“I should come,” I hear Freddy say, a slight growl slipping in with the words. I walk around the corner, and see Freddy arguing with both Jaxson and Wyatt. I have to admire Freddy, he is standing up to both of them, holding his ground. There isn’t a lot of people who would do that at his age, but also, he is going to be a handful when he is older.

“It’s not safe for you,” Wyatt responds firmly, his hands on his hips as he stares down his son.

“It’s not safe for Winter, but she gets to go. You need me there; I’m a half, and they might actually talk to you if they know you look after me and don’t care,” Freddy points out, making a valid point. I don’t want to take him with us. It will be dangerous, but I know we could easily protect him with all of us there. Not to mention he can look after himself, too. We need to convince these people, we will need them to save everyone and stand a chance.

“He has a point,” I say walking over, and they both look down at me. I hate being short sometimes, next to all these tall guys. Freddy is even growing and is now about my height.

“Not happening, lass,” Jaxson says, shaking his head. Stubborn wolf.

“I will protect him, so will you and Wyatt. Atti and two other witches are coming as well,” I point out. It only takes seconds for any of the three witches coming to bounce Freddy out of there.

“I’m not using my nephew as bait,” Jaxson says, shaking his head at me.

“I wouldn’t ever do that, Jaxson.” I snap back, and his face drops,

“Sorry. I just can’t lose him, not after everything, and my wolf doesn’t like it,” Jaxson says. I walk over to him and rest my head on his shoulder. I get it, everything is beyond stressful at the moment.

“I’m suggesting that I’ve seen Freddy fight, and all of you are very powerful. There is no way we would let anything happen to him, but we need these halfs to talk to us. Freddy may be the best chance. No offense, but all of you guys are scary and intimidating. Bringing Freddy may just help us,” I tell him, and he looks at Freddy, who has a long sword strapped to his back and the same determination on his face that his dad and uncle always have. I don’t want to take him, but I don’t think we have much of a choice. The war is five days away, only five. Every time I go to sleep, I beg for a dream, or for my family to come to me, but it’s not working. I haven’t spoken to Elissa or my mum since the dream before I was taken. I need to talk to them because I know the prophecy is coming true, and the price is my life. I need to be certain it’s me that is paying this price. I feel more than ever, like I’m missing something.

“Fine, but you stay by a witch and my side the whole time,” Wyatt says, with Jaxson nodding in agreement.

“Awesome,” Freddy says with a big grin aimed at me, before running over to Atti and the two witches chatting by the door.

“You ready for this?” Wyatt asks as he comes closer and holds my hand. I look over at him, seeing the vampire I love, but he looks beyond hot today with his sword on his back and the suit he has on.

“To try and convince a load of people that have hidden from us, for years, to fight for me? Yeah sure. It’s just like convincing Alex that salad is a real food,” I say, making him and Jaxson laugh. I’ve never actually seen Alex eat a salad, she doesn’t need to, apparently. I know if I didn’t force myself to eat a salad at times, I would be huge.

“I heard you’re going to be an auntie,” Wyatt says gently.

“So are you, you know Drake sees you as a brother,” I remind him.

“Maybe,” Wyatt says, but a flash of pain flies over his face. It’s gone quickly when he blanks his expression. I go to ask him what happened there when Atti distracts me.

“Time to leave,” Atti says as he walks over and wraps his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek. I laugh as I feel him use his power and move us. When we reappear, it’s at an old building in the middle of a forest I’ve never been to. Atti lets me go slightly when Jaxson and Wyatt appear with one witch and Freddy with another. The witches have their hoods up, so I don’t know who they are.

“Why here?” I ask again as I look around. Atti said the halfs never came to meet them when Josh called them. They placed a message asking to meet and an address in their minds. It really bothered Atti because he couldn’t see where they were. I think he is just curious about how powerful these halfs are.

“It was part of their agreement. We couldn’t exactly say no, as it would be a sign that we don’t trust them,” Atti tells me, and I agree. He has a point, but I still don’t like where they have chosen to meet us. I jump when a ward appears around us and the house. It’s white and large enough to spread up to the trees, but I can’t see who is making it. My mates move closer to me, just before the door to the house is opened.

“You are right not to trust strangers, witch King,” a voice says, and I watch as three people come out from inside the house. One is an angel, with dyed-blonde hair and large, black wings. She has on a mini, black top and worn jeans, showing off her stomach. She is extremely beautiful, but the slightly cruel smirk on her lips suggests I shouldn’t trust her. The other two are sisters, I would guess, with brown hair and matching, blue eyes. Atti told us that someone called Mila and Soobeen would be meeting us, they told them the names in the brief conversation they had. I couldn’t tell the twins apart, not as I look between them. They both have worn tops on, and leggings underneath. The main thing I can see is how thin they are. It’s not a natural thinness either, their cheeks are too hollow, and I have a feeling they aren’t well.

“I’m guessing one of you is Soobeen and the other Mila?” Jaxson asks, stepping closer to Freddy when all three of them ignore us to stare at him. Freddy holds his head high, meeting each one of their gazes and doesn’t show any fear. It’s really good to see him so strong with everything that is planned for us.

“The rumours are true, sister, they really do have a half in the royal family,” one of the sisters says, and the other one nods. It’s extremely difficult to tell them apart at this point.

“I’m Soobeen, and this is my sister Mila. This is Chesca,” Soobeen introduces her, and her eyes lock with mine for a moment before she looks back at Freddy. I glance at the angel called Chesca, who gives me a small smirk as she tilts her head to the side and then looks at my mates. When she winks at Jaxson, my power automatically comes out, and I step forward without realising I’ve done so.

“Please ignore Chesca, she is half succubus demon, and flirting is in her blood. She won’t touch your mates, Queen Winter,” Mila tells me firmly, a worried look crossing her face. It doesn’t surprise me that the angel is a demon of some sorts.

“Winter, it’s okay,” Atti whispers and puts an arm around my waist as I try to calm my powers and myself down. All I can think about is ripping the angel’s wings out for flirting with my mate.

“Behave,” Soobeen tells Chesca who sighs but looks away from us all to look at her nails.

“I will speak to the Queen and the half boy, alone,” Soobeen says, and Jaxson’s growl is all that needs to be said on the matter.

“Give us a minute,” I say loudly, and Soobeen nods at me, understanding that I need to talk to them about this. We all walk back off into the woods a little, close to the ward.

Jaxson says, “There is no fucking way I’m letting you and Freddy go in there alone.”

“We don’t have much choice. I don’t want to, but I’m not weak, and I saw the fear in their eyes when my powers came out. I don’t think we are a threat to them. Look at how they are dressed, how thin they all are. I think they need our help as much as we need theirs.”

“I will protect her, too,” Freddy says and comes to stand next to my side.

“They have fifteen minutes, and then I’m coming to get you.” Atti pulls me closer to him, kissing my cheek. “Until then, I can speak in your mind,” Atti whispers the end part just for me.

“I don’t like it,” Jaxson says.

“Neither do I, but I trust Winter and Freddy. I’ve seen them both fight and know they can do this,” Wyatt says, and I see Freddy give him a strange look. It almost looked respectful.

“At the end of the day, if they kill me, the demon king wins, and they will never be safe because you would all kill them. The demon king doesn’t want me dead, so even if they are working for him, they won’t kill me. I will shout in my mind for you if I sense the demon king, but I don’t think he is stupid enough to fight you all out in the open like this,” I say, knowing it’s true.

“I would love to fight the bastard,” Atti says.

“That’s the point, he won’t fight you alone. He is a coward that hides behind his army. If he wanted to fight you, he could have done so easily in the castle, but he didn’t, he came for me when I was alone,” I say, and Jaxson pulls me into a hug when I step away from Atti.

“Fifteen minutes,” he says and kisses me gently. Wyatt and Atti nod at me as I hold Freddy’s hand and walk over to the sisters and Chesca. The closer I get to them, the more I feel like I can trust them for some reason. I don’t get why it is, and it’s not something I can explain to my mates. There’s just something.

“You have fifteen minutes,” I tell them, and Mila nods at me in response. They all look between each other for a second, but I see it.

“Sure,” she says and walks into the old ruined house. The house looks like it could be blown away any minute, and the inside isn’t any better. There is nothing inside, other than a burnt-out fireplace and a massive, red rug that’s covered in dirt and burnt in places. It stinks of smoke in here, making me wonder if there was a fire recently. I watch as Soobeen pushes the old rug across the floor, and Mila opens a hidden door in the floor. The loud creaking of the door is the only sound, and it’s eerily quiet.

“This place looks like the Shrieking Shack,” Freddy whispers.

“It does,” I whisper back, wondering why the place looked familiar to me.

“This isn’t a book about witches, little boy,” Chesca snaps before walking down the steps in the trap door.

“I know,” Freddy says but smirks at me. I try not to laugh at his attitude.

“Come,” Mila says and walks down the steps, with Soobeen holding the door open. I walk in first, making Freddy walk behind me, and take the steps down to the dark room below. The steps are lit up by small fires in sconces on the walls, and the steps are pure stone. There isn’t anything to hold on to as I take each deep step, and it takes everything in me not to trip up. I could just imagine tripping over and crashing into Chesca in front of me. I doubt she would take it well.

“Everything okay?” Atti asks in my mind, almost making me jump and fall down the steps like I was thinking about.

“Dammit,” I mutter out loud.

“Be careful, Queen Winter. The steps are difficult down here until you know how to walk down,” I hear Chesca say, and the sarcasm in her voice is overwhelming.

“So far, so good,” I think, but know he can’t hear me, and I feel a little stupid until I remember he actually asked me a question, so it’s natural to answer.

“I can hear you when you project your thoughts like that, it’s a witch mating thing,” Atti says, with almost a laugh.

“Then we are walking down a creepy, underground staircase, and I’m trying not to pull the annoying angel’s hair out,” I tell him, and I can hear his laughter in my head for a little while as I concentrate on walking down. I feel Freddy place his hand on my back a few times, the steps are just as large for him to walk down, and it’s comforting to know he is okay despite me not really being able to see him.

“Be careful,” I hear Atti say, his tone gentle.

“Love you,” I say back, and then there is silence, but I know he heard me, and that’s enough. I bet he is telling the others about what I said. I look forward as we get to the end of the stairs from hell, and there is a clear ward. I can’t see anything through the ward, despite it being clear.

“You must walk through the ward. It will not interfere with your bond and your mate hearing you,” Soobeen says behind me, and I can’t see her in the dark, but I feel Freddy place his hand into mine.

“If this is a trap, I will destroy you and everything else,” I warn her, before turning and walking through the ward, pulling Freddy with me. When we get through, it’s nothing like I would have expected. The ward is hiding a whole town underground, with lights strung across the ceiling and dozens of tents on the ground. Various people stop to stare at us and me at them. They are very different, and I can tell from one glance around that they are mainly halfs here. Some angels have white and black mixed wings, some witches’ hair is mixed, too. One teenage boy stops and stares at us. His black hair has bright-blue tips that match his blue eyes. The boy looks at Freddy for a long time before smirking and running off.

“This is no trap, we want something as well, and we need to show you our life. The ward is blessed, it will only let those who mean us no direct harm through,” Soobeen says as she stops next to me, and the silence of all the people who stare at us, seems to carry her words. The underground cave is amazing to look at, it is really something. I love how the lights are hung on the roof of the cave, and in the walls, there are carved steps and little caves. The only things that concern me are the tents and the amount of people that must live down here. There is no sunlight, no running water that I can see, and no plants. It isn’t a great way for anyone to live.

“Then, show me,” I respond, smiling kindly at her.

“We will be fine from here,” Soobeen tells her sister and Chesca, who bow at us before walking away. These three must be the current leaders of the halfs. People start to move away from us when they leave, and noise seems to return to how it was before we came here.

“For too many years, we have hidden underground and away from both humans and supernaturals,” she tells me. “Please let us walk as we talk,” Soobeen asks me, and I nod, putting my hand on Freddy’s back to lead him away from whatever he is staring at.

“Why hide from humans?” I ask her as she walks next to me. We make our way to a long path in the middle of the tents and some little make shift shops by the looks of them. I pass a group of children playing. The children can’t be older than seven, and they are running around a stick in the ground. Their laughter is sweet, even to my ears.

“The humans are just as bad as supernaturals. We do have some humans here, with their half children. But then, we have a lot of half humans whose parents didn’t want an unnatural child.”

“‘Unnatural’ is not a word I would use to describe anyone half human,” I say, feeling defensive because I was half human and lucky enough that my mum didn’t care.

“Yes, I agree. You say this because of who you are but then everyone knows your story, Queen Winter. You were fortunate not to have powers as a child, no outward appearances that give you away. Most of our people are not so lucky and ‘unnatural’ is a word we hear far too often,” she tells me, just as a man walks past, and I almost stop walking. The man has his mark on his face, the vines of a flower all over his forehead and also, he has fur on his arms. I don’t know what he is, but he nods at us both before walking on.

“I understand,” I tell Soobeen.

“Safe still?” Atti asks in my head.

“Yes, and you won’t believe what is down here,” I reply and follow Soobeen as she gets to a large tent. She slides inside through a flap, and I hold it open for Freddy before following myself.

“Please sit,” Soobeen offers and waves a hand at three old-looking chairs seated near a fire. There isn’t much in the room to look at, not that I expected much. The bed looks years old, and the furniture is the same.

“You know what we want, what we need,” I start to say, and Soobeen holds a hand up.

“You should know your grandfather came to us, only a day ago,” she tells me, and my blood runs cold as I stand up off the seat. Freddy pulls his sword out and moves closer to me.

“I don’t see him here, now, and that’s lucky for you,” I respond, and she laughs.

“I wouldn’t bring you here if that was so. Now, boy, put the sword away and both of you should sit down,” she suggests, and I place my hand on Freddy’s arm.

“It’s okay,” I say, sitting first, and Freddy keeps eye contact with Soobeen as he puts his sword away and sits down.

“He gave us two days to make a decision, fight with him or die. He could walk through our wards like they didn’t exist, and I don’t believe it was because he wished us no harm. The army of demons he brought with him told me he was never here to discuss peace.”

“Not much of a decision. Knowing the demon king, he will kill you, anyway. The same deal was made with two of the angel princes, now both of them are dead and thousands of their people,” I respond, and she nods. She must have known about what happened to the angels.

“We have three thousand men and women, who are strong and can fight. Mixing our blood makes some of our abilities extremely strong,” she tells me.

“How many children and people that cannot fight do you have?” I ask her.

“Five hundred.” She responds, and I nod. I look around the tent that has holes in it, the fire that is made from old wood and little else, they don’t have much but they have been on the run so long.

“I have a suggestion,” Soobeen says, and I nod, wanting to hear it.

“You will have our support, our alliance, and we will fight on your side. I will bow to you as Queen, and all your mates as our Kings.” She tells me just what I wanted her to say. This is what we need.

“But?” I ask, knowing that every deal comes with a price, and she smiles.

“You make a law, a law that bans any aggression against halfs. A law that recognises halfs as a breed, and we become part of the council for supernaturals.”

“How do you know about the council?”

“We know many things here. We know you have three representatives from each race. We want three on your council, it would be me, Chesca, and Mila,” she tells me.

“Why don’t you take your people and run? Let us deal with the war. You haven’t come to us before this, and I’m confused why you have invited us now,” I ask because they have been hiding throughout the supernatural wars that have already happened.

“We don’t want to live like this, I don’t want my people to live underground and hidden for the rest of their lives because of who they are,” she tells me.

“Freddy is a half, and heir to both the shifter and vampire throne. Freddy is on the wolf council and will be attending meetings when he turns sixteen. He will also be heir to the angel and witches, unless I have a child, but then that child would be a half, anyway. I will never let the mere fact that he is a half be used against him. Things are changing already, and I feel I would be offering you little in return for your army and help. This is already going to happen, halfs will be accepted,” I say firmly. I don’t want to make a deal with her for something that is going to happen, anyway. That’s lying to her and not how I want to be. I’m not a queen built on lies.

“You are a smart Queen and said the words I needed to hear,” Soobeen says, leaning forward and tilting her head at me.

“That was a test?” I ask with a small smile. It’s a smart move on her end, too.

“Yes. If there was any way you wouldn’t accept your own step son, then there is no way I could trust you,” she tells me. I look over at Freddy, who grins. I’ve never heard anyone refer to him as my step son, but I do like him being called it. I would be proud to be any kind of mum to Freddy.

“So . . . we have a deal?”

“You still want a deal for those things, despite the fact that most would happen anyway?” I ask, and she nods, holding her hand out for me.

“Winter, it’s been fifteen minutes, do you need us?” Atti says.

“No. We are making a deal now, and they can help us. I’m fine,” I say back and feel relief down my bond with them all only a minute later. I lean forward and shake her hand.

“I will give you the places on the council and a safe home in the castle for your people. There are a lot of us living there now, but many houses in the woods. So, we will find room,” I tell her, and she looks relieved as she lets go of my hand and sits back.

“Thank you, My Queen. I will move our people to your castle tonight, I hear it’s the only place safe now?” she asks me.

“Until the Winter solstice. That is when the war is coming. I will be honest with you, the demon king will send his army to destroy us. It’s going to be one hell of a fight,” I tell her, and she nods, standing up.

“Our people have lost a lot, but there is finally hope with you on the throne. A half human, quarter demon, and quarter Goddess. Any child you may have would be more than a half could ever be. You are our hope.”

“I have one more question before we leave,” I ask, not standing up with her.

“Yes?” she asks me, sitting down once more when she sees the serious look I’m giving her. I know there’s a chance the royal half fray child is here, and I can’t be anywhere near the child. I need to make sure that part of my promise never comes true.

“Are there any half fray children here?” I ask.

“You know about fray?” she asks me, and I nod.

“One boy,” she tells me, with a nervous expression.

“I need to meet him,” I tell her.

“Why?” she says, and I can’t miss the hostility in her tone this time. The boy must be close to her.

“I made a promise with the Queen of Fray, for her help in the war. I know I’ve made a mistake, but I promised to send a half fray child over to her, a royal that she said she cannot find here on earth.” I tell her the whole truth, there is no point clouding the truth when it’s clear the half fray boy means something to her.

“My son is the only half fray here, and he is no royal as his father told me he was a guard, but you may meet him to make sure,” she says.

“I will call my sister to bring him here,” she tells me, before her eyes glow white and she is silent for a little while. When her eyes return to normal, I wait a little before saying anything.

“What do you know about the fray?” I ask her, knowing that she might be able to tell us something about the help they will bring.

“I met my son’s father only once, and it was a one-night stand. I don’t know much about their kind, but my son has control over storms and water. I’m a vampire mixed with an angel, so that is not from me, and no, I didn’t get wings when I received my powers. The fray I met had dark-blue hair and strange, blue flower-like marks down his arms. My son doesn’t have those marks yet, but he is only fourteen,” she tells me, knowing that most supernaturals don’t get their marks until they turn sixteen. They also get their extra powers. I glance at Freddy, wondering what he will get then, if any. He is already so strong, with his immunity to silver and fast healing.

“Thank you for telling me that,” I tell her, and she nods.

“I was young and foolish, he was gone before I even woke up the next day. I remember him saying something about it being the summer solstice,” she tells me. It makes sense that the fray had come through the wards then.

“Did he tell you what he was?” I ask her.

“I have a gift, I can tell what someone is from simply looking at them. When I walked into the night club, I saw him straight away. I had never seen a fray before, and he told me that he came from the Winter court of the Fray,” she tells me.

“Winter court?” Freddy asks, curious like I am.

“Yes, he told me there are four courts, but not much else.” I wonder if they are all seasonal. Like Winter, Autumn, Spring and Summer courts.

“Anything you can think of, I would appreciate the knowledge,” I tell her. I feel like I should never have made that promise to Lily when I’m clearly blind to their world and everything in it. I shouldn’t have, I should have just woken up and tried to deal with this fight on my own.

“I will send someone to bring your mates and witches in here,” she tells me, and I nod at her, watching as her eyes turn that white again.

“Atti, they are sending someone to bring you all in here, we have a deal,” I shout out in my mind for him to hear.

“What did you offer them?” Atti asks me.

“Nothing that I wouldn’t have given them freely,” I say back.

Atti chuckles in my mind as he speaks. “That sounds like I need more of a description in a while. I love you, Winter.”

I look over to see the flap of the tent being opened and a teenage boy coming in. It’s the same boy I saw when I first passed through the ward, his blue tipped hair is easy to remember. It matches his unusual, bright-blue eyes.

“Nathaniel, this is Queen Winter and her step son, Freddy,” Soobeen says standing up and walking over to the boy who watches us all. I wouldn’t say he is nervous, but there is something there. I don’t feel any old magic or anything as I walk over and offer the boy my hand to shake.

“Just Winter, no need for all that,” I say, and he smiles.

“You don’t look like a queen,” he points out straight away, and I look down at my leather outfit and daggers on my waist.

“Nathaniel, that was rude,” his mum scolds, and Freddy laughs as he comes over.

“You’re right, I look like I’m some kind of assassin or something,” I say, and he chuckles.

“I’m Freddy,” Freddy introduces himself as he steps next to us.

“Nice sword,” Nathaniel says, and Freddy pulls it off his back.

“Here,” he hands the sword over, and they start speaking. I walk off with Soobeen as we both watch them and wait for my mates to come here.

“They say halfs are drawn to each other, much like all supernaturals feel more comfortable around their own kind,” she tells me, and I completely agree with her as I watch them talk.

“It makes some sense if you really think about it, nature’s way of getting people to stay close to who are like,” I say.

“Are you and Freddy close?” she asks me.

“I like to think we are, I would do anything for that boy,” I say, thinking of how we first met and how protective I was over him at the start. There was always something that drew me to protecting him far more than I should have really. I’ve always liked kids, but with Freddy it was an instant bond. A need to look after him.

“It’s because you’re a half like him, and there is always that draw to each other,” she tells me.

“Like how I feel safe here?” I ask because it’s true. I’ve felt a sense of safety from the moment I passed through that ward and felt no threat from these people.

“Yes, in a way. I want to be completely honest with you,” she says, turning to look at me.

“Okay?” I ask her.

“Some of the people we have here are exiled from the supernaturals. Some for crimes, others have done things in their pasts and are known by everyone at the castle, but have changed as they live here” she says.

“They get one chance, that’s it. Make it known that I won’t have anyone betray me. I get that not all of your people will want to live in the castle permantly, but here is the deal: if they fight for us, then they are free to leave, and we won’t punish them for their past. That deal has no reflection on anything they do after war, though,” I say, and she bows her head at me before looking up once more.

“A fair deal,” she replies. I look over at Freddy and Nathaniel, the future we are fighting for is always going to come with repercussions, but it is worth it. We have to make sure everything here is worth it.