Page 39 of Queens Will Play

He paused, searching my face. “Power can be tiring.”

“I was responsible for my sisters when I was little. That’s one reason I never wanted children—I spent my childhood having to be an adult. Now, I’m responsible for an entire Barrow of people. I suppose we can’t escape our fate, can we?” I sat down, patting the cushion beside me. “Tell me…”

Roz sat beside me. “I know what you’re asking. I’ll be all right, but it will take some time. I spent so many years hoping for a miracle that would bring Fraale back to me. Every time we met, we were drawn together, but now I realize it was nostalgia that pulled her back to me. And when the obstacle was gone, what we once had was gone. We kept the memory alive through regret, not because the spark was still there.” He stared at me. “Sometimes…getting what you want is a curse.”

“You’re an incubus again?” I could feel it in his energy, but I also sensed that he needed to talk and I was a good listener.

“When Fraale asked Zeus to make her a succubus again, I realized that I couldn’t hold on to the past without her. Maybe, if we’d managed to make it…but we didn’t. So I asked him to return me to the life that I knew the best. And here I am. I hope you don’t mind me coming back. This is really the only home I know.” He gulped, looking like a dog expecting a whipping.

“We’re glad you’re back,” I said, taking his hand and squeezing it. “You’re family, Roz. And we missed you. You saw that Iris and Bruce are back, too?”

He nodded, his expression shifting. “I heard what happened. I wish that I could have been there to help them. Have they heard anything about what’s going on now?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but honestly, I don’t expect them to go back, regardless. That’s a bloody memory to return to.”

“I’ll do what I can to help. I can babysit to give them a break, and the past couple of years have reacquainted me with a hammer and saw.” He squeezed my fingers. “In fact, I think I’ll go see if Hanna needs any help. I know Iris is in there, but with this crowd, another set of hands is bound to be welcome.” He stood, heading toward the kitchen.

I watched him thread through our little crowd, thinking that he was far more hurt than he let on. He’d rebound, but how closed would his heart be? At least, he probably wouldn’t be pining over Iris anymore. He’d fallen for her some years ago, but Iris wasn’t about to get involved with an incubus, and Roz hadn’t taken her marriage that well.

Trillian wandered over to my side. “How is he?” he asked, sitting down.

“He’s masking his feelings, but I can tell you, Roz is in for a long period of recovery. It would probably help if you guys hang out with him. I think he might feel more comfortable talking to men about this,” I said, giving him a quick kiss. “I’m going to find Delilah.”

I was on my way to the stairs—Delilah was upstairs with the kiddos—when the doorbell rang. I waited for a moment, to see Menolly peeking in. She waved at me, and both she and Nerissa joined me. Roman, who had managed to make it, greeted the men.

“What’s going on? Did Roz make it?”

I nodded. “Yeah, he did. He’s in the kitchen, helping Hanna and Iris. I was headed upstairs to talk to Delilah.”

“We’ll go with,” Menolly said.

“I’ll stay down here and go talk to Hanna and Iris,” Nerissa said, giving me a big hug. “Roman’s back for the weekend.”

As we headed upstairs I asked, “So, Roman and Nerissa are getting along better?”

The pair had always had a weird dynamic, but they were bound by their love for my sister.

“Yeah, they are. And it helps that Roman and his secretary are involved. But I’m a little worried,” she confessed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Blood Wyne’s unhappy with the depth of his involvement with Valentina. At first she didn’t mind, but Roman’s spent a lot of time with her, and Blood Wyne is worried. She told me the other day to corral her son’s wandering eye. I tried to tell her I don’t have that much power over him. Roman’s a prince, for the sake of the gods, and he’s got his mother’s stubbornness, but Blood Wyne told me that I’d better develop the ability to keep him at home. Well, figuratively. Roman has to travel.” Menolly looked shaken.

“What’s she afraid might happen?” The thought that the queen of vampires was worried about something was unsettling.

Menolly shrugged. “I have no idea. But I’ve heard a few rumors that some of the very old guard aren’t happy with the way the Crimson Court is going. Blood Wyne’s slowly—very slowly—growing more progressive. We’re close to pushing through the Vampire Rights Act, and that means a shift in the way vampires have to act in order to calm the fears of the living.”

“You don’t think anybody will try a coup, do you?” I asked.

Menolly frowned. “I doubt it—but you never know. Anyway, we’re in a tumultuous time right now, in terms of the vampire nation. And I think Blood Wyne is worried that anybody not connected to the throne might be looking for information. That Roman’s so close to Valentina worries her, given Valentina’s essentially an outsider.”

We were on the second floor, which had been my home when I lived here. Now, it was the nursery. My old bedroom housed the girls, my studio was their playroom, and my old ritual room was set up to be their school when they were old enough to start learning. There was no way either girl could go to a public school. Astrid would be a target for anyone who might be looking for leverage against the Elves, and Chamiya…well…her powers precluded her interacting with mortal children without strict supervision.

Delilah poked her head out of the girls’ bedroom. “Hey, come in and say hi to your nieces.”

Menolly and I headed in. Astrid, who was going on four, was sitting on her bed in her jammies, holding the plushie dragon that Smoky had bought for her. She was singing a lullaby to it, surprisingly on key.

“She’s got a lovely voice, already,” Menolly said. Of the three of us, she was the one who could really sing.