In the center of the chamber, an enormous table rose from the frosty ground, dominating the middle of the room. A perfect circle, the surface was covered in different-sized spinning cogs and gears. Our kobold engineers had spent months on it, blending tech and iron glamour together, and now the table could show the other territories and their borders with a press of a button. Pull a lever, and a miniature Tir Na Nog would appear on the map, looking like the inside of a snow globe. Turn a dial, and Arcadia would bloom across the surface, with all the rivers, trees and flowering meadows that made up the Summer Court.
It was definitely an anomaly within Faery, and only those who wore the special amulets of the Iron Realm could stand that close to the table without fear. This was the ruler’s way of trying to incorporate every court into the design for the new Faery Council. Summer, Winter, and Iron all had a presence here, a reminder that while we stood in this room, we were on equal ground. Of course, in trying to make certain no court was overlooked, all they had succeeded in doing was ensuring that no one was comfortable.
Lord Oberon of the Seelie Court already stood at one end of the table as we entered the room. Facing the entrance, I noticed. Which was the reason Meghan and I had made certain the meeting table was round. Had it been rectangular or even square, Oberon would certainly put himself at the head of it every single time. The Summer King was dressed in green and gold, long silver hair falling down his shoulders and his antlered crown rising tall on his head.
Unfortunately, he was not the only one present. Queen Titania stood beside him, her lips already pulled into a nasty smile as she watched us come in. I felt Meghan’s inner sigh, and a cold fire flickered to life as the Summer Queen met my gaze, cruelty shining from those crystal-blue eyes. Of everyone in this council, Titania would give us the most trouble, simply because she despised us all and wanted us to suffer. I was not in the mood to play games with fickle faery queens, not when my court and my family were in danger.
Thankfully, Oberon spoke before Titania could make any snide comments. “Iron Queen,” the Summer monarch greeted. “I am pleased that you have arrived.” On time, was the unspoken implication, as we were the only ones to ever do so. “I am unsure as to why you have called this council,” Oberon continued. “The courts are at peace, and to my knowledge none of the treaties have been broken. I am curious as to what could be so important that you felt the need to call every ruler of Faery into the same space.”
“Not every ruler,” Meghan said calmly. “The Forgotten King is not here.” A subtle reminder that, while Keirran could not enter the wyldwood, he was still a king of Faery in his own right.
Titania sniffed. “Is he truly a king of Faery if he has been banished from the Nevernever?” she asked, her tone and wide-eyed innocence making it appear that she was truly curious, but we all knew it was just a barb. “Should not a king be able to attend these Faery Councils? How can he represent his court and subjects if he has no voice?”
“I will be his voice,” said someone behind us. We turned, and Nyx melted from the shadows, golden eyes hard as she came into the light. “I was sent as a representative of the Forgotten King,” Nyx went on as Titania’s narrowed gaze landed on her. “I will speak for him, and the Forgotten of the Between.”
“Is that so?” Titania asked. “And what makes you think that you, a lowly assassin, can stand among the kings and queens of Faery?”
“Uh, the same reason a court jester can.” It was Puck’s voice, as the Summer faery sauntered in behind Nyx. He was smiling, but his eyes were flat and dangerous as he met Titania’s glare. “Unless I’m not wanted here, in which case I’ll be sad.”
Titania’s predatory look curled into one of pure contempt. “You are never wanted here, Robin Goodfellow,” she spat, but Puck simply grinned. As much as Titania hated Puck, she couldn’t make him leave, and they both knew it.
“Nyx is welcome at this council,” Meghan said calmly. “The King of the Forgotten sent her, and he is still a ruler of Faery even if he cannot be present. Besides, she knows a great deal about the threat we are facing.”
“Threat?” Titania said, her tone mocking. “What threat? Faery has been at peace—the courts have been calm. Unless you cannot control your own subjects and they are rising up against us.”
“Nothing like that,” Meghan said, still unperturbed. “I will explain everything once Queen Mab arrives.”
Queen Mab finally did arrive in a flurry of snow and trumpets, stalking into the chamber like she owned it. The temperature of the room dropped several degrees as the Winter Queen appeared, blue-black hair and fur-lined cape fluttering behind her. She nodded once to me and Meghan before gliding around to the empty side of the table, ice and snow flurries swirling in her wake. Like Titania and Oberon, she hesitated at the edge of the table, fighting her centuries-old fear of iron, before deliberately placing her palms atop the surface, as if to prove she was not afraid.
“Well,” she crooned by way of greeting, “we are all here, then. Iron Queen, I assume this is important for you to drag me out of Tir Na Nog at this time of year. What is this great threat that you keep hinting at?”
“Touchstone has been destroyed,” Meghan said without preamble. “Though I expect none of you have heard the news, or what happened to the Forgotten.”
There were a couple of raised eyebrows from the rulers at the table, except for Titania, who smiled in gleeful delight. Meghan ignored her.
“A creature unlike anything we’ve seen before entered the Between and tore the Forgotten capital apart,” she went on. “The king was forced to gather the survivors and flee to the mortal realm. He is safe, but the creature is still in the Between, so the Forgotten have been unable to return.”
“One creature?” Titania’s voice was incredulous. “Did so much damage that the King of the Forgotten was forced to retreat before it? Is he that weak, to be unable to protect his own kingdom?”
“Keirran is not weak,” I said, trying to keep the icy fury from my voice. “We’ve fought one of these Monsters before. It took all of us—” I indicated Meghan, Puck, and Nyx “—working together to bring it down. These creatures are immune to nearly all types of damage, including glamour. But that’s not the worst of it.”
“They emit a type of aura,” Nyx explained. “One of rage, hatred, anger, despair. It can transform fey into...darker versions of themselves, is the best way to put it. King Keirran was forced to flee Touchstone because the Forgotten were being twisted and turning on him.”
“The Forgotten attacked their own king.” This time, it was Mab who spoke, though she sounded skeptical at the news. “They are proving to be troublesome indeed. Are you saying that we can expect a war with the Forgotten again?”
“No,” Meghan said. “I’m saying that we need to prepare for these creatures coming here, to the Nevernever.”