by G. Bailey
“Your inheritance. The crown is yours, and you are stronger than him,” Elissa says, her voice urgent.
“Who?” I ask.
“You’re only a quarter demon, Winter. Your humanity is what will save you,” the voice says. Demon?
* * *
“Time to wake up, little princess, I want to talk,” a voice says, waking me up from a strange dream that I struggle to remember. Something about humanity and demons. I open my eyes to see a pair of dark red ones watching me; they almost glow in the dimly lit room. Demon. The demon king. Everything comes rushing back to me as I lean back in the seat I’m in and try to swallow the fear that climbs up my throat. I glance around the dining room we are sitting in and see the faces of three other people with us. The dining room is a room I’ve never seen, but the massive windows overlook the vampire gardens, and the library can be seen on the other side through the windows. At least, I know where I am. I look back at the betraying idiots that are sitting at the table. Damn, I’m in trouble. One is an older witch with long, black hair and a grin that is creepy as she watches me too closely. The other two are angels with white wings and look familiar. They both have light purple eyes and cruel expressions. The older one of the two has short hair, whereas the other one has longer hair. I glance down at my hands, one is holding a wine glass, and I don’t remember picking it up. I quickly pull my hand away as I look at the table which is set with food and a half-eaten plate in front of me. I rest my hand over one of the knives on the table and the other on my lap. I nearly jump when I see the long dress I’m wearing. It’s a corset at the top and has an old-fashioned, lacy skirt. Damn, the dress is a nightmare on its own.
“Don’t think about it, my princess. I will put you back in your mental cage before you even get a chance to touch me with that knife,” the demon king warns. I refuse to even think of him as a relative of mine. We may share blood, but he means nothing to me after what he has done. I turn and look at him, sitting at the head of the table and looking every bit the king he is pretending to be.
“My name is Winter, not princess,” I spit out.
“But, you are my princess,” he tells me.
“I’m not your anything. I am the queen of three races and soon to be four. When my kings come for me, and they will, you will regret this,” I warn him, and his dark laugh fills the room.
“Silly words from a murderer,” the witch opposite me says, spitting out the words as I stare into the dark red eyes of the demon king. Other than the slight, grey shade to his gold skin, he still reminds me of Wyatt, as he wears the old vampire king’s body. I look up at the crown, the crown which belongs to Wyatt and not him.
“Everyone I have killed has deserved their fate,” I turn my gaze away and meet the angry face of the witch.
“My daughter did not deserve you to kill her! She was the queen, you stupid little–” the witch stops shouting as a dagger lands in her neck and blood sprays all over the table. I look away in disgust as her head slams onto the table, and the demon king simply smiles at me.
“No one will insult my princess,” he tells me, suggesting he just killed the witch for me. I look back at the witch, her dead eyes facing the windows, and I gather that Taliana must have been her daughter. I understand her anger, her pain, and she died because of it.
“She didn’t deserve this,” I mutter, and the angel with no hair replies.
“Yes, she did, beautiful one,” he says, and I glare at him.
“Does your king know you’re here?” I ask, and he slams his hand on the table, making me jump.
“I will be king,” he says, and I just laugh.
“You will regret this, being here,” I say to the angel who looks seconds away from trying to kill me before looking at the dead witch’s body out of the corner of his eye.
“Do you know your father said those words as one of my demons killed him?” the demon king tells me.
“What?” I ask quietly, shock shaking me to my core. My father died in a car accident, or that’s what I was told happened. I doubt my mum would have lied to me about that.
“Your father said those last words as my demons tortured him to death. It was a shame he wouldn’t speak a word about where you were. He died protecting you from me, and yet, here you are,” he says, leaning toward me and resting his head on his joined hands.
“It was a car accident,” I spit out, not believing a word that comes from him. He only chuckles and leans back in his seat, linking his hands together.
“No, it wasn’t, but he was only a silly human that my daughter thought would be safe to love,” he says.
“He was not a silly human. He was my father and a brave man,” I say, standing up and calling my power. The second it leaves me and releases a blue wave, the angels in the room go flying along with the dead witch body, which I almost regret doing. The demon king just watches me as I look at him, the blue wave not bothering him one bit as he lifts a hand and makes his own ward.
“They say you were once human and innocent. I see that is no longer true of you,” the angel with shaved hair says after he flies over, landing next to me. I lift the knife off the table and hold it in front of me as I push the chair out of the way, walking backwards.
“So, beautiful, I know why my brother liked you now. I know why he is going to die for you,” the angel comments as he reaches a hand out to me, but I whack it away with the knife, cutting him, and turn, running for the door. Dabriel’s brother is here, and it makes sense why the angel looks familiar. My mind runs over the fact it means the angels must be working with the demon king. I need to escape. Just as I open the massive hall doors, a haunting dark laugh fills my ears. Blackness fills my eyes as everything disappears, and I feel myself drop the knife.
“And I only wanted a nice family dinner, what a shame,” I hear the demon king taunt as blackness takes over my eyes.
Seventy-Six
Winter
“Elissa, run,” a man roars as I open my eyes and see the entrance hall to the castle. Pieces of stone and dust fall from the ceiling near me, but I can see the destruction surrounding me. I turn and just see the back of Elissa, running up the steps of the castle. The castle is old and in ruins as one wall is on fire and another is in crumbles. The smoke in the room just floats around the white dress I’m wearing, the sparks coming off the wall of fire should burn me, but they don’t. I can’t even feel the heat from the room; if anything, it still feels cold.
“You and me then, boy,” the familiar voice of the demon king says, and I turn to see the voice coming from an attractive, middle-aged man. The man has a long, black cloak on and dark black hair. He stands holding a sword at his side, and at his feet is the dead body of Atti’s ancestor, the first witch. I watch as he holds the blood-covered sword up at his side, blood dripping onto the stone floor.
“Whatever happens here today, she is safe. She will live, and her child will finish this war. She will finish you,” the voice of the first vampire, Wyatt’s ancestor, says as he holds his own sword in the air. They don’t say any more words as the demon king rushes forward and attacks him, their swords clashing together, and the force nearly springing them both backwards. I try to move as they fight, as I know the ending to this vision already, he will die. Both are fast, but the demon king is better, it’s clear with every hit and swing of his sword. The demon king hits the vampire ancestor in his side, and he falls a little, giving the demon king the second he needs to shove his sword straight through his heart.
“No,” I breathe out, but no sound comes from my lips, and the world is silent for a second before the vampire ancestor’s pale face has black lines crawling over it, and he collapses on the floor.
“All but children in a game I’ve played for many, many years,” the demon king says, his tone almost soft as he speaks to the two bodies on the floor. He steps over the witch and walks up the stairs, going after Elissa. I turn slightly to the left and see a woman walk in, her long, white cloak dotted with blood. She lower
s the hood, and shock fills me when, for a second, I think it’s Elissa, but it’s not. It’s Demtra, but they look so alike, the only difference is the hair and eyes. I met her once when I died, and I thought it was Elissa, but it never was. Demtra looks straight at me, her green eyes staring straight through me.
“They did not fall so that you would fall, Queen Winter. Only you can stop this, you and your mates,” she then gestures to the bodies on the floor, “their last children if this is not stopped. Win the war, Queen Winter, win the war, win the war...” Demtra says in my mind, and the sentence repeats again and again in my mind as she walks up the stairs.
* * *
I shoot up in bed, feeling a hand shaking my shoulder, and open my eyes to see Atti leaning over me, relief spread across his handsome face before he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. I throw myself into the kiss, letting him pull me closer. I break away and just stare up at him, seeing his stormy, grey eyes that almost glow. He has a cloak on, his hood up, so I can’t see his blond hair, but I lift my hand and place it on his cheek under the hood.
“Atti,” I whisper, seeing him close his eyes and pull me close. The bond between us is clear when I’m in his arms, my back almost tingles, reminding me of my marks and Atti’s, which I haven’t seen yet.
“We have to leave,” Milo’s voice comes from near us, and I break away from Atti to look over at the door, where Milo is hovering in the air. Milo has a strange, green outfit on and a green sash holding his white hair up. It’s such a relief to see them both, but as I look around, I have a feeling we aren’t out of danger yet.
“Milo, Atti, how are you here?” I ask, looking around the bedroom I’m in and down at the black dress I’m still wearing. I’m still in the vampire castle; how am I not under his control, and where is he?
“Milo can pull people through demon wards, now we have to go. The distraction isn’t going to be long,” Atti tells me and pulls me off the bed. A wave of dizziness hits me as I stand up, and I can feel the demon king in my mind, only a little bit. It’s like a dark stain.
“Wait . . . how did you?” I ask Atti, pulling his hand to stop us walking across the room.
“Make you not, well, controlled? I just flooded your system with my magic, mates can do that. You might feel a little–” Atti says, and I interrupt him.
“Dizzy?” I ask, resting on his shoulder, and he nods.
“Can you run?” he asks me. I stand straighter and remember everything I have to fight for. This isn’t the time to be weak, I don’t have time for that.
“Yes,” I reply, and Atti links our hands as we run out of the room. Milo lands on my shoulder. I smile at him, and he rests his head next to mine as we stop at the end of the corridor, and Atti looks around it before we start running down the next one.
“Glad you safe,” Milo says quietly and lightly kisses the side of my head.
“Me too, and thank you for saving me. I will always be thankful,” I tell him quietly, and Atti smiles at me before we stop at the end of another corridor. Atti places a finger on his lips as he looks around the edge of the wall and then nods at me, tugging on my hand. We run down familiar-looking corridors, and Atti has to catch me when I trip on the lacy dress, ripping it. I pick some of the dress up as we get outside, and I hear the sound of screaming in the background. When the ground shakes, and the blast is strong enough to shake the castle, I know Jaxson is near. Worry fills me from the idea of him fighting the demon king, but I trust my mates to have made a plan.
“Jaxson?” I ask Atti as we run down the main court area and towards the large walls that enclose the castle. It’s surprising how there isn’t anyone here, not a single person or demon around. I think back to the humans that used to live here, how they never really had a chance to truly live, to be free and are most likely dead or demons now. I’m not sure which fate would have been better for them. An awful, groaning noise comes from next to us as we run, and I look to the left of Atti to see two demons running at us. They look horrible, their grey skin falling off their faces, and the smell from them can’t be missed.
“Jaxson is making the distraction,” Atti tells me and pushes me behind him as he raises his hands, and a large stream of fire leaves his hands. I look around him to see two piles of blue dust, and then we are running again before I can look at or say anything. In some ways, killing them is putting them to rest. Or that’s what I have to keep telling myself.
“We need to jump, can you do that?” Atti asks me, and I look up at the big wall and the blue ward that is just on the other side. Milo starts flying up as I watch and take a few steps back.
“Yes,” I say remembering my training with Leigha. She would kick my ass if I don’t jump this. All that training is finally becoming useful, and I could just see her smirking at me if I told her she was right.
“One, two, three,” Atti says, and I run next to him, jumping at the same time and pushing as much as I can to make the jump. I fly through the air and just manage to hit the top, catching my hands on the stone and hanging off the edge. My hands scrape across the sharp stone, and it cuts my fingers, my blood making it harder to hold on as the cold wind pushes me to the side. I look up, just as it starts to snow, it’s falling thickly from the sky. I try to pull myself up, but the stupid dress catches on the stone and stops me from using my legs to help. These old dresses are not meant for climbing. Atti lands after me, pulls himself up, and reaches down to lift me up only seconds later. He pulls me to his chest, and I gently press my lips to his.
“My mate,” I say softly, and he presses his forehead into mine. Atti lifts my cut hands and wipes his thumb across the cuts, which are slowly healing on their own. My teeth extend, but I don’t feel hungry, which only makes me feel sick. I must have been fed or fed on someone while I was here. It’s the only thing that makes sense.
“Hey, don’t leave me and disappear into your thoughts. I missed you, and whatever it is you’re worried about, we will sort it,” he tells me, and I look up at him.
“I missed you, too,” I whisper, and he kisses my forehead before he steps away, our moment gone as we both walk over to the dark blue ward. The ward is thick, almost stopping you from seeing the other side and the forest behind it.
“You touch and push,” Milo tells me as he flies over, and Atti holds out his hand to Milo.
“You think I can walk through the ward?” I ask Milo, who nods his little head, making his hair bounce up and down.
“Demon, you,” he tells me, and I nod back, understanding what he means. I should be able to do this because it’s part of who I am. If the demon king can use that small part of me to control me, then I should be able to use it, too. I step forward at the same time Milo pulls Atti through the ward. I push my hands against it, feeling it pushing back like a sponge, but the more I push the further I can walk. I push and hold my breath, closing my eyes as I step through the ward. I gasp for air when I finally break through the other side, and I hear a loud shout.
“No!” the demon king’s roar seems to echo around my mind, and I hold my hands over my ears as darkness starts spreading in my eyes. My power starts rising, and I scream as I push it away, refusing to let it hurt anyone. Especially not my mate.
“Atti,” I whisper, feeling his hands picking me up and then the feeling of us moving, seconds before everything disappears into a familiar darkness.
Seventy-Seven
Winter
“Winter,” a familiar voice says as a hand strokes my cheek, and I open my eyes to see my angel leaning over me. Dabriel watches me closely, his hair falling around his face and his marks glowing ever so slightly all over his skin. I’ve never spent a lot of time looking over each mark, seeing how they all resemble shapes, and they are difficult to look at for too long as it hurts your eyes. It’s kind of like looking at the sun. Dabriel has a white shirt on and jeans, but they are crinkled, and he looks tired. I look down to see I’m wearing the stupid black dress still, and I’m lying on top of the covers of my
bed at the goddess’s castle. The bedroom is such a comfort to see, as much as being with one of my mates.
“Dab,” I say, sitting up, and he pulls me to him with a contented groan. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek, waiting only a second for him to turn his head and fully kiss me. I moan as he slides his hands into my hair, and his tongue gently wrestles with my own. This is everything, being here with him and being safe.
“You’re awake, lass,” Jaxson says from somewhere nearby, and Dabriel breaks away from the kiss, leaning back, so I can see Jaxson as he walks into the room. Jaxson looks tired, but so determined, as he walks over to me and leans down, pulling me off the bed and into a hug. I wrap my legs around his waist as he kisses me fast, then breaks away.
“I fucking missed you, don’t do that again. I can’t keep losing you like this,” he tells me. I run my hand over his beard that needs shaving and the messy hair that falls slightly into his face. He looks tired but still has the wild side to him, the side that makes him the very wolf I know he is.
“It’s not like I chose a family reunion, Jaxson,” I say, wriggling out of his arms, and he sighs as he lets me go. “How did the distraction go?” I ask him, looking him over for any injuries but not seeing any.
“I decided the best way to get his attention was to destroy half the castle, so I caused an earthquake and brought down the left side of the castle,” Jaxson says with a shrug like it was nothing when I bet that was some hell of a show of power. “The demons attacked, and we held them off, until the demon king got there. I went to fight him when he realised you had gone, and then the witches came and used their power to portal everyone out,” Jaxson tells me. I bet the demon king was mad.
“What happened to you? How could he take power over you, make you almost a zombie?” he asks me gently.