Page 61 of The Iron Vow

Nyx drew in a slow breath as they pulled back. “Is this tradition, then?” she asked, one brow raised as she gazed up at Puck. “Something I need to prepare for every time we win a fight?”

Puck gave her a fierce grin. “Hey, I’m all for starting traditions,” he said. “We just beat a huge, almost indestructible baddie, got our magic back, and no one died in the battle. I’m feeling pretty good.”

“That is good to hear,” said Grimalkin’s voice. “And I would take the Evenfaery’s advice and not waste the magic you have gleaned tonight. Because the next stop is the Nightmare King’s castle.”

That sobered everyone. We had defeated one enemy, but the hardest task still loomed: finding our way to the mysterious door in the throne room, past the hordes of monsters and Elder Nightmares, and confronting the Nightmare King himself.

“You can still get us there, right, Nyx?” Keirran asked.

She nodded, stepping out of Puck’s arms. “Mostly. If I cannot, the others will be able to. Their memories of this world are recent, whereas mine...are still scattered.”

“Where are the others?” I wondered.

“They were checking on Gilleas when I saw them last,” Nyx replied. “Between us, we should be able to find the edge of the Forest of Mist. The real question is, will we be able to find the castle within the forest? Gilleas was able to make his way there, long ago. But the Forest of Mist is a fickle thing. Its borders shift, and within the forest, everything moves around—trees, rocks, even the castle. You’ll rarely find anything in the same place twice.”

“How far is this forest?” Ash wanted to know.

“Not far,” Grimalkin said. “In fact, once we cross this mountain range, we should see the edge. Do not ask me how I know that, Goodfellow,” he added, stopping Puck as he opened his mouth. “As I told you before, I was around before this world was sealed away. I remember certain things about it. And I am quite sure that I have been to the castle.”

“Not to mention,” Nyx added, a half smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, “he is a cat.”

Puck nearly choked on his laughter. “Oh, to hear that phrasenotcome from Grimalkin,” he chortled, while Grim thumped his tail and pretended not to hear. “I’ve never been so proud.”

The Elder Nightmare was dead. We had our glamour back, or at least, we had a reserve of magic again. How long it would last, I didn’t know, but hopefully it would be enough to get us to the Nightmare King’s castle and through the monsters that prowled the land between us.

The trek across the mountains didn’t take long, though exactly how long was impossible to tell in a land with no sunrise. However, nothing stopped us or got in our way; no giant bats or lesser Nightmares swooped out of the sky to impede our progress. When we crossed the final mountain range, I gazed down the cliff side into what looked like a sea of mist. An ocean of gray clouds, hanging over the entire valley, as far as the eye could see. Somewhere, waiting in that murky sea of fog, was the Nightmare King’s castle.

And the Nightmare King himself.

We stopped to rest once more before heading down into the valley. Knowing that Nightmares and Elder Nightmares prowled the eerie forest, I didn’t want us to start the last, and most dangerous, leg of the journey while we were exhausted. Staking out a flat ledge that overlooked the valley, we started a fire, took turns dozing against the rocks, and made our final preparations to confront the Nightmare King.

Though I still had no idea what we were going to do when we found him.

“I wonder what’s happening in the Nevernever right now,” Puck mused, poking the flames of the small fire he’d started. “You think Oberon, Titania, and Mab are still sitting where we left them, at the site of the seal?”

“They said they would be,” I replied. “And if they all share Faery’s memories of the Nightmare King, they know they can’t pretend this isn’t happening. I don’t think even Titania is willing to ignore this, especially if it threatens her rule of Summer.”

Puck snorted. “The Nightmare King wouldn’t want the Summer Court, anyway,” he said. “He’d take one look at it, go, ‘Hss, too bright!’ like a vampire, and then move on to Winter.” He sighed, tossing the stick into the fire to be consumed by flames. “Man, I miss the sun.”

Sitting beside Other Nyx, Varyn narrowed golden eyes at Puck. “And what is a vampire, that you would compare our king to one, Nevernever fey?” he asked.

“Oh, you know.” Puck waved a hand. “They’re broody, they creep through the shadows, they have an aversion to sunlight...kinda like you guys—ow!” He jerked and glanced at our Nyx, who raised a brow at him. “Present company excluded, of course, geez.”

Gilleas moved around the fire, gliding from the darkness like a wraith. Crossing his long legs like some kind of giant insect, he lowered himself with a groan. “Tell me about the Nevernever,” the Evenfaery said, turning his deer skull in my direction. “I am curious. You said it has changed since the time of the Lady and her circle. That kings and queens now rule parts of Faery in their different courts?”

“Yes,” I said. “There are three official courts within the Nevernever—Summer, Winter, and Iron. The Seelie fey make up the Summer Court, which is ruled by King Oberon and Queen Titania.”

“That would be my court,” Puck broke in. “Obviously. Pretty nice place, too, except for the harpy known as Queen Titania, Lady of Spite. But nobody likes her. Unlike me—everybodylovesme.”

I saw a collective eye roll from nearly everyone, and bit down a smile.

“And what of the others?” Gilleas continued. “If there is a Summer Court, then it stands to reason that there is a Winter Court.”

“Queen Mab rules the Winter Court, where the Unseelie live,” I went on. “Tir Na Nog is at the heart of her territory, just like Arcadia is for Summer. Then you have the Iron territories, my domain. The capital of the Iron Realm is Mag Tuiredh, where most of the Iron fey live.”

Gilleas slowly shook his head in disbelief. “Iron fey,” he repeated. “Has the rest of Faery changed so much? Do the Nevernever fey no longer fear the touch of iron? Have the Evenfey fallen that far behind?”

“No.” This was from Ash, who had been making a snowflake dance around the fire in front of us. He’d claimed it was practice, but I think he missed his Winter glamour as much as I missed my Iron and Summer. “Iron is still deadly to all fey except those from the Iron Realm,” he told Gilleas. “The fey of Summer and Winter can’t cross into Meghan’s territory without harming themselves. It was...interesting, trying to maintain the peace between all three courts. But nowadays, we think we have it worked out.”

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