Were the Thornguards that delusional? They had only wanted what I did: a way to overcome the effects of iron. They'd bargained their lives away, endured torment no normal faery could withstand, hoping to conquer our eternal weakness. Hoping to live in the Iron Realm.
Wasn't I doing the same now, wishing for the impossible?
“You've got your brooding face on again, ice-boy.” Puck squinted at me. “And I can see your brain going a mile a minute. What are you thinking of?”
I shook my head. “Nothing important.” Spinning on a heel, I turned and walked away, back toward the edge of the trees. Puck started to protest, but I hurried on, unwil ing to think about it any longer. “We've wasted enough time here, and this isn't getting us any closer to the seer. Let's go.”
He jogged after me. I hoped he would be quiet, leave me in peace, but of course I had only a few moments of silence before he opened his mouth.
“Hey, you never answered my question, prince,” he said, kicking a pebble over the stones, watching it bounce toward the forest. “What were we looking for in that underground city, anyway? A necklace? A mirror?”
“A dagger,” I muttered.
“Aha! So you do remember, after all !”
I glared at him. He grinned cheekily. “Just checking, ice-boy. Wouldn't want you to forget all the good times we had. Hey, whatever happened to that thing, anyway? I seem to recal it was a really nice piece of work.”
A numbness spread through my chest, and my voice went very, very soft. “I gave it to Ariel a.”
“…oh,” Puck murmured.
And said nothing after that.
Grimalkin was waiting for us atop a broken limb at the edge of the tree line, washing his paw with exaggerated nonchalance. “That took longer then I expected.” He yawned as we came up. “I was wondering if I should take a nap, waiting for you.” Giving his paw a final lick, he looked down at us, narrowing his golden eyes. “Anyway, if you two are quite finished, we can move on.”
“Did you know about the Thornguards?” I asked. “And their attack on the Iron Kingdom?”
Grimalkin snorted. Flicking his tail, the cat rose and sauntered along the splintered branch with no explanation. Hopping lightly to an overhead limb, he vanished into the leaves without looking back, leaving Puck and me hurrying to catch up.
CHAPTER THREE
ARIELLA TULARYN
The wyldwood stretched on, dark, tangled and endless. I didn't count the times the light rose and fel , because the farther we went into the untamed wilderness, the wilder and more unpredictable it became.
Grimalkin took us through a glen where the trees slowly followed us until we looked back, freezing them in place, only to have them creep forward again when our backs were turned. We hiked up an enormous, moss-covered hil , only to discover that the “hil ” was actual y the body of a sleeping giant as it raised a massive hand to scratch the itch on its cheek. We crossed a rol ing, windy plain where herds of wild horses stared at us with cold intel igence, their furtive conversations blown away in the wind.
During this time, Puck and I didn't talk, or if we did, it was just useless banter, threats, insults and the like. Fighting with Robin Goodfel ow, side by side against the Thornguards, had brought up memories I did not wish to deal with now, ones that were frozen deep inside, memories I couldn't thaw out for fear of the pain. I didn't want to remember the hunts, the chal enges, the times we got ourselves neck-deep in trouble and had to fight our way out. I didn't want to remember the laughter, the easy camaraderie, between myself and my onceclosest friend. Because remembering Puck as something more than a rival only reminded me of my vow, the one spoken in a f lash of despair and rage, the one that had turned us into bitter enemies for years to come.
And, of course, I couldn't think of Puck that way without remembering…her.
Ariel a. The only daughter of the Ice Baron of Glassbarrow, Ariel a first came to the Unseelie Court during winter equinox, when Mab was hosting that year's Elysium. As tradition dictated, twice a mortal year, the courts of Summer and Winter would meet to discuss politics, sign new treaties, and basical y agree to play nice for another season. Or at least to refrain from declaring all -out war on the other court. It bored me to tears, but as a Winter prince and the son of Queen Mab, my presence was required, and I had learned to dance the dance and be a good little court monkey.
It was not yet twilight, and as such the Summer Court had not yet arrived. As Mab disapproved of my locking myself in my room until Elysium began, I was in a dark corner of the courtyard, rereading a book from my col ection of mortal authors and poets. If anyone asked, I was overseeing the arrival of the last of the guests, but mostly I was avoiding Rowan and the current f lock of nobles who would surround me with coy, f lattering, razor-sharp smiles. Their voices would be the softest purr, the sweetest song, as they offered me favors covered in honey and nectar but with a core of vilest poison. I was a prince, after all , the youngest and most favored of Mab, at least according to some.
I suppose the common belief was that I was more naive, easier to trap, perhaps. I didn't know the dance as well as Rowan or Sage, who were at court far more frequently. But I was a true son of Winter, and knew the twisted steps of court better than most. And those who sought to entrap me in a web of honey and favors soon found themselves tangled in their own dark promises.
I knew the dance. I just didn't revel in it.
Which was why I was leaning against an ice-covered wall with
Musashi's The Five Rings, only half-aware of the bustle of carriages pul ing up to the gates and the Winter gentry stepping out into the snow. Most of them I knew, or had seen before. The Lady Snowfire, dressed in a gown of sparkling icicles that chimed musical y as she walked. The new duke of Frostfel —having disposed of the old duke by getting him exiled to the mortal realm—glided through the snow trailed by his goblin slaves. The Baroness of the Icebound Heart gave me a chil y nod as she strode past, her two snow leopards hissing and snarling at the ends of their silver chains.
And then, she walked in.
I didn't know her, and that in itself piqued my curiosity. None could argue her beauty: long silver hair, pale skin, a will owy body that was delicate and strong at the same time. But, all of our kind are, if not very attractive, at least striking in some way. Being surrounded by beauty tends to dul your appreciation of it, especial y if the beauty only hides the cruelty beneath. It wasn't her looks that caught my eye that day, but the way she gazed at the winter palace, awe written plainly on her lovely features. It was an emotion that didn't belong; most would see it as a weakness, something to be exploited. The nobles could sense emotion like a shark smel ed blood; they would devour her before the day was out.
A part of me told me not to care, that it was everyone for themselves in the Winter Court, and that was how it always had been. That this girl, new and untried, would take the attention off me for once. Despite that voice, I found myself intrigued.
Snapping shut the book, I started toward her.
She was turning in slow circles when I walked up, and jumped when we came face-to-face. “Oh, pardon me!” Her voice was clear and light, like tiny bel s. “I didn't see you standing there.”
“Are you lost?” It wasn't so much a question, rather I was testing her, probing her defenses. Admitting you were lost was a grave mistake in the Winter Court; you never wanted to be caught unaware by anyone.
It annoyed me a bit that the first thing I fel back on was checking for weakness, poking at chinks in her armor. But in the Unseelie Court, you could never be too careful.
She blinked at the question and took a step back, seeming to see me for the first time. Clear, blue-green eyes rose to meet my gaze, and I made the mistake of looking right at her.
Her gaze captured mine, drawing me in, and I was suddenly drowning.
Flecks of silver dotted her irises like tiny stars, as if I was staring at a whole universe in her eyes. Bril iant emotion gazed out at me, pure and clean and untainted by the darkness of the Unseelie Court.
For a moment, we just stared at each other, neither will ing to look away.
Until I realized what I was doing and turned, pretending to watch another carriage pul up to the gates, furious with myself for dropping my guard. For a brief moment, I wondered if that had been her ploy all along—pretend to be naive and innocent, and lure unsuspecting
princes right into her clutches. Unorthodox, but effective.
Fortunately, it seemed the girl was just as shaken as I was. “No, I'm not lost,” she said a little breathlessly. Another mistake, but I wasn't keeping track anymore. “It's just…I mean…I've never been here, is all .”
She cleared her throat and straightened, seeming to regain her composure. “I am Ariel a Tularyn of Glassbarrow,” she announced regal y,
“and I am here on behalf of my father, the Duke of Glassbarrow. He is indisposed at the moment and sends his apologies for not being able to attend.”
I'd heard about that. Apparently, the duke had run into some trouble while hunting ice wyrms in the mountains of his territory. The court had been abuzz with who would come to represent him, as he was rumored to have only one daughter, who never left the estate.
So, this was she.
Ariel a smiled again, nervously brushing her hair back, and instantly lost her regal bearing. “I said that correctly, didn't I?” she asked without a trace of guile. “That was the proper greeting, wasn't it? I'm so new at this. I've never been to court before, and I don't want to upset the queen.”
Right then, I decided. This girl needed an escort, someone to show her the ways of Winter, otherwise the nobles were going to chew her up and spit her out. The thought of this girl, broken and bitter, her eyes frozen in wary contempt, fil ed me with a strange protectiveness I couldn't explain. If anyone wanted to toy with Ariel a Tularyn, they would have to go through me first. And I was no wide-eyed newcomer when it came to the Unseelie Court.
“Come on, then,” I said, offering her my arm, which seemed to surprise her, but she took it nonetheless. “I'll introduce you.”
Her bril iant smile was all the thanks I needed.
From that moment on, I continued to find excuses to be around the Duke of Glassbarrow's daughter. I took secret hunting trips to the Glassbarrow Mountains, enticing her away. I made sure Mab requested both the duke and Ariel a's presence at Elysium. I stole every spare moment I could to be with her, until the day came when I finally convinced her to leave the duke's estate completely and live at the palace.
Duke Glassbarrow was livid, but I was the Winter prince, and he eventual y buckled under the threat of banishment or death.
Rumors f lew, of course. As part of the royal family, my life was under constant scrutiny, even when there was nothing interesting about it.
When it came to my spending so much time with a young duchess-to-be…wel , you'd think Mab and Oberon had decided to marry, there was so much speculation. Prince Ash was obsessed, Prince Ash had found a new plaything and, worst of all , Prince Ash was in love. I didn't care. When I was with Ariel a, I could forget the court, my responsibilities, everything. When I was with her, I didn't have to worry about keeping my guard up, constantly watching my back or my words. Ariel a didn't care about the games of the Winter Court, something that fascinated me. Was I in love? I didn't know. Love was such an unknown concept, something that everyone cautioned against.