The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\Iron's Prophecy (12 page)

“You look beautiful,” Ash said, pulling me close. I blushed,
and a slightly mischievous look crossed his face. “I’m glad Fix was able to talk
you out of jeans and a T-shirt.”

I swatted his stomach with the back of my hand. He laughed
softly, offering an arm, and together we walked through the long hallways of the
Iron palace. Gremlins scurried over the walls and ceilings, cackling, and Iron
knights lowered their heads as we passed. Hacker elves, Cog dwarves, wire nymphs
and clockwork men all bowed as we went by, before continuing their duties. My
Iron fey. It was hard to believe that a few years ago I was a normal teenager
living in the Louisiana swamps, and the Iron fey were slowly making their move
to destroy the Nevernever. Now I was their queen, and they, while not really
welcome in the wyldwood and the other courts, were no longer considered
abominations to be eradicated. So much had changed.
I
had changed, and so had everyone around me.

I snuck a glance at my knight, walking quietly at my side. He
seemed truly at ease now, comfortable and content in the Iron palace. Though his
gaze constantly swept our surroundings, taking everything in, and he watched
every faery I spoke to with searing intensity, ready to spring into action if
needed, he’d acclimated to the Iron Realm surprisingly well. I’d been worried at
first, that he would miss Tir Na Nog and the Winter Court and would have a hard
time adjusting to the alien nature of the Iron realm and the fey within it. But
he’d slipped into his role here surprisingly well, almost like it was familiar.
Like he’d done it all before.

And, strangely enough, maybe he had. I didn’t know what Ash had
gone through on his voyage to the End of the World to earn his soul. He’d told
me the gist of it, without going into too many painful details, and what he
had
told me seemed almost too crazy to believe.
One section in particular, the part where he’d seen a future version of us, he
didn’t speak of much at all. It wasn’t that he was being evasive, but he’d
explained that he didn’t want to color our future with what-ifs and things that
might never happen.

Truthfully, I wasn’t worried. I knew he would tell me
everything, down to the last detail, if I really wanted him to. But Ash was
here, in the Iron Realm. He had found a way to survive, to be with me. That was
all that really mattered.

“You’re staring at me again,” Ash murmured without turning his
head, though one corner of his lips quirked up. His silver eyes danced
mischievously. “Is it the uniform? Perhaps I should remove it if it’s so
distracting.”

“Behave, Ash.” I wrinkled my nose at him, smiling. “And don’t
think I don’t know what you’re doing. Your little ploy to get out of Elysium
isn’t going to—”

I gasped as, without warning, my stomach turned over and a bout
of dizziness made the walls spin. I tried to say something to Ash, to ease the
alarm and worry on his face, but the ground beneath my feet tilted, and the
floor rushed up at me.

Chapter Two

“Meghan!”

Groaning, I opened my eyes.

I lay on my back on the cold floor, the walls still swaying
slightly, the last of the dizziness fading. Ash knelt beside me, his arms under
my shoulders, gently easing me down. He’d caught me, of course, and was now
watching me with a pale, alarmed expression. The hand suddenly gripping my own
was painfully tight.

“Meghan.”

“I’m…all right, Ash.” Wincing, I sat up, breathing deep as the
world went normal again. “I just…fainted, I guess.” Well, that was humiliating.
Here I was, the Queen of the Iron Fey, passing out in my own hall. Good thing we
weren’t in Tir Na Nog yet; showing weakness like that in front of the Unseelie
was asking for trouble.

“Are you sick? What happened?” Ash took my elbow and gently
helped me stand, eyes bright as he stared at me, appraising. “Should I call for
a healer?”

“No. I’m fine.” I put a hand on his arm, squeezing once. “It’s
nothing. I guess I’ve been working too hard lately. I feel perfectly all right
now, promise.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go to Elysium,” Ash said, sounding
unconvinced of my all-rightness. “Have Glitch send Mab and Oberon our apologies.
If something is wrong—”

“No.” I faced him, my voice firm. “I’m the Iron Queen, and this
is something I cannot miss. It’s not negotiable. I have to go.”

“Meghan…”

“If I don’t show up, it will make this realm look weak, and we
can’t afford that. You know what Mab will think, Ash. You, of all people, know
what she’s like.”

Ash nodded once. “I know,” he murmured darkly.

“I won’t put my people in danger.” Turning from him, I gazed
down the hall, watching the gremlins and the Iron knights and the packrats and
everyone. “I can’t fail them, Ash,” I said. “I won’t. I won’t have the other
courts thinking the Iron Queen isn’t strong enough to come to Elysium, to
protect her own people.”

“No one will ever think that.” Ash stepped up behind me, his
strong hands on my shoulders. “But you’re going to Tir Na Nog no matter what I
say, aren’t you?” He sounded resigned, and I didn’t have to answer. Sighing, he
lowered his head, his lips brushing my ear. “I’ve never been able to stop you,
my queen,” he murmured, “but I do want you to know that I might be a little
overprotective tonight. These are your people, so that makes them mine as well,
but my first and only duty is to you. Always.”

“Majesty!”

Glitch strode toward us before I could answer. Neon lightning
snapped in his hair, throwing purple shadows over the walls as he bowed. “The
carriages are here,” the First Lieutenant said with a nod to Ash, who inclined
his head in return. “We are ready to depart for Tir Na Nog, with your
approval.”

“Then let’s go. We shouldn’t keep Mab waiting.” Before either
of them could reply, I strode forward with my head up and my back straight as
Fix had instructed. The walk of a queen, regal and confident. After a moment,
Ash fell into step beside me. I could sense he wanted to say something, argue
with me, but he kept silent and didn’t bring it up again during the long, cold
ride to Winter.

* * *

To put it mildly, the court of the Winter Queen was not
my favorite place in the Nevernever. The last time I’d been to Tir Na Nog, I’d
been a prisoner of Queen Mab and the Unseelie Court. My own doing, of course. It
was part of a deal I’d made with Ash in exchange for getting my brother home
safely. And though I’d do it all again if I had to, it was, as I remembered it,
the worst few weeks of my life. Mab despised me, her middle son, Rowan,
constantly tormented me and her Unseelie subjects either wanted to kill, freeze,
torture or eat me.

Then there was Ash. He had been there as well, but he had
turned cold and cruel, abandoning me to the mercy of his brother and queen. Or
so I’d thought at the time. The Winter Court is brutal and unmerciful, viewing
emotion as a weakness that must be destroyed. Ash had been keeping me safe the
only way he knew how: by playing the part of a heartless Winter prince. He’d
played it well; he’d hinted to me about how he would have to treat me when we
got there, and I’d still believed his act wholeheartedly. I’d thought he had
turned on me, used me, and my heart had broken into little pieces. I didn’t
realize until later how much Ash had sacrificed to keep me safe.

God, I was so naive,
I thought,
watching crystalline stalactites roll by the carriage windows. Mab’s palace
resided in an enormous icy cavern, the ceiling so high you couldn’t see it
through the darkness.
I’m lucky I didn’t get eaten the very
first day I was there. If I could go back to that moment and talk to myself,
I’d probably smack me.
Thinking of that shy, uncertain girl now made
me sigh.
You can’t afford to wear your heart on your sleeve
anymore, Meghan. Not in the Winter Court. You’re the Iron Queen now. You
have a whole kingdom counting on you to be strong.

The palace came into view through the carriage windows, a
pristine, glacial blue castle with ice hanging off every tower, coating every
step, as beautiful as it was deadly. Just like its queen.

Who, admittedly, was not terribly pleased with me for marrying
her favorite—and now only—son.

I looked at Ash, who was gazing toward the palace, his eyes
distant and his face blank. Remembering, just like me. I felt a twinge of
sadness, empathy and guilt. This had to be hard for him.

“Hey.” I touched the back of his palm, where a gold band
entwined with silver vines and leaves circled his third finger, a twin of my
own. He turned almost guiltily, and I smiled at him. “You all right?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’m fine. Just…” He nodded out the window,
to the frozen spires looming above the rooftops, and shrugged. “Memories.”

“Do you miss it?”

“The court? The squabbles and backstabbing and constantly
having to watch what I said or did? Hardly.” He snorted, and I smiled, relieved
to hear it.

“But…” He sighed, looking out the window again. “There are
some
things that I miss. I lived here such a long
time, I knew the Winter Court better than almost anyone. I still do. But now…”
His brow furrowed. “Now, when I look at Tir Na Nog, all can I see are the
missing pieces. The family who’s no longer there. Sage is gone. Rowan is gone.”
His eyes clouded over, and I could feel his regret, the gnawing ache of remorse
and guilt. “I never thought I would miss them,” Ash mused in a soft voice. “I
never thought…I would be the very last of my line.”

I took his hand in both of mine, squeezing gently, the cool
metal of his wedding band brushing my skin. “I’m sorry, Ash,” I whispered, as
his bright soulful gaze shifted to me. “I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I
miss my family like crazy, and they’re still alive.”

“It’s a little different.” Ash gave me a faint smile, though
his eyes were still shadowed. “Your family loves one another—you would do
whatever it takes to keep them safe. My family…well, you’ve seen them. I could
never drop my guard around my brothers, especially Rowan. And Mab…” He shook his
head. “Mab was always the Winter Queen, and she never let us forget that.”

“But you still miss them.”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I was still a part of that circle. It was
familiar, safe. I belonged there. Even with all the cruel games we used to play,
the countless times we used each other, I still knew that Rowan and Sage and Mab
would always be there.” He gazed down at his hand, still trapped in mine. “But
things are different now. My brothers are gone, and the Winter Court will no
longer welcome me, not like it did before.”

“Feeling homesick?”

“Tir Na Nog is no longer my home.” Ash finally looked up again,
meeting my gaze. His eyes lightened, back to that gorgeous silver. “I’m whining,
aren’t I?” he said with a rueful look, and shook his head. “No, I’m not
homesick. I might miss my kin, but my home is Mag Tuiredh, or wherever you wish
to rule from. The Nevernever, the Iron Realm, even the mortal world, it doesn’t
matter to me. Meghan…” He shifted closer, closing the distance between us, and
one hand rose to brush my cheek. “My home…is with you.”

Dammit, don’t cry, Meghan
. I bit my
lip to keep the tears in check. It would not do to show up to the Winter Court
with blurry eyes, but sometimes Ash would surprise me with quiet, sincere
statements like these and I couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, mistaking my tears for remorse,
perhaps. “I’ll stop talking about the Winter Court. I knew I had to come back
and face Mab eventually. You shouldn’t have to hear me go on and on about
it—”

“Ash,” I interrupted, placing a finger against his mouth,
making him arch his brows. “Just kiss me.”

He smiled. Slipping an arm around my shoulders, he drew me
forward, lowered his head and brought his lips down to mine.

We kissed each other in that dark carriage, our lips moving in
rhythm, both of us uncaring of the Unseelie city right outside the windows. Ash
was gentle at first, keeping himself under control, but when I leaned against
him, tracing kisses down his jaw, he groaned and tilted his head back,
whispering my name. I pushed him into the corner, my hands tangling in his hair,
his running the length of my back, pulling us closer. Our kisses were hungry
now, devouring. My tongue parted his lips, sweeping inside; his pulled away to
press to my neck, making me shiver and gasp. My hand slipped down his chest to
his lean, hard stomach, and then slid beneath the fabric, tracing his ribs. He
jerked, exhaling raggedly, before his cool lips seared over mine again.

Pulling back, he watched me, those clear silver eyes gleaming
brightly in the darkness. “My queen,” he breathed, one hand reaching up to frame
my cheek, making my stomach jump and twirl. “I belong to you. No matter what Mab
says, no matter how long I’ve been in Tir Na Nog, my life is yours. Nothing will
ever make me leave your side.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” I warned him, as my eyes went
blurry again and his gorgeous face shifted in the darkness like water. “And Mab
is either going to be very happy to see me in tears, or very disgusted with us.”
He laughed softly and drew me close, wrapping his arms around me in a fierce,
protective way. His heart pounded beneath my fingers, and I felt the lightest
brush of his lips against my ear.

“I love you, Meghan,” he whispered, and I gave a tiny, happy
sob, hiding my face in his shirt. Ash held me tight, resting his chin atop my
head, gazing out the window. “I don’t have to hide anything anymore,” he
murmured above me, sounding content and defiant at the same time. “Not from Mab,
not from anyone. Let them talk and stare. This Elysium will be very
different.”

The carriage jerked and shuddered to a halt at the front gates
of the Winter palace. Ash reluctantly let me go as I pulled back, composing
myself for the ordeal ahead. The carriage driver hopped down from the seat and
opened the door for us, letting in a swirl of chilly wind. Ash exited first,
then turned to help me down.

“Ready for this?” I asked him as I stepped out into the cold,
snowy courtyard. Icicles hung from everything, and the air was bitingly cold.
Oh, yes, lovely Unseelie weather. I remembered this quite well. Glitch and a
squad of Iron knights stepped forward, flanking us, ready to follow. Ash nodded,
offering his arm, and together we stepped into Mab’s cold, frozen domain.

The first thing I noticed, as we crossed the courtyard full of
frozen statues and huge, multicolored crystals, was that it was full of Winter
fey. Considering this
was
the heart of Unseelie
territory, that wasn’t surprising, but what made me wary was the fact that they
were all staring at us. Sidhe nobles watched us with barely concealed smirks,
goblins and redcaps followed us hungrily, though they still kept their distance
from the knights, and bogies lurked in the shadows, watching intently as we
passed.

Ash’s grip on my arm was tight as we wove our way through the
courtyard, ignoring and yet unable to ignore our inhuman audience. As we began
climbing the steps into the palace, one of the sidhe nobles, a lanky faery with
spiky crystalline hair, gave Ash a mocking salute and murmured a sarcastic
“Prince.” Ash didn’t acknowledge him; his face stayed blank. The mask of the
Winter prince.

It dawned on me what was happening. They were all here to see
the new queen and her supposedly mortal husband. Not to be welcoming or polite;
they were testing for weakness, wondering if this new, half-human queen would be
easy to manipulate and take apart. And they were also here for Ash, to see if
their former ice prince would be weak as a mere mortal. Which would make the
queen he served weak, as well.

Oh, that had to end. Here and now. Not only for the future of
my kingdom, but if Ash was to have any peace in Tir Na Nog, he was going to have
to prove himself to his own people. Prove to everyone that neither the Iron
Queen nor her knight—though both had mortal blood—were ever to be
underestimated.

“Ash,” I whispered as we neared the top of the steps. “Remember
what I said this morning, about not getting into any duels?”

“Yes.”

We’d reached the top of the steps, a few feet away from the
open door into the hall, and I pulled him to a stop. Glitch and the knights
paused as well, but I motioned for them to keep going. He gave me a worried
look, but bowed and went through the arch, stopping on the other side to wait
for us.

I turned to my knight, who looked vaguely worried, as well. “I
take it back. The mob behind us is itching for trouble. I want you to oblige
them.”

Ash blinked. “You want me to start a fight?” he asked in
disbelief. “Now?” When I nodded, he frowned, lowering his voice. “Mab and Oberon
are expecting both of us,” he said. “It might send the wrong message if you go
in alone.”