Winter

“Don’t promise me, this time,” she says, her eyes harder than any fourteen-year-old’s should be. “Don’t promise you’ll come back. Not unless you will.”

I squeeze my arms around her one last time, my throat clenched. “I’ll see you again, Jane. Who else can keep you from running wild?”

Then I rush down the stairs toward the Shimmer before she can see the hesitation in my eyes.

56

Magus balks when I ask him to open the forbidden vault. He didn’t hesitate when I stood in the Faerie ring and called him over using the Gaelic words he gave me two months ago, after he returned me home. Words only to be used in an emergency. And he didn’t so much as blink when I demanded transport to the academy. But now, he finally seems to realize what I plan to do, and his large mossy eyes go wide.

Turns out stealing a forbidden weapon imbued with a hundred Fae souls using dark magic is where he draws the line.

He tries to talk me out of it. Tries to make me go to the headmistress instead. But by the time I find her, it might be too late for my friends. And even then, she might not believe me. Not with our history.

After a heated argument, I finally win him over. As the vault door grates open with a whoosh and the tang of dark magic washes over me, I nearly hesitate, everything becoming real.

But then I remember the video of the darkling attack inside the restaurant. An army of darklings will decimate everyone in the forest today. Everyone.

And I cannot let that happen.

Magus grunts behind me, his hooves stamping the damp stone floor. “Hurry and choose your weapon, human. And let’s hope it does not kill you.”

“Not necessary,” I say, pressing into the shadows. “It’s already chosen me.”

I find Ruby asleep in Mack’s dorm room, surrounded by Kit Kat wrappers. She screeches when she wakes, and immediately pledges her services to me. Outside, we discover the portals the first years used near the Lake of Sorrows.

I send Magus off to alert Mr. Willis and then Ruby sniffs each portal before pointing at the farthest one down the line. “The prince and your friend went through that one.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. We only get one chance at this.

She flashes an impish grin. “Kid, I’d know that Fae hunk of meat’s scent anywhere.”

“Which one? Asher or the prince’s?”

“Both.”

Okay, then. That’s not creepy at all. I drag in an anxious breath, steadying my nerves. Then we count to three and cross over.

The second we step foot on the other side, a gray, lifeless world envelops us. Dead trees wend and tangle into a canopy of gnarled branches strangling the sky. There’s no life anywhere. No budding foliage or grass or insects. The air is laced with the stench of decay, and snowflakes float around our heads.

No, not snow. Ashes.

“This has to be a mistake,” I say. “This portal lead directly into the scourge lands.”

“Um, kid, we have a problem,” Ruby whispers. I glance behind me and my body goes cold. The portal is gone.

“No mistake,” I growl. “Whoever wants the prince dead must have messed with the portal so it spit them out in the wrong spot and then wouldn’t let them back in.”

Earlier, I stuffed the forbidden weapon inside a bright pink backpack I stole from the commons room, and I sling the bag higher onto my shoulder. Ruby uses her abnormal sense of smell to track the group through the woods, leading us deeper and deeper into the Forest of Eyes.

I see immediately where the name came from. Eyes snap open along the tree trunks as we pass, their eerie gaze following us wherever we go. They’re all different colors, each pair of eyes unique and too human for my liking.

Ugh.

An hour passes, and I’m sure Ruby has lost the scent, when I hear voices. Frantic voices.

I sprint toward the sounds, sure it’s already started. A small clearing opens up. I see figures moving through the dead grass, and my heart leaps at the sight.

Mack and Asher stand side-by-side, holding up swords that glint in the muddled gray light. Eclipsa is near them, legs spread wide in a fighting stance. She wears all black leathers, her silver hair pulled into a simple ponytail that swings well past her shoulders.

A twig snaps beneath my boot, and Eclipsa’s head swivels my direction. Her forehead wrinkles slightly in confusion, but then she smiles and rushes toward me. Her hug nearly crushes the life from me.

“What are you doing here?” she demands, pulling back to examine me.

Behind Eclipsa, I see Mack and Asher both turn our way. Then Mack is screeching and running toward us. She slams into me, hard, and joins the hug.

“What the Fae hells is this?” Asher booms, lumbering over. “A love fest in the middle of the Wild Hunt? This isn’t a slumber party, girls.”

Eclipsa glares at Asher. “Pipe down, smoke-breath. We’re having a moment.”

“Well, have that moment somewhere else. That medusa spider is still out there.”

Medusa spider? Yep, not even asking about that one.

Curiosity dances in his green eyes as they shift to me. “Summer, it’s not that I’m not happy you’re here. But . . . if you’ve come to talk to the prince, it’s really not the best time.”

Eclipsa’s face darkens. “It’s true. The portal was spelled with forbidden magic and the prince’s powers have been bound. He’s in a mood. We think it was a rival court, but we still can’t figure out how—”

Suddenly, Eclipsa stiffens beside me. Asher glances over his shoulder, releases a long breath, as if shit’s about to hit the fan, and then moves.

I knew Valerian would be here, but I wasn’t prepared for the way my heart leaps when I lock eyes with him. Nor was I prepared for the look that flashes across his face.

Anger.

“What are you doing here, Princess?” he demands. “It’s not safe.”

The nerve of this guy. “Yeah, I’m aware.”

His gaze scours my body as if scanning for an injury, something to explain my presence. The hard edge of his jaw softens. “Are you . . . in trouble?”

The protective tone in his voice pisses me off. He doesn’t get to be that person anymore. The one who uses super annoying nicknames and pretends to care about me.

“No,” I snap, “but you are, which means my friends are in trouble by association. I’m here to save their lives.”

A muscle jumps in Valerian’s temple. “Explain.”

Ugh. I hate the coldness in his voice. His demanding tone. He might not have participated in Inara’s cruel trick, but he let two months pass without telling me the truth. Two whole months where my heart felt cracked in half. Where he let my feelings for him burn into a sick, twisted hatred.

My sudden fury propels me toward him. I slam a finger into his chest—probably hurting myself more than anyone—and glare up at him. “No, you explain.” I poke him again. “Explain why you never told me the truth. Why you let me drown in hurt when you promised to always protect me.”

His hand reaches up, his cool fingers circling my forearm, where his brand scrolls over my flesh. Gently, his fingers slide to my wrist and he tugs my hand down. “I promised to keep you safe from harm. To protect you no matter the price. That’s exactly what I did.”

His stoic answer only serves to piss me off.

“Safe from harm?” I snap. “You broke my fucking heart.”

The silence that follows is almost worse than the apathy in his voice.

Ruby flutters above the prince’s head. “Kid,” she says. “As much as I enjoy watching this public flaying, and I do—I really, really do. I have to wonder if we really have time for this?”

“You’re right.” Crossing my arms, I glance up at her and then to the others. “But when this is over, if we survive, I need to know the truth. All of it.”

Valerian goes very still. He looks to Eclipsa then back to me. “Fair enough. Now, why are you here?”

57

The darklings arrive with the rain. I’ve told the others everything I learned, along with the changeling glamouring me into revealing Valerian’s name. Eclipsa raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say a word.

I glance at the dark shapes flickering through the dead trees like shadows. Their hisses mix with the soft pattering of rain to form an eerie chorus. The thought that they were once humans weighs heavy on my mind.

Could Aunt Zinnia’s daughter be here? Aunt Vi’s family?

There are so many missing humans, any one of which could be the deranged creatures lurking in the trees beyond.

We’re spread out in a circle, Ruby above. Only the prince’s magic has been bound, but you’d never know it by the confident way he holds his broadsword.

Mack is to my right. I’ve never been more proud of my friend as she grips her rapier with unshaking hands. Ready to die to protect her keeper and her friends. But my bow has to be the coolest weapon of all. The wood is baby-smooth inside my palms as I retrieve an arrow from my quiver, pinch the shaft between my thumb and pointer finger, and pull the string taut.

Through the crashing roar of my heart, I swear distant whispers pulse from the weapon.

The darklings descend all at once. Almost as if on a command. They streak across the meadow so fast they’re mere flickers. I release an arrow. Nerves throw off my aim, but the magic inside the arrow veers it into my target. Grinning, I release another. Then another. My movements impossibly fast.

Each arrow hits its mark effortlessly.

The other’s fight just as hard. Mack’s rapier cleaves the air as she pushes back the attack. Despite the darkling’s speed, Mack makes contact again and again. But her sword is steel, not iron, and the darklings she hits rise over and over.

It’s like some horrible dream where the bad guy doesn’t die, just grows stronger.

Ruby uses some sort of confusion spell to make the darklings spin in circles like dogs chasing their tails. But that spell doesn’t last long. Next, she sends a swarm of magical butterflies into the group. The darklings hiss and swat at the insects before refocusing on us.