“To run away from my problems and hide out here?” I scoffed. “No thanks.”

“From what I hear, that’s exactly what you did do, however. You just picked a different venue and were probably on guard the entire time.” She gestured around her. “Had you been here, you could have relaxed and enjoyed the final months of your pregnancy. Perhaps if you hadn’t been so stressed and afraid, your children wouldn’t have been born early and in danger.”

I stiffened, not liking the implication that my actions were responsible for the twins’ risky delivery. “That’s not why they came early. It just happens with twins sometimes.”

“So you say. I’m a mother too, so I can relate to these niceties we try to convince ourselves of. And as a mother, I was quite sincere in my invitation to protect you. I think it’s appalling what the Willow Queen and others tried to do to you. Appalling and cowardly. I would’ve helped you on principle alone. That, and I have so wanted a friend I can talk to and be on equal terms with.”

“Ilania mentioned that too,” I said, not really buying it. “Some kind of female-solidarity thing?”

“I need to talk to someone, don’t I? Aside from my little darlings here.” She paused to scratch the dogs’ chins. Both had jeweled collars and little bows on their heads. “And men have proved far too disappointing. I gave up on them years ago, except for the necessary pleasures, of course. Mostly, they bore or irritate me. I would greatly welcome smart female companionship. It’s lonely having all this power.” There was a wistful, melodramatic way to her delivery of that last line that made me want to punch her.

“Sorry if I don’t feel bad for you. It’s hard for me to muster a lot of empathy for someone who’s been responsible for so much innocent death and destruction.”

Varia laughed merrily. “Innocent? There are few who can really claim that. And what would you think if I told you that I can focus the Winter Enchantment more harshly on specific kingdoms? You find me cruel, but the enchantment as it currently stands still allows life to go on in your kingdoms.” The laughter died, and she leaned slightly forward. “I have the means to focus the spell and increase its intensity. If you liked, I could focus on the Willow Land and completely destroy it.”

I gaped. “You’d completely destroy a kingdom full of innocent people?”

“Including Queen Maiwenn,” she pointed out. “That would be terribly convenient for you. And a nice bit of revenge after all she’s done to you—she certainly hasn’t balked at hurting innocents. Why not return the favor?”

I didn’t have a great opinion of the person who’d created the blight, but this conversation was making her credibility deteriorate even more rapidly.

“There’s revenge ... and then there’s madness and cruelty,” I said. “And I would never kill off her entire kingdom for what she’s done.”

“Easy to say with your children alive and well. Still, I hope it emphasizes what a great friend I could be to you. Believe me, I really do prefer it that way. This situation only has a couple of possible outcomes for you, and you willingly signing on as my ally would be preferable to all of us.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” I said, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. “And all you’d ask in return for these friendly feats of destruction is us being pals and having a little girl time now and then.”

Varia’s lips quirked. “Well, as an important ally, I have no doubt you’d want to help me out now and then.”

Gentry wheeling and dealing. At least it was familiar territory.

“Here we go,” I said. “Let me guess. You want to help lead my son’s armies when we conquer the human world?”

“Human world?” She shook her head in amazement and looked as though she was ready to burst into laughter again. She lifted one of the dogs and peered into its face. “Did you hear that, Lady Snowington? How silly.” She returned the dog to her lap and looked back at me. “Why on earth would I care about humans when there’s plenty to entertain me here in this world? This is the world I want. The problem is, it’s such a nuisance keeping my subject kingdoms in line. Even though they surrender and allow my forces within their borders, I’m constantly having to reassert my power with dramatic shows of force. It’s very tiring.”

“How terrible for you.”

She continued, either not noticing or no longer caring about my sarcasm. “That’s the nature of the game, however ... unless I had a more permanent way to bond to all of these lands, one that would give me unbreakable authority without the constant maintenance.”

I gave a harsh laugh. “Sounds pretty easy then. Just kill off all the monarchs and take the lands’ bonds and—” My smile faded, as a terrible, sinking realization hit me. “That’s it. That’s why you want to be my ‘friend.’ You want the Iron Crown.”

Varia didn’t deny it. “It makes things so much simpler.”

What made the Iron Crown so deadly was that it broke the bond between a monarch and his or her land. As I was constantly reminded, that bond ran deep. It was tied into my life and being, and short of death or a monarch inexplicably losing power, there was no way to end that bond or pass it on. If there had been, I likely would’ve given the Thorn Land away when I first won it. Then, the discovery of the Iron Crown had changed everything. With the Iron Crown, I’d ripped away Katrice’s connection to the Rowan Land. Left unclaimed, the land had then been ripe for me to bond with it and take control.

My earlier joke had been right to a certain extent: Varia could just kill off all those monarchs. But that wasn’t easy, seeing as monarchs, by their nature, were usually among the most powerful magic users in their kingdoms. It would make for long, taxing battles, and no matter how badass Varia wanted to seem, I knew she wasn’t all-powerful. Magic for magic, whatever hers was, I doubted she was stronger than me. What made her remarkable was that she had a league of magic users to work with, creating the kind of power that had led to the blight. Organizing a group for a passive enchantment was one thing. Getting them all together to go hunt down monarchs in outside kingdoms was an entirely different matter.

“No. There is nothing you can do that would get me to give you the Iron Crown—not that I could if I wanted to,” I added. “It can only be used by the person who won it.”

“So I hear,” she said. “But that’s fine. I’d only need you to shatter the bonds. I’d take care of the rest.”

I thought about all the kingdoms near me and the many I’d heard about under her control. “You can’t bond with that many. It’s not possible. No one’s that strong, not even you. Two is taxing enough.”

Varia looked at me like I was crazy, which was saying something. “Well, of course I wouldn’t bond them all! That’s absurd. I’d simply make sure they were claimed by those I could trust. My daughters, for example, would make excellent queens. If you stayed on my good side—and I must admit, you aren’t endearing yourself very much right now—I might give you a couple.”

“No,” I repeated. “I’m not using it on your behalf. I’m never using it again, and I’m not telling you where it’s at. You want it? Kill me off so it’ll return to its resting place. Then you can go get it and do whatever you want.”

“That’s hardly practical, and you know it.” The Iron Crown’s resting place was in a land packed with so much iron that most gentry couldn’t set foot in it.

“Well, then, we’re at an impasse,” I said triumphantly. “I have something you want, and there’s no way I’m giving it to you. End of story.”

“No, child,” she said, shaking her head with mock sympathy. “That’s where you’re mistaken. Really, you have nothing at all—and I have everything.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Like your friends in my dungeon.”

I went perfectly still. “What are you saying? That you’ll kill them if I don’t use the crown for you?”

“It’s certainly an option. The fact that you have yet to attempt any magic to fight me has already given away how much they mean to you.”

“Yes,” I said, my heart sinking. “But they would all willingly die to prevent the enslavement of countless other kingdoms or abuse of the Iron Crown.” I knew the words were true as I said them, but they still hurt. I’d held back on using magic, not just because my friends’ lives were on the line, but also because I didn’t have an entirely clear plan on what to do with my magic. But something like this? Varia’s world domination? No question. None of my companions would be able to live with themselves knowing the scope of what their freedom had cost others.

“At some point, you have to decide what number of lives tips the scale. So, you’re saying these, what, six or seven individuals aren’t worth the crown’s cost? What about your kingdom? Kingdoms? What I offered to do to the Willow Land—by focusing the enchantment—can be done to yours instead.” Her smile grew particularly cunning. “Or maybe it’s less about quantity than quality. Your children are out there somewhere. Do you think they can stay hidden forever? Even in the human world, I can find them. I have many subjects, and you and your sister aren’t the only ones who can pass through with ease.”

The room threatened to spin around me, and I had to focus myself to stay calm and not give away how hard her words had hit. “Are you really so heartless?” I demanded. “Listen to yourself! You’re threatening to wipe out two entire kingdoms and hunt down my children!” Seeing her smirk, I had to restrain from clenching my fists. “Do you enjoy this? Do you get some kind of sick thrill from these kinds of psycho threats?”

“No,” she told me, still smiling and petting the dogs. “I simply take satisfaction out of pointing out the obvious, and it’s exactly as I already said: you hold nothing here, and I hold everything.”