The next morning, after a quick but hearty breakfast, we geared up and went outside to greet our rides. The sky was just starting to turn gray as the sun approached the horizon. The air was bitter cold, nipping at my exposed cheeks.

Vera had been up early, feeding the massive huskies, and they were now bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to start the day.

All sixteen of them milled around the yard, excited to run. Pond Flower milled with them, seeming delighted to be hanging out with other dogs. Because she’d kept me company for the last couple days, she hadn’t been back to see her hellhound buddies.

Vera clapped her hands and shouted something in a foreign language. The huskies perked up, then ran to their sleds and got in formation. Four to each sled, which seemed like a small number, but they were truly massive dogs.

Vera hooked them up, then gestured us toward the sleds. “Two per sled. No need to steer, the dogs know what they are doing.”

Wanting a cue for how to board the sled, I watched Vera and Zoya climb onto theirs. They both sat down, one in front of the other. There were no handles on the back like I’d seen on other dogsleds in photos, so Vera was serious when she said no one had to stand in the back and steer.

Following the Ice Faes’ lead, I got on a sled with Roarke, sitting right in front of him. There was a heavy blanket, so I pulled it up on top of me, snuggling deep. Aidan and Cass boarded another sled, and Nix got on her own. Pond Flower jumped on behind her, barking happily. Apparently she was a diva, wanting to be pulled by her doggie brethren.

“Har!” Vera shouted, and the dogs took off. They were so fast that I slammed back against Roarke.

“Wow!” I grinned.

The dogs raced through the trees, nearly silent except for the thud of their paws and the swoosh of the sled through snow. They knew just where they were going and were fast as a bat out of hell.

The huskies pulled us through the forest and across the tundra, but the fun really started when we began to ascend the first snow-covered volcano. Though it was dormant—for now—I swore I could feel the heat beneath the snow.

The dogs barely slowed their pace as they pulled us up the steep side. We climbed higher and higher, then crested the top and began our descent. Going downhill, the huskies sprinted even faster. Wind bit into my cheeks and made my eyes water.

“I should have kept the snowmobile helmet!” I shouted back to Roarke.

“No kidding!” He wrapped his arms tight around me.

When we reached the valley between two volcanos, the dogs slowed. Their heads turned left and right, searching. Their noses twitched as they sniffed the air. The fur on their backs stood up. Pond Flower gave a gruff bark.

“Trouble,” I muttered, searching the snowy valley.

To our left, dark shapes moved against the ground.

“Har!” Vera shouted, and the dogs picked up the pace.

I squinted toward the dark shapes, realizing that they were bears. Grizzly bears climbing out of their caves and thundering right toward us. There were twenty at least, and as they neared, I realized that they were massive. Even bigger than the crabs. And worse, they didn’t feel like dark magic. They just felt like giant bears.

Who wanted to eat us.

But even though they planned to turn us into breakfast, I really didn’t want to kill them.

“Har!” I cried at the dogs, figuring it meant faster. I’d rather outrun the bears than hurt them.

But they were fast. Soon, I could see their black eyes and yellowed fangs. Their huge paws pounded in the snow, kicking it up.

“Do we fight?” Aidan yelled.

“Not unless we have to! Wait for my signal.” Vera cried. “Har!”

The dogs ran as fast as they could, but it wasn’t fast enough. The grizzlies thundered in front of us, trying to cut us off. With a burst of magic that smelled like clean dog fur, the huskies put on a burst of speed and swerved around the bears, slipping past them.

The beast nearest me swiped out a paw, going for my middle. I dodged away, leaning out over the other side of the sled. The bear’s claws missed me by an inch. I almost fell out, but Roarke dragged me back on.

I spun around to see if we’d made it past the bears completely. None of our sleds had been stopped and my friends were all safe, but the grizzlies had spun on a dime and raced after us.

They were fast—unnaturally so, just like the dogs. Unfortunately, our huskies were tired. The bears were gaining. Their fangs flashed, and their eyes gleamed.

“We’re not going to make it!” My mind raced. I needed something not deadly.

Desperately, I called on my ice magic, letting the cold flow through me. I hurled my power at the bears, forming a wall of ice between us or them. Through the semiopaque surface, I saw them scramble in the snow, pulling to a halt before they slammed into the ice wall. They studied it for a moment, then roared their displeasure as they turned and raced around the side of it to continue the hunt.

But the delay had given our dogs enough of a head start. Though the bears tried to catch us, they couldn’t make up the distance.

“Well done!” cried Vera.

I grinned, thankful to have gotten away without hurting them. I was glad that Vera didn’t want to kill them either. She was a good egg.

The hours passed as the dogs carried us up and over mountain after mountain. Finally, we ascended the tallest mountain yet and stopped at the top, our sleds lined in a row. Deep in the valley below, ice glittered like massive crystals.

“That is the entrance to our village,” Vera said.

“I don’t see any houses,” I said. “Just the ice.”

“They’re underneath. The ice protects us.” Vera turned back to her dogs. “Har!”

The dogs burst into a run. We sailed down the mountain, ever closer to the glittering ice. As we pulled to a stop, I studied the ice formations in front of us. They were massive, geometric spears and pillars that jutted out of the earth in all directions. There were millions forming a maze-like forest that prickled with protective magic. It looked like an enormous thicket made of ice.

Vera climbed out of the sled and turned to face us. “We will part soon. I will take the dogs and return them. Zoya will stay with you. She cannot see the council before this is over.”

Or they’d kill her for leaving. Wasn’t that what she’d said? Did she hope that by helping to close the portal and thereby saving the village, that they would forgive her? It was a good plan. I just hoped we’d manage to help her see it through.

We climbed out of the sleds. I patted each dogs’ head, thanking them for pulling us.

“You will need magic to protect you,” Vera said. She approached me and raised a hand. It glowed with blue light like Zoya’s had when she’d revealed the drop floor trap in the snow yesterday.

Vera held her hand in front of my face, then slowly lowered it down my body, hovering a few inches from my skin. Everywhere her hand passed, my skin chilled.

“Whoa,” Cass whispered.

“What?” I asked.

“You look awesome,” she said.

“Seconded.” Nix grinned. “I want the same makeover.”

Vera smiled. She was apparently done with me, because she turned and gave Nix the same treatment. I no longer felt cold, but I didn’t feel normal either.

As Vera ran her hand down Nix’s body, Nix began to turn sparkly and semitransparent. She looked like glittering ice. Even her dark hair turned white and translucent.

“That’s freaking amazing,” I murmured.

“I’m turning you into one of us,” Vera said. “Temporarily, of course. Otherwise, the ice would recognize you as an outsider and keep you from entering. Until the council approves of you, you can’t cross the barrier without being killed.”

“Killed?” Roarke asked.

“Yes.” Vera finished with Nix, then turned toward the ice spears that created the strange forest in front of us. She drew a dagger and nodded toward the daggers strapped to Cass’s thighs. “Hold one of your daggers with your bare hand, then throw it between the ice towers.”

Cass tugged off a glove and did as she requested, removing one of her sheathed obsidian daggers and throwing it expertly at the ice forest. As the blade passed between two of the ice spears, they snapped together like the jaws of a snake, trapping the dagger within.

“It would crush your flesh,” Vera said. “You’d become human soup beneath the ice.”

“Ew.” I made a face.

“Makes my point though, doesn’t it?” Vera asked.

“Sure does.” I admired my clear, sparkling arm. “I like the look anyway.”

Vera transformed all of us, even Zoya and Pond Flower, then turned to face us. “Zoya will lead you to an overlook where you can see the portal. As soon as you have closed it and no more demons are coming through, we will help you fight the demons who are still in the city. We must kill them all and free my people.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Vera’s gaze turned grave. “But you must succeed.”

No kidding.

She turned and started toward the ice. As she neared the first row of spears, her opaque human body shifted into her Ice Fae form. She glittered as clear and bright as the rest of us, passing through the ice with no problem. The dogs shifted as well. It was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen as they trotted through the deadly pillars of ice.

My heart thundered as I followed Vera and Zoya between the first pillars of ice. But when they didn’t snap closed and crush me, I relaxed slightly.

After that, I just admired the view as we passed between and under the jagged piece of ice. They twinkled clear and white as the sun sparkled through them.

Zoya gestured to us. “Come.”

We veered off, following her away from Vera and the dogs. She led us toward a small overlook. The jagged crystalline spears formed a bit of a barricade for us. In our glittery, transparent forms, we blended very well. It was a good hideout even though we were very close to the village. We were right over the buildings’ roofs, so close that I could call out and they would hear me.

The village was lovely, with buildings made of pale gray stone and streets paved in a similar material. The people within glittered icy clear like we did, their pale hair flowing on a light breeze. It was magical, in the truest sense of the word. I was used to the fantastic, but this was something special.

The portal at the right side of town ruined the whole thing, though. We were right above it and slightly in front. The thing was gaping and black, emitting an evil that made me shiver. A steady stream of demons flowed through, though I couldn’t see any of the shadows anywhere. The demons were all shapes and sizes, every species. There was no similarity except that they all wanted to come to Earth and wreak havoc of the most horrible, violent variety.

“I guess I’ll get to it,” I whispered. “Everyone be ready to fight. The demons will know something is wrong as soon as the portal closes.”

Everyone nodded, taking up battle stations. Down below, Ice Fae went about their business and the town looked normal. Well, as normal as a town could look when it was under demon occupation. I was ready to kick these jerks out of here.

I debated shifting into my Phantom form. It would protect me if battle broke out while I was working on the portal, but it was too dangerous. I would glow blue and bright, a beacon that gave away my location. It was better to stay camouflaged, even if it left me vulnerable.

I reached for my gift over time, letting it flow through me with a shiver. I directed it toward the portal, trying to keep it focused and narrow. It was imperative that I only turn back time right at the portal—not in the village itself. I didn’t want to screw up anyone’s life, after all.

I tried to envision the portal closing in the past, but it was difficult. Instead, I imagined the demons walking backward into the portal, as if they were being shown in rewind. It should happen in real life, too, I thought.

Unfortunately, turning back time like this felt nearly impossible. I couldn’t get a grip on the magic. Though the theory was similar, it felt entirely different to imagining a long-dead temple and rebuilding it.

Sweat trickled down my temple as I pushed my magic harder, trying to force my vision into reality.

But it didn’t work. I spent at least ten excruciating minutes trying to turn back time a couple minutes, but it was just too weird. Too wrong. Maybe the magic of the portal was preventing it? Or maybe I just wasn’t strong enough to manage it.

“Hurry,” Roarke whispered beside me. “Demons are starting to look suspicious. They may feel your magic influencing the portal.”

I opened my eyes. Damn it, he was right. The demons looked around, studying the portal and then the land around them. Some even put their hands to their weapons.

“I can’t turn back time here,” I whispered.

“Just close it, then,” Roarke murmured. “We can fight them.”

I nodded sharply and shifted gears, calling upon my portal magic. I envisioned my mother briefly, picturing her as she told me to imagine my power as a light I could manipulate. I followed her advice, envisioning my portal magic as a golden light inside of me.

Slowly, it solidified, warming my chest from the inside and giving me the confidence to send my magic toward the portal, envisioning it closed and cutting off all the demons.

A shout nearly broke my concentration. Demons from below were turning toward us, looking up at the small cliff and pointing.

Had they seen us? I ignored them, focusing on my magic.

“Go time,” Cass said. “We’ll have your back.”

Roarke squeezed my shoulder, then stepped away. From the corner of my eye, I could see the black tornado form around him as he shifted into his demon form. In a flash of golden light, Aidan shifted into his griffon form.

I kept my attention squarely on the portal as battle exploded around me. My friends leapt off the cliff, Roarke and Aidan carrying Cass and Zoya straight into the fray as demons surged toward me. Nix stood at the cliff edge, firing her arrows down at the demons below.

Roarke and Aidan dropped the others safely on the ground. Cass powered up her fire, throwing balls of flame at any demon who approached me on the cliff, while Zoya shot blue light from her palm that froze the demons solid. The Ice Fae were fighting as well, every one of them—old and young—armed with blades of ice. Some had Zoya’s power, which was the fiercest of all.

My friends defended me from below, keeping the demons from climbing the thirty-foot cliff and stopping me from my work.

As Roarke swept through the air, tearing demons off the cliff wall, I pushed my magic toward the portal, envisioning it closing forever.

My skin prickled with adrenaline and fear as I drew on every bit of magic I had. Closing portals wasn’t quick work, and this was the strongest portal in the world. But I didn’t have time to doubt. We were outnumbered. I could see without even looking closely that the demons outnumbered the fae.

I forced my magic toward the portal, giving it everything I had. My breath came short, and my muscles quaked. A demon nearly breached the edge of the cliff as the portal began to shrink. He crawled up over and reached for me, but Roarke swooped up on powerful wings and dragged him away.

“Hurry!” someone cried.

I shook as I worked, but the portal was closing. Slowly, slowly, it shrank. The black was eaten away by the glittering white of the village returning to normal. The demons in hell must have known something was up, because they raced out of the portal as fast as they could.

The portal was nearly gone when something flew at me. I tried to dodge, but was slowed by my unwillingness to let go of the portal.

Pain flared in my upper arm. Some kind of weapon had hit me—a knife or an arrow, I hadn’t been able to see. I debated adopting my Phantom form, but discarded the idea. I couldn’t waste the magic or the mental energy. I needed all my focus to close the portal.

So I ignored the pain, giving everything I had to the job at hand.

Another projectile sliced through my side. Agony flared, like hot metal pressed against my bare flesh.

Shit, this was bad. I was a target now.

With a last burst of strength, I fed my magic to the portal. It took everything I had, making my heart race and dimming my vision to gray. Finally, the portal closed, zipping out of existence. The demons roared their rage as I stumbled, my muscles weakened and my head swimming. Pond Flower raced in front of me. I grabbed onto her for support, blinking to regain my vision.

I’d given everything I had to the portal and was so close to passing out. But Pond Flower’s magic flowed into me, strengthening me. She was like my familiar, or something. I didn’t understand it, but I was grateful.

“Del!” Roarke shouted from above. “Are you all right?”

“Yes!” Strength was flowing into me. I could see again, and my muscles were strong. Blood still dripped from the wounds in my arm and side, but I was fine.

I dragged in a ragged breath and adopted my Phantom form, taking stock of my surroundings. Nix continued to fire arrows down at the ground, never leaving her position at the cliff edge.

The battle raged below, demons fighting the Ice Fae and my friends. Bodies lay in the street. More demons than Ice Fae, but they were down too. My friends were wounded, blood dripping from cuts all over their bodies, but they were still fighting.

Cass was a whirlwind of fire, cutting through clouds of demons and taking them out like they were toys. Roarke swept through the air, grabbing up demons from the base of the cliff and breaking their necks. He nimbly avoided arrows and daggers that were thrown at him. Aidan flew as well, his powerful griffon form swooping low and grabbing up demons with his huge claws. He tore them to bits, raining blood onto the pale stone streets.

I leaned over the edge of the small cliff, shock piercing my chest. The thirty-foot cliff wall was covered in demons climbing up to stop me from closing the portal. Nix took out one every five seconds, but there were so damned many. Dozens more gathered at the base, scrambling to reach me. My friends were holding them off, but the demons would overpower them eventually. They’d overrun the cliff, taking me with them.

Then, they’d turn and demolish the village.

No way in hell I’d let that happen.

I backed up so the demons couldn’t grab my ankles when they reached the top of the cliff and glanced around, frantic for a plan. I couldn’t power up enough icicles to kill all the climbing demons quickly. Most of my power wasn’t very handy as mass murder.

Except….

“Nix! Get back from the edge. Now!” I cried.

She hesitated, then lowered her bow and raced to my side. I eyed the towering spears of ice that had formed the barricade I’d hidden behind, then called on my new telekinesis. I envisioned the bases of the ice spears cracking and breaking, then the thousands of tons of ice plummeting over the small cliff and crushing the demons.

My muscles trembled as I forced my magic to follow my will. The sound of ice cracking was like music to my ears. It echoed with the noise of the battle below. When the ice began to tip, joy flared in my chest.

Demons were climbing over the edges of the cliff now, so close to me that I could smell their rank, evil magic.

“Watch out, guys!” I shouted to my friends. “Threat from above!”

The demons’ wide eyes met mine and I grinned, giving my magic a last shove. At least forty massive ice spears toppled from the top of the cliff like a wall of death. I leaned over to look as the ice hurtled down the side of the cliff, taking out the demons in one fell swoop. The ice knocked them off the cliff and crushed them under its weight.

“Nice,” Nix said. “You took out at least fifty.”

“Let’s take care of the rest.”

Nix saluted and drew her bow. “Aye aye.”

I found an ice spear that was propped against the cliff like one long slide. I climbed up and slid down into the fray, hitting the ground and rolling to my feet.

I called my sword from the ether and powered up an icicle in one hand. I threw the spear of ice at the nearest demon. It plowed through his middle, and he collapsed to the ground.

The battle raged around me, but it’d turned in favor of our side. I fired icicle after icicle as those around me fought tooth and nail. Pond Flower was vicious, along with the Husky friends. But it was the Ice Fae who really shocked me. Those who could freeze bodies solid didn’t hesitate to use their power. There were demon popsicles all over the street.

When the last demon had died and the street fell silent, my head swam. Once again, pain flared in my side and arm. I finally looked down at the wounds, shock opening up a hole in my chest.

Blood soaked my entire arm and all of my side, reaching far down my leg. Fading adrenaline made me shake.

Holy fates, it looked like my wounds were worse than I thought. I spun, trying to find my friends. The pile of demon bodies underneath the massive pillars of ice caught my eye. The slanted pillar that I’d ridden to the ground was slicked with blood. My blood.

Oops.

I swayed, falling to my knees. Blood loss was finally getting to me.

“Del!” Roarke’s voice echoed in my woozy head. Through blurry eyes, I saw him swoop down and land in front of me. He didn’t look much better than I felt. He was covered in cuts and blood too. His gait was unsteady as he rushed toward me. He knelt at my side, but it was really more of a controlled collapse.

“We did it, right?” I slurred.

“Yeah.” He wrapped an arm around me. My head spun from blood loss and pain.

I was going to say something, but we both crumpled to the ground.