Several ice spears flew at me, insanely fast. My insides cringed, but I forced myself to stand tall, facing them as they veered off at the last second, sticking into the trees and mud behind me. Mab stared in surprise, and I used that pause to tell my heart it could start beating again.
“What is going on here?”
A surge of energy announced the arrival of the Iron Queen. Meghan strode through the crowd, Oberon beside her, and the throngs of fey quickly fell back. Ignoring Mab and Titania, Meghan walked straight to me, her gaze concerned as she gripped my arms, blue eyes searching.
“Ethan? Are you hurt? What happened?”
“Keirran,” I muttered, and Meghan went rock still. “He was here. I’m sorry, Meghan. I couldn’t stop him.”
“The Iron Prince has fled back to his Lady,” Titania announced, as Meghan squeezed my arms and straightened, turning to face the other rulers. “He has gone into the Between, and we must follow him. Open the Veil,” she ordered, looking at the Thin Man. “This has gone far enough. The Iron Prince and the First Queen will not hide from us any longer. We will go into the Between and find them ourselves. Open the Veil, Forgotten.”
“No,” the Thin Man answered. “I will not.”
Titania stiffened with fury and outrage, but Oberon raised his hand, silencing her outburst. “I will not hasten the destruction of the Veil any more than I already have,” the Thin Man continued. “Bringing any of you—” he gazed around at the four rulers “—into the Between will put too much strain on the Veil. It is already dangerously weak. A surge of power that strong could dissolve it completely.”
“Then what do you expect us to do?” Titania spat. “Sit here and wait for the Forgotten and the Iron Prince to attack again?”
“No,” I said, and stepped forward. “I’m going in after Keirran, right now.”
They all stared at me. “The Forgotten might still be retreating,” I went on. “If we hurry, we might be able to get to him before he reaches the First Queen.”
“We, Ethan Chase?” Mab wondered.
“Yeah.” I nodded at the small group around me. “Me, Annwyl, Kenzie and the Thin Man. We won’t pose a threat to the Veil, and hopefully we’ll be able to slip through the Between without the Forgotten noticing we’re there.”
Meghan frowned. “It’ll be the four of you against the Forgotten, Keirran and the First Queen,” she said. “If you’re discovered, you won’t have a chance. I don’t know if I can let you do this, Ethan.”
“I have to, Meghan.” I faced my sister tiredly. “It was always meant to be me and Keirran in the end. I can’t do anything about the First Queen, or the Forgotten, but I can try to save Keirran.” One way or another.
Meghan sighed. “Are you sure you can do this? Alone?”
“He won’t be alone,” came a deep voice, as Ash, Puck and the Wolf padded up together. I froze as Ash turned his cool gaze on us. “We’re going with him,” the dark faery said, his firm voice leaving no room for argument. “If we can find the First Queen, we might be able to stop her.”
“Yep,” Puck agreed, lacing his hands behind his skull. “And hopefully, our illustrious presence won’t make the Between go wonky and poof out of existence.” He glanced at the Thin Man. “That won’t be a problem, right, Slim Shady?”
The Thin Man frowned. “It might,” he said uncertainly. “Two legends and a former Winter prince? I don’t know if the Between will be able to take it.”
“Risk it,” Ash said, narrowing his eyes. “This is our best and only chance to reach Keirran and the First Queen. If she won’t come to us, we’ll have to go to her.”
“And if it destroys the Veil in the process?”
Someone yawned, loudly and mockingly, a few feet away.
“I do not think you have to worry about that,” purred Grimalkin, appearing on a nearby shattered stump. Curling his tail around his feet, he regarded us lazily. “The Veil will survive,” he stated in a bored voice. “Regardless of what he might believe, Robin Goodfellow is not going to be throwing around the power of a king or queen of Faery. The dog’s strength comes from story and legend. He has no magic of his own except the annoying ability to not die when he should. And the former Winter prince is no longer fey, not completely. Taking them into the Between will be a risk, but it might be your best option for any hope of victory tonight.”
The Wolf rumbled an agreement. “The cat has a point,” he said, curling his lip as if those words were somehow distasteful. “Two humans, a Fading Summer girl and a Forgotten won’t be able to stand against an entire army. We can at least get you there.”
“Oh, very well,” the Thin Man snapped. “But no one else. We’re already pushing the boundaries of what the Between can take.” He scowled at us all—me, Annwyl, Kenzie, Ash, Puck, Wolf—and sighed. “Shall we go, then? I believe you want to find the Iron Prince and the Lady soon, before the Forgotten have a chance to regroup.”
I nodded before I had a chance to think about it. “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s go. Right now. The sooner the better.”
“As you wish,” the Thin Man murmured. “Wait here. It will take me but a moment to find where the prince went through.”
He strode off toward the hole in the bramble wall the knights had torn through. Guiltily, I looked at Kenzie, wondering what she was thinking about all this. She gazed calmly back, and I swallowed. “Are you okay to do this?” I asked softly. “Go into the Between again?”