An old wooden rocking chair creaked softly at the edge of the light. It was facing away from me, and I could see a body slumped in the seat, withered arms dangling over the sides. I took a step closer and smelled the decay, the stench of grave dust and rags and ancient newspapers, crumbling in the attic. Walking around to face the chair, I gazed down at the shriveled corpse of an old woman, her nails curved into long, steely talons, her head slumped on her sunken chest.

Then she raised her head, and her eyes burned with black fire as she opened her mouth and breathed the words that stopped my heart in fear.

And I awoke.

* * *

My name is Meghan Chase.

And I’ve been working way too hard, lately.

I lifted my head from my desk, blinking at my computer and the nonsensical words scrolled across the screen. A quick glance at the clock proclaimed it 6:32 a.m. Had I pulled another all-nighter? I yawned, shaking cobwebs from my mind, as memory returned. No, I’d come here only an hour ago, to check the status of the new railroad system that was going up around the Iron Realm. It was a pet project of mine; the Iron Realm, despite being the smallest and newest realm in the Nevernever, was still large and sprawling. It needed a way for its citizens to travel safely and quickly, particularly if they were coming to Mag Tuiredh to see their new queen. The railroad was the perfect solution, though it would be a while before it was finished.

I rubbed my eyes, the remnants of a dream fading from my mind. Something with a skeleton and a creepy old corpse…I couldn’t remember. Maybe I needed to slow down, take a break or a vacation, if the Iron Queen was allowed such things. It wasn’t such an impossible idea now. The Iron Court, despite all the fear and hatred it still faced from the other courts, was doing well. There were a few hiccups, particularly involving the Winter Court, as Tir Na Nog’s boundaries rested very close to Iron, but as a whole things were going far more smoothly and peacefully than I could’ve hoped for.

Which reminded me. Today marked the first day of Winter. The Winter Court Elysium was this afternoon in Tir Na Nog. I groaned at the thought.

At my feet, Beau, my German shepherd, raised his head and thumped his tail hopefully, and I smiled down at him.

“Hey, boy. You need to go out?”

The big dog panted and surged to his feet, wagging his tail. I ruffled his fur and stood, then winced as the floor swayed and a cloud of nausea bloomed in my stomach. Frowning, I put my hand on the desk to steady myself, clenching my jaw until the spell passed. Beau nudged my hand and whined.