Page 28 of The Iron Raven

“Then she doesn’t get in.”

“—but we were hoping to procure one before we went to Mag Tuiredh,” I finished, and frowned at the knight. “Okay, what’s going on here? You guys know me. What’s with the third degree?”

“We know you, Goodfellow,” the Iron faery agreed, then glanced at Nyx again, his jaw set. “We don’t know her. She’s not from Summer or Winter. I’ve never seen her type before. What kind of fey is she?”

“My apologies,” Nyx said calmly, taking a step up to stand beside me. “I’m a Forgotten, and I serve King Keirran in the Between. He asked me to deliver an important message to the Iron Queen, since he cannot be present himself.”

“A Forgotten?” The other knight gripped his spear in both hands, not exactly pointing it at Nyx, but definitely ready to. I scowled at him and stepped between him and Nyx.

“Oy, bucket head, the Forgotten aren’t our enemies,” I said, staring him down. “They’re part of the Nevernever, and they’re included in the peace treaties, same as the rest of the courts. Incidentally, their king is the son of your queen, so maybe you can point that spear somewhere else.”

“The Forgotten served the Lady,” the first knight accused, glaring at Nyx. “As did Prince Keirran. We are of Iron, but we do not forget.”

“Funny, I seem to remember a time when you guys once served a guy called the Iron King. Remember that? Remember how he was trying to destroy the Nevernever, way back when?” The Iron faery shot me a poisonous look, and I smirked. “Strange how everyone only remembers what’s convenient.”

The knight set his jaw. “She’s a Forgotten,” he said flatly. “Our orders are clear. I am sorry, Goodfellow, but we cannot let a strange faery into the realm without an invitation.”

Well, this was an unexpected hiccup. I didn’t think it would be this hard to get Nyx into the Iron Realm. The knights usually trusted me, or at the very least they knew I wasn’t going to go on a wild murder spree once I was past the border. Granted, I didn’t normally bring strange friends with me, but this level of suspicion was weird. Keirran had been part of the Iron Court, and I knew most of the Iron fey still considered him their prince, even though he couldn’t return. But it seemed these two weren’t going to budge, even if I asked nicely.

Then maybe it’s time for some not-so-nice tactics.

I smiled, letting my Summer magic rise up within, feeling the heat of the glamour collect in my palms. Let’s see how well these two guarded a gate if they were suddenly turned into fat little pigs in armor.

“What’s going on here?”

The familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. A faery came striding up, causing the guards to straighten immediately. He wasn’t dressed like a knight, and certainly didn’t look like one. With his dark jeans, leather jacket, and iron-studded bracers, he resembled a punk rocker more than anything else. His spiky black hair looked like he’d jammed a finger in an electrical outlet, and the neon purple lightning strands flickering through it only added to the effect.

“Sir!” Both knights saluted as Glitch, first lieutenant and commander of the Iron fey army, came striding up in his combat boots.

I relaxed, shooting Nyx a reassuring grin, though a part of me was disappointed. It would have been fun seeing these stiff-necked knights bounce around on all fours and squeal like skinned pigs.

Glitch spotted me, and the severe look on his face dissolved, replaced by amused exasperation. “Oh,” he commented, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. “It’s you. There’s a ruckus at my gates and the guards are suddenly whispering about an intruder. Ofcourseit’s you.”

I grinned. Meghan’s first lieutenant and I went way back—well, as far back as the Iron fey war, when he’d helped us defeat the false king. “Hey, socket-head,” I greeted. “Still terrorizing the tin cans, I see.”

He smirked and appeared about to say something, but faltered, purple eyes widening as he stared at me. “You...seem a little different, Goodfellow,” he stated, his suddenly wary gaze on my forehead. “Are those new, or did you get yourself cursed somehow?”

“Oh, the horns.” I stifled a grimace. “Yeah, that’s part of the reason we need to see Meghan. There’s sort of a new threat running around that could put all the courts in danger and destroy life as we know it, you know, the typical stuff. Unfortunately, your tin cans are making it very difficult to cross over.”

Glitch shot a questioning look at the knights, who paled under that glare.

“Sir,” one protested, stepping forward. “We were not trying to prevent Robin Goodfellow from entering the Iron Realm. He is, of course, free to come and go as he pleases. But his companion has no amulet and has not been authorized to cross the border. We did not think it prudent to allow her the means to enter the kingdom.”

“She is a Forgotten, First Lieutenant,” the second guard chimed in. “And she claims to have served the Lady.”

I expected Glitch to smile and put them in their place; for being an Iron faery and the commander of the knights, he could snark almost as well as me, which I appreciated. But the faery’s violet eyes shifted to Nyx and narrowed in suspicion.

“You served the Lady?” he asked.

“Once,” Nyx replied without hesitation. “A long time ago, before the rise of the courts, before Summer and Winter were even imagined, I was at the Lady’s side.”

“And what did you do for the Lady?”

“I killed for her.” Again, without any hesitation, though I thought I could hear a hint of regret in her quiet voice. “I killed for her, and I protected her with my life. I cannot tell you more, because that is all I remember.”

Glitch’s jaw tightened, and he turned to me. “And you expect me to let a Forgotten assassin into the Iron Realm?” he asked. “To give her free rein, and the means of traveling wherever she wants within the kingdom?”

“Okay, did someone slip manticore piss into your canteens this morning?” I demanded, waving my arms at the whole trio. “What is wrong with you? All of you? It’sme, socket-head. Do you really think I would let anything bad happen to Meghan, or put her in danger in any way? You know me better than that.”

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