I leapt into the air, snatching one of the swathes of fabric. I climbed up, hand over hand, until I reached the mezzanine level, and I swung into one of the balconies. I scanned my surroundings, my gaze quickly landing on a stairwell. I could make a fast exit, but I needed to take out as many as possible on the way out.

My gaze flicked over the lanterns burning brightly in the balcony. Maybe a little fire would help direct things my way.

Baleros’s fifteenth law of power: Always use your surroundings.

My pulse racing, I pulled one of the lanterns off its mount and hurled it down to the lower level. The oil ignited, causing a small explosion that lit the fabric on the walls.

I sprinted for the stairwell, then thundered down the stairs, my sword drawn. As the demonic guests began to run for the exit, fleeing the smoke and flames, I drove my sword into them, one by one. In their panic, none of them were prepared for me, and I hacked into them, slaughtering the first two down the stairs. The rest turned and ran back into the burning building.

Smoke filled the air, now, and I turned to flee the tower before the whole thing burned down. When I reached the lower level, the silver-crowned queen raced past me. My jaw dropped. She’d come to life again.

It seemed she’d been condemned to a hell world where she was fated to die over and over again. What crime had she committed? Seduction, probably. In worlds ruled by men, that in itself was some kind of unforgivable witchcraft.

I was dimly aware of the other novices fighting demons around me, but my attention was on the queen, who stood in the grass. Blood spattered her green gown.

From behind her, a hulking, beastly demon burst through one of the iron-studded doors. His body was that of a giant man, bedecked in the robes and furs of a king, and his eyes glistened like white pearls. But his face was leonine, and he had a mane of ginger hair. A golden crown gleamed on top of his head. So, she was the queen, and here we had our king.

My pulse raced at the sight of him, and part of my brain screamed that I needed to run, fast.

I stared as he flicked his wrist, severing the woman’s head from her body.

Another demon I’ll happily slaughter.

As I ran for him, my sword drawn, he unsheathed his own longsword. He roared, and our blades clashed, steel against steel. His strikes held an immense power, and I struggled to keep my balance.

He roared again, and a powerful blow crashed into my sword. I stumbled for a moment, losing my footing, and he lunged for me, swinging wildly. Regaining my composure, I nimbly dodged back, but he caught me with the tip of his sword, drawing blood from my abdomen. I gripped my gut, my heart thundering.

Oh, shit. I was losing control of this situation.

He slashed for me again, and I dodged. This time, he just nicked me in the hip. A hot stab of pain shot through me.

I clenched my jaw. I needed to get control here.

I gripped my sword hard, striking for him. He parried, again and again, but his size also slowed him down. Now, a familiar strength and surety coursed through me. I knew exactly how to angle my blade, exactly where each step should fall, until I was driving him back into a wall. Power—my legacy, my heritage—suffused my limbs. Still, I took care to wipe the smug look off my face, just as Ruadan had instructed.

I could see that my opponent’s form was growing sloppier the longer it went on. I suppressed a smile as he retreated toward one of the tower walls. I really liked defeating enemies who were much larger than I was. There was just something about the look of disbelief on their faces….

When he stumbled, I seized the moment and lunged for him, thrusting my sword into his heart. His milky eyes widened in horror, and I pulled out my glistening, red blade.

I’d been injured—pretty badly—but my gladiator training had conditioned me to survive a fight by blocking out pain. Adrenaline raced through me, numbing the agony I should have felt.

Once I slaughtered him, a loud bell began to toll, and a roaring noise rumbled off the stone walls. Streams of demons began bursting through the black wooden doors, racing onto the green, swords and axes raised. They wore jeweled clothing and velvet caps, and many had black wings and talons. My stomach dropped at the sight of them.

It seemed that killing the demon-king in this world was a bit of a faux-pas. In fact, the demons were all bellowing something that sounded like treason, treason, treason!

Just as I was contemplating the logistics of fighting off an entire horde of Tudor-era demons, a small whirlpool of water bloomed by the cobbled square.

That was our exit out of here. Already, Maddan and the barguest were abandoning their posts, leaping into the water. Not the worst idea in the world. Clearly, the knights had been watching us, deciding when they needed to intervene.

My gaze darted, and I caught a glimpse of a crowd of demons closing in on Goth Fae—Bran, his name was. So much for being a Slayer of Foes. I winced at the sight of his body getting hacked by brutal Tudor swords. He fell to the ground, and his blood stained the grass.

But before I abandoned ship completely, I surveyed the battleground until my gaze landed on Melusine. Two rangy demons in lacy ruffs were boxing her in. I couldn’t let them just slaughter her. I raced for them, sword drawn.

As soon as I reached them, I carved my sword into the first demon, slicing through his gut. Then, I whirled, cutting my blade through the other’s neck. Blood arced through the air.

“Get to the portal!” I shouted.

I glanced back at the woman in the green dress, who’d come to life again—reunited with her head. Gods-damn it. I couldn’t just leave her here, either.

I had just one more task before I left this realm….

Danger was closing in around me, and my canines began lengthening as my fae form took over. Still, I ran for the woman in the green dress, moving as fast as a hurricane, dodging my demonic attackers. Pure power imbued my limbs.

When I reached her, I grabbed her arm. She was shrieking, hysterical, but I dragged her along with me. I used my free arm to fend off attackers with my sword. We reached the portal, and I shoved her into the whirlpool, pivoting one last time to drive my sword into a demon.

Then, I leapt into the portal, and the icy water enveloped me.

The portal sucked me in deeper, drawing me further under. I brushed past the queen’s silky dress, and I wrapped an arm around her so I could drag her out with me when the time came. I wasn’t sure exactly why, but apparently I’d made it my job to be her protector, and she was coming back to my world with me.

As we sank deeper into the portal, my lungs began to burn, until at last I felt the downward tug relenting. I kicked my legs to bring us up swiftly to the surface. Light began to pierce the water, growing brighter until we breached the surface. I hoisted myself over the stone lip of the portal. Then, I dragged the queen out.

I hauled both our arses out of the water, soaking wet.

On my knees, I struggled to catch my breath. From the ground, I looked up into the face of Grand Master Savus. He looked perplexed, his silver eyebrows furrowed. A splashing noise behind me turned my head. A velvet-capped, black-winged demon was trying to hoist himself from the portal. Instinctively, I swung for him, severing his head from his body. His blood stained the portal red.

As all the adrenaline left my veins, pain slammed into me, and I felt the deep gashes that had been carved into my hip and my abdomen. I realized that my blood was pouring down my body, mingling with the water.

Grand Master Savus cocked his head. “You’re a demi-fae. What is your other half?”

I swallowed hard. I’d been hoping that wouldn’t come up, but he must have realized that my strength exceeded that of even a noble, full-blooded fae. “I don’t know,” I lied. “I was an orphan.”

With a swirl of dark magic, the portal began closing up in front of us.

Grand Master Savus glared at the queen, who was sobbing hysterically on the cobbles. “You brought something back with you.”

I gripped my stomach, trying to block out the pain tearing through my side. “Sorry about that. She didn’t belong there. Those demons were twats.”

Swirls of mist poured off Savus, skimming over my skin like some kind of warning. “Well, you successfully slaughtered more demons than any other novice, so I will grant you a bit of leeway.”

Melusine crossed to me, grabbing my elbow to help me up. “Why did you kill the demons surrounding me? The other novices are trying to thin the competition, and you decided to keep me in it.”

I grimaced, holding my waist. “You gave me a strawberry. Also, we have a greater chance of lasting if we work together.”

She nodded. “Oh. I see. It’s strategic. I’m not good with a sword, but I can be useful, too.”

I believed her.

The three other novices stood on the cobbles, bodies dripping with water. The goth had been killed, but the other males remained. I narrowed my eyes at them.

One down, three to go.

It took me a minute to pick out Ruadan, but he was there, standing behind the recruits. Shadowy magic cloaked him.

But from within his cloud of dark magic, his violet eyes burned with curiosity. I hadn’t just surprised the other recruits. I’d surprised him, too.