Julie Kagawa

“As I smiled and followed him to where he had set up watch, I couldn't help thinking that this boy - this helpful, friendly, genuinely nice human being - was probably going to get me killed.”

“But I wasn't human anymore. And I wasn't as afraid of them as I once was. I was part of their world now, part of the darkness.”

“Wandering back into the bedroom, my gaze immediately strayed to the large bed along the wall and the lump beneath the covers. Pale light streamed through the half-open curtains, settling around the still-sleeping form of a Winter sidhe. Or a former Winter sidhe. Pausing in the doorframe, I took advantage of the serene moment just to watch him, a tiny flutter going through my stomach. Sometimes, it was still hard to believe that he was here, that this wasn’t a dream or a mirage or a figment of my imagination. That he was mine forever: my husband, my knight.My faery with a soul.He lay on his stomach, arms beneath the pillow, breathing peacefully, his dark hair falling over his eyes. The covers had slipped off his lean, muscular shoulders, and the early morning rays caressed his pale skin. Normally, I didn’t get to watch him sleep; he was usually up before me, in the courtyard sparring with Glitch or just prowling the halls of the castle. In the early days of our marriage, especially, I’d wake up in the middle of the night to find him gone, the hyper-awareness of his warrior days making it impossible for him to stay in one place, even to sleep. He’d grown up in the Unseelie Court, where you had to watch your back every second of every day, and centuries of fey survival could not be forgotten so easily. That paranoia would never really fade, but he was gradually starting to relax now, to the point where sometimes, though not often, I would wake with him still beside me, his arm curled around my waist.And given how rare it was, to see him truly unguarded and at ease, I hated to disturb him. But I walked across the room to the side of the bed and gently touched his shoulder.He was awake in an instant, silver eyes cracking open to meet mine, never failing to take my breath away. “Hey,” I greeted, smiling. “Sorry to wake you, but we have to be somewhere soon, remember?”

“I got you here, like I promised I would. I wish...I wish I could've seen your Eden, but this place isn't for me. It never was. I have to find my own place in the world."Bending down, I brushed my lips to his. "Goodbye, Ezekiel,”

“Fear not for I am a cat”

“Puck winced. “Ouch. Well, you know what they say—you always hurt the one you love. Or is that the one you hate? I can never remember.”

“The closer you got to someone, the more it would destroy you when they were inevitably gone.”

“I would not suffer anyone to endure the path I walk. My road must always be traveled alone.”

“Sometime in your life Allison Sekemoto you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?" I didn't then, not really. I do now.”

“I get a little poetic sometimes. The moonlight does that to me.”

“Where have you come from, traveler?”“I have come from the End of the World,” said a quiet voice that made my heart stop beating. “From the River of Dreams, through the gauntlet and the Briars and the Deep Wyld, in order to stand before you today. I have but one request—to take my place at your side. To resume my duty as your knight, and to protect you and your kingdom for as long as I draw breath.” He raised his head and pushed back the hood, and a gasp went around the throne room. “I am still yours, my queen,” Ash said, looking at me straight in the eye. “If you'll have me.”“You're here,” I murmured, reaching out to touch him, hardly believe this was real. “You came back.” Ash's breath hitched, and he put his hand over mine.“I came home.”

“Don't get cocky, ice-boy. I've been playing with humans since long before you ever thought of becoming one.”

“All I remembered clearly was that one moment, that one simple word that would change my life forever.“Yes.”

“Oy, ice-boy,” the real Puck called, still fighting his two doppelgängers. “Quit playing around with my evil twin—you have your own!”

“A group of winged monkeys threw it at me.” Ariella crossed her arms and glared, and I had an odd moment of déjà vu. “On my last watch, we passed an orchard on the banks, and there were at least a dozen monkeys living there, staring down at us. I threw a rock at them and they...threw things back. And not just food items, either.” She blushed with embarrassment and glowered, daring me to laugh. “So you'd better eat that before I stuff something else down your throat, and it won't be a banana.”

“If it comes to that, prince, I will stop you.”I stood. A breeze blew across the surface of the river, tossing hair and tugging at clothes. I gripped the railing and stared out over the water, feeling his eyes on my back. “If it comes to that,” I told him quietly, “I'd want you to.”

“If you're new, then perhaps you've seen it. Have you seen it, by chance?”I frowned. “It?”“Yes. It.”“It...what?” I asked cautiously, facing the old faery again. “What are you looking for?”“I don't know.” She sighed heavily, seeming to shrink in on herself. “I don't remember. I just know I lost it. You haven't seen it, have you?”“No,” I told her firmly. “I haven't seen it.”“Oh.” The old creature sighed again, shrinking down a little more. “Are you sure? I thought you might have seen it.”“So, anyway,” Puck broke in, before the conversation could go in another circle.”

“You don't think I know that?” Puck was shouting now, green eyes feverish. “You don't think I regret what I did, every single day? You lost Ariella, but I lost you both! Believe it or not, I was kind of a mess, too, Ash. It got to a point where I actually looked forward to our random duels, because that was the only time I could talk to you. When you were freaking trying to kill me!”“Don't compare your loss to mine,” I snarled. “You have no idea what I went through, what you caused.”“You think I don't know pain?” Puck shook his head at me. “Or loss? I've been around a lot longer than you, prince! I know what love is, and I've lost my fair share, too. Just because we have a different way of handling it, doesn't mean I don't have scars of my own.”“Name one,” I scoffed. “Give me one instance where you haven't—” “Meghan Chase!” Puck roared, startling me into silence.”

“I know that spot,” Puck said, standing several feet back from the Iron knight. “A woman with crazy long hair used to live on the top floor, but it's empty now.”

“Oy, prince,” Puck circled back, frowning. “What are you doing? If you didn't know already, the old chicken plucker is on her way, and she's gunning for Winter and Summer stew.”

“So it's the ever popular Firstborn Child of Doom prophecy, huh, ice-boy? How very cliché. Why can't it ever be the third nephew twice removed who's fated to destroy the world?”

“Ash pulled me closer, his eyes gentle as they gazed into mine. "Meghan, I'm going to tell you something someone once told me, when I was afraid of what was to come." He lowered his head, soft strands of his hair brushing my skin. "Nothing is certain," he murmured. "The future is constantly changing, and no one can predict what will happen next. We have the power to change our destiny, because fate is not set in stone, and we are always free to make a choice." His fingers came up to brush my hair back, tucking it behind one ear. "A very powerful seer told me that, once. And she was right. That's why I'm not afraid of the oracle's prophecy, or the future. We are only slaves to fate if we let it control us. There is always a choice.”

“Are you all right?”“Never again,” he muttered, almost to himself. His eyes were still closed, and I wasn’t sure he knew I was there. “I will not watch that happen again. I won’t…lose another…like that. I can’t…” “Ash?” I whispered, touching his arm.His eyes opened and his gaze dropped to mine. “Meghan,” he murmured, seeming a bit confused that I was still there. He blinked and shook his head. “Why didn’t you run? I tried to buy you some time. You should’ve gone ahead.”“Are you crazy? I couldn’t leave you to that thing. Now, come on.” I took his hand, tugging him off the post while glancing nervously at the frozen dragon. “Let’s get out of here. I think that thing just blinked at us.”His fingers tightened on mine and pulled me forward. Startled and overbalanced, I looked up at him, and then he was kissing me.”

“It is useless to offer words of hope when you have none yourself.”

“You're wondering if you have to prey on humans, if you can survive by drinking the blood of animals or other creatures. You're hoping you won't have to kill people to live. Am I right?”

“Your disbelief will cripple you, you think like that, human. Do not believe this impossible, or it will be.”

“Mortals have perfected the art of not seeing what they don't expect to be there.”

“You will never find a faery at a science fair. Why? Because science is all about proving theories and understanding the universe. Science folds everything into neat logical, well-explained packages. The fey are magical, capricious, illogical and unexplainable. Science cannot prove the existence of faeries, so naturally we do not exist. That type of non-belief is fatal to faeries.”

“Glamour is fueled by the dreams and imagination of mortals. Writers, artists, little boys pretending to be knights - the fey are drawn to them like moths to flame. Why do you think so many children have imaginary friends?”

“So, it's the ever popular Firstborn Child of Doom prophecy,huh, ice-boy? How very cliche. Why can't it ever be the third nephew twice removed who's fated to destroy the worls? Iron Prophecy: The Iron Fey~ Puck”

“I'm sorry. But I am the Iron Queen, and you are in my way.”

“Go lie down" I told them. You're both exhausted, and we're not doing anything else tonight. Get some rest.Puck snorted "My, aren't we bossy today," he said though it lack his over energy. "Give a girl an army and it goes straight to her head." (Meghan & Puck)”

“Sometime in your life, Alison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. Accidentally or as a conscious, deliberate act. It is unavoidable. The question is not if it will happen, but when.”

“The only thing necessary for evil to conquer is for us and those like us to do nothing.”

“I don't see how you mortals do it, these feelings you must endure. they will ruin you in the end.”

“The Wolf curled his lip in distaste, eyeing the raft as if it might lunge at him. "You expect to reach the End of the World on that? Do you know the things that live in the River of Dreams? And we're not even at the nightmare stretch yet.""Aw, is the Big Bad Wolfie afraid of a few nasty fish?"The Wolf gave him a baleful stare. "You wouldn't say that if you'd seen some of the fish in the Deep Wyld, Goodfellow. But more important, how will you ever reach the End of the World if I bite your head off? (The Iron Knight)”

“The Wolf gave me an eerie smile, all fangs, and his eyes glinted in the shadows. " I will be in this tale one way or another, little prince," he warned.(The Iron Knight)”

“What just like that? You're not going to tell the chicken plucker you're leaving?""She already knows," Grimalkin said picking his way across the yard. "And incidentally, 'the old chicken plucker' can hear every word you say, so I suggest we hurry. After she is done with the fowl, she intends to come after you as well.”

“If we all end up as llamas, I’m going to spend the rest of my life following you around saying ‘I told you so’ in llama-ese.”

“I figured. Can’t expect a faery to do you a favor without naming a price. Squashing down my annoyance, I stole a glance at Ash, and saw him nod. He’d expected it, too. I sighed and turned back to the oracle. “What do you want?”She tapped a nail against her chin, dislodging a few flakes of dead skin or dust. I wrinkled my nose and eased back a step. “Hmm, let us see. What would the girl be willing to part with. Perhaps…your future chi—”“No,” Ash and I said in unison. She snorted.”

“Puck, darling.” Leanansidhe gave me a smile thatwas about as welcoming as a viper eyeing a mouse.“Why am I not surprised to see you here? It seems Ijust got rid of you, pet, and here you are again.”“That’s me.” I raised my chin. “The bad penny thatalways pops up. But you didn’t answer my question.What do you want, Lea?”

“Of course, when poking the Winter prince,one had to proceed with caution. There was a fine linebetween irritation and having icicles hurled at yourface.”

“This is real. This is what's important to me now. I'm not worried about the future, whatever it brings. I have all I need, right here.”

“Know that I'm with you always, even if you can't see me.”

“There was a fine line between irritation and having icicles hurled at your face.”

“She looked like she was going to a party where the theme was Most Sparkly Evening Gown, or maybe Quickest Way to Blind Someone.”

“Mr. Cold, Dark and Broody might be a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid.”

“Lost?” I broke in. “Lost how? Lost like you dropped it down the sink, or lost like it walked out the door and ran off into the woods?”

“No one turns my Summer princess into a deer and gets away with it, even if it is the Seelie Queen. Even if Meghan would never know that I’d defended her.”

“Ugh, my friend, you really need a breath mint,” I told him, sending a pulse of glamour into the brambly monster above me. “Let’s see what we can do about that doggie breath.”