“I spoke to Ash the night we came back from Tir Na Nog,” she said, making my stomach drop. “He told me he let you and Kenzie out of the palace. He said you might be able to help Keirran, that a mortal who isn’t bound by Faery law might succeed where we could not. Is that true?”
I nodded. I hadn’t wanted to rat Ash out, but if he’d already confessed, there was no reason to deny it. “I know you wanted me to stay out of this,” I told her, “but I can’t just sit at home, knowing you and Keirran are out there, probably fighting each other. That would drive me completely nuts. Even if I don’t have faery blood, I’m part of this family, which means I’m part of this war, whether you like it or not. Also...” I scrubbed the back of my head. “Don’t blame Ash entirely. If he hadn’t let us go that night, Kenzie would’ve insisted we do something anyway. And we’d probably be right back here.”
Surprisingly, Meghan smiled. “I was furious with him,” she said, “but he told me to have more faith in the human part of my family. I guess he was right. I have to remember that you’ve grown up, just like I had to.” She gave me a wistful, slightly sad look. “Your birthday was three weeks ago in the mortal realm, did you know that?” she went on, making my brows shoot up. “You’re eighteen now, Ethan. You’re not a kid anymore.”
I’m eighteen? The notion shocked me. I was legally an adult. It was a bittersweet realization. Eighteen had been the magic number that represented freedom, on many levels. On the one hand, I wasn’t required to go to school or live with my parents. On the other, I hadn’t really gotten much of a childhood, not a normal one, anyway. Meghan had been absent for much of it, and those years were truly gone now. I could never go back and relive them, hoping that my sister would come home and our family would finally be complete.
Meghan nodded, smiling faintly. “You’ve grown up so fast,” she murmured, walking forward. Nostalgia colored her voice. “I still remember when you were four, wanting me to tell you and Floppy a story, so the monsters in your closet would go away.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “I haven’t been that for a long time, sis.”
“I know.” Meghan stopped about a foot away, blue eyes solemn now as she gazed up at me. “And I know I’ve missed so much of your life, Ethan. I wish I could’ve been there, to watch you grow up. But, you have. And you’ve grown up into someone...that I’m so proud of.” Her palm pressed against my cheek, brushing hair from my face. “I love you, little brother,” she said, looking me right in the eye. “You’ve become more than anyone could have guessed, and no matter what happens, you will always be my family. I want you to know that, before you have to face Keirran again. Even if I couldn’t be a part of your life, I was always thinking of you.”
I swallowed hard. “We’ll save him,” I told her. “I swear it, Meghan. Even if I have to knock some sense into him myself. We’ll bring Keirran back, and then we’ll take down the First Queen and the Forgotten together.”
She nodded, but her eyes were distant. “I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “I hope you can change the prophecy where I failed.”
“I will,” I promised. “And, Meghan?”
She was already pulling away, but paused, gazing back at me. I took a quick breath. “I don’t blame you,” I said softly, “or Ash. Or Keirran. I know...I realize now, it had to be this way. Took me a while, but I think I finally got it.” Meghan’s eyes glimmered, and I forced a wry grin. “So, no more whining from me about not visiting on my birthday or spring break or whatever. I’ll just be happy to know that everyone in my family is alive.”
Meghan smiled, even as a single tear slipped down her cheek. “That’s always been my hope, as well.”
* * *
Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Maybe because I was antsy for the upcoming council, though I knew that was likely several hours away. Or maybe because my brain wouldn’t shut up and leave me alone. After devouring a bowl of stew and bread in my tent—finally, real food—I lay on my cot in the darkness, staring at the ceiling while my mind looped in endless circles.
We were close. Close to the end, however that might turn out. The Lady and the Forgotten were out there, as was Keirran. We had fought our way through the wyldwood, the Between and the Deep Wyld to find Annwyl. We’d rescued her and the amulet. We knew how to free the soul trapped inside. The pieces were all in place.
And it would all be for nothing, if we couldn’t convince Keirran to destroy the anting-anting himself.
And even if we do convince him, I thought, what then? The war isn’t going to stop. The Forgotten aren’t going to give up just because Keirran gets his soul back. Meghan and Ash have been worried about him, sure, but the real threat is the First Queen. Maybe that was her game all along; have the courts so focused on Keirran, they completely forget about her until it’s too late.
Whatever her reasons, the First Queen’s ploy to use Keirran against the courts was a brilliant one. Whatever they might say, even if they knew better, Meghan and Ash would not strike down their own son, and the fey of Mag Tuiredh would probably hesitate to kill their former prince, as well. And Keirran was dangerous enough and powerful enough to pose a real threat to everyone but the rulers of the courts. So, what did you do? Slaughter him and face the terrible grief and wrath of the Iron Court and its queen, or let him live to wreak havoc as he willed it? A pretty crappy situation all around.