He’d reached for the door handle, but there was a soundless crackle of energy, and Ethan jerked his hand back with a curse. Puck shook his head.
“You’re not immune to iron glamour, kid.” Crossing his arms, he regarded the doors appraisingly. “Looks like our princeling wasn’t taking any chances.”
“How do we break it?” Kenzie wondered, staring up at the warehouse. On her shoulder, the gremlin hissed and muttered incoherently, baring his teeth at the doors. “I was going to send Razor in, but I don’t think even he’ll be able to get through.”
“You do not want to break it.” It was Grimalkin’s voice, and the feline appeared on a nearby stack of wooden crates. “The barrier is directly tied to whomever is keeping it up. Shattering it by force could damage their psyche and even cause them physical harm.”
I glared at the invisible wall before me, stifling the urge to draw my blade and cut through the doors. Dammit, Keirran, I thought. If he was trying to protect his people, he would spare himself no discomfort, and he would pour everything he had into keeping up the barrier. I didn’t want to bring this down by force if it would hurt him. How did we let him know it was us?
The barrier flickered and snapped threateningly, warning me back. Setting my jaw, I raised an arm and pressed my palm to the door.
Instantly, I felt a searing pain through my hand, like I had grasped a live, burning coal. My winter glamour recoiled from the agonizing burn of Summer magic, but I didn’t pull back. Closing my eyes, I tried finding the person on the other end, the one we had come all this way to find.
Keirran, I thought, hoping my thoughts would reach him, that he could sense who was pushing against his barrier. It’s us. You’re safe now. Let us in.
For a few moments, nothing happened, except the burning pain in my hand continued to worsen. Then, I felt the faintest glimmer of emotion coming through the barrier wall so fast I might have imagined it. Surprise, and then utter relief.
The barrier flickered once and vanished, taking the searing pain of Summer magic with it. I put my shoulder to the doors and bashed them open, and we all rushed inside.
A sea of glowing yellow eyes instantly turned to face us, surrounding the room. The space beyond the frame was dark, with corroded beams lining decaying concrete walls. Shards of glass littered the floor, and the tang of rust and iron clogged the back of my throat as we stepped farther inside, glass and debris crunching under our feet. The glowing eyes didn’t move, and in the pitch-dark, it was impossible to tell what was fey and what was shadow.
In the center of the open space, surrounded by Forgotten, a figure knelt in a shaft of moonlight coming through the broken windows. The light gleamed off his silver hair, though the rest of him was shrouded in black, from his cloak to his gloves. He hunched there with his head bowed, his shoulders heaving with deep, ragged breaths, but he looked up as we entered the room. His face was haggard, his skin pale and wan with exhaustion, but his blue eyes shone with relief as our gazes met through the crowds of Forgotten.
“Keirran!”
Meghan strode forward, through the ranks of fey, who quickly parted for her. Ignoring the Forgotten, she dropped to her knees in front of Keirran and pulled him close. He slumped against her, closing his eyes and letting all his defenses drop, if only for a moment.
The ice in my veins thawed, and I let relief sweep through me as I strode forward, joining my family in the center of the room. Keirran was safe; we had gotten to him in time, and he hadn’t turned into that soulless, blank-eyed stranger from my dream. I wouldn’t have to fight my son; the relief of that realization was nearly as great as the joy of finding him.
Keirran looked up as I stopped above him and Meghan. “How did you find me?” he whispered. His voice was ragged, and dark circles crouched under his eyes. He looked completely spent, and I wondered how long he had been keeping up the magical barrier.
“Long story,” I answered, holding out a hand. He grasped it, and I drew him to his feet, gripping his arm to steady him as he swayed. “After we heard what happened in Touchstone, we went to the Between, then Leanansidhe’s, then finally to Ethan and Kenzie. They were the ones who led us here.”
Keirran looked over my arm at the rest of the group as they approached, a tired smile crossing his face. “Looks like everyone is here,” he observed, a little of that wry humor returning to his voice. “I’m touched that I warrant such a rescue.” He might’ve said something more, but Kenzie rushed up to throw her arms around him, making him grunt as she squeezed hard.
“Don’t be stupid, Keirran.” Kenzie’s words were softened by the clearly affectionate look she gave him as she pulled back. “You’d drop everything and go combing every corner of the Nevernever for us if the tables were turned.”
Nyx stepped forward, the relief in her golden eyes evident as she bowed her head to her king. “Your Majesty, I am pleased to see you are safe. When we saw what happened to Touchstone, we feared the worst.”
“Touchstone.” Keirran’s face grew serious, a mantle of grief, anger, and regret descending on him. He sighed, and the air around him turned a little colder. “It happened so fast,” he muttered. “I would have fought that thing to the death, but when it started corrupting the Forgotten, I knew I had to save as many as I could. I left so many behind...” He closed his eyes, bowing his head. “What kind of king am I, to abandon my city like that?”
I gripped his shoulder. “Touchstone isn’t completely destroyed,” I told him. “The anchor is damaged, but not gone. It can still be rebuilt.”
Keirran nodded, then took a quick breath, shaking off his melancholy. “I tried sending out messages,” he went on, glancing up at me. “Before those piskie things trapped us in here, I sent a couple Forgotten to find you. Did any of them make it?”
“One,” Meghan said. “At Leanansidhe’s. We stopped there when we heard what had happened in Touchstone, and one of your Forgotten did track us down. But something had happened to it. It attacked as soon as it saw us.”
Keirran winced, shaking his head. “They must’ve been corrupted,” he said. “I’m sorry—this was before I knew how many of these things were out there. As soon as we got to the mortal realm, those creatures seemed to target us. And with the attack on Touchstone, I don’t believe it’s a coincidence. Whatever they are, I think they want us—or me—dead.” He took another breath, as if gathering his strength, and stabbed his fingers through his hair to push it back. “So,” he ventured, “what do we do now?”
Meghan frowned, looking thoughtful for a few moments. “Before we do anything, we need to get you and the rest of the Forgotten to a safe place,” she said, gazing around at the still silent Forgotten. “And then, we need to get the other rulers together to warn the Nevernever. These creatures, whatever they are, are clearly a threat. The rest of Faery needs to be aware of them. But first...” She gave Keirran an appraising look, her brow furrowed in thought. “Where can we send you and the Forgotten? For whatever reason, these Monsters seem to be after you, specifically. Is there any spot in the mortal world that is safe?”