“It’s your court,” I heard him mutter. “You know it better than I.”

Yeah, it is, I thought as I drew back and left him, walking into the forest. It is my court; I’m part of Summer, and you’re supposed to be my enemy, Ash. Do you ever think about that? How you’re walking into enemy territory with someone who is supposed to be loyal to the Seelie Court?

I hadn’t been entirely straightforward. I already knew how I was going to sneak his royal iciness into Arcadia, right under the nose of Titania and the Summer Guard, without anyone knowing he was there. It would be challenging; Ash was a Winter prince through and through. You couldn’t just slap a fake mustache on him and hope for the best, not with his glamour aura. Fortunately I’d been doing this a long time. If anyone could get a Winter gentry into the Summer Court unseen, it would be yours truly.

No, I just needed time alone. Time to think. Time to plan.

Time to figure out what I really wanted to do.

* * *

“No.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ice-boy, come on. At least I’m not turning you into a lemur. This is the only way to get into the Summer Court without everyone knowing you’re…you.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t.” I crossed my arms and glared. We had reached the border of Arcadia, and stood at the edge of the wyldwood, gazing across the river to the Erlking’s lands on the other side. A wooden bridge, blooming with wildflowers, spanned the gulf, and two Summer Knights guarded the far side. Ash and I stood in a cluster of pine trees, watching them across the river, the churning rapids masking our hissed conversation.

“It’s a disguise, Ash,” I said again. “An illusion. We have to mask your Winter glamour with my Summer glamour, and we have to change your appearance so that people don’t freak out the second you walk into the court. Really, it’s the only way. How did you think this was going to go?”

Ash sighed, tilting his head back. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”

“Well.” I shrugged, biting down a grin. “I can’t say anything there.” He glared ice-daggers at me, and I raised my hands. “Do you want to get into Arcadia, or not?”

“Fine.” He made a frustrated, helpless gesture. “Do it. Let’s get this over with.”

“Thought you’d never say so.” I pulled him farther back into the trees, calling my magic as I did.