Seeing everyone run through the Gates, armour glinting, weapons blazing, is exhilarating. I wait for a moment to make sure that everything is going as planned, then I turn to my four Guardians.

"Frost, tell me one last time," I ask, a sudden wave of fear spreading through me.

"I believe in you," he says simply, as if that's not one of the most precious things he's ever said to me. "You will be magnificent."

His aura pulses with pride and love as he steps forward and takes me into his arms. Once again, the armour is in the way, but his lips find mine nonetheless. I kiss him passionately, trying to keep the terrible thought at bay that's seeping into my mind. What if this is the last time I ever kiss him? What if I'll never see any of them?

I breathe in his scent, committing it to memory. My Frost.

Even after we break the kiss, I stay in his arms.

"Tonight, we'll take this further," he promises and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"My turn," Arc interrupts and pulls me away from Frost and into a rough hug. He's wearing a kilt above his metal armour as if he cannot let go of the Scottishness he was created with.

He lowers his head and kisses me hard, his lips much more demanding than Frost's. I lean into the kiss, tasting my Guardian, hoping desperately that this isn't an end, just one of many more kisses, millions of kisses in our immortal life together.

This time it’s Storm who pulls me into his arms. He doesn't kiss me, he just looks at me, except that I can't see his face. It's strange, knowing he's able to look into my eyes but I am not. It's like I'm blind and yet not quite.

I don't know what he sees in my eyes, but after a minute or so, his aura changes colour, turning a fiery, passionate red.

"Be safe," he mutters and gives me the gentlest kiss ever, just a quick touch of his lips on mine, then he's gone and Crispin takes his place. Sweet, broken Crispin. I'm doing this for him, for my mum, my mother, the dragons and for everyone who's suffered at the hands of the Morrigan.

"She's going to be sorry she ever hurt you," I whisper and kiss him, showing him how much I mean it. He responds in kind, his tongue nudging mine, our bond sizzling into life, warming my heart. I can feel the connection to my guys, stronger than ever. They're here for me and I will protect them at all costs. They're mine and the Morrigan isn't getting them. She's not getting anyone. She'll be dead.

I stretch out my arms while Crispin is still holding me, and the other three men take them.

"Ready?" I ask quietly and feel their assent filtering through our bond. "Then let's kill a Goddess."

While most of our allies are starting the battle on the borders of the Demon Realm, working their way inwards, herding the demons like cattle, the guys and I teleport right into the centre. The Realm is made up of thirteen Zones, all named after jewels. Twelve of them surround the Onyx Zone like spikes on a wheel. If I know the Morrigan at all, this is where she will be, like the spider in the centre of the web.

I wasn't quite sure where best to teleport us to, so I've chosen a spot just outside the castle walls, a place I've seen in my mother's memories. In reality, the castle is much scarier though. Its ragged towers are formed like spears, reaching high into the blood red sky as if they want to pierce and destroy it. The walls are made from polished black stone; onyx, I assume. There are no windows at all, not even arrow slits. It's a strange, threatening structure that sends a clear message: get out. Well, we won't, we have a job to do.

"I'll check for demons," I tell my Guardians and extend my magic, pushing it into the air around us until it scatters and moves into all directions.

"At least ten by the main gate and hundreds within the castle. Four, no, five Gods inside. Not the Morrigan, though."

Disappointment makes my heart beat faster. She was supposed to be here. Luckily, our plan has prepared for that eventuality.

"I think it's time to give the signal."

I look at my Guardians, at their auras. All of them are exuding confidence. Seems like we've reached the point of no return.

"Keep watch while I do this."

Crispin chuckles. "I love it when she goes all dominant."

"Hey!" I playfully shove him and he laughs even more when our armour vibrates at the impact.

"Quiet," Storm warns. "We're in enemy territory now, don't be too cocky."

Annoyingly, that makes me think of the guys' body parts that I've been craving, but no, this isn't the time for my hormones to get all excited. First, we kill some demons, then we can relax and have some much-needed fun.

I close my eyes and focus on the thin, weak connections I still have with all the Gods that will be fighting on our side. If we're lucky, they're all in position already, or will be there shortly.

I pull on the connections like I usually do with my Guardians' bond, hoping desperately that this will work. There was no time to practice.

Small echoes flow back along the connections, hopefully the sign that they've received the signal and will start the assault.

I follow one of them and reach Thor. The God of Thunder immediately responds to my probing.

"There are no demons where we entered, but we're flying inland now," he reports and sends me an image of thousands of winged Guardians flying over a barren, charred landscape. The red light of the sky is reflected by their glowing wings, giving them an ethereal appearance. It's a beautiful sight. An army of angels, taking revenge on the leader of demons.

"Good. The Morrigan isn't in the Onyx castle, so if you spot her, send me a message."

I pull back and open my eyes again.

"The battle has begun," I announce, feeling very weird about saying that. It's such a grave, dramatic statement that sounds more like from a film than reality. This is really happening. Doubt creeps through my mind again, but I push it away. My Guardians believe in me, the other Gods trust me, now I just need to believe in myself.

"Do you think the Morrigan could be wherever Flora is being held?" Crispin suddenly asks.

"It would make sense," Storm agrees. "We still don't know why she took Flora, so if she needs the Spring Goddess for something, surely she'd stick close to her?"

I swallow hard. I have a bad feeling about this.

I connect with my spread out magic again to check if one of the Gods in the castle is Flora, but of course, we aren't that lucky. However, now that we're in the Demon Realm, I might be able to sense her, if she's not too far away.

Before I can try that, my magic alerts me to movement inside the castle.

"They must have been alerted to the attacks," I tell the Guardians. "Demons are moving in the castle and so are the Gods."

A moment later, we hear the large castle gate open and a cacophony of shouts and shrieks fills the air. The demons are leaving their fortress to go into battle.

"Two of the Gods have disappeared, they must be able to teleport. One of them is moving fast, out of the gate, and... he's coming here!"

Immediately, my Guardians jump into action, surrounding me protectively. It's a sweet gesture, but I don't need their protection.

The God running towards us doesn't feel familiar. He's not one we've hosted at the Palace before. Wait, not he. She.

"That's Nyx!" Frost hisses. "The Goddess of Night. I didn't know she was still alive, I hadn't heard of her for decades."

"She must have been hiding out in the shadows with the Morrigan," Crispin mutters. "I met her when I was still... her prisoner. Let's try and make this quick, she's devious and likes to play with her prey."

I feel sick at that thought. People taking pleasure in the suffering of others are the worst, whether they're humans, Guardians or Gods.

The Goddess is almost upon us and I create an invisible barrier just in front of her. When she runs against it and crashes to the ground, I have to suppress a laugh.

She'd be beautiful with her glowing dark skin and her long black hair, if the corners of her mouth weren't downturned in a sour expression and her brows weren't drawn together in a scowl. She's cursing in an unknown language, but it's clear she's not exactly saying nice things to me.

She jumps up and dark fog starts to swirl around her outstretched arms.

"Nightmare magic," Crispin explains from behind me. "Don't let it touch you."

"I have no intention of doing so."

I make the barrier visible as an icy sphere surrounding us. I've learned my lesson and made sure that the protection extends to above and below us. There's no way for her magic to enter our safe space. Now that the defence is sorted, let's start the offence. I decide on water and ice magic, my mother's elements. This is in her honour. Unbeknownst to Nyx, I conjure ten sharp icicles behind her, pointing at her back. This time, I'm not wanting to start the attack though. I want to give her a chance to surrender. Call me weak, call me naive, but I don't want to turn into a murderer.

"Where is the Morrigan?" I ask calmly, keeping my body as relaxed as possible, as if I wasn't ready to skewer her any second now.

Nyx sneers. "I can bring you to her. Dead or alive, it's your choice. Just lower your barrier and I'll show you where she is."

I laugh. "Do you think I'm stupid? Tell me now or fight."

"Not as stupid as your mother, but-"

She doesn't finish. She's dead.

I let go of the icicles that have pierced her lifeless body and she crumples to the floor.

"Did you just kill a Goddess?" Storm asks. "It shouldn't be this easy."

I'm wondering the same thing, but then the answer comes to me as if it's always been there.

"My mother created her," I say slowly, speaking as the thoughts enter my mind. "Beira couldn't kill her creations, but I can. I know their weak spots because of my mother's memories, but I'm not bound by the same laws. I think if I have the intention of killing a God she created, then I can do it even with normal magic. I don't need poison or special knives like Angus had to use."

"That's a tiny bit scary," Frost mutters. "Let's try not to make that public knowledge. We don't want our allies to fear you."

I look down at the dead Goddess and nod. "Yes, I don't really want to think about it myself. I have no intention of killing any other Gods unless I need to."

"Except for the Morrigan," Crispin corrects.

"Yes, except for her." I concentrate on my magic. "The castle is mostly empty. It would be the perfect time to capture it, but it's not like we're here to conquer this Realm. To be honest, I'm happy to leave it to the demons once the Morrigan is defeated."

"Yes, Queen of the Underworld doesn't suit you," Frost snickers. "Let's stick to the nicer Realms."

I'm about to reply, but darkness falls and I'm back in the black room that's become so familiar.

"Hey," I say lightly. "How are things?"

"The Morrigan just commanded me to come to her aid," Angus says, glee swinging in his voice. "I'm going to follow her call, but not like she thinks."

"Where is she?" I ask immediately.

"With me," Flora whispers weakly. She sounds like she’s in pain, even though we’re in this safe place.

“What is she doing?” I try to sound calm and keep the fear at bay. If Flora is harmed, everything could be lost. We need all four of us to keep the balance.

“Playing,” Flora replies grimly. “She’s having fun.”

I don’t ask any more. If Flora doesn’t want to tell us the specifics, that’s fine. We all deserve privacy in our pain. There’s one thing that doesn’t quite make sense though.

“Angus, how did she command you to come to her when she’s torturing Flora right now?”

“She spoke to me a few minutes ago, I swear. The same way she always does, in my mind. She seemed very angry.”

“That’s because we’re attacking her from all sides.” I’m pushing my suspicions of Angus’s statement to one side for the moment. There’s nothing I can do about it now. If he wants to betray us, I can’t stop him. I just have to hope that there’s a logical explanation of how the Morrigan was doing both things at the same time.

I turn my attention to Flora again. “Don’t worry, she won’t be able to stay with you for much longer. There are more than twenty forces invading her Realm at the same time. She’ll have to coordinate her defences once she realises the scale of the attack.”

“Good.” She sounds exhausted. “Are you coming for me?”

“We are,” Dewi confirms, speaking for the first time. “I’m following the connection between us. You were right, Spring and Autumn attract each other. I can feel you, faintly, and I’m flying there as soon as possible. Don’t be scared if a flock of dragon suddenly appears.”

Flora laughs softly. “I’m in a dungeon, I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you.”

“You will, after,” Dewi promises.”

“Dewi, I need to go there too, but I don’t have a connection like you have. If you send me an image of your location though I’ll be able to teleport and follow you.”

“Dragons fly faster than Guardians,” Dewi says but sends me a mental image nonetheless. There are mountains beneath her, high and sharp, not covered in snow but in a red dust that seems to suck in the light from the burning skies. There’s a black lake that they’re flying towards. That seems a good landmark to zone in on.

“I’ll meet you at the lake. If we can’t fly fast enough, we can always ride on you.”

I can feel Dewi’s outrage, but the blackness disappears and I’m back with my Guardians.

They must have noticed that I was gone because they’re all staring at me. In the past, I was only gone for a second or two when these strange meetings occurred, but I guess the Guardians know me well enough to notice any change in my behaviour.

“How do you feel about a little race against dragons?” I ask them with a grin.

All of their auras light up in anticipation at that challenge.

“Dewi is heading to Flora and we’re going to follow her. I know where she is, so we can teleport there. Ready?”

“Will we appear on land or in the air?” Storm asks. I hadn’t actually thought about the possibility of teleporting us into thin air.

“Is that possible?”

“Other Gods do it.” Storm shrugs. “I’m sure you can do it too.”

He’s already spread his beautiful wings and the others follow his lead. I do the same, relishing at the feeling of freedom expanding my wings always gives me. I really need to fly more, but I’ve not really had the chance recently.

“Okay then… If we fall, try and catch each other.” I smile and hold out my arms like always and teleport us as soon as they touch me.

Air. Falling. No ground. I’m going to crash. Wyn splatter in the Demon Realm, what a fitting end.

“Fly, Wyn! Remember yer wings!”

Arc circles me, his wings beating strongly. He looks ready to dive and catch me, but he’s reminded me of how to fly. Silly me, forgetting the essentials. I flap my wings and stop falling. Phew.

“The dragons are approaching!” Storm shouts and I turn around, changing the angle of my wings so I can hover in place.

It’s a tremendous sight. At least fifty dragons of all shapes and sizes are racing towards us, their wings so majestic that I need to suppress a gasp. They are formidable, an enemy I really wouldn’t want to meet in battle. Good thing they’re on our side.

Dewi is flying at the front of the flock, her blue scales glittering in the reddish air. She’s by far the largest of them all and blue smoke is rising from her nostrils. Did she communicate with us while flying? I’m glad she didn’t fall; her weight must make it hard to stay in the air without flapping constantly.

“They’re fast,” Frost observes with a hint of admiration in his voice. “But we’re fast too.”

I doubt that we can match the dragons’ speed, but we won’t know without trying. The Guardians are a lot faster than me though. They’re physically stronger and have more practice. Oh well. Here goes.

As one, we rise to match the dragons’ altitude and prepare to meet them in flight. Dewi roars a greeting, tiny ice crystals steaming from her toothy maw.

Then they’re upon us, surrounding us. Even the smallest dragon is at least three times as long as I am, not counting their spiked tails. Their wings are thin membranes surrounded by strong bones and muscle, not at all like the almost translucent fairy wings of Guardians. They don’t wait, they just keep on flying and I beat my wings hard to keep up. Even so, they quickly pass me by. My tiny wingspan is no match against theirs. My Guardians stay by my side, even though I know they could fly a lot faster. They’re staying to not make me look weak.

“Come on, race them!” I tell them when I see the impatience swirling in their auras. “You know you want to.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Crispin says and the others fly off after I give them an encouraging nod. Storm is the fastest, but his twin isn’t far behind. Arc almost matches them, but he’s heavier and his bulk is holding him back.

Storm reaches the dragon furthest at the back and overtakes him, but he doesn’t manage to progress to further in the dragon formation. We’re outwinged.

A dark green dragon breaks away from the flock and turns, flying towards Crispin and me. She circles around us and the hovers just beneath me. An invitation to ride on her? I didn’t expect any of the dragons to offer that willingly. From the little I know about dragons, they’re incredibly proud beings.

I let myself sink until I’m just above her, then spread my legs and drop the final few feet. Her back is warm and the scales are surprisingly soft. I keep my wings extended at first, but with some air magic wrapped around me, I feel safe enough to fold them away and ride on the dragon.

Wow. I’m riding on a dragon. An actual dragon with scales and wings and a very spiky tail. Life really has become crazy. A magical adventure. With a body count, hopefully in form of demons, not Guardians and Gods.

“Thank you!” I shout and the dragon nods her head in response. I have no idea how I know that she’s female, but I take it as a fact. Crispin is flying by my side, just about managing to keep up. No dragon has offered to let him ride on them, so they must be confident in his ability to fly alongside them. The other three Guardians let themselves fall back a little until they’re flying to the left of me.

It’s exhilarating and I can’t resist whooping a little. Not too loud, I don’t want the dragons to think I’m crazy. I’m the Winter Goddess now, I can’t afford to be childish anymore. But a little shout of joy…

“Woohooo!” I scream and the Guardians laugh. Even the dragon I’m riding on chuckles, making her entire body vibrate beneath my thighs. I wrap my air magic a little tighter, in case the dragon decides to make any sudden movements.

Once I’ve got used to the feeling of riding a fricking dragon, I look down to see where we are. We’ve left the mountains behind and are currently traversing a bleak, boring landscape full of nothing but brown and black stone and marshland. There’s no sign of life, a few ruins, but not a single occupied demon settlement.

This must be an area avoided even by demons. The perfect place to hide.

It’s becoming hotter though. The sky above is bright red and the clouds look like smoke that’s rising from a fire somewhere. I follow their path… and yes, it is smoke. From a big, big fire. Well, a volcano. Same thing. And it’s erupting. The closer we get, the more detail I can make out. Lava is running down the mountain in wide streams, culminating in a large lava lake at the bottom which surrounds the mountain like a moat. What’s strange though is that the lake is still burning; none of the lava seems to be cooling and growing black.

The smell of ash is filling the air and I make sure to keep a filter made from some air magic in front of my face. I neither want that smell in my nose nor any ash particles in my eyes.

“Look!” Arc suddenly shouts. “There’s a building on the mountain!”

That can’t be. Who would build on an active volcano?

Well, easy. Demons.

But there it is, a black structure that’s both part of the mountain and separate from it. Lava is flowing over the castle walls, but they don’t seem damaged at all. The perfect fortress. Surrounded by lava, the walls unscalable. The only way in is through the air. I bet they have some good defences there as well. We’re about to find out.

The dragons in front of us start to descend. This seems to be our destination. Great. We’re going to land on a volcano. Could someone wake me up, please? This can’t be real.

I hold tight as my own dragon begins to tilt downwards. The steep angle she’s taking is making me queasy. If I didn’t have my magic, I’d no doubt have already fallen to my death. Next time, maybe the dragons could supply some reins and a saddle? I guess there won’t be a next time though. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I should be enjoying it… and I did, but now… The dragon swerves right and I almost lose my grip. My stomach lurches as the world tilts and black walls appear all around us. We’re in the castle. How were there no defences? That’s suspicious, very much so.

We land more elegantly than I expected from such a large creature. It’s hot here, incredibly hot, and even some cooling air magic doesn’t quite get rid of the heat. I slide down the dragon’s side, grateful to be back on solid ground. Which suddenly trembles. How safe is this place? Could the volcano destroy it?

I smile grimly when I realise what I’m thinking. I’m about to confront the Morrigan. A little earthquake is the least of my worries.