Page 33 of The Iron Vow

Other Nyx blinked. You could tell she was confused by either the question, or that we had no idea how to do such a thing. “All fey can use the Nightmare glamour,” she said. “I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to harvest it, as well.”

“We’re not Evenfey,” Ash said. “We’re from the Nevernever, where the courts rule the realms. I am not able to use Summer glamour, and the same goes for Puck and Winter magic. Only Meghan and Keirran are able to use multiple glamours, and they’re both part human.”

“Not necessarily.” This time, it was Grimalkin who spoke, sitting up on the desk to peer at us. “Glamour is a strange thing nowadays,” he said. “It did not have a label before. There was not Summer or Winter, Seelie or Unseelie magic. They came about with the creation of the courts, as did the fey who wielded them. At its core, glamour comes from and is made up of emotion. The passion and heat of Summer. The fury and ice of Winter. But if you trace it back far enough, all magic was the same. And fear, which is the Nightmare glamour, is universal.If—” and the cat looked directly at Ash “—you do not lose yourselves in the emotion. If you can accept the fear and the grief and the rage, and not let it consume you.”

“I almost did, once,” Ash said in a very low voice. “I don’t know if I can afford to risk that again.”

“It is harder for some of us,” Grimalkin acknowledged. “It is more difficult to remain in control when your very nature leans toward violence and anger and ruthlessness. But it is possible to use the Nightmare glamour of Evenfall and not lose yourself in the process. And youwillneed to use it, if we are going to find our way to the Nightmare King.”

Ash sighed but gave a single nod. I met his gaze, seeing the hesitancy there, the fear of losing himself, before his eyes hardened with determination. “If that is what it takes,” he said quietly.

I’m not worried, I thought at him, hoping he could see it in my eyes.You’re strong, Ash.You’ve already proven that you are more than your Unseelie heritage.Whatever comes of using this Nightmare glamour, we’ll face it together.

“So, it’s decided, then,” Other Nyx said. “We will take you to the palace of the Nightmare King. And we will help you fight your way through whatever Nightmares stand in your path.”

“Why?” Gilleas almost whispered. His deer skull rose slowly to stare at Other Nyx. “Leader of the Order, I have never known you to be impulsive,” he told the assassin. “You know virtually nothing of these strangers, only that they come from the outside world. Now that we know the truth, why do we even bother? None of this is real. You are not real.” He gestured at Varyn, still seething by the bookshelves. “Your kin are not real. This city, this library full of knowledge and secrets, is not real. What these strangers wish to accomplish is impossible. We are but a dream, and one day, the king will wake, or he will die. It is inevitable. Why delay our fate?”

“Because I am tired, Gilleas.” Other Nyx looked at the Evenfaery, weariness and resignation settling over her like a cloak. “I am tired of living in a world that is dying. Of fighting every day for my own existence. Of watching those I care about Fade, or turn into monsters I must then put down. I might not be real, but I remember what this world used to be, whatIused to be. And I know that something has to give. That Evenfall and the king will not be able to sustain us much longer.

“I know you feel your work has been wasted,” Other Nyx went on, her gaze sympathetic as she watched Gilleas. “But that’s not true. It gave the rest of us hope. In this living nightmare, when giving up and letting despair take us would have been easier, you gave us a reason to fight. To keep existing. In the hope that, one day, we will see the outside world again.”

“But it was a lie,” Gilleas protested. “I gave you false hope.”

“No.” Other Nyx firmly shook her head. “There is no such thing in Evenfall. We all hope for something better. And I will continue to hold out the hope that I will see the other side again. Which is why I will aid these strangers, because even if we fail, that belief will keep me going until the Dream ends and we all disappear.”

“Come with us, Gilleas.” It was Varyn’s voice, shocking us all once more. The assassin moved into the center, golden eyes hard and fixed on the ancient Evenfaery. “You know more about Evenfall than anyone save the king. You know the secrets of the palace, and you’ve already found your way to the throne room once. You can either help us, or you can sit here and wait for the Dream to end, and for nonexistence to claim you.” He put a fist to his chest, anger and determination sparking in his gaze. “I, for one, will fight the Fading of the Dream as long as I can. Even if it means helping the thrice-cursed fey who did this to us in the first place.”

It wasn’t correct, or fair, for him to blame us, but I understood his anger. And now was not the time for division. “We would appreciate your aid, Gilleas,” I said. “If there is a way to save Evenfall, we will find it. But we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Gilleas was silent, thinking. Finally, he sighed, bowing his head. “Perhaps I am wrong,” he murmured, more to himself now. “Perhaps these strangers will succeed where I have failed for millennia. My life’s work was for naught but...they have come from the other side. They are here in the Dream, and the Nevernever is aware again of Evenfall. We are no longer forgotten. Perhaps it will be enough.”

He nodded to himself, then looked up at me. “Very well. I will join you then, queen of the Nevernever,” he said. “It might be impossible, but if you can somehow save Evenfall, then perhaps my work will have meant something after all.”

“I am not the queen of the Nevernever,” I told him. “I amaqueen of Faery, but I am not like the Lady. And I am grateful, Gilleas. If there is a way to save Evenfall, we will find it. And we will bring you all home, I promise.”

Gilleas and the rest of the Evenfey regarded me in awed, somber silence. I, as a queen no less, had just evoked one of the sacred vows of Faery. One did not use the wordpromisewithout being absolutely certain they meant to carry it through. Fey who broke their word could unravel, lose themselves, and cease to exist, so making a vow was deadly serious in Faery. It seemed the rules in Evenfall were the same.

The Evenfey were not that different from us, after all.

Before anyone could say anything more, Keirran stepped forward, his expression somber. “I will add to that,” he told the Evenfey, who gazed at him in surprise. “I knew the Lady,” Keirran continued, “more personally than anyone here except Nyx. When she returned to the Nevernever, determined to take back her throne, I was at her side. I fought for her, and nearly destroyed Faery in the process.”

He said this calmly, though I saw the veiled anguish and guilt in his eyes as he faced the Evenfey before us, and my throat closed up. He still hadn’t forgiven himself for what he had done in the war with the Forgotten. Perhaps he never would. I wished it could be different. Keirran had done terrible things, and his actions had left scars in Faery that would never heal, but I didn’t want my son to carry the burden of his mistakes with him his entire immortal life.

“I know what the Lady was capable of,” Keirran went on. “How far she was willing to go to achieve her goals. She became the First Queen after erasing an entire world from existence. She was ready to destroy another to reclaim what she had lost. I am ashamed of the part I played in bringing her to power a second time, but what she has done to Evenfall is unforgivable. So let me, as King of the Forgotten, also make the promise to set things right, whatever it takes. If there is a way, I swear I will find it. I wish I could promise you more.”

“Enough.” Gilleas held up a slender hand. “Please,” he rasped. “No more. No more promises. No more vows. It is too much. We are grateful, but I do not want to see the death of any who came to help us. Queen of...” He hesitated, looking at me. “I am sorry. If I am not to call you ‘queen of Faery,’ what is your proper title?” he asked.

“The Iron Queen,” I replied softly. “Or, just call me Meghan.”

“Iron Queen.” Gilleas nodded and bowed his head. “If we are to attempt this journey, I will be honest with you. As you are, you and your companions will not be strong enough to reach the king’s palace. Not with the amount of Elder Nightmares surrounding it. Not even the Order will be able to get through on their own. The path I took is not possible with multiple people. The only way to that door in the palace is to face the Nightmares.”

I nodded. “We’re going to need magic, then. More than we have.”

“We can teach you,” Other Nyx said. “We can show you how to harvest and use the Nightmare glamour, but that means...”

“We’re going to have to kill some Nightmares,” Ash finished, and she nodded.

“The small ones are not enough,” she went on. “Only the Elder Nightmares will have the amount of power that you’re looking for. The older and stronger they are, the more magic you’ll receive. Of course, going after the strongest Nightmares will be extremely dangerous. And the worst part is, if they kill you, you’ll become one of them yourself. So be very certain that this is the path you want to take. We can lead you to the Nightmares, we can even help you defeat them, but it could be deadly, for all of us.”

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