Page 66 of The Iron Vow

But then, she met him. Danced with him. And stepped completely off the path that would lead her back to Normal. From that moment on, her fate was sealed.

As it turns out, that was true forhim, as well.

Another Elysium.

Another day wishing he were anywhere else.

Ash, third son of Mab and prince of the Unseelie Court, did not like Elysium. He found the pomp boring, the company irritating, and the forced civility tiresome. But a prince of Winter couldn’t exactly ignore the yearly gathering of the courts. He couldn’t “forget” to attend. That would embarrass Mab, Queen of the Winter Court, which would result in fates worse than anything you could imagine. Disappointing the Unseelie monarch was a risky proposition, angering her was foolish, butembarrassingher...that was a death sentence. So, there wasn’t really another option. Ash would attend Elysium.

This year, he was more distracted than usual. He had just returned from an extremely interesting hunt where he had run into his nemesis, and the opportunity to try to kill Puck had been too good to pass up. He hadn’t really expected to catch or kill Robin Goodfellow; he’d known the Summer prankster far too long, and Goodfellow always had a trick up his sleeve. Even after Ash had called in a Wild Hunt, which he normally never bothered with because of the favors involved, Puck had been too slippery and had managed to escape. He always did.

But the girl.

Ash clenched his jaw at the memory. The girl who had been with Puck had been human, there was no doubt about that. She’d lacked grace, and elegance, and the unnatural beauty of the fey. She was clearly mortal, or had lived in the mortal world most of her life.

Despite that, when he’d looked at her, for just a moment, he’d seen Ariella.

Anger filled him. How dare this mortal remind him of his lost love? And even worse, how dare she be friends with Puck, the one responsible for Ariella’s death? He didn’t know why Puck had brought this mortal into Faery in the first place, but it didn’t matter. If she was friends with Robin Goodfellow, that meant she was Ash’s enemy.

After Elysium, he decided. After Elysium, he would go looking for this girl, try to figure out why she was special. Certainly, she had the Sight. If she was hanging around Goodfellowandhad come into Faery with him, there had to be a reason.

He would find this girl and discover her secrets. It was still uncertain if he would kill her or not.

Summers in Arcadia were unbearably warm, but Ash was used to them. He much preferred the icy chill of Tir Na Nog, but he had been to Arcadia countless times and had learned to use a tiny bit of glamour to keep the air around himself permanently cold. Following Mab and his brothers into the great Summer hall, he barely saw the crowds of Seelie fey around him. The crowds, the noise, the extravagance of the fey; it was all white noise to him. After a quick scan of the room determined there was no red-haired nemesis nearby, he grew disinterested in everything else, resigning himself to a long, boring ordeal.

And then...he saw her.

The girl from the hunt, who had been with Puck that day. Ariella’s human shadow. She washere, at the Seelie Court.

Sitting at the same table as King Oberon and Queen Titania.

Shock rippled through him. The only ones allowed to sit with the kings and queens were the members of their own family. Ash had heard the rumors. There were whispers about King Oberon and his wandering, of his eye for talented mortals in the human realm. But that was expected of all fey. Queen Titania had been with several mortal lovers in her long life, as had Mab, and all the rulers of Faery. But this was different. It had recently been rumored that Oberon actually had a half-human daughter, hidden somewhere in the mortal world. Hidden, because if Queen Titania ever found her, she would make her life a living hell.

Sothat’swhy you were with her, Puck. I understand now.

Unease and a strange disappointment went through him. If this girl was indeed Oberon’s long-lost daughter,hewould not be the only one interested in her. His plans involving Goodfellow and the girl might have to wait, because he was certain Queen Mab would be intrigued, as well.

His suspicions were confirmed almost immediately.

“So, tell me of your daughter, Lord Oberon,” Mab crooned after they had taken their seats. “I was not aware that she would be attending Elysium this year.”

“Neither was I,” the Erlking said. “Her arrival in the Nevernever was...somewhat unexpected.” He sounded disinterested, almost bored, with the notion of his half-blood daughter. Knowing the Summer King, that could be either to protect the girl from interested enemies, or because he truly did not care about her. On Oberon’s other side, Queen Titania gave him a look of blatant disgust, which the king pretended not to see. “But she is here,” Oberon went on, “and she is under my protection, as a member of the Summer Court and the royal family.”

Ash hid a smile. That was Oberon essentially telling MabandTitania to leave his daughter alone or suffer the consequences. So, she really was a Summer princess, even as a half-human.

Interesting.

A snicker came from the seat to his right, and Rowan shot him a sly glance. “Well, well. So, the rumors are true,” he murmured. “Oberon’s half-human whelp has finally crossed over into Faery.” He turned his head, giving the girl at the end of the table an appraising leer. “She’s not bad-looking, for a mortal. I can think of several games to play with a half-blood Summer princess. What about you, little brother?”

Ash shrugged, keeping his voice flat and disinterested as he looked away. “It’s just a human,” he muttered. “I’ve seen them before.”

Because if he showed any interest at all, that would make Rowan all the more intrigued. And strangely, he didn’t want his sadistic brother anywhere near the Summer princess.

“Hmph. Well, aren’t you a bore.” Obviously disappointed in him, Rowan turned to the Winter Queen. “My queen,” he began, speaking to Mab but raising his voice for the other rulers to hear, “isn’t there a tradition where a son and a daughter of opposite courts dance with each other, to show goodwill during Elysium?”

Mab’s eyes gleamed, a predatory smile crossing her face. “That is true,” she purred, turning to Oberon, who looked extremely annoyed, if only for a moment. “We haven’t had a dance like that in many decades. I believe a son of Winter should offer a dance to your newly discovered daughter, to welcome her to Faery. What say you, Erlking?”

Ash saw Rowan’s evil smile, saw Oberon’s hesitation before he nodded, and clenched his fists beneath the table. He didn’t know why he spoke up then; certainly drawing attention to himself at Elysium was something he’d avoided in the past. But the thought of Rowan that close to the Summer princess caused his stomach to turn violently. And the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

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