He nodded and quickly took his hand with his own shaking,now exposed,one. He held little Shade in his other arm carefully and nodded for Fatespeaker to follow Ash,quickly. She nodded silently and stayed close to the Ice Prince,sensing the urgency of the situation at hand,or claw for her.

Ash led him down the glittering staircase and through a narrow corridor studded with leering gargoyles and flickering blue torches. He didn't speak; the only sounds were their footsteps echoing off the stones. Several times, the tunnel split off in different directions, but Ash always chose a path without hesitation. The temperature here was frigid, and Jason's breath clouded the air as they ran, Ash listening for sounds of pursuit.

The passage abruptly dead-ended, a solid wall of ice blocking their path.

He slipped sleeping ice Shade into his hoodie pocket and kept a hand in there,clicking silent sparks around his fangs a bit. Fatespeaker looked at the wall for a moment before fluttering to a sit from flying besides them. She scuttled up to it and sorta...quietly conked...her...head to it.

Ash smiled a little at that. Ash walked forward, placed one hand against the ice. With sharp, crinkly sounds, it parted under his fingers, until another tunnel stretched away before them, ending in open air. Ash turned to him. "Stay close," he murmured, making a quick gesture with his hand. He could feel the tingle of glamour as it settled over him like a cloak. "Don't talk to anyone, don't make eye contact, and don't attract any attention. With that glamour, no one will notice you, but it will break if you make a noise or catch someone's eye. Just keep your head down and follow me."

Jason nodded and motioned for the two icey creatures to be silent. Fatespeaker jumped up and burrowed silently into his hoodie pocket as he pulled his wings in close and hoodie up,little Shade silent as he slept in peace. Fatespeaker soon fell to sleep on top of her icey sibling in the hoodie pocket.

The beautiful, twisted city of the Unseelie fey rose up around them, towering spires of ice and stone, houses made of petrified roots, caves with icicles dangling from the openings like teeth. Ash led him down narrow alleys with eyes peering out from under rocks and shadows, through tunnels that sparkled with millions of tiny crystals, and down streets lined with bone-white trees that glowed with sickly luminance. And of course, the Unseelie were out in droves tonight. The streets were lit up with will-o-the-wisps and corpse candles, and swarms of Winter fey danced, drank and howled at the top of their lungs, their voices echoing off the stones.
Ash skirted the edges of the crowds, trying to avoid notice as the Winter fey whirled and spun around them. Music rang through the night, dark and seductive, stirring the mob into frenzies. More than once, the dancing turned into a bloodbath as some unfortunate faery vanished under a pile of shrieking revelers and was torn apart

Jason stayed close,tail in and wings held close. He made sure that the two little ice creatures didn't get shaken or swung to much so that they stayed silent and asleep.

They wove their way through the screaming throngs. Ash grabbed Jason and pulled him into an alley, his glare warning Jason to be silent. A moment later, a pair of knights cantered into the crowd on huge black horses with glowing blue eyes, scattering the Winter fey like a flock of birds. The dancers snarled and hissed as they leaped aside, and a goblin screeched once as it was trampled beneath a charging horse, falling silent as a hoof cracked its skull open. The knights yanked their mounts to a halt and faced the mob, ignoring the growls and hurled insults. They wore black leather armor with thorns bristling from the shoulders, and the faces beneath the open helms were sharp and cruel. Ash shifted beside him. "Those are Rowans knights," he muttered. "His elite Thornguards. They answer only to him and the queen."

Jason said nothing as he had gathered he was told from the glare.He kept his eyes down so that he wouldn't gain any risk of eyecontact.

"By orders of Her Majesty, Queen Mab," one knight shouted, his voice somehow rising over the cacophony of music and snarling voices, "the Winter Court has officially declared war on Oberon and the Summer Court! For the crime of killing Crown Prince Sage and the theft of the Scepter of the Seasons, all Summer fey will be hunted down and destroyed without mercy!" The Winter fey roared, screeching and howling into the night. It was not a roar of rage, but rather one of ecstasy. They wanted blood. The Winter Court lived for violence, for the chance to rip into their ancient rivals without mercy. The knight let them howl and carry on a few moments before holding up his hand for silence.

"Also," he roared, bringing the chaos to a murmur, "be aware that Prince Ash is now considered a traitor and a fugitive! He has attacked his brother, Prince Rowan, gravely wounding him, and has fled the palace with the half-breed. Both are considered extremely dangerous, so it would do you well to be wary."

Ash sucked in a breath. Relief flashed across his face, as well as guilt and concern. Rowan was still alive, though their escape through the city had become much more dangerous.