The Iron Traitor. Julie Kagawa
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Brian Kingston. Who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. If he’d hated me before, he was homicidal now. Our little scuffle in the parking lot hadn’t cooled him off any; he was ready for round two. Another broad-shouldered jock type stood in the crowd behind him, but I’d never seen him before. Still, if Kingston decided to take me out here and now, he would gladly join in.
Hell with it.
I smirked and kept my arms firmly around Kenzie’s waist. Kenzie, it seemed, didn’t have any intention of moving, either. “Hey,” she said, smiling at the group of stunned teens, her arm draped casually around my neck. “What are you guys up to?”
“Kenzie,” the other cheerleader stammered, her eyes wide and blinking. “I heard you were out of the hospital, but...” Her gaze flicked to me and away again just as fast, like she was afraid of letting it linger. “You’re...with him now?”
Kenzie shrugged. “Looks that way.”
“The dick that dragged you up to New York without telling anyone about it?” Kingston added, taking a threatening step forward. I tensed as he moved closer, bolstered by his friend and the wide-eyed cheerleader audience. “The piece of shit that put you in the hospital?”
“Hey!” Kenzie turned and stepped out of my arms to face the quarterback, blocking his path to me. He blinked and stumbled to a halt as she glared up at him. “Back off, Brian. This is my decision. And you’d better not give him a hard time at school, or I’m going to be very pissed at you.”
Kingston stared at me over her head, his lips curled in a sneer. “So, you gonna hide behind the girl from now on, freak? Let her fight your battles for you?”
I pushed myself off the hood, making the quarterback stiffen. Anger made my lungs burn, and I breathed slowly to cool off. Kingston stood tall, chest puffed out, daring me to step forward. Knocking his ass to the ground wasn’t enough, it seemed. He wanted a real fight, with fists and blows and broken jaws, and I was about ready to oblige him. Let him know that this dangerous reputation of mine wasn’t just lip service. I’d taken kali for years. I’d fought things a thousand times nastier than him and his thugs.
I’d killed before. Taken my sword and driven it through a faery’s chest, watched it writhe away into nothingness. Not the same as killing a human, but I had taken another creature’s life, and that sort of thing changes you forever.
It would be so easy; we weren’t at school this time, the parking lot was dark and mostly deserted. No one would stop me if I shoved Brian Kingston’s face into the pavement and stomped on it. Maybe then he’d finally leave me alone.
But that would just be another black mark on my record. If I put Kingston in the hospital, I could be expelled. My parents would be unhappy, my kali instructor would be unhappy...and Kenzie would be unhappy. And at this moment, her opinion meant more to me than showing some jock the business end of my fists.
“Let’s get out of here,” I told her instead.
She glared at Brian a moment longer, then nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed, backing away. “It’s gotten a little stupid here for my taste.”
He gave her a wounded look as she walked toward the passenger side of my truck. “Mac, come on. I’m just looking out for you. You can’t be serious about this loser.”
She slammed the door and rolled down the window as I slid into the driver’s seat. “It’s none of your business, Brian,” she said as I turned the key and the truck growled to life.
“He’s just using you, Mac! You know that, right?”
She glared fiercely as we cruised past. The girls still stared at us wide-eyed, but the quarterback followed the truck for a few steps, and Kenzie poked her head out the window. “Yeah, well, at least he doesn’t call me Mac when I ask him not to!” she snapped in return and rolled up the window, ignoring his protests. I stomped on the pedal and squealed out of the parking lot, leaving him standing in a cloud of black smoke and exhaust.
My hands were shaking. I gripped the steering wheel and glared at the road, trying to calm down. I was aware of Kenzie watching me, and humiliation flared up to join the anger. I should’ve said something, anything. I should’ve stood up for myself, or at least for my girlfriend. Instead, I’d let the football jock talk to Kenzie like he had and walked away like a wimp.
“You did good, tough guy,” Kenzie said softly, surprising me. I glanced at her, and she offered a wry grin. “Don’t worry, I know that you’re a badass. You don’t have to prove anything to me. I do realize you could’ve punched the teeth out of Brian’s stupid head if you wanted to. If he saw even half the things we have, he would pee his pants.”
The knot of fury loosened a bit, and I gave her a half smile. “You know they’re going to talk about us,” I said as her warm hand came to rest on my knee. “This will be all over school tomorrow.”
“Let them talk.” Kenzie shrugged. “It’s not like my life isn’t under constant scrutiny as it is.” She snorted and gazed out the window, her face darkening. “Everyone thinks they know what’s best for me,” she muttered. “I wish they’d just let me live my life.”
A lump settled in my stomach. I swallowed the last of my anger and checked my watch. “It’s still fairly early,” I said, determined to salvage the rest of the evening. “Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Um, actually...” Kenzie gave me a sideways look, suddenly shy. “I was wondering if we could go to your place for a while.”
“My place?” My stomach twisted at the thought of her in my room, but I tried to sound casual. “I guess. It’s nothing special, and my mom will be home.”
“That’s fine.” Her fingers drummed my knee. “I just don’t want to go home yet, and I’d like to see where you live, if that’s okay.”
I eyed her warily. We’d pretty much avoided talking about the un-normal parts of my life until now, but Kenzie and I were far from normal, and bringing her into my home would only prove it. “You might see a few of Them hanging around the yard,” I warned her, not liking the way her eyes lit up. “There are a couple piskies who come by every so often, and a brownie shows up occasionally, hoping I’ll let him into the house. They’re not dangerous, but it’s better if you don’t acknowledge them. Don’t give them any attention, or they’ll just keep pestering you for more.” I paused, running through the list of wards in and around my property, wondering if this was a good idea after all. “Also, if you see something weird, like a bunch of plants tied together in the tree or a line of salt across the windows, don’t touch it. They’re protective charms to keep out unwanted guests. And don’t say anything about Them to my mom. She knows about the fey, but she can’t see them like me.” I exhaled, gazing out the windshield. “And really, she’d rather pretend they don’t exist.”
Kenzie nodded, looking sympathetic. “I won’t say anything,” she promised. “And I won’t move any of your anti-faery charms around unless you tell me to. Anything else?”
“One more thing,” I said, thinking that I’d probably put the news off long enough. I really didn’t want to bring it up, but Keirran was her friend, too, and she deserved to know what had happened to him. “It’s about Keirran.”
“Keirran?” Her eyes went wide. “Is he all right?”
“Far as I know. But he’s missing. Meghan came by last night and said he went AWOL not long after we went home. No one knows where he is.”
Kenzie looked grave. “Do you think he’s with...her?”
The Forgotten Queen. I shrugged. “I hope not.”
She was quiet until we reached the familiar streets of my neighborhood. There were no faeries on the sidewalk in front of my house or hanging in the trees next door. I saw Kenzie looking for them, scanning the trees and branches and the dark shadows of the yard for invisible fey, but she was disappointed. I was relieved. I remembered