Page 44 of The Iron Raven

Reaching up, I hooked two fingers in my collar and yanked it down, revealing a thin white gash across my collarbone. “This is yours, ice-boy,” I spat at him. “Remember that? I have more than a few scars from the times you almost killed me, because you swore an oath of vengeance over a girl. Do you ever think about that? Do you ever think that maybe I was just as angry as you when I lost the oneIloved? So, don’t tell me we’re past it, Your Highness. You know as well as I do, we’re fey. Grudges last a lifetime with us.”

“So, what do you want to do, Goodfellow?” Ash wondered quietly. He raised his arms in a resigned motion, watching me with bleak silver eyes. “Enact your own oath? Swear vengeance on me, right here?”

“No.” I gave him a vicious smile. “Not my style, ice-boy. You know my general dislike of obligation and responsibility. I’m not going to bind myself to some ridiculous vow and then regret ever making it.” Stepping back, I sheathed my daggers, grinning at him all the while. “I just want you to remember, I haven’t forgotten, prince. So, you had better watch your back. This thing isn’t over yet.”

Ash said nothing. He just watched me, his expression unreadable. With a final sneer, I turned and left the gardens, heading back into the palace.

I could feel his gaze on me the entire way.

Back in the guest quarters, I went to my personal room and wandered onto the balcony, gazing out over the city below. In the shadowy twilight, Mag Tuiredh glimmered like a valley of fireflies, glowing with streetlamps, vehicles, even the Iron fey themselves. Leaning against the railing, I watched the sun set over the city of the Iron fey and thought back to my last conversation in the courtyard, when I basically told my best friend we were still enemies, and he’d better watch his back.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I wasn’t born yesterday. I’d been through enough curses to know I wasn’t acting like myself. Ever since the fight with the big bad, I’d been sliding further into my nasty, more primal nature. So, I knew this situation wasn’t normal, that whatever the monster did, it had awakened something I’d thought was buried. But the anger I’d felt toward Ash was real. I couldn’t just shut it away and pretend it wasn’t there. Puck might’ve been able to do that, for friendship’s sake. But I wasn’t him any longer. I was Robin Goodfellow, and right now, a bit of old-fashioned retribution sounded like a lot of fun.

After we’d killed this monster. I could be patient until then.

“Admiring the view?”

I jumped and whirled around. “Geez, Nyx! Don’t do that to me.” I shook my head at the cloaked Forgotten who had somehowpoofedonto the balcony with me. Not even shadows and wraiths had an easy time sneaking up on yours truly; a lifetime of playing pranks had made me somewhat paranoid of retaliation. “Is that your personal brand of assassination, then?” I asked the faintly smirking Forgotten. “The heart attack special? If you ever want to give up the assassin thing, you’d be a natural at surprise parties.”

“Generally, I find a dagger is a much better alternative to stopping someone’s heart than a surprise party,” was the wry response. “There’s far less of a chance they’ll stab you back.”

“That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it? Stab it in the heart.”

“It hasn’t failed me yet.” Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly, everything about her turned dangerous. “Especially when someone I know is about to start a fight with the prince consort of the Iron Realm, and I’m wondering if I’m going to have to stab him myself.”

My grin faded. “You saw that, did you?”

“Once the sun went down, I ventured out to let you know I was all right. I figured I’d find you outside, probably in the courtyard or gardens, so I headed there.” Nyx’s voice was hard, her golden eyes cold in the shadow of her hood. “Imagine my concern when I saw you pull your daggers on none other than the Iron Queen’s husband. If anyone else saw that, you could have been killed.”

“Very doubtful.” I grinned at her, waving away the concern. “No one would dare attack Robin Goodfellow here. Besides, Ash and I have gone at it so many times, if wedon’tthreaten each other occasionally people will wonder what’s wrong.”

“I saw the look in your eyes, Puck.” Nyx’s lethal expression didn’t change. “I heard what you said. That was not the look of a faery who was joking.”

“I wasn’t,” I told her, sobering for the moment. “I meant what I said. This thing with me and ice-boy, it goes way back. Before Meghan, before the Iron Kingdom, before the rise of the Lady and the Forgotten. It’s not exactly a secret, nearly everyone knows the history between us.” Leaning back, I cocked my head, regarding the Forgotten across from me. “But I’m sort of struggling with why you should care.”

Nyx’s eyes gleamed dangerously. “We’re on an important mission,” she reminded me. “In case you’ve forgotten, the monster we’re chasing nearly killed us both the last time we encountered it. We need powerful allies if we want to have any hope of defeating this threat. The prince consort of the Iron Realm is one of those powerful allies. Furthermore...” She hesitated, a shadow crossing her face as she stared me down. “Keirran is my king. I swore an oath to protect him, his kingdom, and his kin for as long as I am able to do so. If you raise your weapon against Keirran’s father, Puck, I will have no choice but to cut you down.”

“That easy, is it?” I smirked at her, trying to ignore the instant flare of vindictive defiance. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard those exact words, Miss Assassin? Do you know how many times something has tried to kill Robin Goodfellow? More times than I can count. But I’m still here, and if you want to try, I’m afraid you’re going to have to get in line.”

“I don’t know that Robin Goodfellow,” Nyx said flatly. “His name does not inspire the fear that it does in others. You would just be another target, Puck.”

I clenched my jaw. It felt like she had taken one of her moonblades and driven it straight into my heart. Meeting her eyes, I forced a hard smile. “Well then, I aspire to surprise and disappoint you. No promises, but I think you’re going to find Robin Goodfellow your most difficult target yet.”

Nyx didn’t flinch. “Don’t make me your enemy, Puck,” she warned. “We’re on the same side in this. We want the same thing. If you are going to take your vengeance on Keirran’s father, at least wait until after we’ve killed this monster. Surely you can see that eliminating this threat takes precedence over any plans for revenge.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Miss Assassin.” I leaned back against the railing with a shrug. “I know what’s at stake, and I told ice-boy the same thing. Taking care of the big nasty comes first. I fully intend to indulge in some good old-fashioned Robin Goodfellow pranks, but only after I’ve carved this thing into tiny pieces and danced a jig on them.” I crossed my arms and stared her down. “So, you can relax. I’m not going to slip a dozen vipers into ice-boy’s mattress. Not today, at least.”

The Forgotten considered me without expression. “Is this the side that everyone is afraid of?” she wondered. “The faery with the reputation? Is this the true nature of Robin Goodfellow?”

“What if it is?”

Nyx shook her head and took a step back. “I liked Puck better,” she said softly, right before she shimmered into moonlight and disappeared.

Alone on the balcony, I turned and leaned against the railing, gazing down on the glittering lights of Mag Tuiredh. And I wondered if I would just keep pushing everyone away until I was, truly, all alone.

Part Three

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