Its because youre human, Ash continued in that same quiet voice, holding my gaze, that you missed a tactical opportunity. A Winter fey in your position wouldnt have come back. They wouldnt let their emotions get in the way. If youre going to survive in the Unseelie Court, you have to start thinking like them.
Well, Im not like them. I rose and took a step back, trying to ignore the feeling of hurt and betrayal, the stupid angry tears pressing at the corners of my eyes. Im not a Winter faery. Im human, with human feelings and emotions. And if you want me to apologize for that, you can forget it. I cant just shut off my feelings like you can.
I whirled to stalk away in a huff, but Ash rose with blinding speed and gripped my upper arms. I stiffened, locking my knees and keeping my back straight, but struggling with him would have been useless. Even wounded and bleeding, he was much stronger than me.
Im not ungrateful, he murmured against my ear, making my stomach flutter despite itself. I just want you to understand. The Winter Court preys on the weak. Its their nature. They will try to tear you apart, physically and emotionally, and I wont always be there to protect you.
I shivered, anger melting away, as my own doubts and fears came rushing back. Ash sighed, and I felt his forehead touch the back of my hair, his breath fanning my neck. I dont want to do this, he admitted in a low, anguished voice. I dont want to see what theyll try to do to you. A Summer fey in the Winter Court doesnt stand much of a chance. But I vowed that I would bring you back, and Im bound to that promise. He raised his head, squeezing my shoulders in an almost painful grip as his voice dropped a few octaves, turning grim and cold. So you have to be stronger than they are. You cant let down your guard, no matter what. They will lead you on, with games and pretty words, and they will take pleasure in your misery. Dont let them get to you. And dont trust anyone. He paused, and his voice went even lower. Not even me.
Ill always trust you, I whispered without thinking, and his hands tightened, turning me almost savagely to face him.
No, he said, narrowing his eyes. You wont. Im your enemy, Meghan. Never forget that. If Mab tells me to kill you in front of the entire court, its my duty to obey. If she orders Rowan or Sage to carve you up slowly, making sure you suffer every second of it, Im expected to stand there and let them do it. Do you understand? My feelings for you dont matter in the Winter Court. Summer and Winter will always be on opposite sides, and nothing will change that.
I knew I should be afraid of him. He was an Unseelie prince, after all, and had in no uncertain terms admitted he would kill me if Mab ordered him to. But he also admitted to having feelings for me, feelings that didnt matter, but it still made my stomach squirm when I heard it. And maybe I was being naive, but I couldnt believe Ash would willingly hurt me, even in the Winter Court. Not with the way he was looking at me now, his silver eyes conflicted and angry.
He stared at me a moment longer, then sighed. You didnt hear a word I said, did you? he murmured, closing his eyes.
Im not afraid, I told him, which was a lie: I was terrified of Mab and the Unseelie Court that waited at the end of this journey. But if Ash was there, I would be all right.
You are infuriatingly stubborn, Ash muttered, raking a hand through his hair. I dont know how Im going to protect you when you have no concept of self-preservation.
I stepped close to him, placing a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat under his shirt. I trust you, I said, rising so our faces were inches apart, trailing my fingers down his stomach. I know youll find a way.
His breath hitched, and he regarded me hungrily. Youre playing with fire, you know that?
Thats weird, considering youre an ice prin I didnt get any further, as Ash leaned in and kissed me. I looped my arms around his neck as his snaked around my waist, and for a few moments the cold couldnt touch me.
THE NEXT MORNING, he was back to being distant and aloof, barely speaking to me no matter how much I prodded. That night, we reached the underground palace of the Winter Court, and Mab dismissed me almost immediately. A servant showed me to my quarters, and I sat in the small, chilly room waiting for Ash to find me again.
THE NEXT MORNING, he was back to being distant and aloof, barely speaking to me no matter how much I prodded. That night, we reached the underground palace of the Winter Court, and Mab dismissed me almost immediately. A servant showed me to my quarters, and I sat in the small, chilly room waiting for Ash to find me again.
He never returned from his meeting with the queen, and after several hours of waiting, I finally ventured into the halls of the Winter Court, looking for him. Thats when I found Tiaothin, or rather, she found me in the library, playing keep-away with a hulking Jack-in-Irons as he stalked me between the aisles. After getting rid of the giant, she informed me that Prince Ash was no longer in the palace, and no one had any idea when he would be back.
But thats just Ash, shed said, grinning at me from atop a bookcase. Hes hardly ever at court. You catch a glimpse of him and poof! Hes gone for another few months.
Why would Ash just leave like that? I wondered for about the billionth time. He couldve at least told me where he was going, and when hed be back. He didnt have to leave me hanging.
Unless he was deliberately avoiding me. Unless everything hed said, the kiss wed shared, the emotions in his eyes and voice, meant nothing to him. Maybe everything hed done was only to bring me to the Winter Court.
Youre going to be late, Tiaothin purred, jerking me back to the present, watching me with glowing cat eyes. Mab doesnt like to be kept waiting.
Right, I said faintly, shaken out of my dark mood. Oops, thats right. Ive got an audience with the Faery Queen of Winter. Just give me a minute to change. I waited, but when Tiaothin didnt move, I scowled at her. Uh, a little privacy, please?
Tiaothin giggled, and in one shivery motion, became a shaggy black goat, who bounced out of the room on all fours. I shut the door and leaned against it, feeling my heart thud in my chest. Mab wanted to see me. The Queen of the Unseelie Court was finally calling on me. I shivered and pushed away from the door, walking to my dresser and the icy mirror on top.
My reflection stared back at me, slightly distorted by the cracks in the ice. Sometimes, I still didnt recognize myself. My straight blond hair was almost silver in the darkness of the room, and my eyes seemed far too big for my face. And there were other things, a thousand little details I couldnt put my finger on, that told me I wasnt human, that I was something to be feared. And of course, there was the most obvious difference. Pointed ears knifed up from the sides of my head, a screaming reminder of how unnormal I was.
I broke eye contact with my reflection and looked down at my clothes. They were warm and comfortable, but I was pretty sure meeting the Queen of the Unseelie Court dressed in sweatpants and a baggy sweater was a bad idea.
Great. Im supposed to meet the Queen of the Winter fey in five minutes. What do I wear?
Closing my eyes, I tried collecting the glamour around me and shaping it over my clothes. Nothing. The massive rush of power Id drawn on while battling the Iron King seemed to have faded, so much that I couldnt craft even the simplest illusion anymore. And not for lack of trying. Recalling my lessons with Grimalkin, a faery cat Id met on my first trip to the Nevernever, Id tried to become invisible, make shoes levitate and create faery fire. All failures. I couldnt even feel the glamour anymore, though I knew it was all around me. Glamour is fueled by emotion, and the wilder and more passionate the emotionrage, lust, lovethe easier it is to draw on. Yet I couldnt access it like I used to. It seemed I was back to being plain, nonmagical Meghan Chase. With pointy ears.
It was strange; for years, I hadnt even known I was half-fey. It was just a few months ago, on my sixteenth birthday, that my best friend Robbie had revealed himself to be Robin Goodfellow, the infamous Puck from A Midsummer Nights Dream. My kid brother, Ethan, had been kidnapped by faeries and I needed to rescue him. Oh, and by the way, I was the half-human daughter of King Oberon, Lord of the Summer fey. It took some getting used to, both the knowledge that I was half-faery and that I could use the magic of the feyfaery glamourto work my own spells. Not that I was very good at itI sucked, much to Grimalkins irritationbut that wasnt the point. I hadnt even believed in faeries back then, but now that my magic was gone, it felt like pieces of me were missing.
With a sigh, I opened the dresser and pulled out jeans, a white shirt and a long black coat, shrugging into them as quickly as I could to avoid freezing to death. For a moment, I wondered if I should dress in something fancy, like an evening gown. After a moment I decided against it. The Unseelie spurned formal attire. Id have a better chance of survival if I tried fitting in.
When I opened the door, Tiaothin, no longer a goat or cat, stared at me and broke into a toothy leer. This way, she hissed, backing into the icy corridor. Her yellow eyes seemed to float in the darkness. The queen awaits.
I FOLLOWED TIAOTHIN down the dark, twisted hallways, trying to keep my gaze straight ahead. Out of the corners of my eyes, however, I still caught glimpses of the nightmares lurking in the halls the Unseelie Court.
A spindly bogey crouched behind a door like a giant spider, the pale, emaciated face staring at me through the crack. An enormous black hound with glowing eyes trailed us down the hallways, making no noise at all, until Tiaothin hissed at it and it slunk away. Two goblins and a shark-toothed redcap huddled in a corner, rolling dice made of teeth and tiny bones. As I passed, an argument broke out, the goblins pointing to the redcap and crying Cheat, cheat! in high-pitched voices. I didnt look back, but a shriek rang out behind me, followed by the wet sound of snapping bones. I shuddered and followed Tiaothin around a corner.