For a few minutes, I remained absolutely motionless, counting my breaths, listening to the shuffle of chicken feet and the warbled clucks around me. I heard Razor buzz something to Kenzie, who shushed him immediately. Thankfully, the witch didn’t move, either. It would’ve sucked a lot if she did something to freak the chickens out, though now that I thought about it, there was nothing in the agreement that said she couldn’t interfere. I was relieved that she was letting me do this in peace, but I could still feel her gaze burning the back of my neck.
Hope she doesn’t turn Kenzie into a chicken for the hell of it, I thought, just as there was a tap on my shoe.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes. A small red hen stood at the toe of my boot, cocking its head at me. I couldn’t tell if it was the same chicken from before or not, but it was the only one that had ventured close. For a second, I stared at it as my heart started to pound. What if this wasn’t the right bird? What if I guessed wrong?
Come on, Ethan. You’re going to have to choose sometime.
The hen blinked, peering up at my face, as I gave it a hopeful smile.
“Hey, Annwyl,” I whispered.
The second the words left my mouth, the chicken started to glow. It grew brighter and brighter, its features melting into the light, until I had to look away. When the glow faded and I was able to turn back, there was no longer a chicken standing there.
Instead, a slight, beautiful fey girl sat next to me in the grass, looking bewildered. Wavy chestnut hair tumbled down her back and shoulders. Her ears were long and pointed, and her huge green eyes stared at me in a daze.
“Ethan...Chase?” Annwyl whispered, as the breath left my lungs in a rush and I nearly collapsed in relief. “Why are you here? I thought...I heard you had died.”
I managed a tiny smirk. “Yeah, well, rumors of my death were highly exaggerated.”
She looked confused, but suddenly her hand went to her neck. “The amulet,” she gasped. “It’s gone!” I started to answer, but her eyes shifted, anger crossing her normally passive face. “Where is it?” she demanded. “Ethan Chase, what have you done?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ANNWYL’S QUEST
Aw, crap. Now what?
Annwyl leaped to her feet, looking frantic, and I scrambled upright, as well. “Where is the amulet?” she demanded again, staring at me. “Is it destroyed? Is it lost? Where is it, Ethan Chase?”
“Easy.” I held up my hands, taking a step back. Annwyl’s eyes glowed a scary green, and the grass around her feet started to writhe and coil. Chickens scattered to all corners of the yard, squawking in terror, as the previously docile Summer fey snapped and pulsed with the energy of a storm.
“Annwyl, calm down,” I said, raising my voice to be heard over the chickens and the hissing of plants. What the hell was happening? I’d never seen Annwyl like this. “I don’t have it, okay? We thought it was with you.”
“It is not.” Annwyl did not look like she would calm down anytime soon. “But I did have it. It was in my possession when I came here.” She glared around the yard, her gaze lingering on the house, before turning on me again. “Where is it?” she almost whispered. “I need to find it now!”
“Enough!” The witch swept up, scowling, and Annwyl turned a furious gaze on her. But Kenzie and the Thin Man hurried across the yard toward us, and at the sight of the tall Forgotten, the Summer faery shrank back, more frightened of him than the old woman beside me.
“The Thin Man!” she seethed, and thorny vines erupted from the ground, coiling back like snakes. “Get back! I will not go with you! I must find the amulet and Keirran.”
“Annwyl, stop,” Kenzie implored, holding out a hand. “It’s all right, he’s with us now—”
“Why are you here?” Annwyl interrupted, ignoring Kenzie as she glared at the Thin Man. The tall Forgotten started to answer, but the Summer faery overrode him. “I know you’ve come for me,” she said. “I cannot go to your Forgotten town. I must get to Keirran before it’s too late, and you will not stop me!”
“I have no intention of taking you anywhere, my dear!” the Thin Man shot back. “If you would only listen to your friends, you would realize that. Calm down before you hurt someone.”
“Annwyl!” I shouted, grabbing her arm. “He’s telling the truth. We came here to get you and the amulet. Take it easy.”
She did not take it easy but turned on me again, eyes flashing. “Where is the amulet, mortal?” she demanded, sounding more like Titania than the Annwyl I had known. “Tell me now!”
“I said enough!” The witch waved her hand, and the vines and roots snaking around the Summer faery froze, then slithered back underground. Annwyl blinked, startled, as the wind died down, the grass stopped roiling, and the land returned to normal once more. Only the chickens fluttering about the yard still squawked and gibbered at the top of their lungs.
“Stop this foolishness,” the witch continued, glaring at the faery. “This is not helping anything. You are so blinded by your feelings for the Iron Prince, you cannot see what is at stake. Look at what you are doing to your friends who have traveled so far to find you.”
Annwyl went pale, and the scary light faded from her eyes. “Ethan,” she whispered, glancing at me. “Kenzie.” She shook her head, like she was just now recognizing us. “I’m sorry. Forgive me. I guess...I panicked.”
“Yes,” the witch agreed before we could say anything. “You did. And this is precisely why I changed you, girl. So ready to rush off to your destruction, to throw your life away. Even if you managed to reach the Iron Prince through the army of Forgotten, do you really think he would hear you now?”