Read Online The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey) by Julie Kagawa - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julie Kagawa
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safe.”
Her smile turned bittersweet. “I don’t have that kind of time.”
The porch light winked on, Mom’s way of letting me know she was still up, and I winced. “Come on,” I said, reluctantly drawing back. “I’ll take you home.”
After dropping Kenzie off at her house—and the stomach-curling good-night kiss in the driveway—I returned home to find Annwyl in the living room, hovering over my mom’s potted plants. The wilted houseplants looked better than they ever had under Mom’s not-so-green thumb, but having a faery wandering around my home made me nervous, even if it was Annwyl, and I steered her back into my room.
“Where would you like me to sleep?” she asked as I closed the door. Mom had finally gone to bed, but Dad might be home any minute and didn’t need to hear me talking to myself in the wee hours of the morning. Annwyl regarded me solemnly. “If you have charms placed around your house, I could go outside. I don’t think the Thin Man will come through the wards.”
But she sounded frightened, and I shook my head. “No, Annwyl, I’m not going to make you sleep outside, especially if something is after you.” I scrubbed a hand through my hair, not liking the other alternative but seeing no other choice. “You can stay here. Take the bed, in fact—I have a sleeping bag in the closet.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh no, that would be improper,” she protested, looking stunned. “Especially since I owe you so much. You are the Iron Queen’s brother. I cannot presume to sleep in the prince’s bed.”
“Annwyl, you’re not a servant anymore.” I opened the closet and hauled the sleeping bag and pillow from the top shelf. “That changed the second Titania banished you from the Nevernever. And I’m definitely not a prince.” I turned, tossing the sleeping bag on the floor, unrolling it with my foot. “You’re not with Titania or Leanansidhe now. You’re a guest here, and you don’t owe me anything.”
She gazed at me, still unsure, and my heartbeat picked up. I won’t lie; Annwyl was beautiful. Big green eyes, shining brown hair, her body soft and graceful beneath her dress. I was a guy, after all, and I wasn’t blind. But seeing her didn’t make my stomach twist with nerves or the corners of my mouth want to turn up in a smile like they did with Kenzie. Besides, Annwyl was someone else’s, someone whose insane protective streak ran even deeper than mine, and she was a faery on top of that. So that pretty much killed any tempting thoughts about having a beautiful girl spend the night in my room.
“Take the bed,” I told her again, pointing to the mattress. “I know this is a little awkward, but we’ll have to get through it until we can find Keirran. Hopefully it won’t be too long.”
After the Summer faery finally fell asleep on my mattress, I lay awake on the floor, thinking. About Keirran and his whereabouts, what he thought he was doing: hiding from everyone, dragging me into his problems. About Annwyl. She was Fading, dying, really, and the Iron Prince had to be frantic to save her, if there was a way at all. How the hell I would convince my parents that I needed to disappear again.
But mostly, I thought about Mackenzie and how I was going to protect her from the world she insisted on being a part of.
CHAPTER SIX
GURO’S ADVICE
School the next day was...interesting, to say the least.
Word had definitely spread, probably from the moment Kenzie and I had left the theater parking lot. People stared at me in the halls—not that they hadn’t before, but it was almost full-blown paparazzi-style now. Whispers and unsubtle glances followed me down the corridors, and I was sure I saw one or two camera phones aimed at me—or it could’ve been my paranoid imagination. I kept my head down and my usual ignore-everyone stance going until I reached my locker. Only to discover two girls were already there, and none of them was Kenzie.
“Hey, Ethan.” The tallest
Her smile turned bittersweet. “I don’t have that kind of time.”
The porch light winked on, Mom’s way of letting me know she was still up, and I winced. “Come on,” I said, reluctantly drawing back. “I’ll take you home.”
After dropping Kenzie off at her house—and the stomach-curling good-night kiss in the driveway—I returned home to find Annwyl in the living room, hovering over my mom’s potted plants. The wilted houseplants looked better than they ever had under Mom’s not-so-green thumb, but having a faery wandering around my home made me nervous, even if it was Annwyl, and I steered her back into my room.
“Where would you like me to sleep?” she asked as I closed the door. Mom had finally gone to bed, but Dad might be home any minute and didn’t need to hear me talking to myself in the wee hours of the morning. Annwyl regarded me solemnly. “If you have charms placed around your house, I could go outside. I don’t think the Thin Man will come through the wards.”
But she sounded frightened, and I shook my head. “No, Annwyl, I’m not going to make you sleep outside, especially if something is after you.” I scrubbed a hand through my hair, not liking the other alternative but seeing no other choice. “You can stay here. Take the bed, in fact—I have a sleeping bag in the closet.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh no, that would be improper,” she protested, looking stunned. “Especially since I owe you so much. You are the Iron Queen’s brother. I cannot presume to sleep in the prince’s bed.”
“Annwyl, you’re not a servant anymore.” I opened the closet and hauled the sleeping bag and pillow from the top shelf. “That changed the second Titania banished you from the Nevernever. And I’m definitely not a prince.” I turned, tossing the sleeping bag on the floor, unrolling it with my foot. “You’re not with Titania or Leanansidhe now. You’re a guest here, and you don’t owe me anything.”
She gazed at me, still unsure, and my heartbeat picked up. I won’t lie; Annwyl was beautiful. Big green eyes, shining brown hair, her body soft and graceful beneath her dress. I was a guy, after all, and I wasn’t blind. But seeing her didn’t make my stomach twist with nerves or the corners of my mouth want to turn up in a smile like they did with Kenzie. Besides, Annwyl was someone else’s, someone whose insane protective streak ran even deeper than mine, and she was a faery on top of that. So that pretty much killed any tempting thoughts about having a beautiful girl spend the night in my room.
“Take the bed,” I told her again, pointing to the mattress. “I know this is a little awkward, but we’ll have to get through it until we can find Keirran. Hopefully it won’t be too long.”
After the Summer faery finally fell asleep on my mattress, I lay awake on the floor, thinking. About Keirran and his whereabouts, what he thought he was doing: hiding from everyone, dragging me into his problems. About Annwyl. She was Fading, dying, really, and the Iron Prince had to be frantic to save her, if there was a way at all. How the hell I would convince my parents that I needed to disappear again.
But mostly, I thought about Mackenzie and how I was going to protect her from the world she insisted on being a part of.
CHAPTER SIX
GURO’S ADVICE
School the next day was...interesting, to say the least.
Word had definitely spread, probably from the moment Kenzie and I had left the theater parking lot. People stared at me in the halls—not that they hadn’t before, but it was almost full-blown paparazzi-style now. Whispers and unsubtle glances followed me down the corridors, and I was sure I saw one or two camera phones aimed at me—or it could’ve been my paranoid imagination. I kept my head down and my usual ignore-everyone stance going until I reached my locker. Only to discover two girls were already there, and none of them was Kenzie.
“Hey, Ethan.” The tallest
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