Meghan

"He's gone."

I stand by Ash's side, trying to do the impossible, to read through the wall that hid all his thoughts and feelings. It was futile, of course. If Ash didn't want you to know something then you would never know, it was as simple as that. Most of the old winter prince had worn away with time but the minute Ash came under threat or stress, his cold, warrior nature sprung up instantly and there was no talking him out of the mindset. We can live for thousands of years and that part of him will never go away. It's kind of comforting, knowing that eternity won't change him.

Giving up on that front, I try to wrap my mind around the latest news that Ash had thundered in with. Keirran was gone and had no intentions of returning. No one knew where he was going and who he was seeing anymore. Just another step closer to the prophecy becoming a reality. It was impossible to imagine. I couldn't see the innocent, little boy that was shooting arrows with Glitch and his father, living to destroy everything I had worked so hard to achieve.

"So what do we do?" I ask quietly, as though Ash has any ideas on a plan of action.

"I don't know, Meghan!" he yells, turning on me. His eyes are flared up like a spooked horse. Then, as though someone had shot him with a sedative, he sighs dejectedly. "I don't know. It's going to happen and there's nothing we can do about it anymore."

"We don't know that for certain, Ash." I say softly, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"You know I've always admired your optimistic attitude but there's times when you should let it go and open your eyes." he says harshly. "We've been playing a game that we could never have won and it's time for us to accept the consequences."

"We can't just give up on Keirran, Ash, he's my- your son."

"I would do anything to change the way things are but I can't. There's a war coming, Meghan. We might be sitting it out but we still have to throw our lot in but who to? I don't know about you but I know which side I belong to and nothing in this world will stop me from standing there."

"Are you questioning my morality?"

"No, I'm questioning who you will choose to stand with."

"I'm questioning the things I always thought to be true." a cold voice says from high up behind us.

Ash and I whip around and I find the voice's origin. A cat, perched up in the beams of the room. At first glimpse I thought it was Grimalkin, but at closer examination, this cat was much different. Small and elegant, glossy black coat with silver markings on its feet and at the top of its tail. The cat's eyes glittered silver too, like its distinctive markings. It leapt from its beam gracefully but it wasn't a feline that hit the ground. In a burst of white light, the cat morphed into its normal form. Skylar stood in front of us, arms crossed.

I should have known. With all of her powers, Skylar could shift her form seamlessly. She was one of a rare few who could shift into almost every species in existence. As soon as the princess had mastered her powers when she was about seven, it became nearly impossible to keep track of her. Ash, Glitch and the rest of the servants were kept on their toes trying to follow her. Then I remembered where she should be; lying asleep by a charm to protect her life.

She looked fine, not showing an inkling of the horrors that had occurred only a day ago. Her black hair was curled into neat ringlets that bounced around her shoulders. She was dressed in her customary black, mortal clothes, her eyes shining brightly. The sleeves on her bomber jacket were rolled up to just above her elbow, revealing three pale scars across her left arm. I want to wrap my arms around her and hold her close to make sure she's real, that it's not just the punchline of a sick joke, but the feeling in the air screams that she doesn't want anybody close to her. Puck could walk in here and I'd be certain she would shove him away. If I can sense her emotions so strongly, what is Ash feeling? He must be dying inside from her onslaught. Anger, hurt, distrust and a hint of triumph, forming into one, unnameable force. We stand watching each other, sizing the situation up.

Ash goes to speak but Skylar gets there first.

"All these years, I felt like everyone else knew something that I didn't." she says in a strangled voice, her tone twists my stomach. "I see the way people look at me, how people treat me. People telling me I'm destined to do this, that and the other. At first I thought it was because people thought I was a mutt, because of my power, because of my parentage. But too much happens for it to be just that. Oberon, Mab, Titania, they're afraid of me, aren't they? You, Puck, Grimalkin, you all know something about me and it's about Keirran too, isn't it?"

She bites her lip, a few tears slipping out as she blinks but she brushes them away sharply, just another characteristic of her father coming through. I look up at Ash for guidance but he doesn't meet my eyes, he stares straight ahead blankly.

"It's too late to try and pass it by me. Tell me now. All of it."

This was it. All the years spent trying to keep the truth behind closed doors hadn't done us any good in the end. Looking back on it, I wonder how we ever thought it was possible to keep Keirran and Skylar blindfolded for their coming years. It made me question whether Keirran really was as innocent to the prophecy as I had made myself believe. It was a miracle that we had made it this far, really, but it still hit hard. It was like having your life's work crushed right before your eyes.

So we tell her, everything from the day Ethan was kidnapped to the present. We'd been backed into a corner with nowhere to run. I can't even begin to imagine how she's feeling, being told that her brother is fated to turn against her and she has to murder him. Not the best news.

She sits in front of us, her head hung low. The air around her was so dark and betrayed. I had broken her heart in two. Slowly, she looks back up at us, me particularly.

"Why didn't you give Keirran to the Oracle?" she sighs.

"We kept Keirran because we couldn't just give him up, you won't understand that until you're a parent yourself." Ash replies. "The future isn't set in stone, Skylar. The things we do, even the little things, can set us on another course. We thought we could keep Keirran from instigating the prophecy."

"So you kept Keirran, which was a risk in itself, then decided on going the whole way and having me." she says, frowning. "In fact, forget why you kept Keirran, I can understand that. What I don't understand is why you had me."

My heart skipped several beats. I had wanted to avoid this whole discussion but never, never in a million years, did I want to touch upon this particular topic. I promised myself she wouldn't ever have to hear the reason but she wasn't stupid. Deep down I think she knows, but it doesn't make it any better hearing it.

"Because if we didn't, there was a chance Keirran would still turn and there . . . you wouldn't be there to stop him." Ash says softly, regretting every word that left his mouth.

"Of course you did." Sky whispers, looking away from us. She shields her eyes with her hand but it didn't do any good, we could hear her crying. Ash's eyes were suspiciously glassy but, he too, looked away.

"Sky, I'm sorry." I tell her, sitting beside her. She lets out a noise, something between a sob and sigh. Frost spreads out from where she sits, slowly covering the bed. Suddenly, she jumps to her feet, jerking her hand away from me.

"You two might have given up on Keirran already but I haven't." she says in a hard voice. "I'm going out to find him and if I don't come back tonight, assume I'm with him."

"No! You can't." Ash says urgently, flame flaring in his eyes.

"Just watch me." she retorts coolly, slamming the door behind her. The whole room turns to ice with the slam.