She tenses, her whole body rigid as she tunes into her other senses.

Ash reached out to take her hand into his. They drifted for a long while, the only sounds being the rhythmic sloshing of the oars in the water and Sweetfingers occasional comment to his thugs. Ashs body was tense against Claire's, muscles coiled bands under his skin. The air grew colder, and there was the squeaking of bats somewhere above them. The boat bumped and scraped against rocks, and a foul stench crept into the air, smelling of dung and rotten meat. Snickers and cackling laughter echoed in the darkness, and clawed feet skittered over the rocks. Then, the noises and smells faded, and they floated in silence for a time. Sweetfinger and his guards were muttering among themselves. Finally, the boat bumped against solid ground, and someone pulled it ashore. Ash pulled off the blindfold and blinked in the dim light. They were in a small cave with a pebbly floor, bones and trash scattered about the room. In the distance, a circle of light glimmered invitingly. Ash breathed a sigh of relief. They'd made it. Sweetfinger leered at them as Ash held out a hand to help Claire out of the boat. "As promised," Sweetfinger said, gesturing to the exit at the back of the room. "Safe passage out of city. Now, I believe traitor prince owes me something, yes?" He held out a jewel-encrusted claw, and Ash dropped a small leather pouch into his waiting hand.

"Tell no one youve seen us," Ash said as the two hench-goblins shoved the boat back into the water.

"Im afraid its too late for that, Your Highness," came a harsh, gravelly voice at the other end of the cave. Ash spun, his hand on his sword, as four Thornguards stepped into view, their boots crunching over the stones.

She glared at the goblins, unsheathing her sword and turning towards the real threat. "I despise this trip already," she mutters, loud enough for Ash to hear.

"Very intelligent, not going through the regular trods, Ash," said one guard. His armor was thornier than the others, the barbs on his shoulders bristling like giant porcupine quills. "Mab has them all well guarded, but you knew that, didnt you? Unfortunately, Rowan already bribed every smuggler in the city by the time you found this one. Goblins are such disgusting opportunists, arent they?"

Furious, Ash glared back at Sweetfinger, but the boat was already well out of reach, Sweetfinger grinning at them from the bow.

"Sorry," the goblin cackled. "Princes offer was good. Other princes offer was better. Nothing personal, yes?" He waved, and the boat drifted away into the dark. Ash turned back to the guards. As one, the Thornguards drew their weapons. Their swords were spiky and black, with long thorns running the length of the blade, looking as sharp as razors.

She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and breathing out. She refused to let herself regret her decision of coming with Ash. She tightened her grip on her sword, spinning it elegantly and straightening her spine.

"Stand down, Edgebriar," Ash commanded. He hadn't drawn his sword yet, but his posture was tense. "I dont want to fight you. You can walk away from this and Rowan would never know. We're not returning to the city."

"I'm afraid we werent ordered to return you to the city, or Mab," Edgebriar said with the barest of smirks. "You see, Rowan knows youre going after the scepter, and he can't allow that. The new king wants the half-breed alive, but I'm afraid were going to have to kill you, Prince. As Sweetfinger said, its nothing personal."

They were working for the Iron Kingdom. Rowan must've let Tertius and the wiremen into the palace. He let them kill Sage and take the scepter, and convinced Mab that the Iron fey were not a threat!

Ashs face went blank with shock. "No," he said, as the blood drained from his face. "No, Rowan wouldnt sell us out. Not to them. What have you done?"

"We cant stop the Iron Kingdom," Edgebriar continued, his voice earnest. "The old ways have become obsolete. Mab cant protect us any longer. It is time to ally ourselves with the stronger power, to become greater than we are. Rowan will lead us to a new era, one where we will fear nothing. Not the touch of iron, not the fading of human imagination, nothing! Let the oldbloods wallow in their ancient traditions. They will fall soon, and we will rise up to take their place."

"Rowan will destroy us," Ash said grimly. "This war only hastens our destruction. If Summer and Winter stood together, we could stop the Iron Kingdom." He glanced at Claire as he said that.

"For how long?" Edgebriar demanded, punctuating his words with a savage swing of his blade. "The humans dream their technology, their grand sweeping visions, and forget us. We cant turn back the clock, but we can evolve to survive. I will show you what I mean." He ripped off his gauntlet, holding up his bare hand. On his third finger, an iron ring gleamed in the light. The entire digit was blackened and shriveled, and he shook his fist triumphantly. "Look!" he demanded. "Look at me! I do not fear the touch of iron, of progress. It burns me now, but soon I will be able to use it freely, like the humans. Soon, I will be like them."


"Youre dying, Edgebriar." Ashs voice was full of horror and pity. "Its killing you slowly, and you dont even realize it."


"No! After the war, when both sides are weak and open, the Iron fey will sweep in and destroy all traces of the old. There will be no more Summer or Winter. There will be no more courts. There will be only the Iron Kingdom, and those strong enough to stand with it."

"So that's it, only the strongest survive? What's to come of the weak? What's to become of all of the fey realm when we have no organized kingdoms? It'll become chaos!" She states, her voice strong, her posture showing she wasn't worried despite the threat that stood in front of them. She seemed bored with the situation, knowing that they were not likely too pursuaded to turn back to the logical side.

"Be silent, half-breed." Edgebriar glared at Claire. "Insult my prince again, and I will cut out your tongue and feed it to my hounds. Rowan is the only one who cares for the future of Tir Na Nog."

Ash shook his head. "Rowan wants power, and would sacrifice his entire court to achieve it. You don't have to be responsible for his insanity, Edgebriar. Let us pass. We can end this war, and if Summer stands with us, we can find a way to deal with the Iron Kingdom."

Edgebriar's face didnt change. "We have our orders, Prince Ash. We will be taking the half-breed with us, but I'm afraid your journey ends here. Rowan made it quite clear that he did not want you returning to Mab, for any reason." He gestured to the knights behind him, and they began to close in. "I apologize for the location. A prince's tomb should be a grander affair."

Ash faced the approaching knights calmly, though his muscles were coiling beneath his skin. "Rowan doesn't know me as well as he thinks," he murmured, seemingly unconcerned with the jagged blades closing in on him, "otherwise he never would've made such a mistake."

Edgebriar smiled, leering at Ash from behind the trio of knights, content to let his guards engage the Winter prince. "And what mistake would that be?"

"There's only four of you." His arm whipped out, sending a flurry of ice shards at the oncoming Thornguards. The knights flinched, throwing up their arms to protect their faces, and Ash lunged into their midst.

The first one didn't stand a chance. Ash's blade sheared through his armor, and the faery crumpled before he could even raise his sword. Where he fell, his spiky armor seemed to unravel, flaring out into thick black briars, thorns curling into the air. In seconds, the faery's body had turned into a giant thornbush, growing right out of the rocks. A metal band glinted on one of the branches.

Two Thornguards had Ash pressed into a corner and were hounding him mercilessly. Ash parried and spun, blocking their attacks, his blade a blue-white streak through the air.

She stands still for a few moments, staring at the man before her. She quickly throws her sword without glancing away, the sword effortlessly Pierce's through one of the thornguards, she sprints over to it, snatching her sword.

It was enough. The knight crumpled without a sound, and brambles erupted from his armor, covering the body in a cocoon of thorns. Edgebriar stepped out of invisibility and reached for Claire with taloned fingers. Before she could dodge, Thornguard latched on to her wrist and yanked her to him, twisting her arm behind her back. His other arm came up to circle her throat.