I chuckled, shaking my head. “I haven’t been that for a long time, sis.”

“I know.” Meghan stopped about a foot away, blue eyes solemn now as she gazed up at me. “And I know I’ve missed so much of your life, Ethan. I wish I could’ve been there, to watch you grow up. But, you have. And you’ve grown up into someone...that I’m so proud of.” Her palm pressed against my cheek, brushing hair from my face. “I love you, little brother,” she said, looking me right in the eye. “You’ve become more than anyone could have guessed, and no matter what happens, you will always be my family. I want you to know that, before you have to face Keirran again. Even if I couldn’t be a part of your life, I was always thinking of you.”

I swallowed hard. “We’ll save him,” I told her. “I swear it, Meghan. Even if I have to knock some sense into him myself. We’ll bring Keirran back, and then we’ll take down the First Queen and the Forgotten together.”

She nodded, but her eyes were distant. “I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “I hope you can change the prophecy where I failed.”

“I will,” I promised. “And, Meghan?”

She was already pulling away, but paused, gazing back at me. I took a quick breath. “I don’t blame you,” I said softly, “or Ash. Or Keirran. I know...I realize now, it had to be this way. Took me a while, but I think I finally got it.” Meghan’s eyes glimmered, and I forced a wry grin. “So, no more whining from me about not visiting on my birthday or spring break or whatever. I’ll just be happy to know that everyone in my family is alive.”

Meghan smiled, even as a single tear slipped down her cheek. “That’s always been my hope, as well.”

* * *

Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Maybe because I was antsy for the upcoming council, though I knew that was likely several hours away. Or maybe because my brain wouldn’t shut up and leave me alone. After devouring a bowl of stew and bread in my tent—finally, real food—I lay on my cot in the darkness, staring at the ceiling while my mind looped in endless circles.

We were close. Close to the end, however that might turn out. The Lady and the Forgotten were out there, as was Keirran. We had fought our way through the wyldwood, the Between and the Deep Wyld to find Annwyl. We’d rescued her and the amulet. We knew how to free the soul trapped inside. The pieces were all in place.

And it would all be for nothing, if we couldn’t convince Keirran to destroy the anting-anting himself.

And even if we do convince him, I thought, what then? The war isn’t going to stop. The Forgotten aren’t going to give up just because Keirran gets his soul back. Meghan and Ash have been worried about him, sure, but the real threat is the First Queen. Maybe that was her game all along; have the courts so focused on Keirran, they completely forget about her until it’s too late.

Whatever her reasons, the First Queen’s ploy to use Keirran against the courts was a brilliant one. Whatever they might say, even if they knew better, Meghan and Ash would not strike down their own son, and the fey of Mag Tuiredh would probably hesitate to kill their former prince, as well. And Keirran was dangerous enough and powerful enough to pose a real threat to everyone but the rulers of the courts. So, what did you do? Slaughter him and face the terrible grief and wrath of the Iron Court and its queen, or let him live to wreak havoc as he willed it? A pretty crappy situation all around.

So that left us. Me, Kenzie, Annwyl, Razor and the Thin Man. To break through a Forgotten horde, find Keirran and talk some sense into him. Provided we could even find Keirran. And that he would listen to us if we did.

Groaning, I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. Same old fears, same old arguments, with no answers in sight. My thoughts felt like a hamster running on a wheel, spinning and spinning and getting nowhere. I wondered where Kenzie was, if her thoughts were driving her crazy, too.

“Ethan?”

A soft tap on the outer wall drew my attention to the door, and my heart leaped. “You in there, tough guy?” came Kenzie’s soft, hesitant voice. “Are you asleep? Or are you lying on your bed obsessing about everything your sister told you this afternoon?”

I snorted. “I’m planning,” I told the silhouette on the other side of the flap, “not obsessing. There’s a difference.”

“Uh-huh.” The voice sounded severely unconvinced. “Well, whatever it is, are you decent, or should I come back later?”

“No,” I answered, not moving from the cot. “I’m decent. Come on in.”

The flap rustled as it opened, and a moment later, Kenzie’s face appeared above me. She held a small lantern, and the light cast flickering shadows over her face and the cloth walls of the tent. “This,” she announced with a smile, “does not look like planning to me. This definitely looks like obsessing.”

I sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’m obsessing. Did you track me down just to point that out, or was there another reason?”

She grinned, put the lantern on the floor and plopped down to sit beside me, making me grunt. “Just keeping you honest, tough guy. If I didn’t point it out, how would you know you were doing it? You might overobsess and miss out on the obvious thing right in front of you. Besides—” her voice softened a bit “—with everything going on, I couldn’t sleep, either. And I didn’t want to be alone.” She turned to me with a bright grin. “So, I thought I would come pester you, so we could not sleep together. And...um... Yikes.” Her face turned beet red as she realized what had just come out of her mouth. “Open mouth, insert foot, Kenzie, geez.” Hunching her shoulders, she started sliding off the cot. “Right. I think I’m gonna find a nice hole to crawl in now.”

Laughing, I snaked my arms around her waist and dragged her back. “Oh, no. Not a chance,” I said as she yelped. “Considering I’m usually the one who says all the stupid crap, this is too good to pass up. You’re not getting off that easy.”

She struggled. Halfheartedly. “I do not say stupid things,” Kenzie protested, trying to wriggle, unconvincingly, out of my grip. “That’s your department, remember? I’m the smart one, you’re the angry, stabby one. That’s how this partnership works.”

“Uh-huh.” I grinned and did not relent. “What was that a few seconds ago, then?”

“I have no idea. I’ve blocked it from my memory.”

“Right.” I pinned her to the mattress, holding her wrists above her head with one hand. She smirked up at me, defiant, her lips just inches from mine...and I suddenly forgot what I was going to say.

So I kissed her instead.

Kenzie let out a tiny sigh and relaxed into me, her lips warm on mine, soft and caressing. I felt her tongue flick my bottom lip and parted my mouth to let her in, a groan escaping my throat. Her body shifted on the mattress, subtly arching into me, and all my nerve endings shot to attention.

I kissed her deeper, and she moaned, tilting her head to give me access to her neck. I trailed kisses down her jaw and throat, hearing her gasp, feeling her hands running the length of my back, sliding beneath my shirt. The touch of her soft fingers against my bare skin made me jerk up, shivering, to look into her eyes.