Page 50 of The Iron Vow

As night fell and a broken moon rose over the Howling Peaks, Keirran finally relaxed. His breathing grew calmer, he stopped jerking every few minutes, and his frantic muttering quieted.

Gilleas, who had also stayed close, looming over us like a gangly specter, let out a sigh and nodded. “I am no healer fey,” he told me, gazing down with hollow eye sockets, “but I believe he is out of immediate danger. If the poison has not killed him by now, I do not think it will. The effects might linger, perhaps for the rest of his existence, but I do not believe your son is going to die. At least, not tonight.”

Relief filled me, followed by a sudden, incomprehensible rage. I looked at Ash, who also hadn’t left Keirran’s side except to keep the fire going. Dark circles crouched beneath his eyes, and thin black veins had appeared on his hands; he too bore the marks of the river—not as much as Keirran, of course, but it had affected him, as well. My gaze slid past him to the dark shape of the monster bat, still lying beneath the waterfall. We would have been able to beat it far sooner had we all been working together.

My jaw clenched, and that burning rage bubbled over, liquefying in my veins before becoming like steel. I rose, turning slowly to take in my surroundings. A few yards away, the others had built another firepit closer to the river, though only Puck was seated there, tossing sticks into the flames. Everyone else had scattered about the area, respectfully staying a safe distance while being close enough to see what was happening.

Setting my jaw, I walked toward the second firepit. Immediately, the others left whatever they were doing to meet me there, but I barely noticed the Nyxes; my gaze was for two faeries in particular. Puck glanced up as I approached, firelight dancing over his skin and making his hair glow, and the faint smile creeping across his face faltered as he saw me.

“Oh, hey...princess.” Puck blinked, warily leaning back as I loomed over him across the fire. “Uh, how’s the princeling?”

“My son could have died today.” The sound of my own voice made a tiny part of me cringe; cold and steely, it was the tone I used when dealing with the other rulers of the courts, or when Ineededto get my point across to the most stubborn, inflexible fey. The voice of the Iron Queen. “Because of you.

“Both of you,” I added, glancing at Varyn, who had joined us along with the two Nyxes. The Evenfaery stiffened, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak. “Because of your stubbornness. Because the two of you cannot seem to put aside your differences, even when we are fighting for our lives. Varyn—” I looked directly at the Evenfaery, narrowing my gaze “—we are not the fey who did this to you. The Lady and her circle are long dead. The current rulers of the courts weren’t even around when the First Queen rose to power. I know you have lost much, and your anger for the past is justified, but we hadnothingto do with sealing Evenfall. Continuing to blame us is pointless and does not bring us any closer to what we are trying to accomplish.

“And that goes for you as well, Puck.” I turned my glare on the Great Prankster. “The Varyn who betrayed Nyx and tried to kill her for the Lady iscenturiesdead. This is not the same faery. Different lives, different choices, different circumstances—they can all change a person. Youknowthat. You are not the same Robin Goodfellow today that you were a hundred years ago, and yet you’re blaming Varyn for an act he didn’t commit and probably never would.

“So, this ends now,” I finished, staring them both down. “Tonight. I don’t care how you do it, but the two of you had better figure this out. And you’d better figure it out before we reach the Wailing One, or we’re going to fail, and then there will be no one left to save Evenfall. Stop fighting,” I finished, glaring at them both. “Learn to work together. We are not the enemies here.”

And before either of them could respond, I whirled and stalked back to Keirran, anger still a roiling storm within. Enough was enough. I had been listening to those two go at each other for too long. Over past fears and grudges that were no longer relevant. If we couldn’t even handle a giant bat without one of us nearly dying, we stood no chance against a named Elder Nightmare who was virtually unkillable. Varyn had been right about one thing: not trusting each other would be dangerous in the lair of the Wailing One. I didn’t care if Puck and Varyn didn’t get along, but they needed to work together if we were to have any hope of defeating this enemy.

Ash gave me a faint smile as I returned from chewing out Puck and Varyn, but he didn’t say anything as I knelt beside the fire. Grimalkin, I noticed, had claimed our firepit as his own and was perched contentedly on a rock close to the embers. Golden eyes cracked open, peering up at me in subtle amusement.

“Don’t say anything, Grimalkin,” I warned. “I don’t want to hear it.”

The cat merely yawned. “I would not dream of it, Iron Queen,” he purred. “Though your kind’s tendency to argue about pointless issues that are long past has always baffled me. Why hold someone responsible for something that they had no part in? It makes no sense. At least now, perhaps, we can reach the Nightmare’s lair sooner.”

“Iron Queen.”

I looked up. One of the Nyxes stood there, hood brushed back, golden eyes concerned as she gazed down at me. For a moment, I wondered which Nyx it was, but then noticed the other Nyx talking to Varyn by the fire and realized this one was ours.

“Forgive the interruption,” our Nyx said with a quick glance at Grimalkin, who, I noticed, had gone back to sleep. “But... Keirran. Is he...?”

“Gilleas thinks he’ll be all right,” I said, and her shoulders slumped with relief. Keirran was her king, after all, as well as her friend. “He might be under a curse when he wakes up, but we don’t think it will be life-threatening. It is something we’ll have to keep an eye on, though.”

She winced, a guilty expression crossing her face for just a moment. “I am sorry, my king,” she murmured, gazing down at Keirran’s sleeping form. “I swore an oath to protect you and your kingdom. But I wasn’t there when I was needed.”

“This isn’t your fault, Nyx,” I said softly. “Weallcould have done a little better.”

“Yes,” she agreed, sounding even more pained now. “Forgive me, Iron Queen. I should have told you about Varyn. The moment I saw him in this world, I should have told you the whole story. Not that I feared that he would betray us—the two Varyns are different people, just as I am different from the Nyx of this world. And it might be a little late, but...” She made a small, hopeless gesture with one hand. “The Lady was a cruel and fickle mistress. Serving her, carrying out her wishes...it made us all a little hollow inside. Who knows what would have happened if we had never served the First Queen, but I can’t live on what-ifs. As you said yourself—the Varyn I knew is long dead. I have moved on.”

I gave her a faint smile. “I think there is someone else who needs to hear that.”

“I know.” A corner of her lip twitched, and she rolled her eyes. “He is trying his best to be forgiven. I don’t think he’ll have to wait too much longer.”

Behind us, Keirran let out a ragged gasp and bolted upright on the rocks.

“It’s coming.”

18

A THOUSAND VOICES

“Keirran.”

Nyx and I both rushed to his side. Ash had gotten up as well, gripping Keirran’s shoulder to stop him from thrashing. “Calm down,” Ash ordered, his firm voice commanding obedience. “Breathe, Keirran. You’re safe.”

“No,” Keirran panted, though his frantic struggles did stop as he recognized us. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to speak calmly. “It’s coming,” he whispered. “We’re not safe here. We have to move.”

---