“We’re ahead of you there.” Emmett crosses the room and pulls one of the journals from the stack at his bedside table.
He leans over Lydia and me, so close I can feel the heat of him. His long fingers riffle through the pages before settling on one in the middle.
“Here.” In meticulous pencil, he’s sketched a weapon. It looks less like a knife than a very sharp rock with a gilt handle.
“Cold iron!” I exclaim. “Cold as inunforged! It all makes perfect sense!”
“I’ve gathered accounts from hundreds of faeries and small folk alike,” Emmett says. “As the story goes, after Bram banished his mother and killed his father, he disappeared for a day and a night. All we have to do is figure out where he went.”
The door to Emmett’s room swings open, making the three of us jump.
“If only you had someone who was there and knew exactly where Bram went.” Rhion leans against the doorjamb gallantly.
Emmett sighs loudly and rolls his eyes. “You again.”
“You’re lucky no one ever uses this hall; your voice really does carry,” Rhion replies.
“Or were you listening at the door with a glass pressed to your ear?” I retort.
Rhion shakes his head. “Nothing so undignified as all that.” He pauses. “I used magic. Like a gentleman.” His eyes flit to Lydia. I didn’t think it was possible for Rhion to look bashful, but a blush creeps across the tops of his cheeks. “Your Majesty, I only want to help.”
Lydia doesn’t seem to notice; she’s too focused on Emmett’s sketch.
“Great.” I stand. “Let’s go. We could leave tonight. Rhion can tell us where—”
Rhion stops me. “You’re not going without me.”
There’s tension in every line of Emmett’s body. “I don’t trust you.”
Rhion sighs. “I won’t let any harm come to—” He stops and his eyes land on Lydia. “I won’t let any harm come to either queen.”
“I don’t like this,” Lydia says softly.
“What if I gave you the knife to hold on to once we get it?” Rhion offers.
Lydia sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. “I suppose that could work. But then I must go with you to ensure you don’t swap it out with a fake. I need to know it’s the real one.”
“Then I’m coming, too,” Emmett insists.
“Then we must also bring Marion and Faith,” I counter.
Emmett looks horrified.
I toss my hands up in frustration. “I’m not leaving them alone in this castle without us.”
Emmett’s face falls and I know he has relented.
Lydia turns to Rhion, who still can’t meet her gaze. “How much longer will Bram be in England?”
“Not long: two days, maybe less. He told me he only needed a day at court in England to tend to business. He’s already been gone for a day and a half here. We don’t have much time to waste.”
I cross to the window and look out over the ragged landscape of the Otherworld. Far off in the distance, golden beams of light cut through the clouds to illuminate a dark forest at the base of a shadowy range of jagged mountains.
“We can’t all leave,” Emmett says. “Even with Bram gone, if both queens, his adviser, his regent, and his hostages go missing for two days, people will talk. This court runs on gossip.”
“There’s a revel tonight,” Rhion says. “We’ll go make an appearance, be very respectable, and then sneak out in the chaos. We’ll have until late afternoon the next day to return. People will assume we’re sleeping off our hangovers and Bram will be none the wiser when we return.”
Emmett narrows his eyes. “I still don’t like it.”
