The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey) (20 page)

“So, Ash did wake up the Lady, just like the Thin Man said.”

“Yes,” Keirran sighed, hanging his head. “At least, that’s what she told me. She had been sleeping for centuries, forgotten by everyone in Faery and the mortal world. And then, one day, there was a change in the air. Something broke through her slumber, a glamour so powerful it woke her up and brought her back from the edge of oblivion. When she finally grew strong enough to emerge from the darkness, Faery as she knew it had changed, and there were many others like her, confused and forgotten. But they were no longer content to sit back and wait for the Fade to take them—they wanted to live. So, she gathered like-minded Forgotten to her side, and eventually they made their way to the mortal world. The ironic part is, she wouldn’t have awoken if my father hadn’t gone on that quest to be with Mom. So you see,” he finished, tossing a stick into the fire, “it’s sort of our fault the Forgotten are here.”

“That might be true,” I said as Kenzie mumbled and shifted against me, making it hard to concentrate. “But that doesn’t mean you’re responsible for them, Keirran. It doesn’t mean you have to help them find a way to live.”

“Doesn’t it?” Keirran looked at me, blue eyes gleaming. “If not me, then who? The other courts won’t help.... They’ll want the Forgotten destroyed. My parents are responsible for bringing their queen into the world again. And...and it’s because of me that they’ve turned to Mr. Dust for the glamour to exist. Because I told the Lady to find another way.” He sighed, resting his chin on his knees. “I’ve made a huge mess of everything, Ethan,” he murmured, narrowing his eyes. “I have to find a way to fix it, but Annwyl comes first. Once she’s safe, I’ll talk to my parents and the other courts about the Forgotten, and we’ll try to find a solution together. But not before I make sure that Annwyl goes home.”

He winced, clenching his fists as his brightness flicked and dimmed a little, before returning to normal. Alarm coursed through me. “It’s the amulet, isn’t it? Does it hurt?”

“I knew what I was agreeing to,” Keirran murmured. “I’ll gladly pay the price, if it means she will live.”

His words stung, even though they weren’t directed at me. I glanced down at Kenzie, sleeping peacefully in my arms, and wondered if there wasn’t something I could do. Some contract or deal that would make her well. But it was so risky, taking that chance, making a bargain with the fey. Annwyl’s own words came back to me:
The price would be so high. Cheating death, even if it’s not your own... Even our kind avoids making that type of bargain at all costs.

And though I didn’t want to remember, Guro’s words slipped into my head, haunting me, the memory of his grim, final warning.

You can’t save everyone. Sometimes, you have to make that decision to let them go.

It was those words, more than the fear of goblins chewing on my extremities, that kept me awake the rest of the night.

* * *

I didn’t exactly sleep, but sometime near dawn I must’ve dozed, because when I opened my eyes, Kenzie was peering down at me. The sight of her lovely face, filling my vision first thing in the morning, coaxed a tiny smile from me. “Hey,” I murmured, reaching up to smooth her hair back. “Did you sleep all right?”

She nodded. “You?”

“Not a chance.” I wrapped my arms around her waist, drawing her closer. “But I could definitely get used to waking up like this.”

She actually blushed. I glanced past her at the empty cave with the smoldering fire pit, and frowned. “Where’s Keirran?”

“Hunting, I think. He took Razor and left a few minutes ago, but he said that he would be back soon. I didn’t want to wake you, so I didn’t say anything.”

“So, it’s just us again, huh?” Gazing into her eyes, I found myself unable to look away. Here we were in the Nevernever again, about to pay a visit to the very dangerous Queen of the Seelie Court. A queen who had the power to turn us both into tulips if she thought it would be amusing. Who hated Meghan’s family and anyone associated with them. I had a crapload of things I should be worried about—faeries, bargains, soul-sucking amulets—but when Kenzie was this close, everything around me sort of faded to insignificant white noise, and all I was aware of was her.

A very dangerous issue, and one I would have to work on...later. Right now, no one was around, we were fairly safe and I could afford to let down my guard. “Can you think of anything we could be doing,” I asked, unable to keep the grin from my face, “now that we’re alone? In the few seconds before Razor comes in and interrupts, that is?”

Kenzie smiled. Putting her hands on my shoulders, she leaned down and kissed me, and I closed my eyes.

It didn’t last long. A buzzing laugh echoed overhead, making me wince. “Kissy!” cried an obnoxious, high-pitched voice, gratingly loud in the silence. “Kissy kissy, funny boy! Ha!”

“Go away, Razor,” I called, still holding Kenzie close. She giggled and pulled back, and I released her just as Keirran stepped through the waterfall into the cave. The curtain of water didn’t actually touch him, I noticed; it drew aside, just like the mist of the Between, to let him through unsplashed. Seeing us, he offered a small smile, though it was tinged with longing. I knew he was thinking of himself and Annwyl, and how, even if he saved her life, he would likely never see her again.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said to Kenzie, holding a branch that had several tiny berries hanging among the leaves. They glittered like strange green jewels as he sat down, raising the branch like a peace offering. “The Summer Court isn’t far—will you be able to make it?”

She nodded, plucking one of the small fruits and staring at it curiously. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Sorry about last night. I think I just needed a few hours’ sleep. And food. Food is always good. We really need to put together a travel kit for the Nevernever or something.” She tossed a berry into her mouth, then offered a clump to me. I took it warily.

“Are you sure—” I began.

“Yes, Ethan, they’re safe for humans.” Keirran gave me a slightly exasperated look. “I know the wyldwood like the back of my hand, including what will and will not turn humans into rabbits. I learned from the best, so relax.”

Kenzie offered a fruit to Razor, but the gremlin wrinkled his nose, bared his teeth and scampered to Keirran’s shoulder. The prince sighed. “However, there is another thing I wanted to discuss with you,” he said, sounding reluctant. “I talked to a local dryad about the state of the Summer Court, and she gave me some potentially bad news. Oberon isn’t there at the moment. He’s off hunting with his knights, somewhere in the Deep Wyld. No one knows when he’ll return.”

Kenzie looked confused, but I groaned. “That means it’s just Titania holding court now.”

“Yes.” Keirran raked a hand through his hair with a grimace. “Which will make things challenging. I was hoping to send a request to Oberon—he usually allows me to visit Arcadia without much trouble. But now that he’s gone, I’m either going to have to sneak us past the border and risk punishment for trespassing or send the request to Titania, who will probably deny it out of spite.” His eyes narrowed to cold blue slits. “And I can’t afford that. We don’t have time to spare.”

“So, how hard is it to sneak into the Summer Court?” Kenzie asked.

“Not difficult” came a familiar, bored voice near the entrance of the cave. We spun, Razor hissing furiously, as two golden eyes blinked into existence, regarding us lazily. “Provided you know where to look. And do not blunder into any guards. But I suppose that is too much to hope for.”

We leaped to our feet, and Grimalkin yawned, raising a hind foot to scratch an ear. “Hello again, humans,” the cat purred, as Razor screeched a loud “Bad kitty!” that made Keirran wince. “Still getting into trouble, I see.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

APPLE ORCHARD OF DOOM

“Bad kitty!” Razor buzzed again from Keirran’s shoulder. His huge ears flapped as he bounced up and down. “Evil, bad kitty! Shave off fur! Throw kitty off mountain! Burn, burn!”

The prince sighed.

“What do you want, Grimalkin?” Keirran asked, putting a hand over Razor’s head, muffling his snarls, hisses and death threats. “Did my parents send you to find me?”

“Please.” Now that he had everyone’s attention, Grimalkin closed his eyes and began washing his paw. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than scurry about like a clueless mortal, searching for another clueless mortal? No, human. The Iron Queen and Prince Consort do not know I am here. They are both busy looking for
you.
” His yellow gaze slid to me. “Both of you.”

Keirran and I shared a glance. Something didn’t seem right. That Grimalkin had found us wasn’t unusual, but why would he come looking in the first place if Meghan hadn’t sent him? The cat never did anything for free. I remembered something Annwyl’d said earlier that week—that she hadn’t been able to find Grimalkin, he was either unreachable or ignoring her inquiries. Where had he been? Why was he here now?

“How did you find us?” I asked, frowning at the cat. “And if you knew we were going to be here, why didn’t you let Meghan know?”

The cat yawned. “Must you be so tedious?” He sighed. “I am not a dog, to come to every ruler’s beck and call. And chasing down the Iron Prince as he goes gallivanting across the mortal world seems very tiresome. I knew you would come here, eventually.”

“How?”

“You ask a wearisome amount of questions.” Grimalkin stood and stretched, curling his tail over his back. “Honestly, I do not know how mortals came up with that ridiculous phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ Certainly they have never been around the lot of you.” Straightening, he gazed up at me, waving his tail. “Come, now. Time is of the essence. Do you wish to get into the Summer Court or not?”

“What?” I blinked at him. “How did...?” The cat stared at me, and I raised my hands. “You know what, I don’t care anymore. You’re here to take us to Titania, right? Fine. Lead the way.”

“Finally.” The cat sniffed and gave me a look of triumph. “I never thought I would see the day when a human said something sensible.”

* * *

It was obvious when we crossed the border from the wyldwood into Arcadia. The dark, murky twilight of the wyldwood fell away, and the sun blazed down on us, hot and bright. The forest was suddenly full of color, the leaves were extra green, the flowers screamingly bright, almost to the point of ridiculousness. Birds chirped overhead, bees and other insects spiraled through the air, some monstrously big. When an orange-and-black bird landed on Kenzie’s shoulder, I jumped, only to realize it was a huge butterfly with wings the size of dinner plates.

“This way,” Grimalkin said, slipping through the rails of a wooden fence, the kind that kept in cows or horses. “The mound and the entrance to the Summer Court are on the other side of this field. We are not far, but I will issue this warning only once. Do not, under any circumstances, steal, pick up or take anything from this property. I would suggest you hold your breath for the duration of the passing if I did not know humans are quite incapable of not breathing. Such an inconvenience, but we shall have to deal with it. Let us go.”

“Wait, I know where we are,” Keirran said, looking reluctant as we slipped over the fence into the pasture. “Puck took me here once. Father was furious. This isn’t a good idea, Grimalkin.”

“Mmm.” The cat seemed unconcerned, leaping onto an old log to face us. “This is the quickest way to the Summer Court, and all the other entrances will be guarded,” he stated. “We can find a way around, but it will take time. I thought you wanted to reach the court as quickly as possible.”

“I do. I just...” Keirran gave a helpless shrug. “Fine. We’ll just have to be careful. Lead on, then.”

“What is this place?” I asked as we continued across the field. Bees and butterflies floated everywhere among the flowers, sparkling like living jewels, and I could feel the sun’s warmth beating down on us. Everything looked peaceful, but I knew what a horrible lie that was in Faery. If everything appeared this tranquil, there was probably something stupidly dangerous lurking nearby. “If you visited this spot with Puck, that means you weren’t really supposed to be here, right? And you probably got into trouble with whatever lives here.”

“It’s sad that everyone knows him so well.”

“That’s just great.” I sighed, looking back for Kenzie. She walked quietly behind me, looking at everything. I dropped back a pace and took her hand, wanting to be close in case a dragon or other nasty creature burst out of the flowers and attacked. “Just let me know when I should be running,” I called to Keirran.

He glanced back with a humorless smile. “Oh, you’ll know,” he said ominously and gestured to something ahead.

I blinked. Rolling fields spread out before us, teeming with flowers and thick grass, but rising out of the dirt, planted in rigidly straight lines marching to the horizon, were hundreds upon hundreds of apple trees. I knew they were apple trees because the nearest one, a huge gnarled giant, had bright red clusters hanging everywhere. The branches were bent under the weight, and the grass around the trunk was scattered with red, bulbous fruit. And the smell... The breeze shifted, and the heady, powerful smell nearly knocked me down and made my mouth water. I didn’t even like apples that much, but I was suddenly filled with the desire to stuff my face with them.

“Oh, wow,” I heard Kenzie breathe, and her hand tightened on mine. “Does anyone else have a craving for pie?”

My stomach growled. Annoyed, I turned to Keirran. “Okay, hundreds of apple trees, all begging me to pick up an apple and eat it. What’s the catch here? Will I turn into something? Fall asleep for a century? Or will I just keep stuffing my face and be unable to stop eating until I burst?”

“No,” Keirran said solemnly. “They’re just regular apples. They don’t do anything special.”

“But...?” Kenzie prodded.

“But look at the ground beneath them. The branches. Do you see anything else eating them? Birds, deer, even insects?”

“No,” I muttered, casting another glance toward the lines of fruit trees. He was right; the apples hung full and untouched on the branches or rotting on the ground. The orchard was still, with no birds pecking at the fruit, no signs of deer, raccoons, rodents or anything. Except for the bees hovering around the flowers, nothing moved out here except us.

“The trees are guarded,” Keirran said, confirming my suspicions. “Nothing is allowed to eat the fruit here. The owners chase off anything that comes through the orchard. If they catch someone poaching their apples, they grind their bones—”

“To make their bread?” Kenzie joked. I snorted a laugh despite myself. Keirran rolled his eyes.

“To fertilize the trees,” he finished. “The point is, we don’t want to let them catch us trespassing, and we really don’t want to steal their fruit. They’re quite protective of it. Puck and I found that out the hard way.”

“Humans.” Grimalkin’s furry head poked out of the grass, tail twitching in annoyance. “Are you coming? Or are you going to stand there and talk until the guardians return and crush your bones to powder? And at the expense of repeating myself—do not touch any of the apples as we are making our way through the orchard. Do not even look at them. Please attempt to have some semblance of self-control, as small as it might be.”

Razor made a disgusted noise on Keirran’s shoulder as we followed after the cat. “Yuck,” he stated, curling his lip. “Nasty apples. Bleh!”

Well, at least we didn’t have to worry about the gremlin.

* * *

The rows of trees seemed to stretch on forever, marching up and down the lazy hills like soldiers in a line. They were all massive, ancient things, with thick trunks and gnarled branches overly full of bright red fruit. Plump apples dangled enticingly from the limbs or were scattered everywhere in the grass, not even a nibble taken from the skin. The scent was intoxicating, and I breathed as shallowly as I could to avoid being tempted by the sight and smells of the orchard.

“These guardians seem awfully greedy,” Kenzie remarked when we were deep between rows of trees. “I mean, they obviously have far too many to eat. What’s a few apples to them?”

“It’s the nature of the fey, sadly,” Keirran said. “We’re not really known for sharing.” On his shoulder, Razor had buried his face in his shirt and hadn’t come up since we’d entered the orchard. Kenzie gave the prince a puzzled look.

“You say ‘we,’” she observed, “but you don’t think of yourself as fey, do you?”

Keirran paused. “It’s hard to explain,” he said at last. “Would it be confusing if I told you I’ve been raised to be both? Human and faery, I mean. Dad taught me everything I know about fighting and magic and the Nevernever, and how to work the politics of the courts. But Mom...the queen...she made certain I understood that I was human, too. That I didn’t get so caught up in magic and glamour and faery politics that I forgot I wasn’t one of them.”

“Was it hard?” Kenzie asked, looking sympathetic. “Growing up human, being the only non-faery in the Nevernever besides your parents?”

“Not as bad as you might think.” Keirran smiled. “My parents were always there for me, no matter what happened, so I can’t complain about that. And growing up with gremlins and hacker elves and gliders, well, let’s just say I drove Glitch and the guard pretty crazy. But yes...” His smile faded, and he looked away, over the hills. “Sometimes, it did get...kind of lonely.”

As they talked, I continued to scan the orchard, trying to keep an eye out for these mysterious guardians and not to stare at the apples at the same time. From what Keirran had said, I guessed they were giants of some sort, but unless they were hiding behind a tree, I couldn’t see them.

A raven cawed somewhere overhead.

Normally, this wouldn’t have caught my attention. Except that the orchard was so very quiet that the sound of a bird’s call in the absolute stillness made me jerk my head up, searching the branches.

A dark shadow swooped overhead and alighted on a branch, making my stomach jump. Bright green eyes peered down from the raven’s dark, intelligent face as it ruffled its feathers and gave a chiding caw.

“Oh, great,” Keirran said as the raven shook itself once more...and exploded in a cloud of black feathers and dust. I blinked, taking my eyes off the bird for a split second, watching the feathers spiral to the ground. When I looked back, a figure stood on the branch with his arms crossed, smirking down at us. The sunlight streaming through the leaves caught in his red hair, making it glow like an ember.

“Hey, kiddies,” Robin Goodfellow greeted with his usual nonchalant flair. “We meet yet again. What are the odds?”

What the hell. First Grimalkin, now Puck? Did
everyone
know we’d entered the Nevernever? I wondered if Meghan realized we were here and had sent Puck after us. I wondered how long it would be before Ash showed up. That wasn’t a pleasant thought.

As if reading my mind, Puck grinned at me. “Don’t worry, kid. Your sister didn’t send me to drag you home by the ear. I was just in the area and heard the rumors drifting through Arcadia. Can’t keep dryads from gossiping, I’m afraid.” His gaze slid to Keirran, and he shook his head. “Princeling, you are in
soooooo
much trouble,” he announced. “Your dad has been looking everywhere for you.”

Keirran’s gaze narrowed, and Razor flattened his ears at Puck and hissed. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

“Well, that depends.” The Summer jester leaned back against the trunk, regarding us with a smirk. “What are you three planning now? I seem to remember the
last
time we met, you told me you wouldn’t get into trouble. And then you did. So, you tell me.” He shrugged, though his gaze never left me and Keirran. “I could go find ice-boy and point him in your direction, and trust me when I say he is
not
happy at the moment, or you can tell me what you’re doing right now. But hey, it’s your call.”

“We’re going to see Titania,” Keirran answered. “We came to Arcadia to seek an audience with the Summer Queen, to request a favor. I would use the regular channels, but Oberon isn’t at court right now and...”

“And our lovely Summer monarch might deny you entrance to the court,” Puck finished, nodding thoughtfully. “So, you’re planning to sneak in, I take it. That’s why Furball is here.”

Grimalkin looked up from washing his paws on a nearby rock, where nothing had been a moment before. “Please. As if they could have found a way in themselves.”

Puck rolled his eyes, then turned a serious gaze on Keirran. “Why do you want to see Titania?” he asked, his tone suspicious beneath the cheerful demeanor. “No offense, princeling, but the only other person she dislikes more than you is...well, me. And maybe Mab. If you’re going to be requesting any kind of favor, it’s not going to go well for you.”

“I know,” Keirran replied.

“And you’d be putting the queen’s brother in danger,” Puck went on relentlessly. “Meghan’s not going to be happy if Scowly over there gets turned into a gerbil.”

“I’m right here,” I announced, tired of being ignored, “listening to everything you say. You can talk to me like I’m a real person, you know.”

Puck’s amused gaze flicked to me, though I still saw the shadow of concern in his eyes. “Why are you here, Ethan Chase?” he asked, his emerald stare suddenly piercing. “You should go home—there’s no need for you to be tromping all over the Nevernever with the princeling. I can take him to Arcadia from here.”

My skin prickled. That secret again. The one about me and Keirran. The reason Meghan had disappeared, cut herself off from our family and never told us she had a son. The vision of me dead on the ground, a horrified Keirran standing over my body, came back in a rush, and I shivered. Everyone in Faery had known, it seemed. Everyone...except Keirran and me.

Kenzie spoke up before I could answer, putting her hands on her hips and frowning up at the Summer prankster. “Why are you so eager to ship us home?” she demanded, and Puck’s eyebrows rose. “We’re fine. We’re here to help Keirran and we’re not going back until it’s finished. So everyone can stop telling us to stay out of it.”