Iron's Prophecy (4 page)

“Oracle,” Mab stated in a flat voice. “Why are you here? What is the meaning of this disturbance?”

The oracle ignored the Winter monarch, however, drifting closer to me. “Meghan Chase,” she whispered, and the stench of centuries-old dust filled the air, the smell of a grave or a tomb. “Iron Queen. Do you remember me?”

“What do you want, Oracle?” I stood tall, keeping my voice calm.

“Old Anna brings a warning,” the oracle whispered. “One that has been ignored before. Do you remember what I told you, Meghan Chase? You and your Winter prince. Do you recall what I said would happen?”

A murmur went around the room, and Mab’s glare sharpened; I could feel it searing into the back of my head. Goose bumps prickled over my skin, but I kept my voice firm. “No,” I said, taking a step forward. “You told us a lot of things, and I gave you what I could. I did what I had to do, to save my family. That’s all that was important.”

“You remember,” the oracle insisted. “Do you not? The one thing you refused to give up. That which would cause you nothing but grief. Do you remember now, Meghan Chase?”

For second, I didn’t know what she was talking about.

Then it hit me, and were it not for the hundreds of fey watching, including the rulers of the other courts, I would have fallen as my knees gave out. I remembered her words, so long ago, when I had first come to Faery. I had traded away a memory for her help, but that wasn’t the only thing the oracle had wanted.

“You will not give it up, even though it will bring you nothing but grief?”

“Oh, God,” I whispered, and my hand slipped to my stomach. The nausea, the sudden weakness and fainting spells. It couldn’t be.

“Yes,” the oracle whispered, and raised a withered hand, pointing at me. “You know of what I speak. And you have a decision to make, Iron Queen. What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them. I have seen it. I know one of these will come to pass.”

“No,” I said in a shaky voice. No one in the room seemed to hear us now. It was as if we were in our own small world, the oracle and myself, and everything around us had faded into obscurity.

The withered hag watched me with the pitiless holes in her face. “You know I speak the truth, Meghan Chase,” the oracle went on. “You know the great power resting inside you. Power that can destroy, turn everything we know into dust. But all is not lost.” She raised a shriveled claw. “I have a proposition for you. We must speak further, but not here. Not like this.” She drew back, the hollow pits of her eyes never leaving my face. “Time is of the essence. Find me. You have friends who will show you the way. I will be awaiting you, and your decision.”

A sudden wind rushed through the ballroom, resnuffing candles and causing a few chandeliers to crash to the ground in a ringing cacophony. Fey jumped and howled, and by the time Mab restored order and reignited the lights again, the oracle was gone.

CHAPTER THREE

“Explain yourself, Iron Queen!”

Shivering, I turned to face the Unseelie monarch, on her feet and glaring at me over the table. Mab’s eyes glittered with distrust, and Oberon didn’t look very reassuring, either. Titania, of course, was staring at me like she was hoping my head would explode.

But they were the least of my worries, now. The oracle’s words rang through my head, over and over again, staggering me with the implications.

You know the great power resting inside you.

What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.

You have a decision to make, Iron Queen. Find me.

“I have to go.”

That
wasn’t well received. Mab straightened, every inch of her bristling with offense. “You dare, Iron Queen?” she asked in her scary soft voice. “You dare insult me in my own court? In front of my own people?” Her black eyes narrowed, and she leaned across the table, coating the glasses with frost. “You will tell me what is happening, or you will prepare for the wrath of Winter.”

I stared her down. “No, Queen Mab. You will not threaten me or my kingdom for this.” Mab didn’t move, but I could sense her shock; the daughter of Oberon was no longer a cowering little girl. I gestured to the room behind us. “You heard what the oracle said—this affects all the courts, not just my own. I will not adhere to some ridiculous, outdated protocol when my realm could be in danger.”

“The girl is right, Lady Mab,” Oberon said,
finally
coming to my defense. Better late than never, I supposed. “A Summons from the oracle cannot be ignored. If she knows something that threatens the stability of the courts, we must be prepared.”

“And what of Ash?” Mab snapped, a bit peevishly now. “I have not seen my son in months. The Iron Queen makes decisions that affects them both. What does Ash think of all this?”

“Ash,” said a cool, deep voice, suddenly at my shoulder, “stands with the decision of his queen.”

I didn’t move, though my heart leaped and I wanted to glance at him in relief. But I kept my gaze on the Unseelie monarch in front of us. “Ash,” Mab said, switching her attention to my knight, standing tall at my side, “you have not been home in months. Do you not care that your queen is breaking the ancient traditions of Elysium? Do you not care that she would pit you against your own court, if it came to war between us?”

I felt a blaze of fury at the Unseelie Queen’s manipulative ways, but Ash’s voice remained calm. “This is not my home any longer,” Ash said in a clear voice, making sure everyone heard him. “And if it came to war, I would be the first on the front lines, defending the Iron Court.”

Mab looked stunned. I took advantage of her silence to bow and step back. “We’ll be taking our leave now,” I told the rulers of Faery, ignoring my pounding heart. Of the three, only Oberon nodded. Titania snorted in disgust, and Mab continued to watch me with her dark, eerie glare. “I apologize for the inconvenience, Queen Mab, but we must return to Mag Tuiredh. Please excuse us.”

And, without waiting for an answer, I turned and left the ballroom with Ash at my side, feeling the Winter Queen’s frosty gaze skewering the back of my neck.

* * *

That was the easy part.

As soon as we were in the hallway, out of sight and sound of the rulers, Ash turned on me, silver eyes bright. “I heard the commotion in the ballroom,” he said, his voice low and intense, nothing like the cool, composed nonchalance he had shown in front of Mab. “What happened? Why are we leaving Elysium? What’s going on, Meghan?”

My legs were shaking. Now that I was away from the rulers, the oracle’s words came back in a rush, threatening to drown me. I couldn’t think, couldn’t explain. I needed time to compose myself, to sort this out. Ash had to know, he was the other part of this equation, but the Unseelie Court was not the place to break this kind of news. I couldn’t tell him now. Not like this.

“Home, Ash,” I said finally, desperate to get out of Tir Na Nog, back to the familiar comfort of my realm. “Please. I’ll tell you everything when we get home.”

He wasn’t happy, but conceded to my wishes, though I could feel his eyes on me the entire ride back to Mag Tuiredh.

How am I going to tell him? What is he going to think about all this?
I gazed out the window, Ash’s worried, intense stare burning my cheek.
Oh, Ash, I wanted this day to come, but I never thought something from our past would come back to haunt us. What are we going to do now?

Glitch didn’t say anything when the carriage pulled to a halt outside the palace, and no one tried to stop me as I strode down the halls; even the gremlins, who would normally swarm around me like happy, psychotic puppies whenever I entered a room, kept their distance. Only Ash kept pace with me, saying nothing, though I knew that would end the second we reached our chambers. I still didn’t know how I was going to tell him.

Beau glanced up from the bed as we entered the room, thumping his tail against the mattress. I went to the dog and scratched him behind the ears, still trying to collect my scattered thoughts. He pushed his nose against my palm and whined, and I buried my face in his soft fur. My heart was going a mile a minute, and my stomach twisted nervously as Ash’s footsteps followed me into the room.

“All right,” Ash said, closing the door firmly behind us, “I’ve kept quiet long enough. What’s going on, Meghan? What happened at Elysium?”

My mouth went dry. With Beau trailing worriedly behind me, I walked to the glass doors across the room, opened them and stepped onto the balcony, breathing in the night air. Far below, Mag Tuiredh, the city of the Iron fey, sparkled under the full moon. My city. My Iron fey. The realm I had sworn to protect from any and all threats, from without…and within.

What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.

“Meghan.” Ash was behind me in the door frame, his voice firm yet pleading. “Please. Tell me what’s happening.”

I took a deep breath and walked back into the bedroom.

“I… We had an unexpected visitor,” I began. Ash came to my side, not bothering to shut the balcony doors, and a cold breeze ruffled the curtains. “In the ballroom. It was the oracle. She showed up out of nowhere and freaked everyone out. Do you remember her?”

“I remember,” Ash said, sounding puzzled. “New Orleans. We went to that cemetery to get a Token for her, to exchange for your memory. The Church Grim chased us all the way to the edge of the grounds. What did she tell you?”

I gripped the back of a chair to keep myself upright. My heart was pounding against my ribs, and I could barely get the words out. “She…she came to me with a warning. She reminded me that the thing that I refused to give up will bring me nothing but grief. That—” my stomach cartwheeled; I swallowed hard and continued in a whisper “—that what I’m carrying will either unite the courts, or destroy them.”

“What you’re…” Ash stopped. Stared at me. I felt the energy in the room shift the moment he got it.

“Meghan.” His voice was calm, controlled, but so many emotions swirled just below the surface. “Are…are you…pregnant?”

I shivered and closed my eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry or scream. “I think so.”

Ash exhaled slowly. I heard him sit, rather suddenly, on the bed.

Silence fell. Beau whined and nudged his hand, but when that yielded no reaction, he hopped up and sank down next to him with a groan, laying his head on his paws. I closed my eyes and waited.

“What else did the oracle say?” Ash finally whispered, sounding dazed.

“She has a proposition for me,” I replied, afraid to turn around, to face him. Afraid that I would see fear, dismay or disappointment in his eyes. “She wants me to find her, said that I have ‘friends who can show me the way.’ She said she’ll be waiting for me, and my decision.”

“Decision?” I heard the frown in his voice. “What kind of decision?”

“She didn’t say.” I was shaking, trying to hold back frustrated tears. I needed to be strong, but I had just received the news that I was pregnant, and not only that, my child could end up destroying everything I’d worked so hard to protect. To top it all off, I didn’t know if Ash wanted a kid, or was ready for a kid, or if
I
was ready for a kid. “I didn’t have a chance to ask about the details,” I said, attempting to keep my voice steady. “After reminding me of that little prophecy, she disappeared, and I decided it was time to go home, screw what the other rulers thought.”

“Hey.” Ash’s low, soothing voice finally made me turn around. He sat on the edge of the mattress, his eyes and face calm, and held out a hand. “Come here a second.”

I stepped forward and put my hand in his. He drew me close and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his forehead to my stomach. “I’m here,” he murmured, as I gave a shaky sob and bent over him, hugging him in relief. “You’re not alone in this. We’ll figure it out.”

I buried my face in his hair, letting the cool, soft strands brush my cheeks. He was my rock, the one thing I could lean on when the world was crumbling around me. “I guess I made a rather strong impression for my first Elysium as queen,” I murmured, finally starting to feel a bit steadier, like the ground wasn’t cracking under my feet. “I just hope I’m invited back after this. Mab is never going to forgive me for walking out on her.”

I felt him smile. “She’ll get over it.”

“You think so?”

“Not really.”

I groaned, and we both fell silent.

We stayed like that for a while, holding each other, offering comfort and support, yet lost in our own thoughts. Ash was quiet; I wondered what he was thinking, if he was pleased or terrified at the notion of becoming a father. Not only that, the father to a child who might or might not grow up to destroy the courts. How did one reconcile that? Was there a way to ever be prepared for something that extreme?

I couldn’t ask him yet. I still didn’t know how
I
felt about it.

“When do you want to leave?” Ash murmured at length. And his voice, though it shook ever so slightly in the beginning, was steady by the end. I took a deep breath.

“Tonight,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until this whole thing is resolved.” He nodded, and I pulled away to pace the room. Ash watched quietly from the bed. “Though, I’m not even sure how to find the oracle,” I mused, turning to face him. “She didn’t say where she would be. I guess we could go back to the Voodoo Museum in New Orleans—”

“You will not find her there, human.”

I spun, my heart leaping at the familiar, bored voice. Through the open doors, silhouetted against the night sky, a furry gray cat perched on the balcony, watching us with moonlike golden eyes.

At the sight of the intruder, Beau jerked upright, bristling and showing his teeth. He tensed to lunge, but Ash put a hand on his neck and murmured a quiet word, and Beau calmed instantly, sinking back to the bed. The gray cat yawned, unimpressed, and gave his paw a couple licks.

“Hello, Iron Queen.” Grimalkin sighed, as if this meeting was encroaching on his valuable time. “We meet yet again. Sooner than I had anticipated, but I suppose it is to be expected.” He shook his furry head, contemplating us both. “Why is it that neither of you can manage to stay out of trouble for a single season?”