The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey) (28 page)

Finally, we came to the end of the tunnel, where a small wooden door sat entangled in vines and thorns. They curled protectively around the wood as we approached, but Keirran waved a hand, and they retreated, coiling back and allowing him to yank the door open.

“Go,” he said, waving me through. “I’ll be right behind you.”

I went, holding Kenzie to me as I did. The madness, noise and chaos of Faery was shut out as soon as I crossed the threshold, and the real world finally took its place.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE CALM BEFORE

We were back.

Where the hell were we?

Trees surrounded us, dark and tangled. We stood in the middle of a forest, and not the well-groomed woods of a park or even a reserve. This felt like vast, untamed wilderness. Except for the moon and stars through the branches, there was no light and barely any sound. Behind us, a black, narrow hole cut into a rocky shelf, the cave that marked the entrance to the Nevernever and the Seelie Court.

Still panting, I knelt in the dirt, carefully lowering Kenzie to the ground. With trembling fingers, I checked her vitals again, making sure that heartbeat was still there, the pulse that told me she was alive. She didn’t open her eyes, however, and dread squeezed my chest with icy talons.

Keirran stood behind me, casting a dark shadow over the girl’s slack face. “How is she?” he whispered, his voice subdued. “Will she be all right?”

My vision went red. Lunging to my feet, I spun and drove my fist into Keirran’s jaw, knocking him back. He staggered, and I went for him again, yanking him upright and slamming my fist into his stomach, doubling him over with a gasp.

Ramming him into a tree, I hauled back and hit him several times, barely aware of what I was striking. Keirran raised his arms to shield his head, but didn’t fight back, which pissed me off even more. I pounded at his face, slamming him several times into the tree trunk. Razor screeched, landing on my shoulder and chomping my ear with sharp little fangs. With a curse, I slapped the gremlin away and slugged Keirran one more time, this time knocking him off his feet. He landed on his knees in the dirt, and I fought back the urge to kick him, repeatedly. But hitting someone while they were down was going a bit far, even now.

“Damn you!” I snarled as Keirran slowly regained his feet and slumped against the trunk. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, spattering the front of his shirt, and the prince didn’t look at me, staring at the ground between us. “That’s
it,
Keirran! No more help, no more bargains, no more agreeing to kill ancient spirits! We’re done! I don’t know you, you don’t know me and you sure as hell don’t know Kenzie. I don’t care what you do now, but you are a fucking train wreck. And I’m done watching everything around you go up in flames, do you hear me?”

Keirran wiped blood from his mouth and nodded silently. He looked tired, defeated, but I refused to feel sorry for him. Not when Mackenzie lay motionless several feet away, struck down by Titania for trying to stop
him.

“Ethan?”

The soft gasp pierced my heart, and my anger vanished. I whirled and flung myself down beside Kenzie, gently taking her hand. Her eyes were open, though they were glazed and glassy, and her face was tight with pain.

“I’m here,” I murmured. Keirran came up to stand behind me, out of punching range, I noticed, but I ignored him. “Can you move?”

“I don’t know,” Kenzie gasped, squeezing my hand. “Everything hurts.”

“We have to get you home.” As gently as I could, I shifted my arms beneath her and lifted her as I rose. She whimpered and clutched at my shirt, making my insides twist into near-panicked knots. She needed a doctor, but we were in no-man’s-land. How were we going to get back to civilization?

“Here.” Keirran stepped away, one hand raised as if sensing the breeze. Stopping beneath a thick pine, he pushed his fingers into empty air and parted the real world like a curtain, revealing the darkness of the Between through the gap. I stiffened, and he turned to me with bleak, haunted eyes.

“I’ll take you home, one last time.”

* * *

The rest of the trip was a blur. I was vaguely aware that we left the Between and took a cab or something to the hospital. Several doctors and nurses surrounded me, asking questions. I answered in a daze and watched them wheel Kenzie away on a gurney, feeling like my chest had been squeezed in a vise. Then she was gone, and I collapsed into a chair, shutting out the world and praying she would be all right.

“Ethan Chase?”

I looked up blearily. A nurse in pink scrubs stood before me, looking kind and sympathetic. How long it had been, I had no idea. “She’s awake,” she said as I quickly stood up. A couple seats down, Keirran raised his head off his chest, watching us. I’d forgotten about him, too. “We’ve stabilized her, and she’s resting now. She sustained some nerve and tissue damage, and we’re keeping her under observation, but she’s a very lucky girl.”

I nearly collapsed in relief. The nurse smiled. “You can see her now, but keep it brief. Five minutes if you can. She really needs to rest. Has her family been contacted?”

“Yes,” Keirran said from the chair, though the nurse didn’t even look at him. I felt a pulse of magic go through the air between us, but I was too worried about Kenzie to think much of it. “They’re on their way now.”

She nodded distractedly, gave me a room number and warned me again to keep it short. As the nurse left, I started down the hall, and Keirran rose from the chair to follow.

I spun on him. Fury blazed up, searing away the numbness. “Where do you think you’re going?” I challenged, narrowing my eyes.

He blinked. “To see Kenzie.”

I sneered. “Forget it. You’re not going anywhere near her, ever again.” Another nurse passed us, and I averted my gaze until she turned a corner, before glaring at the prince again. “Get lost, Keirran. Go home.”

“Ethan, please. I...” Keirran closed his eyes. “I failed Annwyl,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I’ve made a mess out of everything. Let me make sure Kenzie is all right, and I’ll go. I’ll get out of your life forever. You’ll never see me again.”

Annwyl. Damn.
I’d forgotten about her in all the chaos and panic over Kenzie. With no way home now, the Summer faery would Fade to nothing. As would Keirran, once the amulet drained everything he was. No wonder he looked so haunted. He’d gambled everything to get Annwyl home, knowing the consequences would be terrible, knowing they couldn’t be together even if he saved her life. And now things were even worse. The courts could go to war, the Frozen Wood was lost, and there was probably some punishment waiting for him for attacking the Queen of the Summer Court. Not to mention Meghan and Ash were going to be furious. And even after all that, after everything we’d fought for, Annwyl was still dying. We were back to square one.

I sighed as some of my anger flickered and went out. I was still pissed, but Keirran looked about ready to fall apart. I noticed my swords then, tucked under his arm, and scowled in confusion before understanding dawned. He’d grabbed them from me before I entered the hospital. If I had walked through those doors armed, I’d probably be sitting in a jail cell right now. He, at least, had had the presence of mind to glamour them, and himself, invisible.

But that still didn’t excuse what he’d done.

“Dammit, Keirran,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my face. But at that moment, a chill crept up my back, and I looked up, staring past him down the hall.

A shadow hung from the ceiling at the end of the corridor, huge yellow eyes glowing in its featureless face. I tensed and almost grabbed my blades from Keirran’s hand, though the second I did they would become visible and then I’d be in trouble. The Forgotten didn’t attack, however. Like the other times, it watched us a moment, then slowly eased forward, a shadowy blob against the tiles.

“Iron Prince,” it whispered when it was a few yards away, and Keirran stiffened. “We have waited long enough. The Lady wishes to speak to you
now.
”

Keirran took one step toward it, and I grabbed his arm. “Keirran!” I hissed, not knowing why I was stopping him. “Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m not,” he said in a low voice, turning back to me. “Not this time. I have to go to her soon, or the Forgotten will hound me forever. I’m only going to see what she has to say. I’m not going to agree to any more terms or promise her anything. But I have to do this, Ethan.” His eyes went dark, and he swallowed hard. “One last thing before I go home...and face my parents.”

Reluctantly, I let him go, and he turned back to the Forgotten. “Where is she?” he asked. “The Lady?”

“The faery ring,” the Forgotten whispered. “Where the other mortal in your party gained the Sight.”

“Ireland,” I muttered, frowning. Of course, it would have to be halfway around the world. Not far by trod or Between jumping, I supposed, but plenty far enough.

“Tell her I’ll be there soon,” Keirran said, and the Forgotten nodded. Melting against the ceiling, it slithered away like a shadow, turned the corner and was gone.

“I’m not going to Ireland,” I told him flatly. “Not with Kenzie in the hospital. I’m not leaving her.”

“I know,” he answered. “I don’t expect you to. This is my mess, and I have to do this alone. But I want to see Kenzie before I leave. Say goodbye. She...probably won’t see me again.”

And neither will I.
Pushing that thought away, I went in search of Mackenzie’s room, with Keirran trailing invisibly behind.

I had another weird sense of déjà vu as I entered the quiet hospital room, the soft beep of machines the only sound that greeted me. Kenzie lay on a bed in the corner with one arm draped over her stomach, breathing peacefully. Much like last time. I wondered if it was always going to be like this: spending more and more time in the hospital, watching my girlfriend suffer from sickness and exhaustion and magical injuries no normal person would have to deal with. I wondered if my heart would be able to take it.

Razor perched on an overhead shelf like a spindly gargoyle, silent and grim. He eyed me warily as we came in, then turned his attention to Kenzie once more. I hoped the gremlin’s presence hadn’t shorted out any of the machines, but oddly enough, I was glad that he’d been there, watching her. It seemed Kenzie had picked up a tiny faery champion.

“Hey.” Moving to her side, I took her hand. Her eyes were open and alert, though her skin was very pale. Leaning down, I traced her cheek with my other hand, and she smiled, briefly closing her eyes against my touch.

“Hey, tough guy.” Her gaze met mine, weary and a little sad. “Here we are again.”

“Are you feeling any better?” I didn’t know how one would feel after being struck by a glamour-produced lightning bolt, but I could hazard it wasn’t great. Kenzie shrugged.

“Sore, mostly. And drained. The doctors say I have some minor burns, but nothing too serious. They told me I was extremely lucky—most people hit by lightning don’t get off that easy.” She gave a faint, rueful grin. “I didn’t tell them most people don’t get hit by angry faery queens, either.”

“Mackenzie.” Keirran was suddenly at her side opposite me, his eyes bright and anguished in the shadows of the room. “I have no right to ask for your forgiveness,” he said, “but I want you to know that I’m truly sorry, for everything. I know that’s small consolation now.” She took a breath to answer, but he held up a hand. “Your family will be here soon,” he continued, to my surprise as well, and his gaze flicked to mine. “I didn’t lie about that. Once your parents were contacted by the hospital, the glamour shrouding their minds vanished. They remember everything, up until the night we walked out of their hotel room. I heard the nurses talking to your father on the phone. He’s on his way now.”

“Oh,” Kenzie breathed. “Great. So that means I’m going to have to explain where I was and why I ran out like that.”

“Well, that’s easy,” I muttered, ignoring the sudden dread, the creeping suspicion that Kenzie’s father was going to be furious with me. “You can just tell them I kidnapped you again.”

Keirran leaned down, placing a hand over Kenzie’s arm, squeezing gently. “Thank you,” he murmured quite solemnly. “Both of you. For sticking it out with me. It was nice...to have friends for a change. Even if it was for just a little while. I won’t trouble you again.”

“Where are you going?” Kenzie said, frowning.

“I have to meet the Lady,” Keirran answered in a flat voice. “She’s called for me, and I promised I would go to her. After that—” his eyes darkened “—I have to return home and face my parents. They’ve probably heard the news from the Summer Court by now.”

“What about Annwyl?” Kenzie whispered.

A shudder went through Keirran, and he dropped his head with a short, breathless sob. “I don’t know,” he said, one hand covering his face. “I failed her,” he whispered. “I don’t know what will happen now, what more I can do.”

He turned away, hunching his shoulders, and Kenzie’s hand came to rest over mine, bringing my attention back to her. “Go with him,” she told me.

I recoiled. “What? No!” I leaned down, knowing Keirran could hear me and not caring a bit. “Forget it. He already made his choice, and look where it got us. But that’s beside the point. I’m not leaving you, Mackenzie.”

“I’ll be fine.” Her cool fingers brushed the side of my face. “My family is coming. I won’t be alone. But, Ethan, you’re all he has left, and you’re family. You can’t send him to face the Lady by himself.”

“Dammit, Kenzie.” I bent down, pressing my forehead to hers. “No. I don’t want to do this. You’re more important to me now.”

“Nothing will happen to me here,” Kenzie whispered back, slipping her fingers into my hair, easing me closer. “Ethan, please. I’m worried for him. I know he’s made some stupid mistakes, but he’s still our friend, right? What if something happens? What if the Lady betrays him, just like Titania did?” Her voice lowered, meant only for me. “He’s probably desperate now that Annwyl can’t go home. You have to make sure he doesn’t do something really crazy.”

Keirran straightened, taking a short breath to compose himself. “I should go,” he said. Glancing at Razor, he raised his hand, beckoning him forward, but the gremlin flattened his ears and stayed put. Keirran blinked, then lowered his arm. “You’re staying?” he asked in a curiously choked voice. The gremlin garbled something back, and the prince smiled sadly. “I see. Well, it’s your choice, Razor.”

Kenzie looked at me, eyes wide and pleading, and I whispered a curse.

“Keirran, wait.” I rose, wishing I could drive my fist through the wall, wishing I didn’t have to make these kinds of choices. “I’m coming with you.”