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I felt a flash of cold behind me and winced Ice-boy’s temper had finally snapped Fro his arm farther into the wolf’s jaws There was another flash, and the hedge wolf stiffened as icicles burst out of its rabbed the wolf’s muzzle with his free hand and yanked it doith a loud crack, snapping its jaw like a frozen twig The wolf yelped, curled in on itself and stoppedthose nasty teeth away froh,a pulse of glamour into the brambly ie breath"

Vines grew fro over its face They wrapped around its jaws like a e and round Whi at its face, and ran off, disappearing into the woods

Dusting ," I ventured, deliberately ignoring Ash’s glare His sleeve was tattered, and blood se wolves ever doing that before"

"If I didn’t need you to get into Su "Let’s not forget that, huh, ice-boy?" His expression darkened even more, but he turned away

"Come on," Ash said, his voice even colder than normal "We don’t have time for your idiocy now"

"That’s what I like about you Winter fey…you’re all such scintillating wits, such clever purveyors of words, such wise and frolicsoh force to have done ood to know you care, ice-boy" With a quick laugh I sprinted ahead, hoping to get out of range of any colder--and sharper-- my way

After the fiasco with the wolves, we separated for a bit, with the frosty prince vanishing into the surrounding woods to clean and bind his arm while I ood idea to tro--and I , and if we ventured any farther, we’d cross into the Fen Marches Barghests and bog wraiths roah I wouldn’teaten or drowned, we had a lowing blue and orange fungi and carpeted ina couple wild mushrooms I’d found earlier, I held the stick over the fla back contentedly Ash hadn’t returned, but knowing ice-boy he’d probably go hunting once he was done with his arm I wasn’t worried; he’d find this place when he was ready

I snorted, rolling my eyes Unless the stubborn idiot decided to strike out on his own again Hopefully he’d learned his lesson the last tiut I hadn’t ht, but now that I had, there was no use trying to forget I gazed into the fire, lettingback

It was an eveningflowers, except it was Winter’s territory and not the ood They hadn’t seen han that night; listened as he told her he was leaving, alone, to retrieve the Scepter of the Seasons I’d listened as he told her to go hoet hihan’s streaked with tears as she tried to be brave; Ash’s tor, as he’d broken her heart, turned away and walked out of her life

And…I’d been glad

I scrubbed a hand over lad, because Ash had crushed one, and perhaps I could finally get her to look atfor the day the princess would open her eyes and see her faithful Puck as souardian and chah I would be her everything, if I could

With a sigh, I yanked the ressively After Ash had left, I’d tried to mend my princess’s shattered heart, the one the stone-cold ice-prince had broken so efficiently And for one blissful han’s kiss was seared into et that day, one of the happiest han and Ash had found their way back to each other, defying every court of Faery to be together, and I was left behind In the end, I’d lost her

So why the hell am I still here?

"Goodfellow"

I jerked up The deep voice wasn’t Ash’s; it was far too low and powerful to belong to the frosty ice-prince I knew it instantly; it was a voice that could command entire forests and woodlands, a voice that I had obeyed long before I ever met the mercurial prince of Winter

Oberon stared ata the very ground quake in fear