All right. Here we were, in the First Queen’s foyer. I wondered if she knew we were here, before deciding that of course she did; this was her kingdom, after all. So if the Lady already knew we were here, that meant Keirran probably did, too.
So, where was he?
“Stay close,” I warned the others. Kenzie was gazing around curiously, Razor perched on her shoulder, while Annwyl scanned the yard as if searching for the prince in the shadows. A cold wind billowed across the flagstones as I edged farther inside, and I saw that a section of the high stone wall that surrounded the courtyard had crumbled away. Beyond the gap was darkness, open air and a long, long drop to the bottom of the mountain. I shivered and took a cautious step back. “Be careful,” I warned, making sure Kenzie was a safe distance away from the broken wall and lethal plunge. “Keirran and the Lady could be anywhere. We don’t want them surprising us.”
“That won’t be a problem, Uncle.”
I jerked. A bright, cloaked form stood on a balcony against the opposite wall, gazing down at us. Even with his black cloak and armor, he shone in the darkness, silver hair and ice-blue eyes a stark contrast to the dreary surroundings.
As soon as we saw him, Keirran waved a hand, and a heavy wooden portcullis dropped over the door we’d just come through, hitting the stones with a boom. Another fell over the archway at the other end of the yard, boxing us in. I drew my swords as my heart began a rapid thud in my chest. This was it. It was just us and Keirran now.
The prince leaped over the balcony railing and dropped through the air to land gracefully on the flagstones. His eyes were already glowing as he rose, wind and glamour beginning to swirl around him, whipping at his hair. His smile was cruel as he stepped forward.
“And here you are.” Keirran’s voice was flat, his eyes cutting. “Just as the queen said you would be. You are quite predictable, aren’t you, Ethan?” His gaze flicked from me to the girls, pressed to either side of me, and narrowed. “You shouldn’t have brought Annwyl and Kenzie, though. I have no wish to hurt them. This is between you and me. And you...”
He gestured sharply. A blast of wind shrieked through the courtyard, tossing dust and leaves and making Kenzie’s and Annwyl’s clothes snap, though it wasn’t directed at us. But there was a cry, and the Thin Man suddenly slammed into a statue, his body winking into existence before collapsing motionless to the stones. Keirran gestured again, and the statue lurched and tumbled forward, crashing to the stones and pinning the Thin Man beneath it. The prince smiled coldly.
“Fool me once,” he murmured, and raised his arm again.
“Keirran, stop!” Annwyl stepped around me, her eyes tearful as she faced down the prince. “Please,” she begged, holding out her hands. “If you ever loved me, please, stop this. It’s not too late. You can leave this place, leave the Lady and return home.”
Keirran looked at her, his eyes softening. “Annwyl,” he said, and for a moment, his voice was almost like the Keirran I used to know. “How can you ask me that?” he whispered. “Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve sacrificed, was for you. The Lady, the exiles, the Forgotten—they were all dying, but what I cared about most was saving you.”
“I didn’t want to be saved,” Annwyl returned. “Not when it turned you into this. Not when it cost me everything I loved about you.” Her voice grew harsher, almost desperate. “I don’t want this, Keirran,” she said. “I want the old you back, even if I can see him for only a moment. Even if I must die for you to return.”
Reaching around her neck, she yanked off the amulet, holding it up so that it swayed and throbbed in the eerie un-light. Keirran went rigid at the sight of it. “This is the cause of everything,” she said. “Prolonging my life, at the cost of your soul. It is an evil thing, Keirran, can’t you feel that? I want no part of it anymore.” She thrust the amulet at him, making it swing and glitter on its cord. “You have to destroy it. I can’t do it myself.”
“No.”
“Keirran—”
“I won’t watch you die, Annwyl!” For just a moment, a spark of anger and grief crossed his face. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. “This is my legacy,” he whispered. “Death, and betrayal, and destruction. This is destiny, what fate has decided. You are the only good thing I will leave behind. If I...kill you, as well—” he made a weary, hopeless gesture “—if you die, this will all be for nothing. Everyone I’ve betrayed, all the death I’ve caused, will be for nothing.” He raked a hand through his silver bangs, his eyes shadowed. “What do I care if the Forgotten and exiles are saved,” he whispered, “if you’re not in the world any longer?”
Kenzie’s voice was sympathetic. “You still love her.”
“I never stopped,” Keirran growled, giving her a cold look. “Maybe it’s foolish. Maybe that’s the only piece of my soul I still have left. But it doesn’t matter. The First Queen’s plan is nearly complete. It’s too late for me to stop it.”
“It’s not too late for you, Prince,” I snapped. “You can still end this. Walk out with us, and go home. Do you really want to keep fighting everyone? Your parents, the courts, the entire Nevernever?” I gestured back toward the front gate. “Ash is out there, right now, holding off the Forgotten. If he makes it up here, what are you going to do? Fight your own dad? Are you going to kill your whole family before this is over?”