The Black Queen (Book 6) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Page B

Was—”
    “I…did…not…use…it!” Sebastian’s lower lip was trembling. “It…used…me.”
    Seger let out a small sigh, as if she had expected that and feared it at the same time. Arianna looked at her. “What is it?”
    “That light was important. I wish I had seen it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that after it went through you, you had a headache and Rugad’s voice developed a mind of its own,” Seger said.
    “You…are…ill?” Sebastian asked Ari.
    “Not now,” she said. “Seger helped.”
    “What…is…hap-pen-ing?”
    “I don’t know,” Seger said. “But I think we’ve been very careless. We shouldn’t have let you keep Rugad’s voice, Sebastian.”
    “He’s had it for years. Nothing has happened.” Arianna slipped an arm around her brother. He was shaking. Sometimes he seemed much younger than he was.
    “I know,” Seger said. “But I think it’s time we removed it.”
    “Can you do that without hurting Sebastian?” If the answer was no, Arianna would forbid any attempt. Sebastian was one of the most important people in her life, perhaps the most important since her father had disappeared.
    “I don’t know,” Seger said. “I’ve never removed a voice from a Golem before.”
    “I…want…it…gone,” Sebastian said. He took Arianna’s hand again. “I’m…sor-ry…I…found…it.”
    Arianna smiled at him, giving him reassurance she didn’t feel. Everything seemed like it had changed suddenly, and she didn’t know why. Or how.
    “I’m going to need help,” Seger said. “I suspect what we’re facing is something greater than Domestic magick can deal with.”
    Arianna froze. “What do you mean?”
    “Let me do some investigating first, and then I’ll tell you.”
    “So you’re not going to follow me any more,” Arianna said.
    “I’ll be with you as much as I can. But this is strange, and the fact it has attacked both of you is worrisome. If Gift weren’t with the Shaman in the Eccrasian Mountains, I’d be concerned for him as well. But if anything has happened to him, they’ll know what to do.”
    Gift. Arianna hadn’t thought of him. “Why do you think something would have happened to Gift?”
    “You and Sebastian are powerful targets. Perhaps someone is going after the entire branch of your family.”
    Sebastian leaned forward slightly. “You…do…not…know…if… others…were…hurt. Be-fore…you…think…con-spir-a-cy, check…on…that.”
    Seger smiled at him, a smile as fond as the ones Arianna sometimes bestowed on him. “I’ll do that, Sebastian,” she said. “I will check everything. Let me know if the voice returns. And you,” she looked at Arianna, “make sure someone is beside you to help you if the headaches come again. I’d suggest Luke. He did well finding me the first time.”
    Arianna felt a slight jolt. The guard who had helped her, the one she hadn’t recognized, had been the captain of her Islander guards. Luke. He had been family for years. Not recognizing Luke was like not recognizing Sebastian.
    “Ari?” Seger frowned at her.
    Arianna swallowed. “I will,” she said. And then, because this may have been worse than she initially thought, she added, “Do this quickly. Speed may be as important here as knowledge.”
    “I know,” Seger said, and left the garden.
    Sebastian pulled Arianna into a hug. She let him. His solid body was familiar against hers. “I…do…not…want…his…voice.”
    “Seger will help.”
    “What…if…she…can’t?”
    “We have the entire Fey Empire now,” Arianna said. “There’ll be someone in it who can help you.”
    She hoped. Because she wasn’t thinking so much of the removal as the warning Seger had given about that voice when it first reappeared. If you use someone else’s voice too much, you take on part of his soul.
    Arianna had been the one to recommend that Sebastian keep the voice. She had thought they would need it to convince the Fey that she should