A thunderous bark behind me made me spin around, as a lean, furry creature came bounding toward me out of the rain. For a moment, I thought it was a wolf. Then I saw it was a dog, a huge German shepherd with enormous paws and a thick, shaggy pelt spiked up with rain.
It skidded to a stop a few feet from me and growled, lowering its muzzle and baring sharp white fangs.
I smiled and crouched down so that we were at eye level, despite the teeth f lashing in my direction. “hello, Beau,” I greeted quietly. “Nice to see you, too.”
The dog blinked, swiveling its long ears at the sound of my voice. Eyeing me suspiciously, as if it was just beginning to recognize the intruder in the garden, it gave a tentative tail wag.
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“Beau!” called a voice, echoing out of the rain, making my heart jump to my throat and pound wildly. I stood as the voice drifted closer.
“Where are you, boy? Chasing gremlins again?” Beau barked happily and turned, bounding in the direction of the voice, splashing noisily through the puddles. And then, she appeared under the gate arch, scanning the courtyard for the missing dog, and I stopped breathing.
Ruling a kingdom hadn’t changed her. She still wore faded jeans and a T-shirt, her pale hair long and unbound. But power glowed around her, and even through the rain, she looked real and solid and larger than life, and completely beautiful. Beau came splashing up to her, and she dropped to her knees, scratching the dog’s ears. Then Beau looked back at me, wagging his tail, and she glanced up. Our eyes met.
We both froze. I saw my name on her lips, but no sound escaped her.
Beau looked back and forth between us, whined, and nudged Meghan’s hand, snapping her out of the spell. She rose and walked toward me, uncaring of the rain, until we were inches apart. My heart pounded, and I looked down into the intense sapphire eyes of the Iron Queen.
“Ash.” The word was hesitant, as if she wasn’t quite sure whether I was real or not. “You’re here. How…” She blinked, and her voice became stronger as she took a step back. “No, you can’t…you shouldn’t be here. I told you never to come back. The iron…” I reached out and took her hand, silencing her. “It can’t hurt me,” I promised. “Not anymore.” She gazed up at me, hope and uncertainty warring in her eyes, and I softly touched her cheek, her tears mingling with the rain. “I said I’d be back,” I told her, “and from now on, I’ll never leave your side.
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Nothing will keep me from you again.”
“How…?” she whispered, but I bent down and kissed her, cutting off any protests. She gasped, and her arms slid around my waist, pulling us together. I hugged her close, wanting to feel her against my body, to prove that this was real. I was in the Iron Realm, and Meghan was in my arms.
Beau barked and danced around us, and the rain poured down, drenching us completely, but we felt no urge to move for a long, long time.
When I awoke next, I was afraid to open my eyes, afraid even to move.
Blackness pressed against my lids, and I kept them shut, fearful that when I opened my eyes, everything would have disappeared. I would be back at the Testing Grounds, the Guardian looming over me, its booming voice telling me I had failed. Or worse, that this was all a dream, and I had yet to complete the tests at all.
Very cautiously, I peeked through my lids, bracing myself, half expecting to see the stone walls of the castle, to feel a sudden stab of pain as my mind caught up to reality.
A white-walled room greeted me as I opened my eyes, hazy curtains drawn across a large glass window on the opposite wall. Sunlight slanted in through the crack, spilling across the carpeted f loor, touching a pile of damp clothes lying in a heap next to the bed. The bed I was lying in. I blinked, memories of the previous night beginning to surface like wisps of smoke, foggy and unreal.
There was a sigh behind me, and something shifted against my back.
Carefully, afraid that this entire scene might shatter into reality, I turned. Meghan lay beside me under the covers, her eyes closed, her 294/387
pale hair spilling over her face. I took a slow, ragged breath to calm my racing heart, taking a moment just to watch her. It was real. This was real. I gently brushed her hair from her cheek and watched her stir under my fingers, opening her eyes. Her smile brightened the whole room.
“I was afraid it was a dream,” she whispered.
“You have no idea how desperately I was hoping it wasn’t.” Cupping the back of her neck, I drew her close and kissed her again. She trailed her fingers over my bare chest, and I shivered, almost frightened by how much I loved this girl. But then, I’d gone to the End of the World, endured trials no creature should ever face, for her. I would do it again if I had to.
And compared to that, the question on my mind should’ve been easy.