“Aren’t you supposed to be dead? I cried for you, not that we could have a funeral, but I felt terrible thinking you’d died,” shot back Tiny.

  “Sounds like you’d rather I was, since you won’t listen,” Will complained.

  Tiny’s voice was cold. “After I heard why you were dead, I realized it was probably for the best. I never thought you’d sell an entire city’s worth of women and children to demons.”

  Will’s mouth fell open. “That was the lich’s plan, not mine!”

  “But you agreed to it! It was only luck that the dragon killed them before you did. I was glad the demons didn’t get those people, but you should have stayed in Hell. Selene said we should forgive, since it needed to be done, but I never agreed with that bullshit. It was pure evil.”

  Janice broke in again, “That’s not what happened.”

  “That’s exactly what happened,” snapped Tiny. “The only reason I agreed to use the cursed weapons they made is because the dragon kept him from paying for it in souls.” He glared at Janice then. “Why are you trying to defend him? You and Selene both keep apologizing for him, even though he’s the one that left and put that damned monster in charge of things. I should feel sorry that he failed to be punished after trying to sell innocent people to demons? Or maybe I should feel sympathetic that he survived and was too ashamed to show up and help us today against the dragon?”

  Janice’s face crumpled as her husband directed his anger toward her, and once again her emotions got the better of her. She turned away, fighting against tears. The bedroom door slammed as she went into the hall.

  Tiny realized what he’d done and stumbled out of the bed, struggling to maintain his balance as he went after his pregnant wife. “Jan, wait! I didn’t mean to yell.” As he passed Will, he turned furious eyes on his old friend. “You’re not the man I thought you were, if you’re a man at all.” Then he was out the door, apologizing to Janice.

  Angry and numb at the same time, Will left and went up to his bedroom. On the way, he spoke to the guards once more. “I’ll take supper in my room. I don’t want to be disturbed by anyone.”

  He’s going to feel like an idiot after he cools off and she explains what really happened, said Laina consolingly.

  Will didn’t answer. All he wanted was sleep. Once the food arrived, he choked as much as he could down, though it was difficult with his stomach in a knot. Then he went to bed.

  Chapter 50

  Evie curled up next to him during the night at some point, and Will woke with her against his throat, while his nose was being tickled whenever he inhaled the bushy tail draped over his face. He sat up and regretted it. His body felt achy and feverish, and he wondered if it was because he’d overexerted himself the day before or whether it was a result of his emotional turmoil.

  Either way, his body was fed up with the situation.

  There were any number of things he needed to do, but he decided to stay in bed. For one, he didn’t fancy what might await him beyond the bedroom door. The thought of facing more of Tiny’s condemnation made him feel sicker, and none of his upcoming chores were pleasant.

  Selene’s pillow was there too, and he liked that, even though it made him want to curl into a ball. In the back of his mind was the idea that he could try and find her, but he kept that thought pressed fully into the shadows.

  He rose from the bed and opened the door only long enough to give instructions to the servant who waited there. A mildly guilty sensation came over him as he returned to the bed, as though he was shirking some duty, but his dizziness argued that he might genuinely be sick.

  Will climbed back in and pulled the covers over his head. When breakfast arrived, the servants had to knock for several minutes before he heard them. He ate what he could and went back to sleep.

  In the late afternoon, he found himself awake, sweaty, and miserable. He’d filled the chamberpot, so he stuck it out in the hallway. Someone else could deal with it. Back in the bed, he was struck by the realization that he was paralyzed, not in the literal sense, but emotionally.

  He was waiting for Selene.

  Why? he wondered. You know what she’s become. But he also knew she loved him, and he was haunted by her last words, begging for forgiveness. Now that he knew why, it made him want to vomit, but Tiny’s anger had taught him a lesson. I need to hear what she has to say, he told himself.

  There were other explanations for what he’d found. Perhaps the children had died naturally, and she needed the bodies for her research. Janice said that Selene had paid the families. He couldn’t assume she’d murdered them, and the idea went completely against everything he knew about his wife. For years, Selene had championed mothers and orphans.

  He had no doubt she was a lich, though, but was that necessarily an evil thing? What if she’d managed to create her phylactery without hurting anyone?

  Whose body will she be wearing when she walks in? asked Laina’s voice.

  Will buried his head under Selene’s pillow, inhaling her scent, but he knew the truth. At least one person had been murdered, and another would die each time Selene needed a new form. Grim Talek had lived for thousands of years already—how many bodies had he taken?

  He spent the evening wallowing in self-pity and ate little of the food brought for him. Having slept so much during the day, he had trouble drifting off, so he spent much of the night staring at the ceiling. The empty place on his finger bothered him. He wanted to talk to his grandfather.

  Some time close to dawn, he fell asleep, and he remained so until nearly noon, when a hiss brought him awake. Beside him, Evie was fluffed up, and Will saw a woman standing next to the bed, staring down at him.

  Will jerked to full wakefulness and stared at the stranger. It was a woman bearing an uncanny likeness to his wife, but he knew better. Her hair wasn’t quite as dark, the chin was too sharp, and the nose was perfectly straight.

  “William?”

  The voice wasn’t right either. A male voice came from the doorway. “Is he here?”

  She nodded, and the door clicked shut, giving them privacy. Will sat up, keeping the covers over his midsection. It wouldn’t have mattered with Selene, but now, it didn’t feel right. “Is that you?” he asked.

  “You don’t recognize me?” she asked.

  “I know who you’re supposed to be,” he answered, staring at his feet. “The face is close, but…” He held his tongue. It makes me nauseous. “Did you do that?”

  She nodded. “I’m learning. I thought I had it right.”

  “The nose, it had a slight bend. Your chin was rounder too,” he offered, feeling strange.

  “I never liked my nose,” she agreed. “I couldn’t resist the urge to fix it.”

  He met her gaze, and his voice broke. “I loved it.”

  Her eyes were wet, and she tried to embrace him. “I’m still the same inside. I’m still Selene.”

  For a moment, he almost melted, but the scent of her hair was that of another woman. Will flinched away, and she pulled back, instead sitting beside him. “Whose body was that?” he asked, hating the question.

  “She worked at a dress shop in the market,” said Selene.

  Bitterness seeped into his voice. “She didn’t have a name?”

  “She did.” A long pause ensued, but finally she continued, “I had to come back to you.”

  “Doesn’t make it right to steal someone else’s life.”

  “We saved the world, Will. We saved everyone. Don’t we deserve to be happy? You’ve killed many times, and not always for the right reason. I still love you.”

  His heart ached when he looked into her eyes. They were blue as before, but too bright. The turyn around her was wrong as well. The warm human frequencies were gone, and a coldness had replaced them. Grim Talek usually imitated the turyn of the person he impersonated, but Selene hadn’t bothered. “I went to my old workshop. I found the bones.”

  Selene’s answer was immediate, and while frantic, it also sounded practiced. “They were already dying.”

  “Were they? I heard you were having a lot of success before the dying started. Were you still doing your best or did your needs change the equation?” he asked bitterly.

  Her tone was firm. “Will. You know me. Those children were going to die. I couldn’t have prevented it.”

  His eyes widened slightly. “You needed them alive?”

  “It was painless.”

  Anger and an urge to violence nearly overtook his reason, but he simply stood and took a few steps to gain distance. “Does a painless death make it all right to steal their souls?”

  “That wasn’t necessary,” she lied. “I only needed the special energies released at the moment of death. You have to believe me.”

  “I read some of your notes. Did I misunderstand?” He kept his tone level.

  Selene’s voice broke, and she began to weep. Will waited and watched, showing no sympathy. Instead, he began dressing. After a few minutes, she regained her composure enough to plead with him. “Thirteen died so I could be here. Twelve to make the phylactery and one for this body. Is that too much to forgive?” He refused to answer, so she continued. “How many thousands died in Darrow during the war? Or what of the servants who perished when you destroyed the palace? You’ve killed innocents! Have I ever deserted you, blamed you?”

  “We’ve both made mistakes,” he agreed. “I’ve even killed a few in cold blood, but they weren’t innocents. They weren’t children!”

  “I did it for you!” she screamed.

  “You thought I was dead!” he yelled back.

  “Fine! You’re right! I wanted vengeance. I wanted the dragon dead even more after I thought he’d condemned you to a death in Hell.”

  “You were fine with selling the people in Shimera too,” countered Will. “I would have died if I hadn’t planned another way out, one that didn’t involve sacrifices. The saddest thing to me is that your father may have killed those people anyway, but at least he gave them a clean death.”

  Selene shook her head. “He wasn’t my father. He never was.”

  Will nodded, and they both fell silent while he finished dressing. His anger faded, replaced by empty despair. He started to leave, then asked, “Were you the one who took the body?”

  She nodded. “One of my servants. I couldn’t let it be found.”

  “You still plan to be queen.”

  Her face showed some confusion. “You think someone else should take the throne? Would you prefer it?”

  “No!”

  “Then no one else deserves my seat,” she returned angrily.

  Will’s answer had a tone of finality. “I’m leaving.”

  “You’re still my husband, Will. You’re the prince consort. You can’t just walk away.”

  “Until death do us part,” he recited. “You aren’t the woman I married, not anymore. If that’s not good enough, get an annulment or divorce or whatever it needs to be called. You’re the queen, you can do whatever the hell you want.”

  Selene’s spine was rigid as she replied, “Queens don’t get divorced, William.”

  He turned on her. “Are you threatening me?” The turyn in the room began to hum with the tension built between them.

  She seemed hurt. “Of course not! I’m simply stating a fact. Monarchs don’t divorce. At best, you get sent into exile; at worst, you have an accident. I don’t want either of those things. You have to stay with me.”

  “Good luck,” he told her. “I wouldn’t advise trying either. I don’t give a damn about being a noble either. You can stuff the land and titles, but if I hear that someone with my face is still walking around this city pretending to be me, the consequences will be dire.”

  “So you’re threatening me instead?”

  The look he gave her should have blistered her skin. “I should be out there right now telling everyone what you are. I should be giving you a true burial, but for some reason I can’t do it. I have zero tolerance for the walking corpse who’s been wearing my face, so I’m going to keep this simple. After I leave, I’m not coming back, unless I find out he’s still wearing my face, and if that happens, I will be back, and you won’t like the ending.”

  He started for the door, then stopped. “Where’s my ring?” The look on her face as she summoned Arrogan’s ring and handed it over nearly broke him. Only his anger kept his misguided sympathy from making him reverse course. Will slipped it onto his finger and left. The sound of her crying haunted him as he closed the door.

  Out in the hall, the lich stood waiting. Their faces were mirror images, but Grim Talek lifted his hand and used a simple illusion to change his appearance to that of a nondescript man. “I’ll make permanent changes tonight. Shaping the flesh takes patience and care.”

  “You heard us then,” stated Will.

  The lich nodded. “We’ll have to tell the people something.”

  Will narrowed his eyes, noting the plural pronoun. “Tell them I’m dead then, I think that’s what she really wants.”

  Grim Talek had centuries of dealing with every conceivable social situation, so he didn’t press. “I’ll remain as an advisor, but that’s all.”

  “All I care to know is where my mother is.”

  “In the merchant’s district,” said the lich with a smile, then gave him the address.

  That surprised him. “She was in Cerria all along?”

  “Doesn’t matter where, so long as you’re sure the enemy doesn’t know where to look. This made it easier for me to provide for her without giving it away.”

  “Lognion’s agents had to be all over the capital,” said Will.

  The lich smiled. “Mine were always better. Go see her. The results speak for themselves. The dragon is dead. Your mother is safe.” Will wanted to erase the smug expression from Grim Talek’s face, and his features must have communicated as much. “Peace benefits us both, William,” cautioned his enemy, leaving the threat unspoken.

  Will turned away. He’d had enough. The lich called to his back as he walked, “She will be a good queen, William. You’ll see. You’re upset now, but she will bring in a golden age.”

  The words only increased his pent-up fury. Sparks raced up and down his arms, arcing to the rugs as he walked and leaving burn marks. Janice was waiting on him near the palace entrance, probably waiting for him, but she hesitated when she saw his face. Will met her eyes briefly, then gave her a single word. “Goodbye.”

  Standing outside the palace, he found himself unsure where to go. He slipped partway from his body, but most of the people he might have teleported to weren’t good options. He settled on Sammy and vanished just as Janice came out and called his name.

  Epilogue

  Sammy was happy to see him return, so much so that she nearly squeezed him to death, but the happiest surprise was when she spoke haltingly. “M-missed you.”

  Will held his cousin out at arm’s length. “You spoke!”

  Emory was close by, standing beside the door to the house they’d claimed. “It started right after you left. She’s drawing in turyn again too.”

  He was almost beside himself with joy. After so much gloom, his heart was leaping in the other direction. “Don’t try any spells!” he warned. “Just leave your power alone for a month before you try anything.”

  Sammy’s face was a picture of concentration as she listened, working to decipher his words. Will repeated the warning a few times, and eventually she nodded. “Don’t.”

  He spent a quiet week there in Cotswold, though he did check on Tabitha a few times, watching her from the astral plane. It was obvious from what he saw that she didn’t believe the story that the court circulated regarding his sudden death. She’d already been told about his trip to Hell, and had already thought he was gone. Tabitha played along with Selene’s story that he’d taken a bad fall from his horse, but she was already grieving.

  Will considered going to her and telling her he was alive, but his bitterness stopped him. She’s better off without me. They all were.

  He never should have left Barrowden, and if it hadn’t been for the Prophet’s invasion, he might still be there, living in happy ignorance. When the shield hiding his mother’s location was removed, Will went and took her and Oliver away the same day. It took a lot of explaining before she understood everything that had happened, but he kept nothing from her.

  They stayed together in Cotswold for another week, and Sammy’s verbal skills improved rapidly. She still couldn’t speak as easily as before, but he thought that with time she’d make a complete recovery.

  To keep his mind off the might-have-beens and what-ifs, Will worked on a relatively simple artifice project. At some point during his recent life and death experiences he’d worried about what would happen to Tailtiu if there were no one to feed her and it occurred to him that one of the simplest enchanting techniques could solve her problem. In the years when true wizards weren’t around, transducers had been devised to efficiently utilize turyn and reduce life span loss. They functioned as part of other enchantments for the sole purpose of converting one type of turyn to another.

  So Will designed two devices using little more than short wooden rods and carved runes. One acted as a channel that could carry turyn from one person to another with a simple transducer that filtered but didn’t alter the energy. The second was a transducer that would take the predominant turyn found in the ley line nexus at the mountain pass, and transform it to match Will’s natural turyn. With the first item Tailtiu could receive energy from any willing volunteer, without direct contact, negating the pleasurable side effects of the process, and with the second she could draw directly from the ley line nexus and have the energy converted to a form she could use without needing to involve anyone else at all.

  His aunt seemed happy with the gifts, for she was already beginning to suffer from several weeks of deprivation.

  When the week was almost done, he had a more serious topic to broach. Will told Sammy he needed to move away from Terabinia, and she was supportive, but when Emory offered to join them, she politely declined. The young nobleman’s heart was broken again, and although Will felt for the young man, it was ultimately Sammy’s decision.