by G. Bailey
“He controlled me somehow; he got into my head and made everything go black.”
“Do you know about the witches?” Dabriel asks me gently, and I shake my head. I only remember the witch the demon king killed at that messed-up dinner. There isn’t anything else, just blackness, and every time I try to think about it, it seems to slip away from my thoughts.
“Winter, he used you to destroy the crystal ward that protected the witches’ city. Then he brought his dragons in, and the island is destroyed.”
“Dragons? He used me?” I ask, shock making me feel sick.
“Yes, but it wasn’t your fault.”
“How many witches survived the attack?” I ask, and Jaxson hesitates before he tells me.
“About three thousand, maybe less as a lot are injured still,” he says, and I know that means thousands died in the witches’ city. A city full of people I’m meant to protect as I’m their queen, and instead, I let the demon king use me to destroy the ward that protected them.
“It’s not your fault, you know that?” Dabriel asks me, and I just look away. There’s silence between us all as I guess they don’t know what to say to me. It is my fault no matter what they say. I should have done something, fought more or tried to wake myself up. If I hadn’t been stupid in the first place, the demon king wouldn’t have even escaped.
“What do you remember, Winter? Anything you could tell us could help at this point.” Dabriel asks me, trying to give me a way to be useful.
“I don’t remember much, only bits. I remember a dinner, and two angels were there with a witch,” I say but turn to talk to Dabriel more. I hate that I have to tell him about his brothers. No matter the fact I know he doesn’t get along with them, this is more than just sibling fights. No, this means his family betrayed him, and I know he will never forgive them for it.
“What angels?” Dabriel asks me, sliding off the bed, his wings gently fluttering at the side of him.
“They were your brothers, they told me,” I tell him gently, and he frowns, standing up. I won’t tell him what else they said to me or about him dying, I would never let that happen. I would never let any one of my mates die for me.
“And they are working with the demon king. It wouldn’t surprise me to know the whole council is,” he says, coming over and kissing my forehead. I wrap an arm around his waist, feeling his one wing almost holding me to him. I wonder if he even notices he is doing it. I can’t help but gently guide my hand over his wing, and I feel him gently shiver.
“I’m happy you’re safe and here, but I must go and speak with Lucifer. If the angels are working with them, we are not as safe as I would like,” he tells me, and I nod. I get it, being the royals we are means we don’t have a lot of time to celebrate them saving me. Dabriel walks out the door, holding it open as Freddy runs in and tackles me in a hug. I take a deep breath as the kid almost suffocates me with his strong arms.
“You’re back,” he says, happily squeezing me, and I hold him close.
“I am, where is Wyatt?” I ask Jaxson over Freddy’s head.
“We are having problems with the witches and vampires, there is a fight going on, or he would be here. He saw you before Atti, and he had to go and deal with the problems,” he says, and it’s not surprising, knowing that my mates would have brought the surviving witches here. Now, we are trying to make vampires, witches, and wolves live together after hating each other for so long. There is always going to be arguments, but I know this is the best thing for us. This castle is the safest place.
“Let’s go then,” I say, letting go of Freddy and letting Jaxson take my hand as he leads us out of the bedroom.
“Go and find Katy and Harris will you, Freds? They will want to know Winter is back,” Jaxson asks Freddy when we get outside my bedroom. Freddy gives Jaxson a grumpy look before sighing.
“Fine,” Freddy says and runs down the corridor in the opposite direction. I look up at Jaxson as he leads us out of the corridor that has our rooms, and I hear the shouting the moment we get to the top of the stairs. I listen to the arguments as we walk down the four flights of stairs and past many witches, wolves, and vampires that are leaning over the bannister and watching. Many turn and look at me with wide eyes that have a range of respect, kindness and—what’s worse—fear.
“Ils ne restent pas ici, ni les sorcières,” I hear some man shout, his French words I don’t understand leading me to guess he is one of the vampires.
“I don’t want to be around stupid old vampires anyway. At least us witches aren’t cruel, evil people,” I hear shouted back to whatever the man shouted in French. I come down the stairs just in time to see Atti hold a witch against the wall by his neck, while Wyatt lifts another older-looking vampire off the ground by his coat, his feet hanging off the ground.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, and the room goes silent. Wyatt drops the vampire at the same time that Atti lets go of his man, they both smile over at me. Atti and Wyatt both look stressed even with the smiles. That’s the only thought that comes to mind as I rest my eyes on them. Atti has his cloak on, the black contrasts against his wavy, blonde hair and his grey eyes light up as I smile at him. Wyatt draws my attention the most right now, it feels like forever since I’ve seen him. I let my eyes drop down his body, seeing the tight trousers and button down white shirt he has on, showing off his impressive body. His dark, almost bottomless, brown eyes watch me, and I think he is feeling the same as me. The urge to be close to my mate is hard to resist, even with the number of eyes on us. It’s almost funny the looks of happiness they give me, like they weren’t just stopping a fight, or Wyatt wasn’t holding a vampire up by his neck. The vampire on the floor coughs and moves away, but I’m kind of proud of Wyatt, he could have just used his compulsion on the vampire and made him stop. Instead, he was trying to be reasonable, well as reasonable as a vampire prince who just got his mate back can get, that is.
“Nothing we can’t deal with,” Wyatt says, his eyes drifting over me and finally landing on my eyes. I take a step closer to him and trip, almost falling, but Jaxson slides an arm around my waist and stops me. I clear my throat and look down, seeing nothing. I just tripped on air in front of lots of people, damn it.
“Supernaturals are not meant to live together, this is wrong,” the witch with light blond hair, who Atti was holding, says as he stands up and shakes his head at me. Jaxson’s loud growl is enough to make him stay quiet and not comment on whatever he is thinking. I know I don’t have many fans with the witches, not after what I did to their city, but they don’t seem to look at me with hate like I expected them to. No, they seem to only have fear in their eyes as they stare at the vampires and wolves. I glance around at the five female witches with their hoods down, bundled together on one side and then to the ten or so vampires huddled closely together. The wolves are grouped together by the door. The space between them is huge.
“Everyone, listen!” I shout, and the crowd of witches, vampires, and wolves turn to look at me. I take a deep breath, knowing I need to say this and then spend time figuring out everything else.
“The demon king has an army, a massive army. I saw them. He has thousands and thousands of soldiers that will kill anything in their way, and they have the weapons to kill us. He won’t stop until we are all dead: witch, vampire, wolf, or angel. It doesn’t matter to him,” I tell them, the fear shining in their eyes as they watch me.
“Isn’t he your grandfather? You brought down the ward and let the dragons in!” a female witch says and steps forward.
“You’re right, he is. He has also killed all my blood relatives. He has killed because he is insane, and his thirst for power is out of control. I can only say I’m truly sorry for the ward, for letting him take control of my mind and not figuring out he has that power.”
“How do we know you won’t flip and start attacking us?” an older, French vampire asks, watching me with his hand on a sword strapped to his side.
“If you a
ttack her, if anyone attacks my queen, I will personally rip you to pieces,” Jaxson growls out, and the vampire looks down. I place my hand on Jaxson’s shoulder and step away from him.
“The demon king can’t come here, and he can only control me when he is close. I understand your fear, I feel it, too. I have family here, and you are my people. I won’t stop until he is back in hell, where he belongs. You may not trust me, or some of you may hate me for everything I’ve done. It doesn’t matter; at the end of the day, war is coming. In war, you will see I side with you. I was human once, but I never felt right. I felt lost, and now, being here is home,” I say, and several of the supernaturals all look at each other.
“Our queen is right, we are at war, and squabbling like children over race is not going to win us a war that will save our children. Save our mates,” Atti shouts into the room and then walks over to my side.
“There has never been a threat like this, there has never been a war like this. We will all die if we don’t work together, our children will die. There isn’t a choice here. We fight or we die. You make your choice and spread the word. Those who want to fight, meet me and the other kings in the training rooms in the morning. Those who don’t or won’t, stay out of our way, or I will kill you myself,” Wyatt shouts, and his voice echoes around the room as whispers follow. I watch as he walks over to me, sliding his hands over my cheeks and kissing me.
“We will win this for you,” he tells me, and lets go, dropping to his one knee in front of me and bowing his head. Jaxson and Atti mimic his actions, and so do all the other people in the room, each one of them kneeling and bowing their heads. I look over to see Alex standing near the door, her arms crossed, and she winks at me before bowing herself.
“We will win this war, and I will kill the demon king. It’s what I’m destined to do. It’s what my grandmother, my great aunt, her mates, and my parents died for. I will fight for us all,” I say, my words echoing as I leave out the most important part of the prophecy, that someone will die, and I’m going to make sure it’s me. No one else is dying for me.
Seventy-Eight
Winter
“What the hell are you wearing?” Alex asks as she walks over to me after everyone else has walked away other than my mates. She pulls me into a tight hug, and I just don’t move except to hold her back. It feels like a long time since I hugged my best friend.
“Other than looking like a weird, goth princess, are you okay?” she whispers to me, the words only meant for me to hear.
“I’m good, just…it was like sleeping and having no control. I don’t remember much, and it’s best I don’t,” I tell her quietly, and she lets go. Memories of thousands of dead, demon soldiers, the smell of death, and the demon king’s glowing red eyes will haunt me for years. I have trouble pushing them out of my mind as I try to focus on my best friend. Alex looks amazing as usual, with her red hair down and wearing some kind of leather leggings that stick to her and a baggy white top that hangs off of one shoulder.
“I have something I need to talk to you about,” she tells me, and I frown wondering what when I see Harris and Katy running into the room, followed by Anna holding baby Marie in her arms. Marie looks so much older, which I know babies grow quickly, but it’s still a sight to see. It’s Anna’s haunted eyes that hold my attention as I watch them come come closer.
“Winter!” Katy shouts and hugs me. “What on earth are you wearing? I want to say you look good, but err...” Katy says as she lets go.
“I know, right? It’s awful, that dress should have burnt in the eighteen hundreds and never made it this far,” Alex says, both of them eyeing my awful dress. Hey, it’s not like I disagree with them.
“Win, shit, I was worried about you,” Harris says, and he wraps his giant arms around me.
“I’m good,” I say as he moves away.
He nods, “I let you down, My Queen, and–”
“Don’t start that stuff, or I will start feeling guilty, too,” Leigha’s sharp voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see her push her way through my mates, and she gives me a small smile.
“Back from the demon den, then?”
“Did you miss me, army brat?”
“In training, I did,” she smirks, and Harris walks over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the side of her head. Her red cheeks and small smile she gives him is enough proof to me that she loves him. And the fact that no one seems shocked by their actions.
“I heard what happened with Esta. What she did,” Anna says softly next to me, and I turn to look at her. Despite her soft tone, her eyes have anger in them. Anna’s pale complexion matches her blonde hair, which is up in a bun, and the casual clothes she has on. Marie has a Babygro on, and the wavy, blonde hair is all I can see as Anna holds Marie on her shoulder.
“Esta,” Anna says her name in anger, and the silence in response to her words is enough to know everyone has spoken about it. Someone has told her, and in a way, I’m glad it’s not me that has to.
“She told me she killed Fergus, just before she died,” I reply, and she nods, knowing this.
“And you gave her forgiveness,” Anna says, her tone filled with judgement.
“I had little choice. I gave her my forgiveness, not yours, not the pack’s, and not Jaxson’s. I showed kindness in front of thousands of witches that watched me as I took their throne. The one I took from a cruel witch, and they needed to see I’m different. I couldn’t be cruel to someone who died for me, not in their last moment. What she did was because of her love for Jaxson and her need to be with him. In the end, I felt sorry for her,” I tell Anna, and there’s silence as we stare at each other.
“You’re my queen, my friend, but she took my mate. I do understand your decision, and it’s your kindness that led you to that choice. I hate her for what she did, that she was at the birth of Fergus’s child, and that she pretended to be my friend. I hate her and hope she rots in hell for her crimes. I wish she was still alive, so I could kill her myself,” Anna spits out, and her eyes start glowing and only stop as Marie cries a little. She hushes Marie gently and pats her back.
“Do you hate me?” I ask quietly, and she looks down at her baby and back to me.
“No. I understand. Winter . . . win this war for us, for Marie, and honour Fergus’s memory that way,” she says firmly and waits for my nod before she walks away. Leigha pats my shoulder as she passes with Harris and Katy following her. I wait until they all walk away before I look up at Jaxson who walks to my side.
“I understand what you did, Winter. You’re a better person than me, I would have told her to rot in hell before killing the bitch, myself. But she was still pack, and you acted like a shifter queen who lost a pack mate, no matter the circumstances,” Jaxson tells me, his voice dripping with anger as I look up at him.
“Thank you.” I nod, and he pulls me into his arms.
“Queen Winter, King Jaxson, King Wyatt, and King Atticus,” the voice pauses for a moment,. “I don’t know who you are,” Lucifer says, looking at Alex as he walks over to us and bows low.
Alex and I share a look, there are way too many attractive men in this room, and I know she is thinking the same thing.
“Just Alex. I don’t need all that fuss, hot stuff,” Alex says, and I laugh a little as Lucifer gives her a strange look.
“Hot stuff? Am I on fire?” he asks and pats down his black shirt making Alex laugh.
“No, it’s a human saying.”
“A very strange one, indeed,” Lucifer says and looks at me, “Queen Winter–” he starts to say, and I interrupt him.
“Lucifer, you supported my mate when few others did and showed me memories I will remember forever as they are all I have of my parents, so we are friends. Just “Winter” please, I’m your friend first,” I say, and he nods with a small smile.
“I wish to look into your mind, Queen Winter. I can see your past these last few days and then convince the angels that Zadkiel is working with o
ur enemy. I doubt the council truly knows, and I want to give the angels, my people, the best chance I can,” Lucifer says and holds out a hand as Dabriel comes into the room with another angel I’ve never seen. He nods at me as he continues speaking to the angel while they walk over. I slide my hand into Lucifer’s and watch as he glows with his black symbols. I expect him to show me, but he doesn’t, I watch as his black eyes disappear back to normal, purple ones. When I think about it, I’m glad he doesn’t show me, I don’t need any more memories to have nightmares about.
“I could see the meal with Zadkiel and Govan, and little bits of the army he has,” Lucifer says, reminding me of the brief image I have of Paris and the dead army he has inside it. It’s like a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the world. They could so easily. A memory flitters through my mind of the demon king shouting that the humans keep dying as the demons try to take over them. That thousands are dying all the time, and thousands of humans keep hiding from him in the city.
“We should go to the angels, all of us. A united front,” I say, and there’s silence as Dabriel walks over to me.
“No fucking way,” Jaxson snaps out.
“You may be my mate, but you don’t control me. Don’t speak to me like that, Jax,” I snap back, and he growls lightly.
“I lost you, I fucking lost you, and you expect me to let you go anywhere near him again?” Jaxson says, and my anger disappears when I realise his reaction is pure fear of losing me again, nothing more.
“Jax, I’m here now, and what happened before, won’t happen again. He chose a time when we were celebrating winning the crown and mating to Atti because we were all distracted. Nothing is going to distract us again,” I say and look over at Wyatt and Atti as they step closer.
“I’m not taking you out of this castle, Winter. The demon king could take control of you again, and we can’t risk him using you to get here. The winter solstice is in two weeks. He is coming then, and we have no way of preventing him from taking over your mind,” Dabriel says gently, making me turn to look at him as he slides a comforting hand down my arm.