As we’d hoped, we had a smooth ride to Ragnar Peak, especially since my weird little snowflake pendant kept searing into my skin whenever we got within a mile of daemons. I had to put up with the occasional burn, though, just to make sure I could immediately react and steer our group away from potential danger. Corrine had made our combat suits from insulated leather, and it would’ve taken precious minutes for me to feel the pendant’s temperature changes if I’d left it out.

For a brief moment, my mind wandered back to my morning with Heron. We’d taken our time leaving the room, making love and promising each other that we would get through this. That, at the end of this perilous adventure, he and I would have a chance at a real relationship.

“I promise I’ll still pursue the classic date approach once we get off this planet,” he’d murmured against my lips. “Candlelight dinner, walk on the beach, the works. Everything for you. I cannot express how much I want to court you, Avril. I was raised to believe that I must worship my soulmate, babe, and worship you I will.”

And I believed him, loving him even more for his disarming candor.

The sun shone brightly overhead, slowly descending into the early afternoon. With a clear sky and our furs already off, tied to our saddles, we raced across the plains and headed for Ragnar Peak. We slowed the horses down a bit, to give them time to recover some of the energy they’d burned off during our escape from Athelathan, but we kept a steady, moderate speed.

The massive stone giant rose proudly just a couple of miles away. It looked like nature itself had laboriously sculpted it from limestone, sprinkling it with dark forests and colorful bushes all the way up to the top, where the fortress overlooked the many miles around us.

I could see the carved stairs from where we were, fractured lines, interconnected as they linked the fortress to the ground level. The towers added a couple hundred feet to the peak’s overall height, with tall windows that were strategically placed in order for any assigned watchers to have a clear view of everything within a five-mile radius.

As we got closer, I noticed breaks in the stairs. Three-foot-long fragments were missing, but there was one set that reached the main gates rather uninterrupted, with the exception of a couple of gaps. Nothing we couldn’t climb over, anyway.

“I wonder if the others are nearby,” I said, squinting as I looked out into the distance. I would’ve loved some of Harper’s sentry abilities, so I could True Sight the hell out of this place.

“They can’t be far,” Scarlett replied. “Or, even better, dare I dream, they could already be waiting inside the fortress. You know, keeping out of sight, maybe?”

“We need to prepare for potential hostiles,” Arrah reminded us. “Just in case. You never know who’s passing by, especially now that we slipped through the daemons’ claws again.”

“Agreed,” Patrik said. “Got any ideas? As far as my abilities and knowledge go, I could set up a few traps along the stairs. I don’t have ingredients for a protective shield to keep daemons out, but I can rig the stairs with smoke alarms.”

“We packed some explosives this morning,” Arrah replied with a smirk. “I think they’ll come in handy for this. Once we get inside the fortress, there is only one way out, and that’s the way we came in. If daemons come here, we’ll need to keep them at bay. If the rest of your team isn’t here by then, we’ll need a way to hold out until the dragon arrives. I imagine that fortress will be a prime spot for him,” she added, narrowing her eyes as she glanced up at the fortress towers.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, then instantly hissed and pulled the snowflake out from under my suit. “Dang it!” I croaked. “Daemons.”

We all looked around, trying to figure out where they were coming from, with just one mile left between us and Ragnar Peak. The snowflake glimmered, then started shining bright like a miniature white sun.

“I don’t see anything ahead,” Scarlett muttered, as we put our red lenses on. “They’re not at the peak.”

“Uh, guys?” I said, feeling my voice tremble, as shivers ran down my spine. It was becoming difficult to even look at the snowflake now, which meant the daemons were dangerously close.

Heron looked over his shoulder through his red lens. “Ah, crap,” he growled.

I could hear the rumbling of boots on the ground. We all looked back. My blood curdled, dread trickling through my veins like liquid fire. “Oh, crap,” I agreed, equally unsettled.

For those of us without red lenses, specifically Arrah and her Imen, a rippling mass of air could be seen coming after us at impressive speed. Not as fast as our indigo horses, but they’d definitely spotted us. I counted about three hundred daemons through my red lens, roughly. Cason, the overachieving son of Shaytan, was leading them with a satisfied sneer.

Their red eyes glistened with delight as they chased after us.

My stomach curled up in a painful twist. Oh, we were so screwed. Our worst-case scenario was coming true, it seemed. “How come we didn’t spot them sooner?” I muttered, then cursed under my breath. I blushed, instantly thinking what my mother would’ve thought if she’d heard me swearing like an ogre. Pray you get to see Maman after this!

“Your snowflake only now started to burn,” Scarlett said. “They must’ve kept their distance. We did slow down a bit, probably enough for them to catch up. They probably took our red lenses into account and didn’t want to get too close and spook us. Dammit, that Cason is a serious pain in my ass.”

“Our collective ass, darling,” Patrik replied, gritting his teeth.

“We need to make it into the fortress, and fast!” I said, then looked at Patrik. “You should go ahead, Druid, and start setting up whatever you can on your way up to the gates. Scarlett, Arrah, Dion, and Alles, you guys should go with him. You’ve got your proprietary explosives and whatnot. Heron, Hundurr, the rest of the Imen, and I can slow down a little and try to hold them back.”

“Nonsense!” Patrik shot back. “We’re all going! Once we reach higher ground, it’ll change the game in our favor, trust me!”

“I’m with the Druid on this one,” Arrah chimed in, then nudged her horse to go faster.

I took a few deep breaths, then stole a glance at Heron. He gave me a brief but reassuring smile, followed by a confident nod, making my heart skip a beat. “We’ve got this, Avril.”

“We most certainly do,” Scarlett replied, then went faster.

We dashed across the hard, grassless ground, with five hundred yards left between us and Ragnar Peak, and less than two hundred yards between us and the daemons. The one thought that stopped me from experiencing sheer dread in that moment was the fact that we were riding indigo horses. These creatures were fast and resilient. They’d had their little breather across the flatlands, but now it was time to speed up again.

Our mission was nowhere near over. We had to make it up to the fortress. This time, there was no room for failure. I exhaled sharply and leaned forward to get into a more aerodynamic pose, then clicked my teeth and pushed my heels into my stallion’s sides. The creature knew what I wanted. And it obliged.

With one last glimpse of Cason, hot on our trail, I shifted my focus onto what lay ahead, specifically on the four-hundred-yard race we had till we reached the stone steps leading up to the fortress.

I could hear the daemons roaring, their rapiers jingling in their scabbards and their boots thudding as they ran. But I chose to concentrate on the thundering hooves beneath us and the strategic advantage of fighting those horned bastards from a higher point. There was no way I was going to let this end here. Not now, not ever.

We’ve got this.