Page 3 of Queens Will Play

At first, we thought we were here for a couple of years’ time-out, essentially stuck in the corner before being allowed to go home to Otherworld. Now, over seven years later, we’ve come to accept that we’re here for good. And we’ve all been through changes nobody should have to endure.

Trillian drove on the way home. He’d bought a black Cadillac Escalade, which fit all four of us, along with Maggie. Smoky and Morio sat in the back with Maggie in her car seat between them. I rode shotgun. As we headed for Talamh Lonrach Oll, back towards my Barrow, I thought about Roz. It had been over a year since he and Fraale had come to visit. One look at them and I suspected it wouldn’t work out, though I held out hope. Fraale had been unhappy—that had been apparent. And Roz had felt diminished since being changed back from the incubus we had known and loved.

“Things are starting to shift,” I said, breaking the silence.

Trillian let out a soft grunt. His long, silver hair was pulled back in a ponytail, reaching his waist. It shimmered against his skin, which was so dark he almost faded into the night. His frosty blue eyes glimmered in the faint light of the dashboard.

“I think he lived among humans so long that he lost site of what his former life had been. He expected to go back to a life that really wasn’t his to begin with,” Trillian said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m not talking about the farming part, though I think that was part of it,” Trillian said. “I mean, both Fraale and Rozurial were Fae to begin with. And the Fae aren’t naturally monogamous. Combine that with years of being a sex-crazy succubus…and incubus for Roz. Well, I don’t know how he expected monogamy after that. I think both of them were wearing rose-colored glasses.” Trillian shrugged. “Some of us can manage it,” he added, then looked at me. “And some can’t.”

I let out a soft laugh. “I see your point.”

My husbands—all three of them—were true to me, but I had always known I couldn’t choose between them. And they loved me enough to accept sharing me. In turn, I did my best to acknowledge the special qualities they possessed. Each one complemented a different side of myself and I tried to make certain they all knew they had a unique place in my heart, as well as my bed.

“I hope he’s not too disappointed,” Morio said.

My yokai-kitsune and I worked death magic together, and we had dived deeper into the realm of shadow ever since I became the queen of Shadow and Dusk. Morio had a wild, feral side to himself that Trillian, and even Smoky, didn’t. He could take me places with his magic that I couldn’t even reach on my own. Our sex life walked a razor’s edge, especially when he was in his full demonic form. Of the three, he was the most unpredictable.

“Of course he’s going to be disappointed,” I said. “But I have the feeling he always knew it was a long shot. He’s not that naïve.”

“Rozurial’s a romantic, even though he wouldn’t ever admit it,” Trillian said.

“You’re correct,” Smoky said. “I have the feeling he’ll regret asking Zeus to return him to his incubus state, though. One day, he’ll meet the right woman.”

“You think so?” I asked. “Some people aren’t cut out for monogamy or marriage,” I added. “Some people long for love, but when they get it, it becomes a burden. I think Roz might be one of those. And it’s fine, as long as they can accept who they are.”

“Whatever the case, his love life is none of our business,” Trillian said. “We need to support his choices, as long as he’s not hurting anyone.”

“So, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” I asked. “I have to hold court in the morning. I hate holding court.”

And that was the absolute truth. I detested sitting in on petty grievances, and even more, I hated being in charge of other peoples’ futures. And for some of the cases that came before me, my decision made the difference between freedom or a life behind bars. Unlike Aeval and Titania, I didn’t hand out death sentences, not unless it was an open-and-shut case that involved severe abuse or assault or murder.

But it was part of my job. I had to pretend like I cared about somebody stealing a neighbor’s carrots, or someone planting their tree too close to the fence dividing properties. With the expansion of the Fae Sovereign Nation, we were starting to see a lot of squabbles in the courts.

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Morio said, “but I just got a text from Vanzir asking if he can come over tonight. I told him sure, that we’ll be home in half an hour…Hmm,” he added.

“What is it?” Trillian asked.

“I don’t know. There’s something odd about his text—it’s more the feeling behind it than the actual text itself,” Morio said. “Tonight’s an odd night.”

“Speaking of odd,” I said, “did any of you see…” I hesitated, not sure whether to bring up the fact that I thought I’d seen Chase’s ghost.

“See what?” Trillian asked.

“I know it sounds crazy, but guys, I thought I saw Chase’s ghost while we were in the kitchen. He smiled and waved at me.” I shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing, but inside, I had the feeling there was something there that we needed to explore.

“Did you ask Delilah? She can see ghosts,” Morio said. “I didn’t notice, to be honest. I was trying to keep Maggie from ripping up a couple of books that were within her reach.”

“No, to be honest, I wasn’t sure she’d tell me the truth,” I finally said. “Working with the Autumn Lord has made her reticent over the years. I can see why his spirit would hang around—Delilah’s taking care of Astrid, after all, but something felt odd.”

“I think you need to have a talk with her,” Smoky said. “After all the three of you have been through, you shouldn’t be keeping secrets.”

“You’re right,” I said, deciding to give her a call when we got home. Kitten would just have to open up, because I wanted to know whether I was overworked or actually seeing things. “So, did Vanzir say why he’s coming over?”

“No. He said he’d meet us at the Barrow. But…something’s up,” Morio said. His black hair drifted around his shoulders.