Summer’s Crossing (2 page)

Yeah, it did, didn't it? This sounded exactly like one of my pranks, and truthfully, under other circumstances, I'd be more than eager. Titania wasn't fond of me, and the feeling was mutual. Any chance I got to annoy, irritate, or piss off the Summer Queen, I'd jump at the opportunity. It wasn't that I
hated
her, she was my queen after all, but she really needed to lighten up. Besides, I'd heard about what she did to Meghan the first time they met, and that needed a little payback. 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.

Right now, however, I understood Ash's impatience. The vow he made to Meghan, his promise to return to her, didn't really have an expiration date, but I figured it would be a long, arduous adventure without all these annoying side quests. We needed to be searching for a certain obnoxious furball, not pranking the Seelie Queen, no matter how entertaining that sounded.

Except, Lea really wasn't giving us a choice.

“So, if you two could get right on that—” she smiled, waving her cigarette flute at us “—I'd be ever so grateful. When you have the violin, just meet me back here, darlings. I'll have my spies monitor your progress. But now, you must excuse me. I'm afraid I left Razor Dan in charge of security while I was gone, and I must return quickly before he or his motley eats someone. Good luck, pets! Don't get yourselves turned into a rosebush!”

Another swirl of glitter and lights, and the Exile Queen was gone.

Ash sighed. “Don't say anything, Goodfellow.”

“What? Me?” I grinned at him. “Say something? I'm not the type who would point out that, for once, this absurd situation isn't
my
fault. Of course,
I
know better than to make deals with crazy Exile Queens with goddess complexes. And if I did, I would
expect
them to call in the favor at the worst possible time. But I'm certainly not one to rub it in. That would just be wrong.”

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. “I'm beginning to regret inviting you.”

“You wound me deeply, Prince.” I laced my hands behind my head, enjoying myself. “Especially since you're gonna need my help to get into Summer. Don't think Oberon and Titania won't notice a Winter prince strolling right into the heart of Arcadia. You'd stick out like an ogre in a china shop.”

He scowled, whether from the seemingly impossible task of sneaking into Arcadia or because I just compared him to an ogre, I didn't know. “I assume you have a plan?” he muttered, crossing his arms.

I shot him an evil grin and was rewarded by his brief look of trepidation. “Please. Did you forget who you're talking to, ice-boy? Just leave everything to me.”

It was twilight when we crossed the barrier from the mortal realm into the wyldwood. Then again, it was always twilight beneath the wyldwood's huge canopy. Sunlight couldn't penetrate the thick branches of the trees rising hundreds of yards into the air. Unlike the vivid brightness of Summer and the frigid harshness Winter, the wyldwood was eternally dark, tangled, and dangerous. It was constantly changing, so you never knew what you'd run into next.

I loved it. Even though I was Summer, this felt more like home than anywhere else.

“Here we are,” I said, stepping beneath a pair of cypresses twisted together to form an arch between the trunks. Around us, the murk of the wyldwood closed in, though a few lone will-o-the-wisps bobbed through the leaves, looking for lost travelers. Thick black briars crawled between trunks, creeping along the ground as they strangled the life from all other vegetation. “Arcadia isn't far. I would've used the trod that takes us through the quartz caverns, but I'm afraid a lindworm has taken up residence since the last time I was there.”

Ash looked around, always alert, and raised an eyebrow. “You do realize you've brought us right into the middle of hedge wolf territory.”

Inwardly I winced. I was hoping he wouldn't notice that small fact. “Well, we'll just have to sneak through nice and quiet.”

“Hedge wolves don't have ears,” Ash continued. “They hunt by sensing the vibrations in the ground. And in the air. They're probably listening to us right now.”

“Do you want to reach the Summer Court or not, princeling?” I challenged, crossing my arms. “This is the quickest way.”

A rustle in a bramble patch drew our attention, and we caught a glint of a baleful green eye as something huge and bristly drew away into the shadows.

“And…there it goes to alert the rest of the pack.” Ash glared at me. “Why do things always happen when I'm around you?”

“Just lucky, I suppose,” I said cheerfully, as we hurried away before the rest of the pack could arrive.

 

It didn't go as well as I planned. Hedge wolves were ambush predators, though certainly not the nastiest monsters we'd ever faced. But they were tricky bastards, and had the bad habit of looking exactly like an innocent briar patch until you were right up on them and then
boom,
you had this big, wolf-shaped bush lunging at your face. We dodged, ducked and slashed our way past the first dozen or so, avoiding the spiky bushes of death that leaped at us with no warning, or lunged out from the briars. Unfortunately hedge wolves also had the audacity to learn from past mistakes, and they started using strategy and group tactics against us.

We stepped into a clearing just as one of the bristly creatures slid into the brambles ahead of us. As we eased forward, tense and wary, four bushes around us sprang to life and charged. Ash and I spun, going back-to-back instinctively as the spiky creatures lunged from all sides. Ash's sword lashed out, slicing one from the air as I stabbed upward with my dagger, caught a hedge wolf under the jaw and hurled it into its friend. The last wolf met a sudden end on Ash's blade, but then without warning,
another
pair of brambles unfurled and lunged, catching us by surprise this time. I felt the spiky body of a huge wolf slam into me, knocking me flat, as the second wolf chomped down on the prince's sword arm.

I felt a flash of cold behind me and winced. Ice-boy's temper had finally snapped. From the corner of my eye, I saw the prince step forward, pushing his arm farther into the wolf's jaws. There was another flash, and the hedge wolf stiffened as icicles burst out of its muzzle, punching through its jaws like giant needles. Ash grabbed the wolf's muzzle with his free hand and yanked it down with a loud crack, snapping its jaw like a frozen twig. The wolf yelped, curled in on itself and stopped moving.

I scowled at the wolf above me, holding those nasty teeth away from my face. “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.”

Vines grew from the wolf's thorny head, slithering over its face. They wrapped around its jaws like a muzzle, clamping them shut, and the wolf's eyes got huge and round. Whimpering pathetically, it leaped away, clawing at its face, and ran off, disappearing into the woods.

Dusting myself off, I climbed to my feet. “Well, that was…interesting,” I ventured, deliberately ignoring Ash's glare. His sleeve was tattered, and blood smeared his forearm up to his elbow. “I don't remember hedge wolves ever doing that before.”

“If I didn't need you to get into Summer…”

“Oh, but you do,” I reminded him, grinning. “Let's not forget that, huh, ice-boy?” His expression darkened even more, but he turned away.

“Come on,” Ash said, his voice even colder than normal. “We don't have time for your idiocy now.”

“That's what I like about you Winter fey…you're all such scintillating wits, such clever purveyors of words, such wise and frolicsome—”

I ducked as a pinecone zipped by my head with enough force to have done more than muss my hair. A chuckle escaped me. “Always good to know you care, ice-boy.” With a quick laugh I sprinted ahead, hoping to get out of range of any colder—and sharper—missiles that might be coming my way.

 

After the fiasco with the wolves, we separated for a bit, with the frosty prince vanishing into the surrounding woods to clean and bind his arm while I made camp. We couldn't wait for a later time. It was never a good idea to tromp through the wyldwood bleeding; you'd attract everything—and I mean
everything
—in the area. Besides, night was falling, and if we ventured any farther, we'd cross into the Fen Marches. Barghests and bog wraiths roamed those swamps at night, looking for victims, and though I wouldn't mind the challenge of crossing the swamps without being eaten or drowned, we had a mission to complete.

So, I found a grotto surrounded by glowing blue and orange fungi and carpeted in moss, cleared out a space and made a fire. Spearing a couple wild mushrooms I'd found earlier, I held the stick over the flames, leaning back contentedly. Ash hadn't returned, but knowing ice-boy he'd probably go hunting once he was done with his arm. I wasn't worried; he'd find this place when he was ready.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Unless the stubborn idiot decided to strike out on his own again. Hopefully he'd learned his lesson the last time he'd tried something like that.

A weight settled in my gut. I hadn't meant to think of that night, but now that I had, there was no use trying to forget. I gazed into the fire, letting my eyes unfocus, and the memories came creeping back.

It was an evening much like this one, in a place surrounded by glowing flowers, except it was Winter's territory and not the wyldwood. They hadn't seen me, hadn't known I was awake, but I had watched Ash and Meghan that night; listened as he told her he was leaving, alone, to retrieve the Scepter of the Seasons. I'd listened as he told her to go home, back to the mortal world, to forget him. I'd watched both their faces, Meghan's streaked with tears as she tried to be brave; Ash's torment carefully sealed away. I'd said nothing, done nothing, as he'd broken her heart, turned away and walked out of her life.

And…I'd been glad.

I scrubbed a hand over my face, disgusted with myself. I'd been
glad
, because Ash had crushed my princess's heart, because he was gone, and perhaps I could finally get her to look at me. I had been too patient, biding my time, waiting for the day the princess would open her eyes and see her faithful Puck as something more than a goofy friend. I would be more than her guardian and champion and the jester who made her laugh. I would be her everything, if I could.

With a sigh, I yanked the mushrooms from the fire and bit into them aggressively. After Ash had left, I'd tried to mend my princess's shattered heart, the one the stone-cold ice-prince had broken so efficiently. And for one blissful moment, I'd thought I had a chance. The memory of Meghan's kiss was seared into my brain, and I would never forget that day, one of the happiest moments of my life. But, against all odds, Meghan and Ash had found their way back to each other, defying every court of Faery to be together, and I was left behind. In the end, I'd lost her.

So why the hell am I still here?

“Goodfellow.”

I jerked up. The deep voice wasn't Ash's; it was far too low and powerful to belong to the frosty ice-prince. I knew it instantly; it was a voice that could command entire forests and woodlands, a voice that I had obeyed long before I ever met the mercurial prince of Winter.

Oberon stared at me over the fire, his eyes glowing amber in the shadows, the expression on his narrow face making the very ground quake in fear.

“Hello, Robin,” Oberon murmured, unsmiling. “I fear we must have a little talk.”

Aw, crap.

 

I stood warily, careless grin firmly in place, lacing my hands behind my head. Anyone else would've bowed or knelt or curtsied or at least nodded respectfully, but I'd known the Seelie King for such a long time, such formalities between us were completely useless. If I made any show of respect, Oberon would
know
something was up. As well as I knew him, the Summer King knew
me
just as well.

“Why, Oberon.” I nodded, still smiling. “What are you doing here?” I eyed his armor and the great bow across his back. “Out for a little hunt? All by yourself? And you didn't invite me along? I'm hurt.”

“Dispense with the foolishness, Robin.” The Seelie King waved a hand, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Between us, the campfire flared like it wanted to jump out of the pit, and the plants surrounding us went nuts, writhing and twisting and dancing like they were ecstatic to see him. Such was the immense power of the Summer King. “We both know why I am here, I think. Where is the Unseelie prince?”

“Prince?” I frowned, though my heart started racing under my shirt. How had Oberon learned about Ash so quickly? We weren't even in Arcadia yet. “Why would you think I know anything about the Unseelie prince?” I asked, adopting my best innocent expression. “We're supposed to be enemies. In case you haven't heard, he made this teensy little oath to kill me someday.”

None of that was a lie. Live as long as I have, and you become an expert at “dancing around the truth,” as some put it. Unfortunately Oberon was no spring chicken, either.

“Robin.” He gave me a patient look. “I know. I know what you are planning to do. Do you think I have no inkling of what goes on in my own court? Titania is completely enamored of her new plaything. I know she stole it from Leanansidhe—she makes no secret of where she got it. I was wondering how Leanansidhe would react. Then I hear word of you and the Winter prince entering the wyldwood, heading for Arcadia. Do not think me a fool, Goodfellow. I know you plan to take Leanansidhe's toy back to her.

“However,” he went on, before I could think of a new plan, one that would get me out of this without being turned into a bird or a rat for who knew how long, “you may relax, Robin. I am not here to stop you.”

I didn't relax. In fact, this just made me more wary. I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“My lady wife has become quite distracted of late,” the Seelie lord continued. “She dotes on her new toy and pays no attention to her court, her subjects, or her king. I dislike it.”

Aha. And the truth came out. Oberon had always been the jealous type. Anything that took Titania's interest off him was cause for huge arguments between the two Seelie rulers. The last time something like this had happened, Titania had refused to give up a little Indian changeling, and Oberon had ordered me to put a love potion in her eyes so she would forget all about it.

We all know how
that
turned out.

I sighed, knowing where this was going. “Let me guess,” I said. “You're going to be ‘conveniently absent' from the Summer Court for a while. During which time, Titania's newest toy will mysteriously disappear, and you will have no knowledge of where it could have gotten to.”

“I am going hunting with my knights and hounds,” the Erlking replied with great dignity. “I care not what Titania does while I am away. However…” He stepped closer, filling the small grotto with his presence. His tall shadow loomed over me as he met my gaze. “I want you to think on something as well, Robin. Remember these words, when you go into Arcadia with your plan, whatever it is.”

Oberon leaned in, his voice low and dark, whispering to me over the fire. “If your companion was suddenly…gone,” he murmured, and a cold hand grabbed my stomach. “If the Winter prince were no longer here, how long do you think it would be before Meghan Chase came to you?”

I felt the breath whoosh out of me. I stared at Oberon, aghast. He gazed back calmly, unmovable as an oak. “What…are you…?” I couldn't even finish the thought. “Why would you think…?”

“I know you love her,” Oberon went on, undeterred. “My daughter. I know your feelings for Meghan Chase, Robin. And I am here to tell you that I approve. I would rather see the two of you together, than her with the son of my ancient enemy.”

“Don't ask for much, do you?” My voice came out harsh and raspy, and I turned away from him. All pretense of not knowing Ash had fled, along with most of my composure. Oberon's gaze followed me as I took a few steps forward, grabbing the boughs of a small pine as I stared into the night. The fire crackled and popped behind me, and the heat of Oberon's gaze burned between my shoulders like the hottest flame.

“What do you want me to do?” I muttered, gazing out into the night. “Stick a knife in his back when he's not looking? Is that what you're ordering me to do now?” My gut clenched at the thought. “You don't think Meghan will have something to say about that? I'd never be able to hide that from her.”