit startled by this news.

“Five miles down the road perhaps. At least, that’s what I observed earlier. The road may have shifted.”

“Your Majesty,” said Keeli eagerly. “Allow me to ride on ahead and find the mistletoe. I know what it looks like.”

I shook my head. “You can’t ride into enemy territory alone.”

“Yet we can’t leave them alone either.” She gestured to our slack-jawed men. “I won’t raise notice if I slip in alone.”

I considered. We needed to get the mistletoe, but she was right that we couldn’t leave the men alone. Who knew what else might come along in this land? I weighed everyone’s abilities and then came up with the best division of labor I could.

“Jasmine will go with you,” I said. “Volusian and I will stay here with the guys and try to talk some sense into them.” No matter her brave words, I couldn’t send Keeli alone, nor could I leave Jasmine alone on defense. This seemed the best option. “But I, uh, might need your help first to move them.”

Much like Pagiel, the rest of the men could be coaxed to their feet and made to walk, so long as someone was there every step of the way. We ended up taking them back to the lagoon since it was relatively sheltered and not near the road. We brought the horses and supplies next, and I was surprised to find myself sweating when all was done, thanks to the heat. It was a welcome change after the blight. Keeli and Jasmine mounted their horses and prepared to go.

“Be careful,” I warned.

“We will,” said Jasmine. She eyed the men, whom we had sat down in an almost artful arrangement near the water’s edge. “You know, this would be the perfect time to kill Kiyo.”

“What?” I exclaimed.

She shrugged. “Just throwing it out there. You know he’s going to keep being a pain in the ass. Toss him in the lake and claim he wandered in there and drowned. No one would know, and we wouldn’t tell.” Keeli nodded emphatically.

“Sorry,” I said. It was a bit alarming that I could understand their reasoning—but there was no way I could go there. “Believe me, I wish I could get rid of him. But doing it to him in this state would be as bad as what he tried to do to me.”

The two of them rode off, leaving me and Volusian behind. I gave him orders to patrol the area and let me know immediately if he heard or saw something concerning. Of course, it was hard to imagine anything much more concerning than my present situation. Despite all the life and noise of the forest around us, there was an eerie silence at the lagoon. It just didn’t feel right to be sitting with five other people and have none of them make a sound. Those freaky, glassy-eyed stares also creeped me out.

Still, I had a job now. Volusian had said I needed to give them all a reason to come back. That sounded more like a job for my mom the therapist. I wasn’t a prickly person, not exactly, but I hardly had that easy bedside manner for exploring feelings and making others feel better. The guys had apparently had a chance to gather food before the dryads came, and I’d helped carry their haul when we transferred everything to the lagoon. Most of it was fruit, but the blight was still too fresh in mind for me to even think about eating any more dried meat. Finding a banana, I sat cross-legged and studied each guy in turn, trying to think what would appeal to him.

When I finished eating, I decided to start my therapy with Rurik. I sat down beside him, feeling a little foolish at first, but knew I just had to jump right into it.

“Rurik, I know those dryads didn’t really enthrall you. You’re too crazy about Shaya to let those tree strumpets have any effect. If Shaya was here, I bet she could’ve kicked all their asses. I mean, she controls plants … so maybe her magic would’ve done something to them since they’re into trees. Or maybe she would’ve just walked up and punched them. That’s what I’d probably do. Wipe those smirks off their little nymph faces. You have to get better so you can go back to her, you know. I’m still not sure what you did to win her over, but it must have been a lot of work. You can’t let that all go to waste, and no matter how ‘frivolous’ she thinks it is, I still think you guys need a honeymoon. I’m going to order it once we’re all home and this blight is put to rest. I can do that because, you know, I’m queen. So, if she’s not reason enough to snap out of this, I don’t know what it is. I mean, I suppose I’d miss you too if you die here. You don’t always have the most respectful attitude, but you do get things done. I hate to admit it, but I’d have a hard time replacing you. I guess I’d have to appoint Davin in your place.”

I stopped talking, suddenly wondering if I wasn’t doing more harm than good. While Rurik was unquestionably the leader of my forces, Davin was another soldier and kind of Rurik’s rival. I’d inherited Davin with the Rowan Land, and he’d proved remarkably loyal and competent—and made it abundantly clear that he thought he’d do a better job than Rurik. It didn’t help matters that they were polar opposites. Rurik was a soldier to the heart, rough and efficient. Davin served well but also had a great appreciation for the finer things that Rurik scoffed at. Studying Rurik, who had had no reaction since I began talking, I reconsidered my doubts. Rurik was just contrary enough that maybe a little tough love was the real tactic here.

“Of course,” I continued, “maybe that’d be easier for you in the long run. I know how much you hate it when your job makes you dress up and go to diplomatic functions. Davin doesn’t mind that stuff, though. Have you ever seen his wardrobe? It’s pretty amazing. I think he spends more time on his hair than I do. Even if you do get out of this enchantment, I might just have him start doing that high-level stuff anyway. It’d be a favor to you, really, since you’re not that good at it. Plus, I know how much you hate going to some of those balls and parties with Shaya. I’m sure Davin wouldn’t mind escorting her. He’d probably even coordinate his clothes to match hers. That way, you could just stay home or go hunting or whatever.”

Still no reaction. Volusian had given me the impression that even if the guys heard me, they might not show it. Furthermore, it still might not be enough without the mistletoe to counteract some of the magic. I decided to give Rurik a rest and move on to the others. I’d keep making the rounds, and maybe, bit by bit, I’d chink away at the dryads’ enthrallment.

Danil was next. I didn’t attempt the cruel reverse psychology I had on Rurik, but I did put the same emphasis on his loved ones. Danil had been with me since I took over the Thorn Land, so I knew something about his life, like that he’d been married for a year and just had a baby. I talked to him about his family, pointing out how happy they’d be to see him. I even briefly mentioned Isaac and Ivy, saying that it’d be great if our children could play together someday.

I nearly skipped Alistir. He was Dorian’s man, and I didn’t know much about him. Still, I took the time to chat about what I did know, like how much Dorian valued him and how we needed Alistir to save our kingdoms. Hopefully, Keeli would know something more after having talked so much to him on this trip. Or, Dorian himself might help once he was restored.

Kiyo was difficult, and I nearly skipped him for an entirely different set of reasons. Jasmine’s parting words really didn’t help because they were all I kept thinking about as I sat next to Kiyo. Maybe he was our ally now, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t about to let the prophecy go. Even if our blight quest had a happy ending, what then? There’d be no peace for me. Far easier to get rid of him now when Dorian couldn’t come to his defense.

But as I’d told Jasmine, taking advantage of Kiyo’s situation would be as despicable as what he’d done to me. I wouldn’t stoop to that level, and even though I intended them to grow up without him, he was still the father of my children.

“I’m sure Maiwenn will want to see you again,” I began awkwardly. Were they romantically involved? Those two were always on and off again, but I wasn’t up on the latest gossip. Talking about her wasn’t my favorite topic, but Kiyo’s young daughter with her was a bit easier. “And I know Marta will too. She must be so big now. Does she walk and talk? Maybe I’ll see her someday. Regardless, you have to break this spell so you can get back to her. Even being on this journey must be hard. You’re probably missing all kinds of neat things she’s doing. I know how you feel. I keep thinking about Isaac and Ivy and how every day keeps me from something amazing. So hurry up and come back to us so we can get you back to the Willow Land.”