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“I’m okay,” I gritted out, clenching my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. “Once the fire is going, I’ll be better. ”
Kenzie’s frown deepened. Stepping close, she pried my arms away from my body and slid beneath the cloak with me. I winced at the rush of cold air, but then Kenzie wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed into me, and the warmth of her small body against mine almost made me groan with relief.
She shivered. “God, Ethan, you’re freezing,” she whispered. Reaching up, she placed a warm hand against the side of my face, and I closed my eyes, leaning into it. I felt her gaze on me, imagined her faint smile. “You’ve got to stop throwing yourself in front of dragons for me, tough guy,” she murmured. “I know you want to do the whole knight-in-shining-armor thing, but I don’t want you to get killed because of it. ”
“Can’t help it,” I murmured, still keeping my eyes closed, basking in the warmth of her palm on my skin. “I already told you that. Not negotiable, sorry. ”
“There you go again. ” She shifted against me, but instead of withdrawing, her fingers traced the side of my cheek, softly stroking with her thumb. “Being stubborn and all. ” I opened my eyes and stared down at her.
“Wait, was that actually you calling me stubborn? Me? This from the girl who practically stalked me until she was dragged into Faery? Who bargained with a faery queen even though I begged her not to? Who tracked me into a goblin market because she didn’t want to be left behind?”
Kenzie looked like she was trying not to grin. “What’s your point?”
Hell with it. I dropped my head and kissed her, the touch of her lips sending tendrils of heat curling through me. I forgot about the cold. I forgot why we were here. I was just aware of Kenzie, her warmth, her soft fingers on my skin. The emotion burning me from the inside.
Don’t stop. Don’t ever leave. Stay with me, Kenzie. The Nevernever, the Between or the real world, I don’t want to face anything without you.
I snorted quietly to myself. Man, I was going soft. Next thing you knew, I’d be writing song lyrics and spouting poetry.
“Kissy,” said a new voice, and I felt a tug on my jeans, like something was climbing my pant leg. I jerked and looked down to see that Razor had wedged himself between us and the cloak and was using me as a ladder.
“Ow!” I yelped as his sharp little claws poked my ribs. “Razor, get out of here!”
“Cold,” he replied, curling up in the space between us. “No like. Too cold. ”
“Go bother Keirran, then,” I said, glancing to where Puck and Keirran had a cheerful fire crackling on the rocks. “I’m sure it’s warmer where he is. ” Razor shook his head and curled tighter into himself.
“Master cold,” he whimpered.
I frowned in confusion. Keirran was part Winter faery; subzero temperatures didn’t faze him at all. “Master cold,” Razor insisted, sounding sad and a little frightened. “Master scary now, feels cold all the time. ”
Oh. Damn, now even the gremlin was starting to notice Keirran’s slow change. I wasn’t sure whether it was the amulet or his worry for Annwyl that was driving it, but we had to finish this task and destroy that thing before Keirran was sucked away to nothing. Or became that cold stranger permanently.
“Come on,” Kenzie whispered, tugging me and Razor toward the fire, cloak and all. “Let’s get both of you warm. ”
Puck grinned at us from where he leaned back against a rock, hands behind his head. But Keirran, brooding into the fire on the far side, didn’t look up at all. Carefully, I shrugged out of the long cloak, gritting my teeth as the frigid air hit my skin, sending goose bumps crawling along my arms. But I was feeling slightly warmer now, standing close to the flames. At least, I didn’t feel like my veins were full of ice water. As I removed the cloak, Razor whimpered, crawling beneath Kenzie’s hair and burrowing into her neck. I held the garment out to Keirran.
“Thanks,” I muttered. He eyed me without expression, then smiled.
“Anytime,” he replied, reaching out to take it. “You’re my friend, and I’m just grateful that you’re here. ”
“Well,” Puck said, rising to his feet and stretching long limbs. “It’s been an exciting day. Why don’t you three get some sleep if you can? Don’t worry—it’s safe enough here. The Cold won’t come into the cave, especially if there’s a fire, and being nearly frozen to death tends to be fairly exhausting. ” He wrinkled his nose. “Trust me, I know. So get some rest. You’ll need it for the big nasty beastie we’ll be facing tomorrow. I’ll take watch. ”
He wandered off toward the mouth of the cave. I sat as close to the fire as I could, brooding into the flames and trying not to think about what came next.
Kenzie stepped between my knees and sat down, wedging herself in front of me like she was always meant to be there. I was startled, but I wasn’t complaining. Sliding my arms around her, I lay my chin on her shoulder, ignoring the gremlin who buzzed “Kissy, kissy” in my ear, and soaked up the heat.
“So,” she murmured after moments of contented silence. “I guess tomorrow we go fight a big ice monster or something, huh?”
“Mmm,” I grunted, not wanting to think about it.
“Do we have any plan for how we’re going to do that?”
“Mmm-mmm,” I mumbled, in an “I dunno” tone. I was sleepy all of a sudden, and the heat felt good against my skin, as did the girl in my arms. My eyes closed, and my head dropped lower onto her shoulder. I didn’t want to think about anything right now. Kenzie sighed, and I felt her shift to get more comfortable, her breaths becoming slow and deep, as if she, too, was drifting off.
Wait. This wasn’t like me. Wasn’t I way too paranoid to fall asleep in Faery? Something was wrong. I struggled to open my eyes, but they felt stupidly heavy, almost sealed together. I finally managed to crack them open, to see Keirran on his feet, the cold, eerie glow of his eyes trained on me.
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” he murmured, and though his voice was full of regret, his face was resolved. “It’s better this way. I’ve dragged you both through enough. ” Swirling the cloak around himself, he drew up the hood, becoming hidden in shadow. “Take care of Kenzie. And Razor. ” He paused, a flicker of agony crossing the stony expression. “If I don’t make it back, tell Annwyl I’m sorry. ”
Dammit, Keirran, I wanted to yell. Don’t do this. But my eyes were slipping shut again, and I couldn’t force out the words. The Iron Prince turned, the cloak swishing behind him, and walked silently into the tunnel. I tried moving, shouting after him, but the glamour dragging me under finally overcame my will, and I fell into darkness.
CHAPTER TWENTY
EDDIES AND ELEMENTALS
“Master!”
A shrill voice howled right in my ear, jerking me out of the glamour-induced sleep. Mostly awake now, I tried wrenching my eyes open, but sluggishness still dragged at me, and I fought to stay conscious. All the while, the high-pitched gremlin voice buzzed frantically a few inches from my face.
“Master! Master gone! Wake up, funny boy! Wake up!”
I’m trying, I thought irritably, if only to shut the gremlin up. Memory returned in an instant—Keirran using his glamour to put us to sleep; Keirran standing over me with his cold stranger eyes, then walking down the tunnel to confront the monster alone.
Kenzie shifted against my chest, also coming out of the faery slumber. She mumbled something incoherent. I tried, once more, to force my eyes open, feeling as if they had ten pounds of sand in them.
Then Razor gave an impatient hiss and bit me on the ear.
“OW!” My eyes flew open, stinging with the sudden pain, and I jerked back. “Dammit, Razor! Ow!” I swatted at the gremlin, but he leaped to Kenzie’s shoulder and hid beneath her hair, peering out at me.
“Boy awake,” he buzzed, sounding suspiciously pleased. “Boy awake now. . . find Master. ”
I groped fo
r the side of my head, gingerly feeling the damage. Yep, there were several holes in my left ear, no larger than pinpricks, thankfully, but they still hurt like hell. My fingers came away smeared with blood.
“Ethan?” Kenzie turned, her voice slurred. She blinked at me sleepily. “What’s going on?” Her gaze drifted to the side of my face, and her eyes shot all the way open. “Are you bleeding? What—”
Puck came into the room, long legs crossing the space in a few strides. “Oy, human!” he barked, sweeping up to the fire. “What’s with the ruckus? It sounds like you’re holding a cat-skinning competition in here. And you’re bleeding. Again. ” He rolled his eyes. “Geez, I can’t leave you guys alone for a minute. What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” I muttered, dropping my hand. “Razor bit me. ”
“What?” Kenzie shot a fierce glare at the Iron faery, who ducked beneath her hair again. “He bit you? Bad gremlin! Why did you bite Ethan?”
I tried to interrupt, to tell her it was a good thing the gremlin woke me up, annoying as it was, but Puck beat me to it.
“Uh, guys?” he asked, looking around the cave. “Where’s Keirran?”
“Master!” wailed Razor, making Kenzie flinch. “Master gone! Find Master!”
I struggled to my feet, shaking the last of the fog from my brain. “Keirran took off,” I said, nodding down the tunnel. “Did the whole faery sleep thing to put us out, said he didn’t want to drag us in anymore. ” I glanced at Puck, who looked resigned and annoyed all at once. “How long have we been out?”
“Not long,” Puck said. “Just a few minutes. I had just gotten all nice and comfortable, too, when I heard Buzz Saw screeching and came racing back. Sleepy spells don’t work well on gremlins, I’ve found. ” He shook his head and gave the back of the cave a dark look. “So, I guess we know where our impatient princeling is off to, don’t we?”