“Keirran has to do it,” I finished, and Meghan’s gaze flicked to me. “Of his own free will. He has to make that choice himself.”

“I see,” Meghan murmured, and the energy around her flickered and died. I watched the realization creep over her, the same huge problem that had been plaguing me ever since I left Guro’s house. How the hell were we going to convince Keirran, the self-proclaimed Destroyer of the Courts, to shatter the amulet himself? “And do you have a plan for how you’re going to do that?” Meghan asked, as if reading my thoughts.

Not really, I thought, but thankfully Annwyl beat me to it.

“I will talk to him,” the Summer faery said. “He’ll listen to me. At least, I hope he will.” She closed her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I hope he is not so far gone that he has forgotten about us.”

I nodded. “If Keirran will listen to anyone, it’ll be Annwyl,” I told Meghan. “The only problem will be getting to him. We don’t really know where he is, except that he’s never far from the First Queen, and that there’s probably going to be a huge army of Forgotten between us.”

Meghan’s brow furrowed. “Ash and Puck are scouting the area where the Forgotten were last seen,” she said. “There have been skirmishes along the borders, places where the Forgotten pop up out of nowhere, but we’ve never glimpsed the real army. No one has seen Keirran or the First Queen, either, though we suspect the Forgotten are getting ready to launch a full attack. If we can somehow reach Keirran before that happens, we can save him at the very least. But if he attacks with the Forgotten...” Meghan trailed off, shaking her head. “Even if I cannot strike the final blow, the other rulers will show him no mercy. If Keirran leads the Forgotten to war, we cannot hold back. The First Queen cannot be allowed to win.”

“Iron Queen,” the Thin Man said, and stepped forward. “If I may... I have information about the First Queen that your people might not. I am willing to share it with you, and everyone, in the hopes that we can defeat the Lady. But we must work together. The First Queen of Faery ruled for a very long time before she was finally overthrown and forgotten. Do not underestimate her. She is not an opponent to take lightly.”

Meghan nodded and straightened, looking at all of us. “I will call for a war council,” she announced. “Mab and Oberon will want to hear this, and I want to explain the amulet to them. Maybe convince them not to slaughter Keirran on sight.” Her eyes flashed, that dangerous energy swirling around her again, before she moved away. “I’ll need to call a few of my forces back, so it could be a few hours until they show up. Until then, I’ll have someone clear out a few tents. You all look like you could use the rest. Annwyl—” she glanced at the Summer faery “—I know that staying in the Iron camp is probably unpleasant for you. Will you be all right? I can speak to Oberon if you want to stay within Summer.”

“I’m grateful, Your Majesty,” Annwyl replied. “But there’s no need. I...I don’t feel the iron sickness like I should. Maybe the amulet sucks it away, but...” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t think I’m entirely here, anymore. And, after what happened with Keirran and the Summer Queen, none of my kin really want me around. Titania made it very clear, within Arcadia at least, that I was the cause of Keirran’s betrayal. There were even rumors that I was the one who ordered Keirran to attack the queen, to force her to lift my exile. So, I am not welcome in the Summer Court any longer, and there are likely those within Summer that wish me harm. If it’s all the same to you, I would rather stay on this side of the border.”

Meghan’s gaze was sympathetic as she nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “And don’t worry about Titania. None of her servants will dare cross the border into Iron. You’ll be safe here.”

The Thin Man cleared his throat. “I, on the other hand, believe I will excuse myself,” he said, tipping his hat to the queen. “Not to be rude, but I am finding the effects of your Iron kingdom unpleasant. I believe I will be elsewhere until you have need of me. Ethan Chase—” he glanced in my direction “—I will be close. Do not go after the prince without me.”

He turned...and disappeared.

Meghan sighed. “Councilor Fix,” she called quietly, and the packrat who had been busily scribbling notes shuffled forward, blinking. “Will you please arrange tents for Kenzie and Annwyl? We should have the space for it. See if you can get them something to eat, as well. Ethan—” she looked at me “—I want to speak with you a moment alone.”

The packrat nodded and waddled from the tent, beckoning Kenzie and Annwyl to follow. Kenzie paused, looking at me, and I nodded. “Go on,” I told her. “Go get food. I’ll be all right.” She hesitated, then followed Annwyl and Fix outside. There was a brief flash of sunlight as she pushed through the tent flaps, and then they were gone.

Alone with the Iron Queen, I held my breath, wondering if she would lecture me on wading right back into this mess, when I’d promised her I’d stay away. Meghan paused as if waiting for everyone to be out of earshot before turning to me.

“I spoke to Ash the night we came back from Tir Na Nog,” she said, making my stomach drop. “He told me he let you and Kenzie out of the palace. He said you might be able to help Keirran, that a mortal who isn’t bound by Faery law might succeed where we could not. Is that true?”

I nodded. I hadn’t wanted to rat Ash out, but if he’d already confessed, there was no reason to deny it. “I know you wanted me to stay out of this,” I told her, “but I can’t just sit at home, knowing you and Keirran are out there, probably fighting each other. That would drive me completely nuts. Even if I don’t have faery blood, I’m part of this family, which means I’m part of this war, whether you like it or not. Also...” I scrubbed the back of my head. “Don’t blame Ash entirely. If he hadn’t let us go that night, Kenzie would’ve insisted we do something anyway. And we’d probably be right back here.”

Surprisingly, Meghan smiled. “I was furious with him,” she said, “but he told me to have more faith in the human part of my family. I guess he was right. I have to remember that you’ve grown up, just like I had to.” She gave me a wistful, slightly sad look. “Your birthday was three weeks ago in the mortal realm, did you know that?” she went on, making my brows shoot up. “You’re eighteen now, Ethan. You’re not a kid anymore.”

I’m eighteen? The notion shocked me. I was legally an adult. It was a bittersweet realization. Eighteen had been the magic number that represented freedom, on many levels. On the one hand, I wasn’t required to go to school or live with my parents. On the other, I hadn’t really gotten much of a childhood, not a normal one, anyway. Meghan had been absent for much of it, and those years were truly gone now. I could never go back and relive them, hoping that my sister would come home and our family would finally be complete.

Meghan nodded, smiling faintly. “You’ve grown up so fast,” she murmured, walking forward. Nostalgia colored her voice. “I still remember when you were four, wanting me to tell you and Floppy a story, so the monsters in your closet would go away.”