But as Meghan pulled back to look at me, I found my mind had gone blank, and I was more nervous then I had been in all my years as a Winter prince.
The question stayed on my mind as we lingered under the covers for the rest of the morning, feeling lazy and content and reluctant to leave each other’s arms. It continued to plague me when we finally got up in the middle of the afternoon, after the servants knocked meekly on the door asking if we were all right. Meghan ordered them to bring dry clothing, and I slipped into dark jeans and a T-shirt, feeling strange and slightly awkward in human clothes. I fidgeted, still pondering how I was going to ask her. It made my stomach twist every time I thought of it.
“Hey.” Meghan’s fingers on my arm nearly made me jump out of my skin. She smiled up at me, though her eyes were puzzled. “You seem awfully nervous this morning. Is something wrong?” 295/387
Now or never, Ash. I took a deep breath. “No,” I replied, turning to her, “nothing’s wrong, but I did want to ask you something. Come here a moment.”
Taking both her hands, I backed away to the middle of the f loor, to an open space in front of the curtains. She followed, still wearing a bemused expression, and I paused a moment to gather my thoughts.
“I don’t…know how it’s done in your world,” I began, as she tilted her head at me. “I’ve seen it before…but, I’m not sure how to ask. It never really comes up in the Winter Court.” Meghan blinked, frowning slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I know my role here,” I continued. “Whatever happens, I’m still your knight, and nothing will change that. You are queen of this realm, and I have no desire to rule. That said, I want to do this human thing right.
I’ll still be at your side, fighting your enemies, standing with you no matter what comes at us. But I’m no longer satisfied with just being your knight and protector. I want something more.” I stopped and took a deep breath, then slowly released her hands, stepped back and sank to one knee. “What I’m trying to ask is… Meghan Chase, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Meghan’s eyes got big and round, then a brilliant smile broke over her face. The rest of the day passed in a blur, faces f lashing by, unimportant, excitement and disbelief thick on the air. All I remembered clearly was that one moment, that one simple word that would change my life forever.
“Yes.”
The wedding of the Iron Queen turned out to be much more extravag-ant than either of us expected. Marriage within fey society was almost 296/387
unheard of—the most famous joining was Oberon and Titania’s, and they were from the same court. Even I had no idea why the two Summer monarchs chose to wed, but I suspected it involved power, much like everything else. But once it was announced that the Iron Queen was getting married to the former prince of the Winter Court, the news sent the entire Nevernever into an uproar. The other courts were scrambling over one another to find out what was going on. Rumors began to surface, spreading like wildfire: Meghan and I were making a bid for power, the Iron Realm was trying to gain more territory, I was a spy sent by Mab to join Iron with the Winter Court against Summer.
None of the other rulers were pleased with the marriage. Oberon even tried to stop the wedding, stating that the laws of Summer and Winter forbade a marriage between courts. Of course, when Meghan heard this, she calmly told the Summer monarch that, as Queen of the Iron Realm, she could do what she pleased within her own land. Nor was I a prince of Winter any longer, so he could take his laws and sit on them.
Regardless, the actual wedding was an enormous affair, with repres-entatives from all three courts present. Meghan’s human family would not be there, of course. I doubt any of them would’ve survived with their sanity intact, but I agreed to a smaller private ceremony with her family in the human world. I didn’t really see the point of two weddings, but Meghan insisted her family would see her married as well, so I had no choice but to concede.
The real wedding was held in the wyldwood, as the other courts couldn’t venture into the Iron Realm without poisoning themselves.
And within a grove carpeted in wildf lowers, where three courts of Faery gathered beneath the trunk of a truly massive tree, Meghan and I were wed before Summer, Winter, Iron and the entire Nevernever.