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“He doesn’t?”

“No.”

Earl threw her a wild look. His fists dipped, dropping his guard. Not that he had much to guard against. Westvane didn’t appear to be contemplating retaliation.

“A Slayer?” Earl asked, looking horrified. “Have you lost your marbles, girl?”

“Probably.” Earl’s observation wasn’t far from the truth. Her mental acuity began to slip the second she signed the damn papers. Nothing to do now but make the best of it… and the introductions. Dropping the duffle to the floor, she waved her hand between the two. “Earl meet Westvane. Westvane, this is Earl.”

“Seriously, princess?”

“Don’t start.” Warning Westvane with a look, she slammed the door. “I really don’t want to hear it.”

Earl jumped out of the way, the wooden edge missing his creepy-crawly hind-end by less than an inch. She didn’t care. After months of lying to her, it would serve him right if he left her house one leg shy of a full load.

12

AS YOU WISH

Deep in the ancient lands, far from the capital, Lyonesse stood alone on the fortress balcony.Alonewas a good word for her state of mind.Forlornmight be better. Old as the rock that cradled it, as inhospitable as the mountain it rested upon, Ramstein Palace had never been a friend to her.

Set apart from the world.

Unmoved by time.

As beautiful as it was unwelcoming.

Resting her hands on the wide stone railing, she tipped her face up to the darkening sky. Brutal winds whipped across glacial terrain. Summer. Winter. The temperature never changed. Always cold. Forever icy. Permanently frosted by hostile forces that refused to relent.

She breathed deep, drawing the chill into her lungs, feeling the harsh air bristle against her wings. Settling her feathers, she returned her eyes to the view. Stark gray mountain peaks rose high, only to fall, plummeting toward snow-covered valleys.

It had been years since she’d visited. Twenty-seven of them. Not since her father ruled Azlandia.

The thought jabbed at her.

She disliked the reminder. Didn’t want to acknowledge her father’s failure or enjoy standing in the place he’d once called home. Too many memories lived inside the palace, lying in wait against the walls, ghosting through empty rooms and the many archways she’d played beneath so often as a child.

Everywhere she looked memories persisted. Reminding her. Shaming her. Blaming her for what she’d done. It mattered little that she’d been right. Or that her actions had been necessary to ensure the health of her people. Being right didn’t make the reality any less painful — or mourning the loss of her father any less difficult to bear. She carried the manner of his death with her every hour of the day. Heartache weighed more than one might believe. Certainty more than she anticipated, given the time spent with her sire never faded from her mind.

The truth stared her in the face.

Especially here, in the high nesting place of a beloved king.

Unlike her, her father had enjoyed solitude. Liked the chill in an all-but-forgotten corner of the realm. He’d told her spending time away from the capital and court made him a better ruler, a wiser leader to the people, but she knew the truth.

He’d come here to be withher, to feed the connection so it would burn bright and never fade.

She hadn’t understood it then. She did now.

Leonidas had betrayed them all.

She’d set it straight, ending his rule, closing all avenues to theEcotone… ridding the Mirror Kingdoms of the Door Master her sire had loved so much. And yet, here she stood — in a palace she swore would never house another living soul. She’d regressed, come back in time, returning to a place she despised to ensure all she’d accomplished wouldn’t be undone.

Lyonesse drew another deep breath.

Stalling much longer wasn’t wise.

A decision needed to be made.