between us. I looked up in surprise, but Duncan appeared to be asleep.
I stuck the headphones in my ears, found something I liked, and then turned the volume up as loud as I could stand it. Glancing back up at Duncan, I found him watching me. He gave me the tiniest wink and then went back to his nap.
Four hours later I was the one sleeping and Duncan shook me awake. “Pit stop,” he informed me after I took the headphones out of my ears.
The two of us were the only ones left in the limo. I sighed a little breath of relief and then handed the MP3 player back to him. “Thank you for this.”
“Hang on to it,” he told me. “We still have another two and a half hours of driving, and if you think Robert will stop bugging you, you’re dreaming.”
I pulled the MP3 player back into my lap. “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked.
Duncan answered, “I remember what it’s like.”
“You mean the council took you too?”
“Not the council. I’m an anomaly like you. A daywalker. When people realized the truth about me there were three main covens in the city where I was from and they all wanted me. I became a pawn in their struggle for power. Eventually they started a war over it.” Duncan shrugged like it was no big deal. “It was the council who stepped in and stopped the fighting. They gave me a choice to go off on my own as a nomad or join the guard. I didn’t want to be alone, so I stayed. They gave me a home. I’ve been very happy serving them.”
Duncan laughed at my shocked expression. “I know how you must feel right now, but the council’s not so bad. Robert may be clueless to the feelings of others, but he really does want what’s best for you. He usually stays at the consulate, but he insisted on coming for you himself. He didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
I tried to contain my anger. No need to lash out at the only friend I seemed to have at the moment. “That’s not because he cares for my safety,” I said. “He just doesn’t want to lose my precious power—whatever that is.”
Duncan regarded me with a thoughtful expression, as if he were trying to decide whether to defend Robert or agree with me. Finally he said, “Do you know of the prophecy? Did Alexander tell you anything about it?”
“No,” I admitted warily. I didn’t like this subject. I didn’t like the idea that everyone believed I had some predetermined destiny that was worth the kidnapping and/or killing of me. “The first I heard of it was when the werewolf mentioned it. He said something about a seer too, but no one’s bothered to explain what that means.”
“Well,” Duncan said. “How familiar are you with the Hundred Years’ War?”
“Not very. Mid fourteenth century to mid fifteenth century. It was a dispute between England and France over the rule of France, right?”
“Yes. Mostly. It was about who had proper claim to France, but it wasn’t between England and France, and it wasn’t really about the throne. It was between two different dynasties. The House of Valois, and the House of Plantagenet.
“The trouble started with the death of King Charles IV. He died without ever producing any male heirs so the throne went to the next closest descendants—the House of Valois. That part of the story history tells. What history fails to mention is that the family of Valois was an extremely powerful line of warlocks.”
“And people knew this?”
Duncan smiled. “Back then, supernaturals and humans coexisted peacefully. They respected and helped one another, but the Plantagenets didn’t like the idea of such powerful people being in control of France, so they waged war. Eventually it became humans against supernaturals.”
“But wasn’t it the House of Valois who eventually won the war?” I asked. “Didn’t they rule France for a long time?”
“That’s right,” Duncan said proudly. “Not bad for a girl raised by humans.”
I ignored the insult to my parents and simply
I stuck the headphones in my ears, found something I liked, and then turned the volume up as loud as I could stand it. Glancing back up at Duncan, I found him watching me. He gave me the tiniest wink and then went back to his nap.
Four hours later I was the one sleeping and Duncan shook me awake. “Pit stop,” he informed me after I took the headphones out of my ears.
The two of us were the only ones left in the limo. I sighed a little breath of relief and then handed the MP3 player back to him. “Thank you for this.”
“Hang on to it,” he told me. “We still have another two and a half hours of driving, and if you think Robert will stop bugging you, you’re dreaming.”
I pulled the MP3 player back into my lap. “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked.
Duncan answered, “I remember what it’s like.”
“You mean the council took you too?”
“Not the council. I’m an anomaly like you. A daywalker. When people realized the truth about me there were three main covens in the city where I was from and they all wanted me. I became a pawn in their struggle for power. Eventually they started a war over it.” Duncan shrugged like it was no big deal. “It was the council who stepped in and stopped the fighting. They gave me a choice to go off on my own as a nomad or join the guard. I didn’t want to be alone, so I stayed. They gave me a home. I’ve been very happy serving them.”
Duncan laughed at my shocked expression. “I know how you must feel right now, but the council’s not so bad. Robert may be clueless to the feelings of others, but he really does want what’s best for you. He usually stays at the consulate, but he insisted on coming for you himself. He didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
I tried to contain my anger. No need to lash out at the only friend I seemed to have at the moment. “That’s not because he cares for my safety,” I said. “He just doesn’t want to lose my precious power—whatever that is.”
Duncan regarded me with a thoughtful expression, as if he were trying to decide whether to defend Robert or agree with me. Finally he said, “Do you know of the prophecy? Did Alexander tell you anything about it?”
“No,” I admitted warily. I didn’t like this subject. I didn’t like the idea that everyone believed I had some predetermined destiny that was worth the kidnapping and/or killing of me. “The first I heard of it was when the werewolf mentioned it. He said something about a seer too, but no one’s bothered to explain what that means.”
“Well,” Duncan said. “How familiar are you with the Hundred Years’ War?”
“Not very. Mid fourteenth century to mid fifteenth century. It was a dispute between England and France over the rule of France, right?”
“Yes. Mostly. It was about who had proper claim to France, but it wasn’t between England and France, and it wasn’t really about the throne. It was between two different dynasties. The House of Valois, and the House of Plantagenet.
“The trouble started with the death of King Charles IV. He died without ever producing any male heirs so the throne went to the next closest descendants—the House of Valois. That part of the story history tells. What history fails to mention is that the family of Valois was an extremely powerful line of warlocks.”
“And people knew this?”
Duncan smiled. “Back then, supernaturals and humans coexisted peacefully. They respected and helped one another, but the Plantagenets didn’t like the idea of such powerful people being in control of France, so they waged war. Eventually it became humans against supernaturals.”
“But wasn’t it the House of Valois who eventually won the war?” I asked. “Didn’t they rule France for a long time?”
“That’s right,” Duncan said proudly. “Not bad for a girl raised by humans.”
I ignored the insult to my parents and simply
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