The Iron Knight

EPILOGUE THE IRON QUEEN

My name is Meghan Chase, monarch of Mag Tuiredh, sovereign of the Iron territories, and queen of the Iron fey, and whoever said kings and queens had it easy certainly didn’t know what they were talking about.

The throne room of the Iron palace was filled to capacity again, and the murmur of voices along the walls was a constant buzz in my mind. Today was going to be another long day. As sole ruler of the Iron Realm, it was up to me to resolve disputes, manage resources, listen to complaints and somehow keep my own lands and people safe from the other fey courts that wanted them dead, all while trying to rebuild and establish my own kingdom. I wasn’t complaining, but it seemed a lot to ask of a once-normal seventeen-year-old who had only recently inherited an entire realm of Iron fey. And, admittedly, some days were more trying than others.

I shifted on my throne, a great monstrosity of wood and iron, made no more comfortable by the thick cushions I was sitting on. At first, I’d jokingly suggested using a La-Z-Boy recliner for these long hearings, but that was rather fervently vetoed by both Glitch and my chief adviser, a packrat named Fix. The Iron Queen had to appear strong and imposing, they said, even while sitting down. At least in public, the Iron Queen had to seem invulnerable. I suppose, to them, invulnerable meant rigid and uncomfortable. At least, that’s what my back thought.

This is the Iron Kingdom, I thought during a short break in the hearings. This doesn’t have to be so old-fashioned. I bet I can get Diode to set it up so that some of these petitions come in by email or something.

Another petitioner approached, a wire nymph whose territory rested very close to Tir Na Nog and the Winter Court. I listened patiently as she poured out the latest development: groups of Winter knights terrorizing the tribes that sat closest to the border. I’d have to speak to Mab about that, make sure her court was following the treaty agreement, as well. That was going to be loads of fun. The Winter Queen already hated me for being Oberon’s daughter, and now that I was a queen as well, the look in her eyes whenever she saw me was downright scary. Still, I was queen. I ruled a court, and by Faery law, the Winter monarch would have to hear me out, whether she liked it or not.

“Alkalia,” I said, making sure to remember the nymph’s name. “You were right to bring this to my attention. I’ll speak to Queen Mab about it as soon as I am able.”

“We are very grateful, your majesty,” the wire nymph said, bowing as she was ushered away. I nodded at Fix, and he punched the request into my planner, adding it to the already lengthy list of things that needed doing.

“Let’s take a break,” I said, and stood up, feeling my back pop as I stretched. Fix chittered a question, the junk on his back swaying as he turned to me. “We’ve been here nearly four hours,” I replied. “I’m hungry, I have a headache and my butt has gone numb from sitting on that torture device. Let’s pick back up in an hour, yes?”

Fix warbled an agreement, but at that moment, the doors of the throne room swung open with a groan, and Glitch walked in. Scores of Iron fey scurried aside as the First Lieutenant marched down the aisle to the foot of the throne, his sharp face intense. Behind him, a robed, hooded figure matched his steps, cloak torn and dusty from travel, a dark cowl hiding its face.

“Majesty.” Glitch bowed at the foot of the dais, and though his voice was solemn, I could sense my First Lieutenant was trying hard not to smile. “This traveler has come far to request an audience with you. I know you are very busy at the moment, but as he has come a great distance, perhaps you could hear him out.”

Glitch bowed again and backed away, melting into the crowd. I shot him a look, but he was staring straight ahead, giving nothing away. The First Lieutenant normally didn’t take it upon himself to show petitioners to the throne room, having other duties that kept him busy, like managing the army. If he made an exception for this traveler, he must’ve thought it was very important.

I frowned and looked at the stranger in the middle of the hall, waiting for me to acknowledge him. “Come forward,” I said. He approached the foot of the throne and sank to one knee, bowing his cowled head.

“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 me straight in the eye. “If you’ll have me.”

For a moment, the shock held me immobile. He couldn’t be here; it was impossible. No normal fey could set foot in the Iron Realm and live. And yet, here he was, looking tired and dusty and slightly ragged, but completely fine. “Ash,” I whispered, stepping toward him in a daze. He didn’t move, gazing up at me with those intense silver eyes I knew so well. Reaching down, I drew him to his feet, taking in the lean, muscular frame, the unruly black hair, covered in dust from his travels, the way he was looking at me, as if the entire court had disappeared, and we were the only two people in the world.

“You’re here,” I murmured, reaching out to touch him, hardly believing this was real. “You came back.” Ash’s breath hitched, and he put his hand over mine.

“I came home.”

Our fragile composure shattered. I stepped into him, holding him tight, and he hugged me close as the room around us exploded with noise. Applause and cheers rose into the air, but I barely heard any of it. Ash was real. I could feel his breath on my neck, feel his heart pounding with mine. I didn’t know how he could be here; it should’ve been impossible, but I didn’t want to face that now. If this was a dream, I wanted to have one perfect moment of happiness, before reality intruded and I’d have to let him go.

Finally, I pulled back to look at him, running a palm over his cheek, as he gazed at me with those eyes I could lose myself in. And I finally voiced the question that I had been dreading, not sure I wanted to know the answer. “How?”

Amazingly, Ash smiled. “I told you I’d find a way, didn’t I?” He chuckled at my disbelief, and I could sense the secret pride—the knowledge that he had set out to do something impossible and had succeeded. Taking my hand, he guided it to his chest, where I could feel his heartbeat thudding against my palm. “I became human. I went to the ends of the Nevernever and found my soul.”

“What?” I pulled back to look at him, really look at him. He did seem a little different than before. Maybe his features were a little less sharp, and he wasn’t quite as cold, but he still had those intense silver eyes, that same unruly hair. He might have been human now, but he was still Ash, still the same person I’d fallen in love with, loved still with my entire heart. And if he had really found a soul and become human …

We can be together. We can be together without fear of anything now. He really did it.

Ash blinked under my scrutiny. “Do I pass?” he almost whispered.

“Wait a minute.” Frowning slightly, I reached up and brushed his hair back, revealing a graceful, pointed ear. “If you’re human, how do you explain that?”

Ash grinned. His eyes sparkled, and I could suddenly see the soul shining through, bright and pure and beautiful. “Apparently, I have a little fey magic still left in me,” he said, running his fingers through my hair, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Enough to keep up with the rest of Faery, anyway. Maybe enough to keep from growing old.” He laughed softly, as if the very idea thrilled him. “Better get used to this face, your majesty. I plan to be here a long, long time. Probably forever.”

My eyes misted over, and there was a balloon in my chest, swelling with happiness, pushing away the darkness until there was no room for anything but joy. But all I could think to say was, “Aren’t you already centuries old?”

Ash lowered his head, drawing us even closer. “I went to the End of the World for you, and all you have to say is how well I’ve aged?” But his eyes danced, and he was still smiling.

I decided I liked this Ash; this light, free creature, as if a soul had unlocked a part of him that hadn’t been allowed to surface in the chill of the Winter Court. It made me feel I could tease him a little more.

“I didn’t say anything about aging well—” But at that moment, amid the cheers and whistles of the Iron Court, Ashallayn’darkmyr Tallyn gently took my face in his hands and covered my mouth with his own, beginning the first day of our forever exactly as he should.

A WARM WIND HOWLED through the branches of a certain hollow, rustling the leaves, whistling through the skeleton of an enormous reptile in the center of the glade. Sprawled in the grass in the center of the hollow, it seemed extraordinarily out of place, a token of death in the midst of so much life. Flowers carpeted the once muddy ground, birds twittered in the branches, and the sun shone full and bright through the clouds, slowly burning away the mist that still clung to small patches of bramble throughout the glen. The skeleton, with its bleached white bones and snarling maw, looked pale and insignificant among the riot of color, but nature was slowly doing its work. Moss and weeds were already creeping up the dead giant, and tiny flowers were just beginning to sprout through its rib cage, coiling delicate vines around the bones. In a few seasons, it would be unrecognizable.

A shadow melted out of the brambles, blinking as it stepped into the sun, a large gray cat with glowing yellow eyes. It padded its way across the hollow, past the slowly disappearing skeleton, until it reached the trunk of a great tree, white blossoms fully in bloom. Sitting down at the trunk, it curled its bushy tail around itself and closed its eyes, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees. A pair of blossoms swirled around it, teasing its long whiskers, and it appeared to smile.

“I am happy that you have finally found peace.” The branches above it rustled, sounding suspiciously like laughter. Standing, the cat raised its head, letting the breeze toss its coat, watching a petal dance on the wind. Then, with a flick of its tail, it bounded into the undergrowth, a streak of gray fur in the sun, and the light swallowed it completely.