Page 2 of The Iron Vow

Evenfall. A mirror realm to the Nevernever, Evenfall had existed alongside Faery since the very beginning. It was home to the species of faery known as the Evenfey. These were the true bogeymen, the monsters in the darkness. The Nightmares that everyone feared. The ruler of Evenfall was the immortal, immensely powerful Nightmare King, and even the fey of the Nevernever feared him.

So much so that, in the age before the courts rose to power, the strongest fey in the Nevernever made the terrible decision to seal Evenfall away from the world. Worse, they erased all memories that Evenfall, the Nightmare King, and the Evenfey had existed at all. Cut off from the glamour of the real world and the Nevernever, the fey of Evenfall were doomed to slowly Fade into nonexistence. Starving and forgotten, the Nightmare King fell into a coma-like sleep, and the fey of Evenfall vanished from the world.

Until recently, when the Evenfey had begun appearing again. No one knew how, or why, though it was suspected that the rising anger, division, and hatred in the world had been strong enough to reach the Nightmare King in his sleep. We—myself, Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, and Nyx—had been called to a place known as InSite, where it was rumored that the Evenfey had been gathering. Deep beneath the building, we’d found a circle of Evenfey attempting to raise the Nightmare King from his slumber. We intervened, only to discover we’d been tricked. Destroying the seal did not stop the ritual as we’d hoped. Instead, it tore open the way to Evenfall. And every faery on this side of the Nevernever—Summer, Winter, Iron, and Forgotten alike—now remembered Evenfall and the Nightmare King.

With the opening of the seal, the Nightmare King had stirred. He was waking up, and if he did, he would take his revenge on the Nevernever and the fey who’d sealed off his world. The Lady and her circle, those faeries of old, were no longer alive, but the Nightmare King wouldn’t care. He had gone mad in his dreams and would destroy the Nevernever, the courts, and possibly the real world as well.

We had to stop him. Even if the Nightmare King was unkillable, and our own powers were greatly diminished in his realm. Even though it meant traveling into Evenfall itself and seeing the exact horrors that awaited us on the other side.

A world with no glamour. A realm of Nightmares, where the fey were starved, twisted creatures from mankind’s darkest emotions. Where the king’s own nightmares had taken form and now roamed the land, preying on all they encountered. Somehow, we had to cross this nightmare world, find the Nightmare King, and either put him back to sleep or...

Or what?I frowned at my own thoughts. I didn’t like the idea of killing him. What would happen to Evenfall if we did? What would happen to the rest of the Evenfey? I didn’t know exactly what we would do when we found him, just knew that it was up to us—again—to save our world from destruction.

Even though we had no magic here.

I sensed his presence behind me before his strong but gentle touch warmed my back. Leaning into the caress, I glanced up. Ashallyn’darkmyr Tallyn, former prince of the Winter Court and my husband, gazed solemnly over my shoulder into the woods. His silver eyes scanned the shadows between the trunks, ever alert for threats, though the hand against my back was of silent support. I wanted to lean into him, to close my eyes and forget this terrible place existed. But I couldn’t. A queen had to remain strong, even if the only ones to see it were her family and closest friends. I was the Iron Queen. In this empty world bereft of glamour and magic, I had to give them hope.

“It’s still out there,” Ash murmured behind me.

I nodded. “I haven’t seen or heard it in a while, but I’m sure it’s still stalking us.” The Nightmare had chased us for a while after we had fled. Or, rather, when Keirran finally convinced the rest of us to retreat. It was not in the Iron Queen’s nature to run away, even less so for a warrior son of Winter and the infamous jester of the Summer Court. Ash, Puck, and I probably would have fought the creature until we killed it or it tore us apart, but the Forgotten King had reminded us that we had an important mission to accomplish. If we died here, there would be no one to stop the Nightmare King from waking up, and the Nevernever—and possibly the real world as well—would be doomed. Realizing this, we finally retreated, and eventually lost the Nightmare in the twisted forest surrounding us.

I didn’t like running away. Rulers of Faery did not give ground to their enemies. And I hated the fact that I was weak now. But Keirran had been right. Our mission was too important to waste time fighting. We were here to stop the Nightmare King and save the Nevernever. And somehow, we would do that, with no glamour, no allies, and no idea of how to accomplish anything.

“Has Nyx returned yet?” Ash asked, interrupting my bleak musings.

I shook my head. “Not yet.” The Evenfaery had left several minutes ago to scout the area, hoping to spot the Elder Nightmare before it found us. Nyx was unmatched at remaining unseen, and this was her world. We would have a better chance of avoiding the monster if we knew exactly where it was.

Cool fingers slid over my arm, brushing my elbow. “Come inside,” Ash urged. “Nyx will be back when she’s ready. There’s nothing we can do until then.”

“Yeah.” I sighed and let him lead me back into the cave. It wasn’t a large cavern, just a hole carved into a hillside, but it was sandy and dry and, most important, free of anything living in it.

A reddish-orange fire burned sullenly in the center of the cavern, lighting the interior. Puck sat cross-legged in front of it, feeding twigs into the flames. His bright red hair glowed in the flickering light, making it seem like his head was on fire. Opposite him, a fluffy gray cat lay comfortably on a flat rock, feet tucked into his chest, golden eyes half-closed in the dancing shadows.

I crouched in front of the small fire and spread my hands before it, letting the warmth seep into my cold fingers. “How’s everyone holding up?” I asked.

Puck’s green eyes met mine over the firelight. The gash on his forehead had stopped bleeding, though his left cheek still looked a bit bruised.

He shrugged and managed to dredge up his old devil-may-care grin. “Never better, princess. Who wouldn’t want to go gallivanting through a literal nightmare world filled with horrific monsters and no magic? I’m thinking of setting up a lovely vacation home in that grove of trees with the screaming heads.”

I gave a faint smile. Not even a literal nightmare world could stop Puck from making a joke about it. “Then you’d at least have a captive audience,” I replied, making him snort. “Sleeping might be a challenge, though.”

“Trust me, princess. No one is ever going to sleep in this place.”

Ash knelt beside me, deliberately close. I resisted the urge to lean into him. “You managed to get a fire going, at least,” he observed.

“Yeah.” Puck snapped his fingers, and a tiny flame appeared over his thumb for a split second before he snuffed it out. “By virtue of being me. This is it, though. This is how much glamour I have left, and it ain’t a lot. What about you two?”

Ash shook his head. “Mine is gone,” he said grimly. “I used the last of it fighting the Nightmare.”

“Princess?”

I sighed. “The same,” I admitted. “It took nearly everything I had to re-seal the portal to Evenfall. I have maybe enough for one more big attack, and then everything will be drained completely. I know Keirran is in the same boat. I’m not sure about Nyx.”

“So, we have no magic,” Puck said. “No glamour, no power, and we are in the literal plane of Faery hell.” He grimaced and scrubbed a hand through his crimson hair, making it stand on end. “Yeah, this is gonna be all kinds of fun.”

I clenched a fist. They were both putting on brave faces, but even though he hid it well, I could sense Ash’s fear. Without glamour, he was weaker; still a skilled and deadly swordsman, with a few natural Faery perks that made him more dangerous than the strongest human, but he would not be able to bring the awesome power of his Winter magic to bear. I knew he was worried, not for himself, but for the rest of us. His greatest fear was that he wouldn’t be able to protect the ones he cared for.

I felt the same.

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