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“Yes,” Kenzie’s father agreed. “I know my daughter. And I know I cannot control what she does. But I can make your life very unplesant, Mr. Chase. Which is why I am asking you, politely, to stay away from Mackenzie. I think we both know that you’re no good for her. I think we both know that she ended up here—” he gestured back to Kenzie’s doorway “—because of you.”
That hit me like a punch to the gut. I stared at him, unable to find the words to defend myself or disagree. Kenzie’s dad regarded me a second longer, then moved aside. “You should go now,” he said, a hint of warning below the smooth tone. I glared at him, then shoved past. I was tempted to tell him to go screw himself, just to prove he couldn’t order me around, but tempting fate right now seemed like a bad idea. There was nothing to be gained from it tonight.
“Think on what I said, Ethan Chase,” St. James added as I stalked down the hallway, silently fuming. “I will protect my daughter at all costs. Do not think you can fight me on this. You will lose, and you will lose badly.”
I continued to the parking lot without looking back. I saw the cop standing in the waiting room again, and he might’ve given me the evil eye as I ducked out. Maybe Kenzie’s dad had said something to him before confronting me...I didn’t know. I did know one thing—there was no way that A-hole would keep me from seeing Kenzie.
As I climbed into my truck and yanked the door shut behind me, my phone buzzed. Digging it out of my pocket, I checked the number and winced. Mom. Damn, I hadn’t called to let her know where I was. Guiltily, I hit the answer button and braced myself for the explosion. “Hey, Mom.”
“Where are you?” her frantic voice screeched in my ear. “I told you to call me if you were going to be late!”
“Um, yeah, sorry. I’m...uh, I’m at the hospital.”
“What?”
“Visiting a friend,” I added, mentally kicking myself. “I’m just visiting a friend.”
A long, shaky sigh, the kind that hinted she was holding back tears. “Come home, Ethan. Right now.”
“On my way,” I answered softly, and she hung up.
I expected a lecture when I got home. Something along the lines of “It’s only been three days since you vanished into Faeryland for a week, do you know how worried we were, you’re supposed to call if you’re going to be late.”
You know, the normal issues.
However, when I walked through the front door, bracing myself for scolding or yelling or general parental displeasure, it wasn’t Mom who rose from the living room couch to greet me.
It was Meghan.
CHAPTER THREE
THE IRON QUEEN’S WARNING
My stomach flip-flopped. My half sister, the queen of the Iron fey, was standing in my living room, looking as normal as any average, non-faery-related teenager. Almost. She wore her standard jeans and T-shirt, and her long, straight blond hair was pulled up behind her head. Only the slender, pointed ears gave her away; though the glamour concealed her true appearance, making her look perfectly human to mortals, my Sight always let me see through the disguise.
I cast a furtive glance around the room for other fey, well, for one faery in particular. For a long black coat and a glowing blue sword, silver eyes appraising and wary. Was he in my house, lurking in some dark corner? He’d never come inside before....
“He’s not here,” Meghan said quietly. Embarrassed, I flicked my attention back to her, finding her solemn blue eyes on me. She looked...tired. Worried. “I need to talk to you, Ethan,” she said. “In private, if we could. I don’t want Mom or Luke overhearing us, and there are some things that need...explaining.”
“Yeah. There are.”
I motioned her down the hall to my room, following her through the frame and closing the door behind us. Meghan perched on my bed while I dropped into my computer chair, facing her.
So many questions. So many secrets she had kept from me, from Mom, from everyone. Where should I even begin? I opted for the largest one.
“Keirran,” I said, and she closed her eyes. “When were you going to tell us? Or were you hoping to keep him from us forever?” When she didn’t answer right away, I nodded slowly, even though she couldn’t see. “That’s why you stopped coming around, isn’t it?” I muttered. “You never wanted us to meet. You didn’t want Keirran to know about his human family.” My chest squeezed tight as I thought of all those years, waiting for my sister to come back, just to visit, and she never had. “Are you ashamed of us?”
“Ethan.” She sighed, and the pain in her voice made me wish I had never opened my mouth. When she opened her eyes, I caught the sparkle of tears on her lashes and felt like a complete ass. “I’m sorry,” Meghan whispered and took a deep breath, composing herself. “I’m sorry,” she said again in a stronger voice. “No, I’m not ashamed of you, Ethan. I love you, and Mom, and Luke, more than anything. You’ll always be my family, even if I can’t be here.”
“Then...why the big secret?” I had to swallow the lump in my throat to continue. I remembered, suddenly, Puck’s look of concern when he’d seen Keirran and me together; Keirran’s own words about secrets being kept from him by everyone. “It’s not just you,” I said, watching her reaction carefully. “There’s something about Keirran that has everyone nervous. What’s going on?”
“I...can’t tell you.”
Stung, I stared at her. Meghan paused, seeming to gather her thoughts, her face suddenly pinched and agonized. “I know I’ve failed you, Ethan,” she said in a shaky voice. “I wanted to protect you from Faery, from everything. I wanted...” She swallowed hard, and her eyes glimmered. “I wanted you to know Keirran. I wanted Mom to meet her grandson, and it killed me that she might never know him.”
Meghan sniffed, then composed herself once more. “You don’t understand now,” she said, “but there are reasons why I chose what I did, why I decided it was best that you and Keirran stay away from each other.” She sighed again, but her voice was steady when she continued, “I am sorry, Ethan. I know how hard it’s been. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you and Mom, but I thought this was the best choice.”
I wanted to be angry with her. For years I had blamed her for abandoning us, for putting her life as a fey queen before her own family. But...maybe she couldn’t come back. Maybe it was just as hard for her to stay away. I didn’t understand why she was still keeping me in the dark about Keirran, but there was something else going on here.
“Well, I guess Keirran and I sort of screwed that plan up, didn’t we?” I said, wanting to ease some of the tension in the room. My attempt at a joke did not have the effect I wanted.
Meghan’s brow furrowed. “From the moment you walked into the palace, I knew what was going to happen,” she murmured, almost to herself. “I even sent someone to track Keirran down once you arrived, but he pulled one of his vanishing acts before we could find him. Then when I heard he’d helped you and Kenzie sneak out of the palace...” She shook her head. “He has no idea what this means, what it has started. Neither of you realize what could happen now. Ethan...” Her blue eyes met mine, angry and pleading all at once. “Where is he?” she asked. “Please, if you know where he is, tell him to come home.”
I gave a start. “Who? Keirran? Why would I know where...” I stopped as the very obvious answer hit me in the face. “He’s gone, isn’t he?” I guessed. “That’s why you’re here. Keirran’s run off again.”
“He disappeared not long after you went home,” Meghan replied, her face lined with worry. “No one has seen any sign of him since.” She looked around the room, as if hoping to catch him hiding in the closet or something. “I was hoping...he might’ve come here.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him.” She stared at me, suspicious, and I raised my hands. “I swear, Meghan. I haven’t seen him, or Annwyl, or anyone since New York. If Keirran is gone, he hasn’t come to me.”
In that instant, I wondered if I did know exactly where Keirran was and if I should voice that concern to Meghan. The Iron Prince, as he was called, was in love with a faery of the Summer Court, a love that was forbidden according to ancient faery law. Annwyl was a banished Summer fey who lived with the self-proclaimed Exile Queen, Leanansidhe, in the Between, the Veil between Faery and the real world.
When Annwyl had been kidnapped by the Forgotten, they’d used her to draw Keirran out, forcing him to appear before their queen. But when Kenzie and I had gone to rescue him, as well as Todd, Annwyl and a whole troop of half-breeds robbed of their glamour, Keirran had been shockingly sympathetic to the Forgotten and their cause. I didn’t know exactly what had been said between the Iron Prince and the Forgotten Queen, but when we’d left, Keirran had made a promise to return to her, of his own free will, sometime in the future.
Could he be with the Forgotten Queen right now?
Meghan was still watching me, her gaze appraising, almost as if she could see my thoughts. “If he hasn’t come to you,” she asked slowly, deliberately, “do you know where he might be?”
I looked away. I didn’t want to rat Keirran out. We might’ve had our disagreements in the past, but he was still family. And after everything that had happened, I did consider him a friend. But Meghan was my sister, and this whole thing with Keirran and the Forgotten couldn’t be kept a secret for long. Too much was at stake.
“Yeah,” I rasped, still not looking at her. “I have an idea. When we were with the Forgotten, Keirran told their queen he’d come back to see her. He might be with the Forgotten right now.”
I saw the change, the subtle shift from my familiar older sister to the immensely powerful Iron Queen, right there on my bed. She didn’t move, but her energy filled the room, making the air crackle and the lights flicker.
I swallowed. “Hey, sis? I sort of need my computer not to explode, if that’s okay.”
Meghan blinked, and the power surging around her died down. “Of course,” she murmured and rose off the bed. “Thank you for telling me about the Forgotten, Ethan,” she said, back to being normal Meghan. “I know you and Keirran went through a lot, and you don’t want to get him in trouble, but you did the right thing. I needed to know what he’s capable of.”
I felt pretty wretched. Meghan looked smaller now, less a faery queen and more a concerned parent, weighed down by worry, guilt and something much darker. “I have to get back to Mag Tuiredh,” she said, walking to the door. “Ethan, if you do see Keirran, will you please tell him to come home? Let him know he isn’t in trouble—we just want to talk to him. Whatever it is, whatever he’s doing, we can work it out. He isn’t alone in this. Will you promise me that much, at least?”
“If I see him,” I said, “I’ll let him know.”
“And...don’t tell Mom or Luke. Not yet.” She ran a hand over her eyes. “They have to find out about him, but...I want to be the one to explain.”
“I won’t tell them.”
She gave me a sad smile, and I followed her to the front door, where Mom was waiting for us both. Her face was red, her eyes swollen, though she still smiled and hugged Meghan tightly, reminding her that she was always welcome here, that this was always home. Even though we all knew it was not.
Outside, a horse and carriage waited, both invisible to mortal eyes. The horse was a bright copper beast of ticking clockwork, the driver a green-skinned faery in a top hat. He tipped the hat to us and smiled as Meghan pulled away from Mom and embraced me, pulling me close. “Take care of Mom,” she whispered, as she always had back when she still visited us. I hugged her back and nodded.
“I will.”
And then, as she had so many times before, she left. Glamour shimmered around the Iron Queen as she faded from human vision—though my Sight still allowed me to see her clearly—and walked to the invisible carriage waiting for her on the sidewalk. The driver leaped down, opened the door for the queen to enter and sprang back onto the seat. At the flick of a shiny wire whip, the carriage rolled off down the sidewalk and was quickly lost to the darkness.
I braced myself for the questions as we returned inside; Mom would certainly want to know what Meghan and I had discussed behind closed doors. But all she said was “I don’t feel like cooking tonight, Ethan. Would you be all right with ordering pizza?”
“Sure,” I said, wondering what Meghan had told her before I came in. She gave me a shaky smile and wandered upstairs, probably to her bedroom. Probably to lock herself in and cry for a little while before returning to act like everything was normal. Like her daughter wasn’t an immortal faery queen who hadn’t aged in thirteen years and her son wasn’t a juvenile thug who attracted trouble at every turn.
I figured it was actually a good thing she didn’t yet know that she also had a defiant part-fey grandson who could be anywhere at the moment.
I returned to my room, placed the pizza order online and gazed at the spot where my sister had been moments ago.
So, Keirran was out there now. The Iron Prince had run off again, and no one knew where he was. Not that I was surprised; even in the short time I’d known him, Keirran had never been one to follow the rules. Not that he was spiteful or malicious; my nephew didn’t have a mean bone in his body and was unfailingly polite, amiable and soft-spoken. But he was also stubborn, rebellious and in love with a girl from the wrong court. He’d already demonstrated the lengths he would go to keep Annwyl safe; I wondered if she was the reason he had gone AWOL.
What are you doing, Keirran? I thought, trying to shake the ominous feeling creeping over me.
My phone chirped, indicating I had a text message. Curious, I grabbed it and clicked on the screen.
Brrwed nurse’s phone, she thought u were cute (me 2). Dont reply just wanted 2 say thanks for coming in 2nite & they decided 2 release me tomorrow, yay! So don’t come in cause I won’t b here. Miss ya, tough guy. -Kenzie.
A second later, it was followed with:
P.S. Why do all hospitals think green Jell-O is food? *Gag*Dies*
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I clicked the phone off and set it back on the desk. I couldn’t worry about Keirran now. I had something else, someone else, to focus on. Kenzie deserved more than I could give her, but I wanted to try to do this boyfriend thing right, despite her father’s warning to stay away from his daughter. Obviously, I wasn’t going to listen to that, though he was more right than he knew when he said I was no good for her. To say I sucked in the relationship department was a huge understatement; I just hoped Kenzie could be patient with me as I figured it out. And that her dad wouldn’t make things too unbearable.
And that, for once, They would leave us alone and not screw everything up.
Wishful thinking.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE LAST NORMAL EVENING
The next day at school was fairly uneventful. I parked close to the school building, right outside the principal’s office window, to prevent further ambushes in the parking lot. I kept my head down in class, only engaging teachers if spoken to first. I ignored the constant whispers and looks thrown my way in the halls. The normal routine.
When lunch rolled around, I was heading to my favorite corner of solitude when my phone vibrated. Another text had come through.
Guess who has her phone back, the new message read. I grinned, hurried outside and called the number on the other end.
“I hope you’re at lunch right now,” Kenzie said by way of greeting, “and not cutting class just so you can call me.”
“Actually, I’m taking a break between car heists,” I replied, making her laugh. I smiled at the sound of her voice. “Where are you?”
“Home.” She gave a little sigh. “Cleaning my in-box. Being bored. Wishing I was at school right now.”
My gut churned. “Where’s your dad?”
“Oh, don’t worry.” Her voice turned defiant. “He got roped into some important out-of-town meeting and won’t be back until tomorrow.” She snorted. “I can’t believe him, telling me I had to stay away from you. Like that’s going to happen.”
Relief spread through me. “So, what do we do now?”
“Well...” She pondered that, then continued in a strangely hesitant voice. “As luck would have it, Alex has a volleyball game tonight, and my stepmom already promised she would go. No one will be home if you happen to drop by and pick me up. Let’s say, sometime between five and six?”
Right. This was the whole boyfriend thing. Picking her up, taking her to dinner. Normal going-out stuff. So why was I suddenly terrified? “I’ll pick you up at six,” I heard myself say in a voice that sounded perfectly calm, a stark contrast to the twisted mess within. “Is there anyplace you want to go, a movie you want to see?” Anything to give me a hint of what I’m supposed to do?
I heard her bitter smile without seeing it. “Anywhere but here.”
* * *
School the rest of the day was a lost cause. I couldn’t concentrate in any of my classes, couldn’t think of anything at all except the coming night. I wasn’t so distracted that I didn’t notice Brian Kingston glaring at me in the halls, however, his two cronies at his back. Thankfully, he didn’t attempt a repeat of the day before. I felt a small, vindictive pleasure knowing I’d kicked his ass yesterday and gotten away with it, but it was never a good idea to tempt fate. At least now he knew that I couldn’t be abused like some stray dog, but knowing him, the next time I would be facing the entire football team.
I went home, surfed around online, attempted to do my homework and drove myself crazy glancing at my watch every three minutes, cursing it to go faster. When evening rolled around, I showered, changed into my “nicer” clothes—nonripped jeans and a shirt that didn’t scream “I’m a thug”—and flopped onto the living room couch with the TV on to wait out the last few minutes.
“I’m going out,” I announced when the clock finally hit five-thirty. Bouncing upright, I turned off the screen, not even remembering what I’d been watching. Mom wasn’t in the room, and I raised my voice to shout down the hall. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up for me.”
“Ethan,” Mom called as I snatched my jacket from the back of the couch and headed for the door. Her face was suspicious as she came out of the kitchen, eyeing my clothes and the keys in my hand. “It’s not karate night, and hospital visiting hours are long past. Where are you going?”
I stifled a sigh. “I have a date,” I said simply.
Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “A date?” she repeated, like she couldn’t quite believe it.
“Yeah. With a real girl and everything.”
I expected her to ask where we were going or to at least warn me to be careful. But unexpectedly, a smile broke across her face, almost like she was...relieved. Relieved that I was acting like a normal teen, maybe. Or that—and I cringed at this thought—I was finally “making friends.” Whatever the reason, it was nice to see her happy with me for once, even though this wasn’t quite as normal as she thought.
“Where did you meet her?” Mom asked excitedly, and I stifled a groan. “At your new school? Do you have classes together? What’s her name?”
“Mom, I’m going to be late,” I said, backing away. “I’m picking her up now. Back before eleven.”
“Ethan.”
Impatient, I turned in the door frame. Now what?
Mom still wore that faint, relieved smile. “Midnight,” she said, shocking me. “Curfew is at midnight.”
I blinked, astonished, but I wasn’t going to question it. With a quick smile, I nodded and let the screen slam shut behind me.
Tonight was going to be normal, I told myself as I hopped into my truck. A normal evening with my girlfriend, no weirdness or craziness allowed. However, as I was pulling out of the driveway, I caught a hint of movement in my side-view mirror, a shadow moving through the trees behind my house. The silhouette of a tall, impossibly thin man paused in the space between trunks, glowing eyes fastened on me.
I stopped the truck, turning back to look, but there was nothing there anymore.
I muttered a curse. This was nothing new. I’d been seeing things move my whole life: silhouettes in the trees, shadows from the corners of my eyes, brief glimpses of things in mirrors, doorways and reflections. That was the world of the fey, and you either got used to it or you became a neurotic freak. I just wished they’d stop hanging around my house despite all the anti-fey charms I’d placed inside and around the property. And I really wished they would quit popping up at the worst possible times.
Whatever. I wasn’t going to worry about the fey tonight. They couldn’t get into the house, Mom wasn’t going anywhere, and Dad wouldn’t be home from work until early morning. Tonight, I had a date with Mackenzie St. James, and I wasn’t going to miss it. The damned fey could just go bother someone else for once.
Putting my truck into Drive, I shoved all thoughts of invisible pests from my mind and roared off down the street.
* * *
