Meghan’s gaze was sympathetic as she nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “And don’t worry about Titania. None of her servants will dare cross the border into Iron. You’ll be safe here.”
The Thin Man cleared his throat. “I, on the other hand, believe I will excuse myself,” he said, tipping his hat to the queen. “Not to be rude, but I am finding the effects of your Iron kingdom unpleasant. I believe I will be elsewhere until you have need of me. Ethan Chase—” he glanced in my direction “—I will be close. Do not go after the prince without me.”
He turned...and disappeared.
Meghan sighed. “Councilor Fix,” she called quietly, and the packrat who had been busily scribbling notes shuffled forward, blinking. “Will you please arrange tents for Kenzie and Annwyl? We should have the space for it. See if you can get them something to eat, as well. Ethan—” she looked at me “—I want to speak with you a moment alone.”
The packrat nodded and waddled from the tent, beckoning Kenzie and Annwyl to follow. Kenzie paused, looking at me, and I nodded. “Go on,” I told her. “Go get food. I’ll be all right.” She hesitated, then followed Annwyl and Fix outside. There was a brief flash of sunlight as she pushed through the tent flaps, and then they were gone.
Alone with the Iron Queen, I held my breath, wondering if she would lecture me on wading right back into this mess, when I’d promised her I’d stay away. Meghan paused as if waiting for everyone to be out of earshot before turning to me.
“I spoke to Ash the night we came back from Tir Na Nog,” she said, making my stomach drop. “He told me he let you and Kenzie out of the palace. He said you might be able to help Keirran, that a mortal who isn’t bound by Faery law might succeed where we could not. Is that true?”
I nodded. I hadn’t wanted to rat Ash out, but if he’d already confessed, there was no reason to deny it. “I know you wanted me to stay out of this,” I told her, “but I can’t just sit at home, knowing you and Keirran are out there, probably fighting each other. That would drive me completely nuts. Even if I don’t have faery blood, I’m part of this family, which means I’m part of this war, whether you like it or not. Also...” I scrubbed the back of my head. “Don’t blame Ash entirely. If he hadn’t let us go that night, Kenzie would’ve insisted we do something anyway. And we’d probably be right back here.”
Surprisingly, Meghan smiled. “I was furious with him,” she said, “but he told me to have more faith in the human part of my family. I guess he was right. I have to remember that you’ve grown up, just like I had to.” She gave me a wistful, slightly sad look. “Your birthday was three weeks ago in the mortal realm, did you know that?” she went on, making my brows shoot up. “You’re eighteen now, Ethan. You’re not a kid anymore.”
I’m eighteen? The notion shocked me. I was legally an adult. It was a bittersweet realization. Eighteen had been the magic number that represented freedom, on many levels. On the one hand, I wasn’t required to go to school or live with my parents. On the other, I hadn’t really gotten much of a childhood, not a normal one, anyway. Meghan had been absent for much of it, and those years were truly gone now. I could never go back and relive them, hoping that my sister would come home and our family would finally be complete.
Meghan nodded, smiling faintly. “You’ve grown up so fast,” she murmured, walking forward. Nostalgia colored her voice. “I still remember when you were four, wanting me to tell you and Floppy a story, so the monsters in your closet would go away.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “I haven’t been that for a long time, sis.”
“I know.” Meghan stopped about a foot away, blue eyes solemn now as she gazed up at me. “And I know I’ve missed so much of your life, Ethan. I wish I could’ve been there, to watch you grow up. But, you have. And you’ve grown up into someone...that I’m so proud of.” Her palm pressed against my cheek, brushing hair from my face. “I love you, little brother,” she said, looking me right in the eye. “You’ve become more than anyone could have guessed, and no matter what happens, you will always be my family. I want you to know that, before you have to face Keirran again. Even if I couldn’t be a part of your life, I was always thinking of you.”
I swallowed hard. “We’ll save him,” I told her. “I swear it, Meghan. Even if I have to knock some sense into him myself. We’ll bring Keirran back, and then we’ll take down the First Queen and the Forgotten together.”
She nodded, but her eyes were distant. “I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “I hope you can change the prophecy where I failed.”
“I will,” I promised. “And, Meghan?”
She was already pulling away, but paused, gazing back at me. I took a quick breath. “I don’t blame you,” I said softly, “or Ash. Or Keirran. I know...I realize now, it had to be this way. Took me a while, but I think I finally got it.” Meghan’s eyes glimmered, and I forced a wry grin. “So, no more whining from me about not visiting on my birthday or spring break or whatever. I’ll just be happy to know that everyone in my family is alive.”
Meghan smiled, even as a single tear slipped down her cheek. “That’s always been my hope, as well.”
* * *
Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Maybe because I was antsy for the upcoming council, though I knew that was likely several hours away. Or maybe because my brain wouldn’t shut up and leave me alone. After devouring a bowl of stew and bread in my tent—finally, real food—I lay on my cot in the darkness, staring at the ceiling while my mind looped in endless circles.
We were close. Close to the end, however that might turn out. The Lady and the Forgotten were out there, as was Keirran. We had fought our way through the wyldwood, the Between and the Deep Wyld to find Annwyl. We’d rescued her and the amulet. We knew how to free the soul trapped inside. The pieces were all in place.
And it would all be for nothing, if we couldn’t convince Keirran to destroy the anting-anting himself.
And even if we do convince him, I thought, what then? The war isn’t going to stop. The Forgotten aren’t going to give up just because Keirran gets his soul back. Meghan and Ash have been worried about him, sure, but the real threat is the First Queen. Maybe that was her game all along; have the courts so focused on Keirran, they completely forget about her until it’s too late.
Whatever her reasons, the First Queen’s ploy to use Keirran against the courts was a brilliant one. Whatever they might say, even if they knew better, Meghan and Ash would not strike down their own son, and the fey of Mag Tuiredh would probably hesitate to kill their former prince, as well. And Keirran was dangerous enough and powerful enough to pose a real threat to everyone but the rulers of the courts. So, what did you do? Slaughter him and face the terrible grief and wrath of the Iron Court and its queen, or let him live to wreak havoc as he willed it? A pretty crappy situation all around.
So that left us. Me, Kenzie, Annwyl, Razor and the Thin Man. To break through a Forgotten horde, find Keirran and talk some sense into him. Provided we could even find Keirran. And that he would listen to us if we did.
Groaning, I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. Same old fears, same old arguments, with no answers in sight. My thoughts felt like a hamster running on a wheel, spinning and spinning and getting nowhere. I wondered where Kenzie was, if her thoughts were driving her crazy, too.
“Ethan?”
A soft tap on the outer wall drew my attention to the door, and my heart leaped. “You in there, tough guy?” came Kenzie’s soft, hesitant voice. “Are you asleep? Or are you lying on your bed obsessing about everything your sister told you this afternoon?”
I snorted. “I’m planning,” I told the silhouette on the other side of the flap, “not obsessing. There’s a difference.”
“Uh-huh.” The voice sounded severely unconvinced. “Well, whatever it is, are you decent, or should I come back later?”
“No,” I answered, not moving from the cot. “I’m decent. Come on in.”
The flap rustled as it opened, and a moment later, Kenzie’s face appeared above me. She held a small lantern, and the light cast flickering shadows over her face and the cloth walls of the tent. “This,” she announced with a smile, “does not look like planning to me. This definitely looks like obsessing.”
I sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’m obsessing. Did you track me down just to point that out, or was there another reason?”
She grinned, put the lantern on the floor and plopped down to sit beside me, making me grunt. “Just keeping you honest, tough guy. If I didn’t point it out, how would you know you were doing it? You might overobsess and miss out on the obvious thing right in front of you. Besides—” her voice softened a bit “—with everything going on, I couldn’t sleep, either. And I didn’t want to be alone.” She turned to me with a bright grin. “So, I thought I would come pester you, so we could not sleep together. And...um... Yikes.” Her face turned beet red as she realized what had just come out of her mouth. “Open mouth, insert foot, Kenzie, geez.” Hunching her shoulders, she started sliding off the cot. “Right. I think I’m gonna find a nice hole to crawl in now.”
Laughing, I snaked my arms around her waist and dragged her back. “Oh, no. Not a chance,” I said as she yelped. “Considering I’m usually the one who says all the stupid crap, this is too good to pass up. You’re not getting off that easy.”
She struggled. Halfheartedly. “I do not say stupid things,” Kenzie protested, trying to wriggle, unconvincingly, out of my grip. “That’s your department, remember? I’m the smart one, you’re the angry, stabby one. That’s how this partnership works.”
“Uh-huh.” I grinned and did not relent. “What was that a few seconds ago, then?”
“I have no idea. I’ve blocked it from my memory.”
“Right.” I pinned her to the mattress, holding her wrists above her head with one hand. She smirked up at me, defiant, her lips just inches from mine...and I suddenly forgot what I was going to say.
So I kissed her instead.
Kenzie let out a tiny sigh and relaxed into me, her lips warm on mine, soft and caressing. I felt her tongue flick my bottom lip and parted my mouth to let her in, a groan escaping my throat. Her body shifted on the mattress, subtly arching into me, and all my nerve endings shot to attention.
I kissed her deeper, and she moaned, tilting her head to give me access to her neck. I trailed kisses down her jaw and throat, hearing her gasp, feeling her hands running the length of my back, sliding beneath my shirt. The touch of her soft fingers against my bare skin made me jerk up, shivering, to look into her eyes.
“Kenzie...” My voice came out a ragged whisper. My heart was pounding, and the feeling in my chest was caught somewhere between elated and terrified. Kenzie gazed up at me, beautiful and perfect, and I wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her, feel her, draw her into me until nothing separated us. My fingers tangled in her hair, aching to touch her, to trace her warm skin. But I forced myself to be still and gaze at the girl in my arms. I had made her a promise, and this decision wasn’t mine. I wouldn’t move another inch unless I knew she was certain.
“I can stop,” I told her. “It doesn’t have to be tonight. But, if we keep going...”
Her fingers stroked my cheek. “I want this, Ethan,” she whispered, making my heart turn over. “I think...I think I’m ready.” She trembled, but her voice remained calm, resolute. “I’ve never felt this way, about anyone. While I still have the chance, I want it to be tonight, and I want it to be with you.”
“Are you sure?” My own voice was not nearly as calm as hers, emerging as a somewhat choked rasp. She nodded, her eyes dark with emotion as she gazed up at me, and I swallowed the nerves crawling up my throat. “Kenzie, you know that I haven’t... With the fey around, I never got close enough to anyone to...”
I could feel my face heating like an inferno at the confession. For so long I’d pushed people away, kept my distance, for fear of what the fey would do if I got close. I thought I was destined to live my life alone, caring for no one, so the fey wouldn’t care about them, as well. Falling in love had not been part of the plan.
But Kenzie smiled and gently pulled me down, kissing me so that the words, and my last remaining fears, died in my throat. “No one’s judging, tough guy,” she whispered. “And—finally—no one is here but us. We’ll figure it out together.”
And, as the night went on and a predawn stillness settled over the Nevernever, we did.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE SECOND COUNCIL
“Ethan Chase?”
An insistent tapping wrenched me out of a comfortable sleep. Blearily, I cracked open my eyes, glaring at the far wall and the packrat-shaped silhouette beyond the tent flaps. I was warm, a heavy quilt covered my body, and most important, my arm was still curled around a sleeping Kenzie. For maybe the first time since I’d come to the Nevernever, I was reluctant to move.
Tap tap tap. “Ethan Chase?” Tap tap tap. “Are you in there? Are you awake?”
“No,” I growled over Kenzie’s shoulder. “Go away.”
The packrat hesitated, maybe confused by the obvious lie out of my mouth, or that I’d given him an order he couldn’t obey. “Forgive me, Prince Ethan,” it continued timidly, “but Her Highness the queen has requested your presence. The prince consort and Robin Goodfellow have arrived. The war council is about to start.”
I sighed. “All right,” I called softly, hoping I wouldn’t wake Kenzie just yet. “I’m coming. Tell them I’m on my way.”
The silhouette bobbed and shuffled off, taking its annoying tap-taps with it. I levered myself to an elbow and gently pulled back the quilt, just enough to reveal the girl beside me. As usual, Kenzie was dead to the world, sleeping soundly, her beautiful face free of worry and stress. Damn, I loved her. I wished we could’ve had a little more time. Without faery wars, politics and ancient Forgotten queens screwing everything up.
But wishing never worked in the Nevernever. Not like you wanted it to.
I kissed Kenzie’s shoulder, then nuzzled below her ear, slipping an arm around her waist. She stirred with a sigh, then dark brown eyes cracked open to peer back at my face.
“Hey,” I greeted, and she gave me a sleepy smile that made me want to kiss her all over again. I restrained myself, remembering what was at stake. “This is going to suck, but the war council is here. They’re waiting for us.”
Her nose wrinkled, and she groaned, trying to pull the covers over her head. “Five more minutes,” she mumbled.
I chuckled. “Yeah, sadly, faeries aren’t known for their patience. I don’t think that will go over well.” She groaned again, and I kissed the back of her neck. “You don’t have to come,” I told her, sliding back off the cot. “Stay here and sleep if you want. But I have to go.”
She harrumphed and sat up, pulling the quilt around herself. “No, I’m coming, too,” she sighed as I yanked on my jeans, then grabbed my T-shirt at the foot of the bed. “No rest for the weary, I suppose.”
I pulled my shirt over my head, then searched around for my sword belt. “Look on the bright side,” I said, dragging it out from beneath the cot. “At least Razor didn’t pop in last night screaming kissy-kissy and making me want to kill him.”
“I wonder where he is?” Kenzie mused, gazing around the tent, as if the bat-eared monster could be hiding in the shadows. “I hope he’s okay with the other gremlins, wherever they are.”
“I’m sure he’ll show up eventually,” I said, buckling my swords to my waist. “Probably at the most inopportune time possible.” Grabbing my shoes, I strode to the bed, bent down and kissed her on the mouth. “I’ll wait outside,” I told her, pulling back. “Take your time, but if I start to hear snoring, I’m g
oing on without you.”
Kenzie frowned. “I don’t snore! Do I snore?”
“Um. I should go,” I answered, and fled the tent.
Outside, the sky was still dark, but the Iron camp itself pulsed with gentle light, from the lampposts on the corners, to fey carrying lanterns, to the metallic fireflies that blipped through the air in shades of orange, blue and green. It was peaceful, quiet. The calm before the storm.
Kenzie emerged from the tent and yawned, stretching her arms over her head. I slipped up behind her, winding my arms around her waist, and kissed the side of her neck. “Ready?”
“Not really,” she sighed, leaning into me. “But I guess we can’t keep them waiting any longer.”
I laced her hand through mine, and we walked through the quiet streets of the Iron camp, passing knights and the occasional wire nymph, until we reached the large commander’s tent in the middle. A trio of Winter knights waited on one outside corner, glaring at the squad of Summer knights on the opposite side, so it looked like Mab and Oberon were already here. Ignoring the dark looks from Summer and Winter, we walked up to the entrance, nodded to the lone Iron knight who guarded the door, and slipped inside.
Meghan stood at the head of the table again, which was surrounded by fey once more. Only this time, instead of scouts and random Iron fey, all the heavy hitters of Faery stood shoulder to shoulder with each other. Oberon was there, and Titania the Summer Queen, looking like she would rather be anywhere else. Mab stood across from them, radiating power and causing one side of the table to be edged with frost. Ash stood to one side of Meghan, appearing grim and protective, and Robin Goodfellow leaned casually against a wall with his arms crossed and faint smirk plastered to his face, as if he found all of this secretly amusing. There were other faeries in the room: scouts and lieutenants, Glitch and one very large troll captain, but those six were the only fey that mattered.