The Lost Prince

“That’s all he’ll say,” Kenzie said, looking worriedly back at the troll. “We tried talking to him. He doesn’t remember anything. I don’t even think he knows who he is.”



“He was being chased through Central Park by our ghostly friends,” Keirran added, sounding grim and protective. He hadn’t let Annwyl out of his sight the entire way back to Leanansidhe’s, and now stood between her and Leanansidhe, watching both the Exile Queen and the half-troll. Razor peeked down from the back of his neck, muttering nonsense. “We fought them off with Goodfellow’s help, but we didn’t see anyone else there.”



“Goodfellow?” The Exile Queen pulled a face. “Ah, so that’s what Grimalkin was talking about, devious creature. Where is our darling Puck now?”



“He went back to the Seelie Court to warn Oberon.”



“Well, that is something, at least.” Leanansidhe regarded the half-breed with cool disinterest. “And what of the park locals, darlings?” she asked without looking up. “Did they mention anything about ladies and dark places?”



“There weren’t any others,” I told her, and she did look at me then, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “He’s the only one we could find.”



“The park is a dead zone,” Annwyl said. I could see she was shivering. “They’re all gone. No one is left. Just those horrible glamour-eaters. I think…I think they killed them all.”



Glamour-eaters. The term was catching on, though that was a good name for them. They couldn’t hurt me or Kenzie that way, because we had no magic. And Keirran was the son of the Iron Queen; his glamour was poison to them. But everyone else, including Annwyl, the exiles and the rest of Summer and Winter, were at risk.



I suddenly wondered what they could do to half-breeds. Maybe they couldn’t make them disappear like the regular fey; maybe a half-breed’s human side prevented them from ceasing to exist. But what would draining their magic do to them? I looked at Thomas, standing forlornly in the center of the room, eyes empty of reason, and felt my skin crawl.



Leanansidhe must’ve been thinking the same thing. “This,” she said, her voice cold and scary, “is unacceptable. Darlings…” She turned to us. “You need to go back, pets. Right now. Go back to the park and find what is doing this. I will not stand by while my exiles and half-breeds are killed right out in the open.”



“Go back?” I frowned at her. “Why? There’s nothing there. The park is completely dead of fey.”



“Ethan darling.” The Exile Queen regarded me with scary blue eyes. “You are not thinking, dove. The half-breed you found—” she glanced at Thomas, now sitting in a dazed lump on the carpet “—is not from New York. He was obviously taken and brought to Central Park. The park is empty, but so many half-breeds cannot simply vanish into thin air. And the normal fey are gone. Where did they all go, pet? They certainly didn’t come to me, and as far as I know, no one has seen them in the mortal world.”



I didn’t know what she was getting at, but Kenzie spoke up, as if she’d just figured it out. “Something is there,” she guessed. “Something is in the park.”



Leanansidhe smiled at her. “I knew I liked you for a reason, darling.”



“The glamour-eaters might have a lair in Central Park,” Keirran added, nodding grimly. “That’s why there are no fey there anymore. But where could they be? You’d think such a large population of exiles and half-breeds would notice a group of strange faeries wandering around.”



“I don’t know, darlings,” Leanansidhe said, pulling her cigarette flute out of thin air. “But I think this is something you should find out. Sooner, rather than later.”



“Why don’t you come with us?” Keirran asked. “You haven’t been banished from the mortal realm, Leanansidhe. You could see what’s going on yourself.”



Leanansidhe looked at him as if he’d just said the sky was green. “Me, darling? I would, but I’m afraid the Goblin Market rabble would make quite the mess while I’m gone. Sadly, I cannot go traipsing across the country whenever I please, pet—I have obligations here that make that impossible.” She glanced at me and wrinkled her nose. “Ethan, darling, you’re dripping blood all over my clean carpets. Someone should take care of that.”



She snapped her fingers, and a pair of gnomes padded up, beckoning to me. I tensed, reminded of the piranha-palmed creatures, but I also knew many gnomes were healers among the fey. I let myself be taken to another room and, while the gnomes fussed over my arm, considered our next course of action.



Return to the park, Leanansidhe had said. Return to the place where a bunch of creepy, transparent, glamour-sucking faeries waited for us, maybe a whole nest of them. Kenzie was right; something was there, lurking in that park, unseen and unknown to fey and human alike. The lady, Thomas had mumbled. The lady and the big dark. What the heck did he mean by that?



The door creaked open, and Kenzie came into the room, dodging the gnome who padded out with a bloody rag. “Leanansidhe is keeping Thomas here for now,” she said, perching on the stool beside mine. “She wants to see if he’ll regain any of his memory, see if he can remember what happened to him. How’s your arm?”



I held it up, drawing an annoyed reprimand from the gnome. They’d put some sort of smelly salve over the wound and wrapped it tightly with bandages so it no longer hurt; it was just numb. “I’ll live.”



“Yes, you will,” muttered the gnome with a warning glower at me. “Though you’re lucky it didn’t get your hand—you might’ve lost a few fingers. Don’t pick at the bandages, Mr. Chase.” Gathering the supplies, it gave me a last glare and padded off with its partner, letting the door swing shut behind them.



Kenzie reached over and gently wrapped her hand around mine. I stared at our entwined fingers, dark thoughts bouncing around in my head. This was getting dangerous. No, forget that, this was already dangerous, more than ever. People were dying, vanishing from existence. A deadly new breed of fey was on the rise, killing their victims by draining their glamour, their very essence. Half-breeds were disappearing, right off the streets, from their homes and schools. And there was something else. Something dark and sinister, hidden somewhere in that park, waiting.



The big dark. The lady.



I felt lost, overwhelmed. As if I was a tiny speck of driftwood, bobbing in a huge ocean, waiting for something to swallow me whole. I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want to get pulled into this faery madness. What did they want from me? I wasn’t my sister, half-fey and powerful, with the infamous Robin Goodfellow and the son of Mab at my side. I was only human, one human against a whole race of savage, dangerous faeries. And, as usual, I was going to put even more people in harm’s way.



Kenzie ran her fingers over my skin, sending tingles up my arm. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could convince you to stay behind,” I murmured, already knowing the answer.



“Nope,” said Kenzie with forced cheerfulness. I looked up, and she gave me a fierce smile. “Don’t even think about it, Ethan. You’ll need someone to watch your back. Make sure you don’t get chomped by any more nasty faeries with sharp teeth. I didn’t gain the Sight just to sit back and do nothing.”



I sighed. “I know. But I don’t have anything to protect you with anymore. Or me, for that matter.” Gingerly, I clenched my fist, wincing at the needles of pain that shot up my arm. “If we’re going to go look for this nest, I don’t want a stick. It’s not enough. I want my knife or something sharp between me and those faeries. I can’t hold back with them any longer.”



Cold dread suddenly gripped me. This wasn’t a perverse game; me playing keep-away with a redcap motley in the library, or trying to avoid getting beaten up by Kingston’s thugs. These fey, whatever they were, were savage and twisted killers. There would be no reasoning with them, no pleas for favors or bargains. It was kill or be torn to shreds myself.



I think I shivered, for Kenzie inched closer and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. “We need a plan,” she said calmly. “A strategy of some sort. I don’t like the idea of rushing back with no clue of where to go. If we knew where this lair was…” She paused, as I closed my eyes and soaked in her warmth. “I wish I had a computer,” she said. “Then I could at least research Central Park, try to figure out what this ‘big dark’ is. I don’t suppose Leanansidhe has any laptops lying around?”



“Not a chance,” I muttered. “And my phone is dead. I checked back in the real world.”



“Me, too.” She sighed and tapped her finger against my knee in thought. “Could we…maybe…go home?” she asked in a hesitant voice. “Not to stay,” she added quickly. “I could check some things online, and you could grab your weapons or whatever it is you’ll need. Our folks wouldn’t have to know.” She snorted, and a bitter edge crept into her voice. “My dad might not even realize I’ve been gone.”



I thought about it. “I don’t know,” I admitted at last. “I don’t like the idea of going home and having those things follow me. Or waiting for me. And I don’t want to drag your family into it, either.”



“We’re going to have to do something, Ethan.” Kenzie’s voice was soft, and her fingers very gently brushed the bandage on my wrist. “We’re in way over our heads—we need all the help we can get.”



“Yeah.” Frustration rose up, and I resisted the urge to lash out, to snarl at something. Right now, the only someone around was Kenzie, and I wasn’t going to take out my fear and anger on her. I wished there was someone I could go to, some grown-up who would understand. I’d never wanted to be the one everyone looked to for direction. Keirran wasn’t here; this was my call. How had it all come to rest on me?