“A violin?” I echoed, making a face. “Really? You’re calling in a favor for that? What, you don’t want to wait until you’ve lost a pipe organ or something?”
Ash regarded her solemnly. “You want us to find the thief,” he said, and it wasn’t really a question.
“Well, not really, darling.” Leanansidhe scratched the side of her face. “I have a good idea who the thief is, and where they took my precious violin. I simply need you to go there and bring it back.”
“If you know who the thief is, and where they took the violin, why do you need us?”
Leanansidhe smiled at me. It was a very evil smile, I thought. “Because, my darling Puck,” she crooned, “my precious violin was stolen by Titania, your Summer Queen. I need you and the Winter prince to go into the Seelie Court and steal it back.”
Oh, fabulous.
“Well,” I said cheerfully, “is that all? Steal something back from the Queen of the Seelie Court? I was just thinking we needed to go on a suicide mission, right ice-boy?”
Ash ignored me, typical of him. “Queen Titania has your violin?” he asked, incredulous. “Are you certain it was her?”
“Quite certain, darling.” Leanansidhe pulled a cigarette flute out of the air, puffing indignantly. “In fact, this was right after you went back into the Nevernever. The jealous shrew made quite sure I knew who was responsible. She still believes I stole her wretched golden mirror, all those years ago, and has never forgiven me for it.” Lea paused then, and looked right at me. “I do not know how she has come to think that, pet, do you?”
I blinked innocently. “Why are you looking at me, Lea?” I asked, batting my eyelashes. “Is this the face of such a dastardly villain?” Leanansidhe sighed.
“Anyway,” she continued, turning back to Ash, “that is the situation. And as I cannot go into the courts any longer, I need someone who can. That’s where you two come in.”
“I cannot just walk into Arcadia,” Ash said. “I will be trespassing, and by law the Summer King may have me executed if we are discovered. You know this.”
“I know, darling,” Lea placated. “But I suspect you’ll be able to come up with something. Especially if you have Master Goodfellow with you.” She smiled and puffed a smoke rabbit at me. “Unless, of course, he is not up to the challenge. Unless he’s afraid of his terrible Summer Queen.”
“Oh, please. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” I told her, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not dumb enough to fall for that, Lea. Who do you think you’re talking to, anyway?”
“I would think this is right up your alley, darling,” the Exile Queen returned. “Sneak the Winter prince into Arcadia, right under Titania’s nose? Steal something from the bitch queen’s room, only to hand it over to her rival? It has ‘Robin Goodfellow’ written all over it.”
Yeah, it did, didn’t it? This sounded exactly like one of my pranks, and truthfully, under other circumstances, I’d be more than eager. Titania wasn’t fond of me, and the feeling was mutual. Any chance I got to annoy, irritate, or piss off the Summer Queen, I’d jump at the opportunity. It wasn’t that I hated her, she was my queen after all, but she really needed to lighten up. Besides, I’d heard about what she did to Meghan the first time they met, and that needed a little payback. No one turns my Summer princess into a deer and gets away with it, even if it is the Seelie Queen. Even if Meghan would never know that I’d defended her.
Right now, however, I understood Ash’s impatience. The vow he made to Meghan, his promise to return to her, didn’t really have an expiration date, but I figured it would be a long, arduous adventure without all these annoying side quests. We needed to be searching for a certain obnoxious furball, not pranking the Seelie Queen, no matter how entertaining that sounded.
Except, Lea really wasn’t giving us a choice.
“So, if you two could get right on that—” she smiled, waving her cigarette flute at us “—I’d be ever so grateful. When you have the violin, just meet me back here, darlings. I’ll have my spies monitor your progress. But now, you must excuse me. I’m afraid I left Razor Dan in charge of security while I was gone, and I must return quickly before he or his motley eats someone. Good luck, pets! Don’t get yourselves turned into a rosebush!”
Another swirl of glitter and lights, and the Exile Queen was gone.
Ash sighed. “Don’t say anything, Goodfellow.”
“What? Me?” I grinned at him. “Say something? I’m not the type who would point out that, for once, this absurd situation isn’t my fault. Of course, I know better than to make deals with crazy Exile Queens with goddess complexes. And if I did, I would expect them to call in the favor at the worst possible time. But I’m certainly not one to rub it in. That would just be wrong.”
Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m beginning to regret inviting you.”
“You wound me deeply, Prince.” I laced my hands behind my head, enjoying myself. “Especially since you’re gonna need my help to get into Summer. Don’t think Oberon and Titania won’t notice a Winter prince strolling right into the heart of Arcadia. You’d stick out like an ogre in a china shop.”
He scowled, whether from the seemingly impossible task of sneaking into Arcadia or because I just compared him to an ogre, I didn’t know. “I assume you have a plan?” he muttered, crossing his arms.
I shot him an evil grin and was rewarded by his brief look of trepidation. “Please. Did you forget who you’re talking to, ice-boy? Just leave everything to me.”
Chapter Two
For Oberon Is Passing Fell and Wrath
It was twilight when we crossed the barrier from the mortal realm into the wyldwood. Then again, it was always twilight beneath the wyldwood’s huge canopy. Sunlight couldn’t penetrate the thick branches of the trees rising hundreds of yards into the air. Unlike the vivid brightness of Summer and the frigid harshness Winter, the wyldwood was eternally dark, tangled, and dangerous. It was constantly changing, so you never knew what you’d run into next.
“If I didn’t need you to get into Summer…”
“Oh, but you do,” I reminded him, grinning. “Let’s not forget that, huh, ice-boy?” His expression darkened even more, but he turned away.
“Come on,” Ash said, his voice even colder than normal. “We don’t have time for your idiocy now.”
“That’s what I like about you Winter fey…you’re all such scintillating wits, such clever purveyors of words, such wise and frolicsome—”
I ducked as a pinecone zipped by my head with enough force to have done more than muss my hair. A chuckle escaped me. “Always good to know you care, ice-boy.” With a quick laugh I sprinted ahead, hoping to get out of range of any colder—and sharper—missiles that might be coming my way.