All eyes turned to me. My heart stuttered, but I took a deep breath and stepped forward, meeting the cold, inhuman stares of a couple dozen fey.

“King Oberon is right,” I said, moving beside Meghan, feeling the chill of a Winter knight to my left. “The Forgotten can’t be found in the mortal world or the Nevernever because they’re not here anymore. They’re slipping in and out of both worlds, from a place called the Between. It’s—”

“I know what the Between is, Ethan Chase,” Mab stated coolly, narrowing her eyes. “Most call it the Veil, the curtain between Faery and the mortal realm, the barrier that keeps our world hidden from mortal sight. But the ability for fey to go Between has been lost for centuries. I know of only one who has accomplished it in the past hundred years, and she has not seen fit to share her knowledge with the rest of Faery.”

Leanansidhe. I nodded. “Well, it might’ve been lost to the courts, but the Lady—the Forgotten Queen—remembers how,” I said. “And she taught the rest of the Forgotten, too. You haven’t been able to find them because they’re all hanging out in the Between.”

Mab’s icy black gaze lingered on my face, seeing far too much. “And the Iron Prince?” she asked in a soft, lethal voice, making Meghan stiffen beside me. “Does he have this special talent? Has the Lady taught him to go Between, as well?”

I swallowed.

“Yes,” Meghan confirmed before I could say anything. “Whatever old knowledge the Lady brought with her when she awoke has passed to her followers. Keirran can move through the Between like the rest of the Forgotten.”

Oberon raised his head. “Then it seems the Lady has chosen her champion,” he stated in a low, grave voice. “And so the prophecy comes to pass. Keirran will destroy the courts unless we stop him. Iron Queen…” He gave Meghan an almost sympathetic look. “You know what you must do. Declare Keirran a traitor and cast him from your court. Only then may we stand united against the Forgotten and the Lady.”

“What? Whoa, wait a second.” I leaned forward, feeling the frigid edge of the table bite into my hands. “You don’t know what they want. Keirran is only trying to help the Forgotten survive. Yeah, he did it in the most ass-backward way possible, but maybe you should try talking to them first before declaring all-out war.”