Ash stepped forward. “Our deal is finished,” he said firmly. “We found what was stolen and brought it back to you. I’ve upheld my end of the bargain. I owe you nothing else.”

“Of course, darling.” Leanansidhe smiled at him. “You’ve done a marvelous job. So, if you would just set her down there, dove, my servants will take her off your hands.”

Ash didn’t release the girl. I felt him hesitate, then take a furtive breath. “Now,” he continued in a quiet voice, “what will it take for you to let her go?”

“What?” Leanansidhe blinked, staring at the Winter prince, who faced her calmly. “What did you say, pet? I’m not quite sure I heard you correctly.”

I quickly stepped up beside him.

“She’s a kid, Lea.” The Exile Queen spun on me, bristling like an enraged cougar. “You can’t keep her like this. She has a family, somewhere. She needs to go home.”

“I am her home, pet.” Leanansidhe swelled indignantly, her copper-gold hair whipping madly around her. “And the girl belongs to me! Ash, darling.” She glanced at the Winter prince. “I cannot believe this. Your own queen does far worse to the humans in her court. And you—I know what you have done to mortals over the years, you and Goodfellow both! How dare you judge me? Have you gone soft, darlings? Have you forgotten that we are fey?”

Jeez, pissing off two volatile faery queens in one day. We must hold some kind of record. I stepped up before Lea could turn Ash into a harpsichord.

“Not at all,” I said quickly, smiling in the face of the enraged Exile Queen. “Calm down, Lea. It’s not like we’re going to take the kid and run. We’re prepared to offer a trade.”

Leanansidhe calmed somewhat. “A trade, darling?” she mused, feigning disinterest, though I knew she was curious. She couldn’t help it; it was part of our nature. “And what, may I ask, could you possibly offer for the girl’s freedom? The price will be high, my pet, just so you know. The girl is one of my favorites, after all. I’m afraid that your offer will have to be quite—”

I reached into my shirt and held up a mirror, letting it flash in the sun. A small, golden hand mirror, with jeweled flowers around the rim and silver vines curled around the handle. It sang as I brought it out, a sweet, piercing note that made all the nearby birds start chirping and drew a curious pair of deer out of the forest.

Leanansidhe’s eyes went wide. “That…that is…” She blinked at me, astonished, then threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Robin, you naughty, brilliant boy. You did take it, after all. How in the world did you manage?”