The hotel back yard held a sort of lacklustre garden, just a hundred square meters of grass and trees surrounded by a plank fence. The snow gave it an odd beauty, though, the trees glittering with ice and the snow spreading out across the lawn like a blanket of jewels.

The huge, looming Ogre and the Redcap, with his wide mouth filled with sharp teeth, were waiting on the other side, over by the gate leading out to the back street. Jax kept a heavy hand on Malenna's shoulder. Malenna didn't look frightened – she couldn't feel fear, any more than Jenny could – but she did look angry and gloomy.

"You send her over first!" Jameel said. He didn't speak loudly, but his voice carried across the empty yard. "Then we send over Minnie. And then… then we settle this. Once and for all."

"I've got a better idea," Jax said. "You send old Minnie over, or I kill the brat right now."

"And then we kill Minnie," Jameel said, his voice trembling with rage. "And then it'll be two against two instead of two against three. A fair fight, Jax. I know you hate those."

"You could just kill her anyway, once you have the brat," Jax pointed out.

Jenny laughed. She felt lighter than air. She didn't know if it was because she was in a place where the air was filled with more Glamour than she had gotten used to making do with, or if it was just that she was doing exactly what she should have been doing all along – fighting the bad guys, sword in hand.

"Come on, Jax," she said. "You know perfectly well that you can trust me, just like I know perfectly well that I can't trust you. Death Before Dishonour, does that ring a bell?"

"I'll oblige you there, bitch, count on it," Jax said. But he gave Malenna a push forward, sending her hurrying across the yard. When she was halfway across, Jameel took the iron dagger from Minnie's throat. The evil Satyr blew him a kiss and ran as fast as her goat legs could carry her over to join her friends.

"I am disgraced," Malenna said, in a deeply serious tone that sounded strange in her childish voice, when she had hurried over to stand behind Jenny. "I was careless, and therefore made into a weapon against you."

"No, don't feel bad," Jameel said gently. "This was going to happen no matter what. Jax wouldn't have it any other way."

"Besides, the Dreaming couldn't let this end without a dramatic showdown," Jenny said cheerfully.

Jameel winced.

"And that, I guess."

Jenny raised Sauraq to her lips and kissed its black blade. Flames spread from the spot until the covered the entire sword, from tip to hilt.

"This is the end of the line, you know," she shouted conversationally to the dark fae across the yard. "Killing you will hurt a little, but I think I can just about take it. And in the meantime, the three of you are going to have to go back to having your diapers changed for a bit." She smirked. "Not that I'm convinced Brian ever did get housebroken…"

"Yeah, you got a big mouth, like every other Sidhe bitch I've ever met!" Minnie shouted back. "You sure as hell aren't going back to anything. You'll get the iron death today! How does that feel?"

Jenny glanced at Jameel.

"What do you think?" she whispered. "Will that do for mutual taunting?"

He looked at her like she was insane. Jenny just laughed.

Raising the flaming sword, she charged.

Jameel watched with some distress as Jenny ran across the yard, Sauraq trailing embers behind her. With a bellow, Brian ran to meet her, slamming his huge club down in a blow that sent snow and dirty flying. Jenny slipped out of the way, though, danced to the side and lashed out with the burning sword. Brian gave off a roar of pain as it opened a gash in his side, but before Jenny could exploit the opening, Jax advanced her with his feathered spear and she had to turn to defend herself.

Meanwhile, Minnie was running back towards Jameel, the snow flying around her hoofs. She was laughing shrilly, a hooked knife in each hand. Jameel sank to his knees and gathered snow together in his arms – and as he did so, the snow around Minnie piled up around her, catching her in an icy grip. The barrier didn't have time to solidify, however, before Minnie broke through it, closing the distance to Jameel.

Clumsily, he held out his iron dagger to defend himself, but Minnie leaped, flipping over the knifepoint and over his head. For a horrified second, he felt her hands coming down on his shoulders, pushing him down to carry herself onwards, making him stagger. Before he could even catch his balance, he heard her land behind him and suddenly hot pain exploded in his back.

He turned, trying to get his bearings, trying to construct in his head what had just happened. Minnie was standing there, smirking, blood staining both her knives. His back was moaning, red-hot agony – he had no idea how badly she had hurt him, only that he hadn't fallen yet.

"C'mon, Jameel," Minnie said in her sickly-sweet tone. "This isn't you. You're not the fight-to-the-death type. You're a survivor."

"Who says I'm not planning to survive?" Jameel gasped. With weak fingers, he reached into his cloak, fumbling for a marble.

Minnie shook her head.

"Why can't you just admit it?" she said. "You keep telling yourself that we tricked you, drew you in with sex and secrets and that you never ever realised what was going on until it was too late. Please! You're way smarter than that. Truth is, you knew exactly what I was the first time I let you stick it in me. And you loved it."

"I was… weak," Jameel said. "You offered me things I thought I could never have. I didn't see because I didn't look, and I didn't look because I was too desperate to act like someone with self-respect…"

"You don't get it," Minnie said. "That is what you loved – the desperation, the self-pity, the selling your soul for scraps. You're not a hero, Jameel. You're not a good boy. You're a bitter, angry, frightened little bitch who's in love with your own self-loathing. Embrace it. You won't be happy, but you'll never be happy anyway, and at least this way you'll be yourself. That's what the Unseelie Court offers, and deep inside, you know you want it."

Jameel's hand closed on the marble, hesitating.

Jenny danced amidst flames and steel, whirling through the snow in a wild game of cat and mouse where who was the cat and who was the mouse was never certain. Big Brian barrelled after her, roaring and swinging around wildly with his club. Jax circled, lashing out with his spear whenever he spotted an opening. Jenny dodged Brian's heavy blows, parried Jax's skilful thrusts or caught them on her armour, and retaliated with the fiery blade of Sauraq.

Despite the power of the sword, despite her own skill, she wasn't winning. Jax's spear had enchantments of its own, she could tell, and Big Brian was a killing machine, fearless and implacable. It hardly mattered. She was Lady Mennavere ap Fiona, Knight of the Solitary Tower, and if she had to die on this snowclad yard, she would die crowned in all her fire and glory.

"You know what I'm going to do to you once I've beaten you?" Jax said, smirking with all his big, sharp teeth.

"Something unnecessarily horrible?" Jenny said. She ducked under a swing of Big Brian's club, rammed an elbow into the Ogre's gut and quickly retreated when he made a grab for her. "Save it, Jax. I don't get scared, remember?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Jax hoisted the spear. "You keep thinking there's a right thing to do. There isn't – that shit went obsolete in the Shattering. Eternal Winter is coming. We're all fucked. But we can go out with a whimper, choking to death on Banality, or we can scream and rave and destroy ourselves so that the fucking mortals don't get the pleasure!"

"No, you don't get it," Jenny said. "The battle is lost? The fight is hopeless?" She grinned fiercely. "What makes you think that ever mattered to anyone but self-pitying little Unseelie brats? You know I plan on going out? Swinging a sword with one hand and giving Banality the finger with the other!"

She didn't see the thick arm reaching out for her in time. Big Brian swooped her up in a grip that made her armour creak and groan. Another ham hand grabbed her wrist and twisted Sauraq from her grip. It fell to the ground, melting the snow with its magical flame.

Jax smirked.

"Yeah, I know you don't scare," he said. "But Seelie bitches can never resist the temptation to spout off something melodramatic and inspiring when they should be concentrating on fighting."

Jenny tried to think of some good last words, but she drew a blank.

"Well, shit," she said.

Jameel flung the marble into the air, pouring all the Glamour he had into the cantrip. The little glass ball gleamed in the sun, and Minnie's eyes followed it like it was the most intriguing thing in all the world.

Jameel threw himself forward, cursing the snow that was slowing his steps. He saw Minnie shake her head, starting to recover, starting to notice him…

… and then the iron dagger bit through her jacket, tearing through skin and flesh and piercing her heart.

Minnie gaped. The daggers fell from her hands, and she fumbled at his shoulders as her goat legs began to fold under her.

"Maybe you're right," Jameel told her between his teeth. "Maybe I'm a bitch. But I'm damn well not going to be your bitch."

Minnie opened her mouth to speak. Perhaps she wanted to utter some final curse, or plead for a mercy it was too late for him to grant. Or maybe, knowing her, she wanted to say some final, skeevy endearment – I knew you had it in you. You would make a good Unseelie. Had she died in some other way, the Dreaming would have made sure she got to say it, whatever it was, because dramatic last words were Glamorous.

But the Iron Death tore apart her Glamour, and her eyes glazed over, and she fell to the ground with the words unspoken.

Brian's thick arms were crushing her. Jax advanced, spinning the spear between his hands like a staff, his ugly face split with a horrible smirk.

"End of the line," he said. "And oh man, you've got such a long list of shit I need to pay you back for."

Jenny smiled sweetly.

"In the name of His Majesty David Ardry ap Gwydion, may the Dreaming shelter him…" she said.

"Oh please," Jax said. "You realise I can counter your fucking Sovereign in my sleep?"

"… in the name of His Grace Drackus ap Fiona, may the Dreaming grant him swift rebirth…"

Jax crossed his arms.

"Seriously?" he said. "This is pathetic. You know I'll block it. Are you so fucking thick that you just can't believe that your Sidhe shit doesn't work?"

"… and in my own name," Jenny said. She grinned brilliantly. "Kill Jax."

With a roar, Big Brian threw her aside, sending her tumbling through the snow. She rolled around, got to her feet, and ran for Sauraq. She snatched up the black sword and raised it, turning to face her enemies.

She needn't have hurried – Jax was busy. Brian was throwing his entire massive bulk at him, not even bothering with his club but his swinging his great fists at the Redcap.

"Get back, you fucking moron!" Jax yelled. He was retreating frantically, stumbling on the slippery surface, spear raised in front of him. "Get her out of your head!"

Brian didn't listen. He threw himself forward, grasping for Jax's throat – threw himself right at the spear. There was a wet sound as it pushed into him, and a crack as the shaft broke off. Then Brian's enormous weight came crashing down on Jax like a falling oak, pinning him to the ground.

Once she saw that neither of the men was getting up again, Jenny strolled over towards them, spinning Sauraq in her hand, enjoying the woosh of the flames. Jax was struggling to get free, screaming and swearing.

"Well, well," Jenny said cheerfully. "Well, well, well, well. What was it you were saying about when you had me at your mercy? What was it you were planning to do to me? I think I'd like to hear it now. I could use a few suggestions."

Jax snapped his jaws together, trying to bite her but unable to reach.

"Now, now, don't be like that," Jenny said. "Don't you know this part? This is the part where you formally yield, while at the same time laughing at me because I am honour-bound to accept your surrender, even though I know you'll take the first chance to break any oaths I make you swear and stab me in the back. Hmm?"

Jax struggled. His wide, toothy mouth opened and close without any sound coming out.

"Having some trouble getting the words out?" Jenny said. "That's okay. See, the Seelie Code has a lot to say about honour. But it also has that lovely little part about Never Forget A Debt." She grinned. "Remember hanging me upside down from the ceiling? Remember having that Satyr bitch stab me in the gut? Remember throwing me in a dirty cell? Remember, in essence, really being a fucking pain in my ass for the last week? Because, being a good little Seelie girl, I haven't forgotten at all!"

Jax began to scream an obscenity, but Sauraq rose and fell, and he went silent.