Abruptly, the top of the pillar where the Evenfey stood exploded with long spikes, frozen spears surging into the air. The faery’s shadowy body frayed apart, but the skull flew away unharmed. Drifting down, it hovered before the ever-widening gash to Evenfall, before a shadow rose from the floor and attached itself to the deer skull again.
“So impressive.” The skull tilted to the side, regarding me. “You are very much like us, Winter prince. A pity the Nightmare King is going to destroy this world. Your anger is nothing compared to the fury of a god who has been sealed away for an eternity. Even slumbering, one of his nightmares was nearly enough to kill you all. When we fully wake him, the Nevernever will be no more, and the Evenfey will be all that remains.”
Meghan stepped forward, her own power flaring to life around her, but at that moment, a dreadful howl echoed through the chamber, coming from the pit torn in reality. It swept over us, and the sheer rage and hatred coming through the portal hit me like the force of a typhoon. I staggered back, buffeted by the power and fury of it all, and the Evenfey cackled.
“It stirs,” the Evenfaery hissed, sounding ecstatic and triumphant. “It remembers. Everyone remembers. All of Faery, all of Evenfall. Sister...” it called, turning its head to the side. “Now you know. You understand, do you not? How you were betrayed? Why the fey of the Nevernever are your enemies? Do you remember now?”
“I remember,” said a soft voice in the shadows. “Everything.”
Nyx melted from the darkness, coming to stand between us and the pit to Evenfall. I stiffened, as the assassin’s cold eyes swept over us. Her blades were out, in both hands, and the look on her face caused my Unseelie nature to stir in warning. I knew that expression. I’d seen it before, on my own face, and knew the assassin was very dangerous right now.
“Nyx,” Puck breathed, but for perhaps the first time I’d known him, did not say anything more. But what could he say? We all knew the truth of what had happened. The meeting in the grove with the council of sidhe, and what happened between the Lady and the assassin afterward told us everything.
“I was Evenfey,” Nyx stated in a voice of deadly calm. “Evenfall was my realm. Before any of you existed, I served the Nightmare King. Our home was stolen by the faeries of the Nevernever, our king banished and sealed away, and the rest of us doomed to Fade into nothing. To become Forgotten, because we didn’t fit into your perfect world.”
“Nyx.” Meghan stepped forward, making me tense. The assassin’s eyes were still hard as they shifted to Meghan, her expression unyielding. “I know this is a shock. I understand you’re confused right now, but—”
“No, Iron Queen.” Nyx shook her head. “I’m afraid it is you who does not understand. I am not confused. For the first time in centuries, everything is perfectly clear. I know who I am, and where I came from.”
“Yes,” hissed the Evenfey above her. “The Lady and all her kind betrayed you. You served her for years, when she was the one who took our home and sentenced us all to death. And now, these fey would do the same.”
Nyx didn’t move. The Evenfey floated down until it was standing behind her, that bleached deer skull inches from her ear. “Now, kill them, sister,” it whispered. “They are no better than the ones who betrayed us. They strive to close the way to Evenfall, and keep our king in eternal slumber. The fey of the Nevernever are treacherous, the same as the Lady and her ilk. We cannot exist together in harmony, not now, when you know the truth.”
It pointed at us with a long black finger. “Kill them,” it urged. “You are one of us. You have always been one of us. Our king wakens, and will destroy this world when he comes, but these fey do not deserve to see his glory. We cannot exist together, and you are a beautiful agent of death. It is the only answer.”
“I agree,” Nyx said softly.
She spun, her blade coming up in a vicious arc, a flash of light that appeared for a blink before it was gone. The Evenfaery jerked, stood motionless for a second, and then the bleached deer skull toppled from his shoulders, hitting the ground with a crack, before shattering on the stones. The shadowy body frayed apart, becoming tendrils of black fog that writhed away into nothing.
I stiffened, as Puck drew in a slow breath. That was not what we had been expecting.
“I am Evenfey.” Nyx lowered her arm as the dark mist curled around her and disappeared. “The Lady betrayed us, but she is gone now. What was done to us, our king, and our realm was unforgivable, but...” She paused, closing her eyes, as if coming to an impossible decision. “If the Nightmare King wakes, he will destroy this world,” she whispered. “And I have learned too much, and have seen too much, to let that happen. I swore myself to Keirran, and he has already defeated the Lady. I am Evenfey, but I don’t want this world to die.”
I felt Puck’s relief, though it faded as the assassin opened her eyes, rage and hatred shining from hard yellow eyes. “Mark my words, though,” she warned, “I will never forgive what was done to us. I am going back to Evenfall—it has been too long since I have seen my homeland, and perhaps I can stop the Nightmare King before he awakens completely. So, this is where we part ways. I’m grateful that I met you, but it is time I go home.”
“Nyx, wait.” Puck stepped forward, and surprisingly, the assassin paused, glancing back over her shoulder. “Don’t go,” he pleaded. “Don’t run out on us now. Whatever you’re planning to do, let us help. We can still stop this together.”
“Puck.” Her eyes softened for the briefest of moments. “I wish I could have seen the Nevernever with you,” she murmured. “I almost wish I didn’t know the truth right now. But that doesn’t change what has happened. You’re part of the Summer Court, and I don’t belong there. Maybe someday we’ll meet again, but don’t try to find me. If I see you in Evenfall, I might have to kill you.”
Another howl came through the open portal, like a hundred voices screaming in fear and rage. There was a sound like the flutter of a million dragonfly wings, and a huge swarm of nightmare piskies burst through the opening, shrill voices hissing in my ears. They swirled through the air in a dark cloud, frantic blips of terror and fury, before scattering in every direction and vanishing into the ruins.
When I looked back at the portal, Nyx was gone.
“Dammit.” Puck slammed his fist into a pillar, causing it to tremble. “Dammit,” he breathed again, bowing his head. “I really liked that one. Did I catch your curse or something, ice-boy?” he asked, glancing at me with a bleak look. “Maybe I should just become a hermit in the woods who only talks to squirrels.”
Meghan stepped beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her,” she promised. “Now that Evenfall is open, I’m afraid we’re going to have to deal with the Nightmare King. Whether that means reasoning with him, or preventing him from waking up again, I’m not certain. But I bet that’s where Nyx is going. Back to her king.”