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A very dangerous issue, and one I would have to work on. . . later. Right now, no one was around, we were fairly safe and I could afford to let down my guard. “Can you think of anything we could be doing,” I asked, unable to keep the grin from my face, “now that we’re alone? In the few seconds before Razor comes in and interrupts, that is?”
Kenzie smiled. Putting her hands on my shoulders, she leaned down and kissed me, and I closed my eyes.
It didn’t last long. A buzzing laugh echoed overhead, making me wince. “Kissy!” cried an obnoxious, high-pitched voice, gratingly loud in the silence. “Kissy kissy, funny boy! Ha!”
“Go away, Razor,” I called, still holding Kenzie close. She giggled and pulled back, and I released her just as Keirran stepped through the waterfall into the cave. The curtain of water didn’t actually touch him, I noticed; it drew aside, just like the mist of the Between, to let him through unsplashed. Seeing us, he offered a small smile, though it was tinged with longing. I knew he was thinking of himself and Annwyl, and how, even if he saved her life, he would likely never see her again.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said to Kenzie, holding a branch that had several tiny berries hanging among the leaves. They glittered like strange green jewels as he sat down, raising the branch like a peace offering. “The Summer Court isn’t far—will you be able to make it?”
She nodded, plucking one of the small fruits and staring at it curiously. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Sorry about last night. I think I just needed a few hours’ sleep. And food. Food is always good. We really need to put together a travel kit for the Nevernever or something. ” She tossed a berry into her mouth, then offered a clump to me. I took it warily.
“Are you sure—” I began.
“Yes, Ethan, they’re safe for humans. ” Keirran gave me a slightly exasperated look. “I know the wyldwood like the back of my hand, including what will and will not turn humans into rabbits. I learned from the best, so relax. ”
Kenzie offered a fruit to Razor, but the gremlin wrinkled his nose, bared his teeth and scampered to Keirran’s shoulder. The prince sighed. “However, there is another thing I wanted to discuss with you,” he said, sounding reluctant. “I talked to a local dryad about the state of the Summer Court, and she gave me some potentially bad news. Oberon isn’t there at the moment. He’s off hunting with his knights, somewhere in the Deep Wyld. No one knows when he’ll return. ”
Kenzie looked confused, but I groaned. “That means it’s just Titania holding court now. ”
“Yes. ” Keirran raked a hand through his hair with a grimace. “Which will make things challenging. I was hoping to send a request to Oberon—he usually allows me to visit Arcadia without much trouble. But now that he’s gone, I’m either going to have to sneak us past the border and risk punishment for trespassing or send the request to Titania, who will probably deny it out of spite. ” His eyes narrowed to cold blue slits. “And I can’t afford that. We don’t have time to spare. ”
“So, how hard is it to sneak into the Summer Court?” Kenzie asked.
“Not difficult” came a familiar, bored voice near the entrance of the cave. We spun, Razor hissing furiously, as two golden eyes blinked into existence, regarding us lazily. “Provided you know where to look. And do not blunder into any guards. But I suppose that is too much to hope for. ”
We leaped to our feet, and Grimalkin yawned, raising a hind foot to scratch an ear. “Hello again, humans,” the cat purred, as Razor screeched a loud “Bad kitty!” that made Keirran wince. “Still getting into trouble, I see. ”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
APPLE ORCHARD OF DOOM
“Bad kitty!” Razor buzzed again from Keirran’s shoulder. His huge ears flapped as he bounced up and down. “Evil, bad kitty! Shave off fur! Throw kitty off mountain! Burn, burn!”
The prince sighed.
“What do you want, Grimalkin?” Keirran asked, putting a hand over Razor’s head, muffling his snarls, hisses and death threats. “Did my parents send you to find me?”
“Please. ” Now that he had everyone’s attention, Grimalkin closed his eyes and began washing his paw. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than scurry about like a clueless mortal, searching for another clueless mortal? No, human. The Iron Queen and Prince Consort do not know I am here. They are both busy looking for you. ” His yellow gaze slid to me. “Both of you. ”
Keirran and I shared a glance. Something didn’t seem right. That Grimalkin had found us wasn’t unusual, but why would he come looking in the first place if Meghan hadn’t sent him? The cat never did anything for free. I remembered something Annwyl’d said earlier that week—that she hadn’t been able to find Grimalkin, he was either unreachable or ignoring her inquiries. Where had he been? Why was he here now?
“How did you find us?” I asked, frowning at the cat. “And if you knew we were going to be here, why didn’t you let Meghan know?”
The cat yawned. “Must you be so tedious?” He sighed. “I am not a dog, to come to every ruler’s beck and call. And chasing down the Iron Prince as he goes gallivanting across the mortal world seems very tiresome. I knew you would come here, eventually. ”
“How?”
“You ask a wearisome amount of questions. ” Grimalkin stood and stretched, curling his tail over his back. “Honestly, I do not know how mortals came up with that ridiculous phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat. ’ Certainly they have never been around the lot of you. ” Straightening, he gazed up at me, waving his tail. “Come, now. Time is of the essence. Do you wish to get into the Summer Court or not?”
“What?” I blinked at him. “How did. . . ?” The cat stared at me, and I raised my hands. “You know what, I don’t care anymore. You’re here to take us to Titania, right? Fine. Lead the way. ”
“Finally. ” The cat sniffed and gave me a look of triumph. “I never thought I would see the day when a human said something sensible. ”
* * *
It was obvious when we crossed the border from the wyldwood into Arcadia. The dark, murky twilight of the wyldwood fell away, and the sun blazed down on us, hot and bright. The forest was suddenly full of color, the leaves were extra green, the flowers screamingly bright, almost to the point of ridiculousness. Birds chirped overhead, bees and other insects spiraled through the air, some monstrously big. When an orange-and-black bird landed on Kenzie’s shoulder, I jumped, only to realize it was a huge butterfly with wings the size of dinner plates.
“This way,” Grimalkin said, slipping through the rails of a wooden fence, the kind that kept in cows or horses. “The mound and the entrance to the Summer Court are on the other side of this field. We are not far, but I will issue this warning only once. Do not, under any circumstances, steal, pick up or take anything from this property. I would suggest you hold your breath for the duration of the passing if I did not know humans are quite incapable of not breathing. Such an inconvenience, but we shall have to deal with it. Let us go. ”
“Wait, I know where we are,” Keirran said, looking reluctant as we slipped over the fence into the pasture. “Puck took me here once. Father was furious. This isn’t a good idea, Grimalkin. ”
“Mmm. ” The cat seemed unconcerned, leaping onto an old log to face us. “This is the quickest way to the Summer Court, and all the other entrances will be guarded,” he stated. “We can find a way around, but it will take time. I thought you wanted to reach the court as quickly as possible. ”
“I do. I just. . . ” Keirran gave a helpless shrug. “Fine. We’ll just have to be careful. Lead on, then. ”
“What is this place?” I asked as we continued across the field. Bees and butterflies floated everywhere among the flowers, sparkling like living jewels, and I could feel the sun’s warmth beating down on us. Everything looked peaceful, but I knew what a horrible lie that was in Faery. If everything appeared this tranquil, there was probably something stupidl
y dangerous lurking nearby. “If you visited this spot with Puck, that means you weren’t really supposed to be here, right? And you probably got into trouble with whatever lives here. ”
“It’s sad that everyone knows him so well. ”
“That’s just great. ” I sighed, looking back for Kenzie. She walked quietly behind me, looking at everything. I dropped back a pace and took her hand, wanting to be close in case a dragon or other nasty creature burst out of the flowers and attacked. “Just let me know when I should be running,” I called to Keirran.
He glanced back with a humorless smile. “Oh, you’ll know,” he said ominously and gestured to something ahead.
I blinked. Rolling fields spread out before us, teeming with flowers and thick grass, but rising out of the dirt, planted in rigidly straight lines marching to the horizon, were hundreds upon hundreds of apple trees. I knew they were apple trees because the nearest one, a huge gnarled giant, had bright red clusters hanging everywhere. The branches were bent under the weight, and the grass around the trunk was scattered with red, bulbous fruit. And the smell. . . The breeze shifted, and the heady, powerful smell nearly knocked me down and made my mouth water. I didn’t even like apples that much, but I was suddenly filled with the desire to stuff my face with them.
“Oh, wow,” I heard Kenzie breathe, and her hand tightened on mine. “Does anyone else have a craving for pie?”
My stomach growled. Annoyed, I turned to Keirran. “Okay, hundreds of apple trees, all begging me to pick up an apple and eat it. What’s the catch here? Will I turn into something? Fall asleep for a century? Or will I just keep stuffing my face and be unable to stop eating until I burst?”
“No,” Keirran said solemnly. “They’re just regular apples. They don’t do anything special. ”