“You are his queen,” the oracle went on. “He will understand, and he will support any decision you make, regardless if he agrees or not.” She held out a hand, her voice earnest. “I promise you, Meghan Chase, your son will want for nothing with me. I will be like a mother to him. He will grow up unaware of his true heritage, far from the courts and any influences they might have over him. He will be safe, and he will never grow into the threat you saw tonight. That is my offer, and my solemn vow. So, Meghan Chase…” She drifted closer, her hollow gaze burning into me. “The fate of your world hangs on this reply. What is your answer? Do we have a deal?”

I closed my eyes. Could I do this? Give up my son, to save the Nevernever? Was I being selfish, dooming everyone to chaos and destruction, if I refused? And what of my family? My brother, the one who had started the entire adventure, in a way. I’d do anything to keep him safe. Just…not this.

I clasped my hands in front of my face, thinking, and my fingers pressed against something cool and hard. Opening my eyes, I looked down at my hand. My ring sparkled in the moonlight, gold and silver, reminding me of its twin and the knight it was attached to.

Ash saw his future, I thought suddenly. He saw our future. Or, one of them, anyway, when he was trying to earn a soul. Did he see this? Our son killing Ethan, destroying the Nevernever? If he did…

If he had…he hadn’t let it stop him. He had finished what he’d set out to do: he’d earned his soul, and come back to the Iron Realm to be with me.

“I trust you.” His voice echoed through my head, like he was right there, standing behind me. “I know you’ll do what’s best for our son. Remember, whatever the oracle shows you, no matter how bleak or terrible or frightening, it hasn’t happened yet.”

“No, it hasn’t,” I whispered.

The oracle wrinkled her forehead. “What was that?” she asked, frowning. “I did not hear you. Have you come to a decision, Meghan Chase?”

“I have.” I straightened my shoulders and stared her down. “And the answer is no, Oracle. No deal. I’m not giving up our son, because of a future that might come to pass. And you have some nerve, trying to force this decision on me without the father of my child present to hear it, as well. We’re a family now. Whatever happens, we will deal with it, together.”