Page 49 of The Iron Raven

Our eyes met over the yard, and for the barest of heartbeats, I could see the question in his eyes. The briefest flicker of hope that we might be okay, that I was back to my normal, goofy, annoying self. That I hadn’t meant what I told him on this very spot, earlier this evening.

I gave him a hard smile and saw that hope vanish instantly, replaced with the blank mask he used to shield his emotions from everyone. Nobody saw it, not even Meghan, who, by the distinct lack of worried or angry glares shot my way, was not aware of our conversation, either. For the moment, it seemed Ash was keeping what went on between us private, which was fine with me. Better that Meghan not become involved; she had enough to worry about. This was just between ice-boy and Robin Goodfellow.

“Is everyone here?” Meghan asked, striding to the center of the group. Her gaze went to Nyx, waiting quietly at my side, and a smile crossed her face. “Nyx. I’m glad to see you on your feet. Are you feeling better?”

The Forgotten bowed her head. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied. “I apologize for the worry I caused this afternoon. It won’t happen again, I assure you.”

“No apologies necessary,” Meghan said. “Any friend of Puck and Keirran’s is family here. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Nyx gave a solemn nod, which Meghan returned. And for just a moment, I felt a weird ripple of...something...go through me. Meghan and Nyx. The woman I’d loved once and lost, and the assassin who had threatened to kill me but was somehow always in my thoughts. I could see shadows of Meghan in Nyx, and vice versa, that same strength, courage, and determination, though they were two vastly different people.

I’ve seen that look before, Ash had told me earlier.Not often, but enough.You’re falling for her.

No. No way. Nope, nope, nope, I wasn’t going to do this again. It hurt way too much the last time.

“So, to paraphrase a certain cat, are we going to get started or not?” I wondered loudly. “The wyldwood isn’t getting any closer. I take it that, since we’re not perched on the very tippy top of the palace roof, we’re not using gliders this time.”

Gliders were the Iron Realm’s special mode of transportation. Basically, they were giant metal dragonflies that you rode on the wind currents, but not in a normal way that you would ride say, a horse. Nope, these things carried you in their creepy metal insect legs, kind of like a living hang glider, and you yanked on said insect legs to steer them in the direction you wanted to go. They were huge and disturbing and buzzed in your ear the entire time, and I hated using them even more than I hated the spider carriages.

“No, we’re not using the gliders,” Meghan said to my immense relief. “There’s a rather steep learning curve to fly them properly, and I suspect Coaleater will be too big for them to carry.” She gave the Iron horse a respectful nod; he only shrugged. “I’ve sent for a pair of carriages,” the Iron Queen went on. “They’ll take us to the edge of the wyldwood. From there, I trust Grimalkin will lead us the rest of the way.”

I still didn’t see Grimalkin, but I had no doubt he was around, listening to us. Meghan knew it, too. We had dealt with the cait sith often enough to know he would pop up when he was needed and not before.

“Oh goodie,” I sighed. “Carriages. What will these be, I wonder? Giant spiders or those enormous beetles the size of a blimp?”

Meghan gave a weird little smile. “No bugs this time, Puck.” She raised her head to the wind, as if hearing something we could not, and the smile got wider. “They’re coming. Everyone might want to take a few steps back.”

I frowned, but then the hairs on my arms started to rise. The air turned sharp, like the energy before a storm, and a flicker of lightning from the clear night sky made my hair stand up the rest of the way. I took several steps back, as did everyone else, as a blinding flash of blue-white energy struck the center of the courtyard, making me flinch and shield my eyes.

When I looked up, two carriages glowed and flickered in the spot I had been standing moments before. They had no wheels and seemed to float in the air, two giant coppery spheres hovering several inches off the ground. They were pulled by a pair of white, deerlike creatures with horns that spiraled into the air like corkscrews. Their eyes were electric blue, and strands of lightning crawled along their hides and over their slim bodies, snapping in the air around them.

“These,” Meghan announced into the shocked—haha, see what I did there—silence that followed, “are volt hinds, and they are the fastest way to get around the Iron Realm. It should only take us a couple hours to reach the edge of the wyldwood.” Her gaze met mine, a knowing smile crossing her lips. “For those of you who dislike taking the normal carriages.”

“Oh, that’s great,” I said cheerfully. “So, instead of getting eaten by giant spiders, we can now be electrocuted by static goats. I like thissomuch better. Can they charge your phone while you ride as well?”

The Iron Queen shook her head. “Grimalkin,” she called, ignoring my last question, “are you ready? Do you want to ride with us, or shall we meet you there?”

With a yawn, the gray cat raised his head from where he’d been lying very close to the first carriage. I was quite certain he hadn’t been there two seconds ago. “I was waiting for the rest of the party, Iron Queen,” he stated, rising lazily to his feet. “I do applaud you for deciding to take the volt carriages. We will need their speed if we are ever going to get anything done tonight. Shall we go, then? The night is not getting any longer.”

Meghan nodded, glancing at the rest of us. “We’ll see you in the wyldwood,” she said, and walked toward the first carriage with Ash beside her. The driver, a skinny faery with wires for hair and a whip made of lightning, reached down and opened the door of the floating carriage, and the Iron Queen stepped inside, followed by Grimalkin. Ash didn’t glance at me as he trailed Meghan and the cat into the carriage, ducking through the frame, and the driver shut the door behind him.

It was, I expected, a much tighter fit with Coaleater in the carriage with us. The big Iron faery hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself small in the corner, but he filled nearly the entire seat. Nyx and I sat on the opposite side, trying to avoid his knees, and glancing out the window, I could swear the floating sphere hovered a little lower than before. The driver gave Coaleater a dubious look as he shut the door, and the Iron faery grimaced.

“This is going to be a long ride,” he muttered.

“The Iron Queen said it would take only a couple hours to reach the wyldwood,” Nyx replied, gazing past me out the window. She shifted, and I suddenly was hyperaware of her body next to me, her slim leg brushing my shaggy one.

Coaleater gave a snort. “Not to contradict the Iron Queen, but I am not sure how that is possible,” he rumbled. “Mag Tuiredh lies very deep in the Iron Realm, days from any border. The fastest way to reach the city is by train, and even then—”

There was a sudden crackle of energy around us, the lights outside flickered, and the carriage suddenly lunged into motion. I was flung back and pressed into the wall of the carriage, and Coaleater was nearly yanked out of his seat by the force. Only his enormous mass, weight, and strength kept him from face planting into Nyx’s lap.

After only a few seconds, though, the carriage came to a stop, again so suddenly that I had to brace myself from flying into the opposite seat. I smelled ozone, like the air after a lightning strike, and there was a faint ringing in my ears. Glancing at Nyx, I saw her silver hair standing on end, like she’d jammed a finger in a socket. I couldn’t help but snicker, and she arched a brow at me.

“Don’t laugh too hard, Goodfellow. You look like a lightning gnome just stuck its thumb up your arse.”

Before I could reply, the carriage jolted forward again, and my clever comeback was yanked from my lips and lost in the buzzing of static.

It continued this way for I don’t know how long, short frantic bursts of speed followed by a jarring, sudden stop. Just long enough to draw in a quick breath before the carriage shot into motion again. The few times I thought to look out the window, I had no idea where we were. One time we seemed to be on a street corner, the next we were on an open plain with the moonlight blazing down on us, the next we seemed to be in a forest surrounded by trees.

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