“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Kenzie asked, moving closer to me. Razor gave a worried buzz and hid beneath her hair. “What are they waiting for?”
“I imagine only a few Forgotten have noticed we are here,” the Thin Man said. “However, it only takes a few to alert the rest of the army. We should probably move a little faster.”
So we did, striding over the bleak, black-and-gray landscape, on alert for anything that could come leaping out of the eternal shadows. As we drew closer to the bridge, more and more yellow eyes appeared in the darkness surrounding us. The Forgotten’s numbers were growing.
“Quickly!” Ash said, beckoning us forward. I joined him and saw a long stone staircase cut into the side of the cliff, zigzagging its way up the mountain. We climbed, and the eyes followed us, slithering over the rocks and up the cliff face, turning into a huge swarm. Scrambling up the steps, we finally reached the top and the narrow stone bridge that stretched out over nothing. In the distance, the castle beckoned, a jagged smear of black against the gray.
A Forgotten heaved itself over the side and grabbed at Kenzie with pointed fingers. I yanked her away, slashing at the thing with my sword, and it billowed away into mist. But more shadows appeared, crawling over the railing, surging up the steps, a thousand pairs of yellow eyes coming at us, and we ran.
The fortress loomed overhead, dark and menacing, making me feel tiny beneath its shadow. I felt, rather than heard, the horde of Forgotten at our backs and wondered how we were ever going to confront Keirran while running from an army.
Ash stopped and turned around with a swirl of his cape, drawing his sword. Blue light washed over the bridge as Ash flung out a hand, causing a line of ice spears to grow from the stones, wickedly sharp points aimed back at the Forgotten.
“Ash!”
“Keep going.” The dark faery’s voice was calm as Puck and the Wolf whirled around and joined him in the center of the bridge. Together, the three formed a barrier between us and the approaching horde. “We’ll hold them here,” Ash continued, as Puck drew his daggers and Wolf panted a savage grin. “You three go on to the castle.”
“Are you crazy? We’re not leaving you here!”
He ignored me, facing the throng with his sword glowing blue at his side. The Forgotten continued to pile on to the bridge, slithering over the stones, massing beyond the ice barrier until the other side was nothing but black. Ash, Puck and the Wolf stood quietly, waiting for them, three motionless bodies against a flood of shadows and eyes.
“That’s an awful lot of Forgotten, ice-boy,” Puck mused as the group reached the barrier and began clawing their way over it. He twirled his daggers in both hands and stepped forward, a fierce grin in his voice. “We might not make it through this one. Exciting, isn’t it? Just like old times.”
I stepped forward to join them, but a swirl of light and glitter erupted between us, making me flinch back. I squinted up as the tall, elegant form of the Exile Queen walked out of the light, copper hair flowing behind her.
“Hello, darlings.”
I gaped at the tall faery. “Leanansidhe? What are you doing? How did you even get here?”
“Darling, please.” The Exile Queen waved an airy hand. “It’s the Between. This is still my realm, even if a few interlopers have moved in.” She glared at the Forgotten, blue eyes scary and cold. “It appears that I’m going to have to kick them out myself.”
“Aw, Lea, you mean you didn’t come here to see us?” Puck asked, twirling his daggers as he sauntered forward. “I’m hurt. But, hey, if you’re here to help us toss some shadows over the side of the bridge, I’m not complaining.”
“Ethan.” Ash didn’t turn around as he spoke, but raised his arm. Glamour swirled, and ice daggers formed in the air over his head. “This is the best we can do for you,” the faery continued. “Find Keirran. Nothing else matters now. Find him, and bring him home.”
The Forgotten drew close. Ash flung out his arm, and the flurry of ice daggers sped through the air into the horde coming across the bridge. Several jerked and writhed, twisting away into nothing, coils of shadow vanishing on the wind. Leanansidhe raised her arms, light and energy crackling around her, and sang out a single piercing note. My ears rang, and I gritted my teeth at the sudden pain in my skull, seeing Kenzie wince and cover her ears. In front of Leanansidhe, the entire first row of Forgotten jerked, hands flying up to cover the sides of their heads, before their skulls exploded into black clouds and dissolved into nothingness.
I cringed as Wolf let out an eager, booming howl that vibrated the stones of the bridge and sprang forward into the recoiling mass of Forgotten. Puck hooted, daggers flashing, as he leaped forward, as well. Ash spared me one last piercing glare.
“Ethan, go!”
I whispered a curse and ran, hearing Ash, Puck and Wolf clash with the army of Forgotten, their howls and bursts of glamour ringing out behind us. A few Forgotten crawled up the sides of the bridge and leaped at me, but I cut them down and kept going.
My eyes stung, and I angrily blinked tears away as we retreated across the bridge. I would not think of Ash, Puck and Wolf as a sacrifice. They would not be a sacrifice, dammit. If anyone could survive an army of Forgotten, it would be those three. And they had Leanansidhe backing them up. I had to trust them. They were buying us time, keeping the Forgotten off our backs so we could deal with Keirran in peace. I would not let them down.
We reached the castle steps and climbed to the large wooden doors at the top. As we reached them, I wondered, fleetingly, if they would be locked or barred from the inside. We’d kinda be screwed if they were. But the handle turned under my palm when I wrenched on it, and the heavy doors slowly creaked open when I pushed. Peering through the crack, I saw an empty, open courtyard, as bleak and flat as everything else. Overhead, a strangely dull full moon hung from the sky, looking more like a portrait that anything real. Weird statues lined the perimeter wall—statues of faeries I’d never seen before. The Forgotten, perhaps? Before they’d changed into creepy shadow creatures? I didn’t know. But the space appeared to be empty; no movement, no yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness, no Forgotten moving through the shadows. I shoved the door open farther and let Kenzie and Annwyl slip through before I followed with the Thin Man, making sure the courtyard really was empty. Turning, I put a shoulder to the wood and pushed it shut, and the hollow boom of the door closing echoed through the castle.