Page 78 of The Iron Vow

“No,”murmured the Nightmare King.“My dear moonlight protector. It is I who have failed you all. I could not keep my world alive. I watched it Fade around me. I watched all of you disappear and could do nothing to stop it. I fell into rage and grief for a long time, and after that, I came here, to the center of my realm, and I dreamed. But my dreams were touched with anger and despair, and though I remembered all my subjects fondly, the Dream itself became twisted and dark.

“This tree,”the king went on, as the reflection turned to gaze up at the pale oak,“is all that remains of Evenfall. And it is Fading, as I am Fading.”The reflection bowed his head, shoulders slumping.“I am so tired,”he whispered.“I wish I could let go and let oblivion take me. But I must keep the tree alive, for it holds all the memories of the Evenfey. It is what keeps the Dream going. The candles are my memories; as long as they burn, Evenfall will not be completely gone.”

“Nightmare King.” Keirran stepped forward, his eyes hard and his jaw set in determination. “We want to help,” he said. “We have seen Evenfall and the fey who make it their home. We want to erase the damage the Lady and the fey of old did to you, so long ago. What can we do to bring Evenfall back?”

The king sighed. His eyes flickered shut, and his haggard face seemed to wither even further, making him look a thousand years old.“So long,”he whispered, more to himself than to us.“It has been so long. If only they could have been here sooner. But it is no use, and there is no time to regret what cannot be. This is the world as it exists today.

“You cannot bring Evenfall back,”the Nightmare King continued in a voice of terrible finality.“Evenfall is gone. The realm has Faded away, its magic has disappeared, and there is no returning the world to what it was. Once the Dream fades, Evenfall will vanish.

“But the Evenfey,”the king went on in a whisper,“might still be saved. They are part of the Dream, but I have kept their memories safe here, within the tree. There is a chance, a slight chance, that the Evenfey could start life anew. However, it might take more than you are willing to give.”

Keirran looked at me, the longing in his eyes clear. He wanted to help the Evenfey; he was willing to pay whatever price, but he was not willing to make a choice that would drag others into danger with him. He had a kingdom now, as well, and people who depended on him. This was not his decision to make. At least, not alone.

I took a deep, slow breath, clearing my thoughts, and prepared myself for the worst. “What would it require?”

“Enough glamour to bring a race back from nothing,”said the Nightmare King.“Enough magic to pull them out of the Dream and into the real world again.”

“How much?” Ash said.

“A world’s worth,”was the answer.“And it will take all the glamours combined to make the Evenfey whole again. Summer, Winter, Iron, Nightmare, wyld. If the Evenfey are to exist, to live, to be real once more, they must be part of the magic of the world. All its magic, wonder, imagination, fears, and dreams. Everything.”

“It’s going to take all of us,” I said.

“Perhaps more than you have. Almost certainly, it will be more than you can give. As the fey of the Lady’s circle discovered, this is not a simple endeavor. This will drain you, all of you. You could pour so much into the ritual that you cease to exist. So, that is your choice now, Iron Queen. Would you risk not only your existence, but the existence of those you love the most, to save the Evenfey? To pull them out of the Dream, and make them real?”

I swallowed hard. So, this was it. What were we willing to sacrifice to make the Evenfey real once more? Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have hesitated. Before I became the Iron Queen, I would have made the choice without a second thought. But it wasn’t just me now. Iwasa queen. I had a family, and a kingdom. If I gave everything to make the Evenfey real and lost my own life in the process, what would happen to the Iron Realm?

And the others... I couldn’t ask them to make this choice with me. If I lost them, any one of them... I couldn’t even imagine the devastation it would bring. A world without Puck. Without Keirran. And Ash... My heart twisted violently at the thought. If Ash disappeared in front of me, if I had to face immortality without him... I didn’t know how I would keep going.

Then Nyx took a quiet breath and raised her head. “I am willing,” she said softly.

Puck gave a very loud sigh. “Of course you are,” he said, running a hand through his hair and making it stand on end. “And if you’re going to do it, that means I’m going to do it, too. Because, one—I can’t have you showing me up. And two—well, this is going to take all of us, and if I refuse, you’ll either stab me in the tender bits until I agree...or you’ll never forgive me, which will be even worse. So...yeah.” He sighed again and gave us a wry smile. “The things I do for love. I think I’ve said this before somewhere, but the Fates laugh at my torment.”

Nyx stepped close to Puck, put her hands on his chest, and kissed him. He immediately closed his eyes, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders. “Thank you,” she whispered when they drew back, making Puck blink in shock. “I know I was ready to give up on this world. But if we can bring the Evenfey out of the Dream, if we can make them real again...even if I don’t survive, it will be worth it.”

“Maybe for you,” Puck murmured, and shook his head. “Dammit, I always seem to fall for the hopelessly noble types. It must be a curse.” He closed his eyes, pressing their foreheads together. “Just don’t Fade on me,” he whispered. “I will admit to being a selfish bastard sometimes, but if you disappear... I’m going to cry. And I don’t wanna do that. So, unless you want me to go into an ice-boy-worthy funk for the next hundred years or so, you’ll stick around. At least until I can show you the Summer Court.”

Nyx pressed a palm against Puck’s jaw. “You’re pretty noble yourself, Robin Goodfellow,” she said softly. “I would love to see the Summer Court with you. And the rest of the Nevernever as well.”

“Let’s get through this, then,” Puck said. “Thatisthe plan, right? Because if I know our royal family, they’re not going to stand by and watch, either.”

Keirran immediately nodded. “You already know I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said quietly. “The Forgotten...they’ve lost so much, but they know how to survive. If I don’t come back, they’ll be fine. But I can’t speak for the rulers of the Iron Realm. They have more to lose than I do.”

Everything inside me constricted. Ash turned to me, his expression somber. “I’m willing,” he said simply. “But only if you are.” He stepped closer, taking both my hands. “I know the danger,” he said. “I can understand any hesitation you might have. This could put the Iron Realm in jeopardy, and risk everything we’ve worked for over the years in Faery. But you know that I will stand with you, whatever you decide.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered. “Either of you.”

It was a selfish plea, made by the part of me that was still a sixteen-year-old mortal, completely in love with a Winter prince. By a human mother who was terrified for her son. But Ash sighed, pressing closer and lowering his voice so that only I could hear.

“I know,” he murmured. “I don’t want to lose you or Keirran, either. The thought of going back to the Iron Realm alone...” This close, I felt the tremor that went through him, saw the flash of anguish through his silver eyes, and clenched my fingers in his shirt. “If that happened,” he continued, and his voice broke just a little, “I would never recover. But...” He placed a gentle hand on my cheek, gazing down intently. “If the worst does come to pass, I want you to know that the Iron Kingdom will be safe. I will continue to protect our realm and our people as if you were there. Because I know that’s what you would do.”

My eyes filled with tears. That Ash would continue on, taking care of the realm and the fey he had adopted as his own, made my heart ache with relief and love.

“But I don’t think that will be a danger,” he went on. “Because this type of situation is all or nothing. Everyone here—you, me, Puck, Keirran, Nyx, even Grim—we’re going to give all that we have. No one is going to hold back. And we will either fail together, or we will succeed as one. Unless—” he paused, his gaze becoming even more serious “—you decide the risk is too great. We’ve come this far but...this is asking us to give up everything. No one would blame you for deciding it’s too much.”

“No.” I swallowed hard. “We have to do this, Ash. How can we not? There’s no chance we can just walk away, not if it means bringing the Evenfey back to Faery. Everyone we’ve met—Gilleas, Nyx, Varyn, Anira, all of the Evenfey—they’re just as real as we are. They deserve a chance to live.”

“I agree,” Ash said quietly. “So, we’ve all made the choice. We do this together. I assume you’re with us, Grimalkin?”

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