Ares pulled out of me with a string of profane curses.

I hurried to pick up my other set of travel clothing since my other attire had burned when my skin raged with the cursed fire.

“You stay here. Find cover,” Ares ordered, as he swiftly hauled on his sculpted armor.

Like hell I would.

“I’ll come back for you, Freyja,” he said. “Don’t run away from me. I can get you to Mysth faster than anyone can.” He grabbed me and kissed me on the mouth. It was a quick, hard kiss, yet pleasure and thrill still buzzed on my skin.

With Ares, this would never get old.

The prince charged out of the tent with his weapons.

I put on my gloves and ran out after him.

Ares mounted Ventus. His men had all been on the guardians’ backs, battle ready. Ignis and Glacies hadn’t completely recovered, but war wouldn’t wait.

Ventus stretched his wings and soared after his brethren.

Wait, Ventus! I called as I flew up, twisted in the air, and landed on the guardian’s tail.

Nice jump, Witchling, Ventus said.

Ares turned to me with a snarl. “What are you doing, Freyja?”

“Going to war with you, Your Highness,” I said as I moved toward the seat. “Am I not your soldier, as you said?”

“Can’t you follow a simple order?” he yelled, his eyes burning darkly. “Why must you defy me at every turn while all I want is to keep you safe?”

“You think the ground is safer with no one defending me?”

“My enemies will focus on me!”

“Your half-brother Keegan heard of the Oracle as well. He’s after me, too. He won’t stop until you’re dead and I’m his.”

Rage flashed in Ares’ eyes. “He’ll never have you.”

“You’re where it’s safer for me,” I said. “Have you thought that they can snatch me easily while you’re in the air?”

Not that easy, but I wouldn’t contradict myself.

“Stay behind me,” Ares ordered. “You’ll be my shadow and you’ll always take shelter behind me. Understand?”

Like hell I would.

I saluted. “Yes, Commander-in-line.”

He twisted his torso, reached to grab me, afraid I would fall off, and settled me behind him. 

Ventus sped up and joined the rest of the guardians soaring toward the looming battleship that had the name Insurgent on its lion-like head.

The ship had a view window, a thick, round body, and a flat tail. Its wings were like a bat’s, only larger, thicker, and hostile.

If I had never seen the images of the Angels’ advanced, refined battleships in the memories of the dead Angels, I would be fascinated with this rudimentary flying machine.

But it wasn’t a toy. It aimed to maim, to kill, and to destroy. It had fought the Angels during the war, and it was the only Earth battleship that hadn’t been destroyed by the High Prince of All Angels.

A large Dragonian with blue horns stood by the view window, staring at us with a victorious sneer on his cruel lips. I immediately recognized him through the Dragonian whom I’d killed in the woods. This was Ares’ pure-blood half-brother Keegan.

He was the one who had sent the mercenary army to kill the heir and capture me. After I’d talked Ares out of heading to the safe house, the bounty hunters had failed to track us. So Keegan had come in person to finish Ares off. If he succeeded, he would force me to take him to the First Witch. He would abuse me and rape me in the process, as he’d done to so many other women.

Luckily, he didn’t know anything about my death touch, and I’d be gladly to let him enjoy a full taste of it.

Flanking him on either side were two other mean-looking Dragonian warriors. They carried full sets of angelic weapons.

The guardians were in a battle mode. Glacies moved toward the rear of the battleship. Mettalum took the position at the ship’s side, ready to bite into its hull. Ventus swirled up to face the view window at Ares’ order.

Ignis was beside us, a stream of fire trampling out of his mouth and spurting onto the window. But his fire had no effect on the glass—it was probably made of special angelic material that could resist earthling weapons.

“Hello, brother.” Keegan’s sinister voice came out of this ship, which made me want to claw at my skin.

Ares stared back at his half-brother through the window. I couldn’t see his expression, but I felt his cold, murderous rage.

“So, this is it?” Ares asked, his voice devoid of any emotion. “You came to take my life, so you can take my crown, Keegan?” 

“A half-blood like you shouldn’t be allowed to inherit the throne,” Keegan said. “But I’ll make a deal with you today. I’ll let you live if you hand over the wolf girl.”

“The asshole’s lying,” I shouted from behind Ares.

Keegan wouldn’t let the heir live even if Ares gave me up. The pure-blood prince wanted to play first. He wanted to take me in front of his brother and humiliate Ares before he killed him.

“Why do you want her?” Ares asked.

“You know I like firecracker females,” Keegan said. “I bet the wolf girl has the beast heat in her and I want to savor it. I’m a male of insatiable appetite, and she might be the first female who can satisfy me. My cock gets hard just by looking at her.”

“What makes you think I’ll hand you what’s mine?” Ares asked.

“Because I might let you live!” Keegan yelled.

“Cunt, take this!” Ares spat as he tossed a spear at the view window.

At the same time, he and his men shot energy beams toward the Insurgent.

The ship opened fire. 

The guardians wheeled aside speedily, ducking the enemy’s fire, while their riders kept firing at the ship.

Fortunately for us, the Earth battleship hadn’t developed the Angels’ space technology. Though the engineering race had stolen some data from the Angels, they couldn’t truly perceive and absorb the advanced alien science.

Though Insurgent didn’t have high energy weapon at its disposal, it was still lethal as it shot out barrage of bullets.

Earth weapons couldn’t kill me, but those angelblades-turned-bullets would.

In pure panic, I threw up my hands.

To my surprise, a force field erupted out of me and shielded Ventus, Ares, and me, but I wasn’t sure if it was effective. 

Some form of my magic came only when my life was in absolute mortal danger.

At the same time, a gold shield appeared in Ares’ hand and he raised it to block the bullets. But those Angel-killing bullets bounced back before reaching his shield, which meant that my force field had held.

The guardians’ riders kept firing beams at the enemy ship, but those laser beams only sparkled off its thick hull.

Insurgent had the shield technology.

With deafening roars, the four guardians tore into the battleship as one, despite the bullets piercing their scales.

An intense beam of light shot down from the high sky, locking on Insurgent.

Insurgent powered down at once.

A larger, silvery spaceship materialized above us. It was an Angel ship—the famous ThunderSong—that had helped defeat the Dark Lord of All Angels. It was the High Prince Seth’s ship.

The intense beam turned and twisted Insurgent.

In front of my eyes, the pure-blood prince’s battleship disintegrated from the middle and plunged toward the ground in shreds of fireballs.

The Angel High Prince forbade earthlings possessing any flying machine, in order to make sure the immortal Fey stayed superior to any other races on Earth. When it came to protect his Fey mate, he was borderline paranoid and unreasonable.

His ship had just destroyed the last, secret Earth battleship.

The guardians were fast enough to retreat to avoid the burned shekels flying in all directions. They were ready to charge the ThunderSong. However, they wouldn’t stand a chance. None of us would.

ThunderSong was one of the Angels’ finest battle spaceships.

The mighty spaceship lowered altitude.

A large Angel with massive black wings stood at the view screen, black-inked tattoos of ancient runes twined from his temple all the way down to his neck. Evidently, he was a high-ranking Archangel.

Standing beside him as his equal was an exotic mortal beauty, who could make any man’s blood race too fast, yet none would dare make a move on her. But the formidable Angel wrapped his thick, muscled arm around her slim waist possessively.

Icy light radiated on her almost transparent pale skin and darkness rippled around her. My heart skipped a beat. I’d just met another powerful witch from another planet. She wore three pieces: breastplates and leather shorts and high boots. No females on Earth dressed like that, not even a warrior.

The pair regarded us and the guardians, as if pondering if they should vanquish the flying alligators first. They’d just annihilate a battleship and hadn’t blinked. Mercy wasn’t their strong suits.

My heart drummed. My throat tightened.

Ares shove the gold shield toward me and ordered, “Cover yourself!” and raised his ray gun.

I pushed his shield back and stood up on the seat.

“Freyja!” Ares said. “What did I say about being shadow? Now’s not the time to attract attention. Stay down!”

“Now’s the perfect time,” I said, moving like a flash and cutting in before him.

I stood on Ventus’ head.

“No,” Ares called, also standing up and trying to get me behind him.

“Do not interfere if you want to get out of this,” I hissed.

I pushed my commanding voice into the ThunderSong, yet I had no clue if it would work.

“You shall not harm us,” I called in ancient angelic tongue. “I have safe passage with Empress Rose. I have her imprint.”

I pulled back my left sleeves and showed the mark gifted by the Fey Empress—a red rose with thorns on an angelblade. My mother had passed the symbol of a life debt owed by the Empress on to me at my birth.

The symbol beamed on my wrist.

The Archangel stared at my mark and nodded as the witch said something to him. Then she flicked her wrist.

A force hit me, sucking me into its vortex. I threw my hand to fend it off, but I was too late.

Before I could finish a panicked thought, I stumbled before the pair in the bridge of the ThunderSong. I stabilized myself and sent a glare at the witch, then at the Archangel.

The witch from the other world regarded me as a cat studied a mouse with her piercing grey eyes. Only I wasn’t one.

“What is this?” I demanded.

She ignored me but addressed the Archangel. “Gabriel,” she purred, breathing out frosty air. “Look, here’s another witch.”

“A wicked one?” Gabriel asked, looking at me, then returned his gaze to his witch, as if she was his whole world.

Would Ares ever look at me like that for even a second?

The witch laughed darkly. “There’s only one wickedest witch, darling.”

“Of course, Fia,” Gabriel said, brushing a kiss on her rose red lips. “But promise me you won’t get into a power match with Empress Rose. She’s Seth’s mate, and Seth and I are like brothers.”

“Then you’ll have fun choosing either your mate or your brother,” she said.

A wicked witch indeed.

But I didn’t blame her. I approved. Didn’t all women want our men to choose us above all? I wondered what the wicked witch would do in my shoes if she knew her man coveted another. Given her nature, I believed that she would knee Ares in the nuts a thousand times over.

I was too nice.

“Fia, be reasonable,” Gabriel said. “Aren’t I enough for you that you must stir up trouble every other day?”

“Fine, darling,” the wicked witch said. “For you, I’ll make peace with Rose—and thorn.”

The Archangel kissed her in gratitude. She really had him wrapped around her icy fingers. I’d have loved to learn a trick or two on how to tame your formidable mate if I had more time.

The witch kissed the Archangel back with great passion.

“Hey,” I called impatiently. “Get a room. But first, why am I here? You have no right—”

The witch broke their heated lips-locking.

“The Dark Lord wants her power as well,” she said.

My heart skipped a beat. “How did you know?” I asked. “And what do you know?”

“Of course I know,” Fia said, turning to me. “I’m the greatest and wickedest witch. I know all things in the universe.”

Her Archangel smiled at her. I sighed. He could see no fault in her. Even if she stabbed a dagger into his heart, he would still enjoy the wicked sight of her.

Why couldn’t I have that kind of power over Ares?

Thinking of Ares, I peeked outside the view screen to see what he was up to and if he was worried about me. But he was gone, as were his men and all the guardians.

Cold bastard! Tears of rage nearly rose to my eyes. How convenient that he’d just abandoned me as fast as he could to preserve himself!

“Embrace your darkness, Witchling,” Fia said in disapproval. “Our kind never fears our great, terrible powers.” She flicked a finger, and a silver bracelet clutched on my wrist.

Strange runes etched on the bracelet.

“What is it?” I hissed, trying to pull it off. “I don’t want it!”

“Oh, you do,” she said. “Either I kill you or you wear it, so the old creep can’t snatch you away easily. I can’t allow him to have your power, which will make it more difficult for me to ice him. But today I’m in a benevolent mood because of my loving mate, so instead of killing you myself to prevent him from getting his hands on you, I’m giving you a fighting chance. But before I leave Earth, you’ll have to return the borrowed gift, or I’ll hunt you down to the end of the end.”

Her Archangel nodded in approval, eating up his mate’s crap.

I swallowed a sarcastic comment since it wouldn’t be wise to make an enemy out of them. And despite her wickedness, I actually felt kinship toward her.

“You know the Dark Lord’s coming?” I asked.

“We’ve been hunting him,” Gabriel said. “He covets my mate’s unparalleled TimePortal magic. He’ll never lay a finger on her. I’ll kill him!”

The Archangel pulled the witch tightly into his arms and they locked lips again.

I rolled my eyes, and at the same time I was full of jealousy of what they had.

Ares had never showed me such tender affection. He was reserving his epic love for his First Witch. Hadn’t he just deserted me?

I was done with him, too. It would be like this sooner or later. I should focus on what was best for myself. I would ask the witch and her Archangel to transport me to Mysth when they finished making out. They could get me to the Twilight Realm in a blink.

The wicked witch left her mate’s lips and turned her piercing gaze on me. “That’s not how it works. You’ll have to fight this war so the wheel can turn in our favor. Understand this: there is no shortcut to the ascension of the great power. And yes, we’ll get a room soon. This is the second time you said it in your head.”

What? How did she get through my mental shield?

Then the scene outside the view screen changed.

The guardians surged, dove, and swooped in the air with all sorts of crazy moves, as if they were looking for the lost treasure in great desperation.

Ares wielded his ray gun and shouted frenetically like a mad man, his eyes wild and bloodshot. Then he saw me in the ship’s bridge through the view screen. Rage, relief, and joy churned on his hard face.

He trained his energy weapon toward the ThunderSong, but I knew he wouldn’t fire at it while I was inside. My heart also leapt in joy at the sight of him. He hadn’t left me.

The wicked witch studied Ares in curiosity, and a jab of jealousy crept up in me. I didn’t want her staring at him. I didn’t want any female to look at him. I was surprised at my sudden territorial ferocity.

I snarled at the wicked witch.

She giggled. “How fun it is to watch your Dragonian go crazy.”

Ventus surged toward the ThunderSong. In an instant, Ares was face to face with us outside the screen.

The wicked witch snapped fingers and something in the ship switched on. It might be the sound device since I heard Ares shout his demand, “Return her to me! Right now!”

“Or what?” Fia turned to her Archangel. “These earthlings tire me. Maybe we’ll just take the witchling with us. I have a feeling that she can be fun.”

Gabriel sighed. “Fia, we talked about this.”

“Return me to him or take me to Mysth,” I said.

The witch rolled her eyes. “Now you start demanding, too, little one?”

“Little one?” I said outrageously. “You’re my age!”

She gave me her wicked laughter. “Never challenge me again, little witch of Earth.”

“Try me—” I said, but I didn’t even get to finish that at her dismissive wave of a hand.

A blink, and I stood with Ares on Ventus.

Ares steadied me and pulled me right into his arms in a bone-crashing embrace, and ThunderSong vanished in a flash.

We settled back in our seats with me sitting on his lap as the guardians headed back to our camp.

“I can’t . . . breathe,” I said. “Your arms are too tight.”

Ares loosened his grip only a little. “You were gone,” he said, his voice shaky, his nostrils flaring. “They took you from me. Next time when I meet them I’ll kill them!”

Merlin had said that Ares would always be fiercely protective of me. He couldn’t fight his primal instinct to shield his mate. The mating bond had marked me as his. However, Ares didn’t have the magical eye, and I doubted if he realized it at all. His mind had been clouded ever since the Oracle had embedded the idea in his head that only the First Witch was his destined mate. To him, I would always be the wolf girl who would lead him to the witch.

“They aren’t our enemies,” I said, pulling away from him a little to talk sense into him. “They destroyed the Insurgent for us.”

“They tried to steal you from me!”

I bet he thought everything was his.

“I returned to you, didn’t I?” I offered.

He pressed me possessively against his chest again.

“What did they say to you?” he asked.

“They let me borrow a gift,” I said, showing him the bracelet.

He frowned at it.

“They took you just to give you a silver bracelet?” This time he drew me back a few inches to peek into my eyes. We really had trust issues with each other despite that we’d had an incredible hot sex less than an hour ago.

I shrugged. “They’re rich and nice.”

I wouldn’t tell him about the wicked witch from another world, which would make him think of his own witch.

“They don’t look slightly nice to me,” he said. “If you like jewelry, you can have every piece in my palace.”

This bracelet wasn’t for showing off. Fia had warned me of never taking it off.

“Is there anything else you haven’t told me about, Freyja?” Ares asked, leaning in, and his intoxicating male scent filled my nostrils and heated my blood.

Ares rubbed his stubble against my face. “What did you hold back this time?”

I knew he would ask about the mark on my wrist eventually.

“I was marked at birth,” I said. “With that, I can go to Mysth to ask for the cure.”

“Who marked you?”

“My mother,” I said. “She died protecting me when the Angels came hunting me.”

I immediately regretted of my slip of tongue. I was less guarded with Ares now.

“What about your father?”

“He died after I was conceived.”

“Do you know who he was?”

“How could I know? I was only a baby when my mother was gone.”

“I’m sorry, Freyja,” he said, stroking my hair. “You have me. You have us now.”

There were no us when he turned to seek the witch again.

“Why did the Angels hunt you?” he asked. “What do they want from you?”

There we go again.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I told you they’re psychos, monsters.”

“You know but you refuse to share the information with me. Eye-patch swore to come for you with the Dark Lord’s legion. The Angels won’t bring such a formidable army to just hunt some nobody earthling.”

Eye-patch also threatened to gut Ares in front of me when he returned, and now I started to fear for Ares’ life as much as I feared for mine. Damn the Dragonian prince! He’d brought out all sorts of intense, complicated emotions in me. Life had been simpler before he’d invaded my forest and abducted me.

“You need to let me in so I can best protect you,” Ares said. “What can I do to earn your trust, Freyja?”

I swallowed. I’d told him more than I’d told anyone else, but I couldn’t let him know the whole truth. Truth would never set me free. It would cost me everything. If Ares knew I was the only daughter of the Angel King, he would do more than push me away from his warm chest and look at me in disgust.

To distract him, I had to prey on his protective instinct. I brushed my cheek against his chin. “Ares, I’m cold and hungry after this new ordeal,” I whined. “I haven’t had lunch.”

He gazed down at me with a sigh, “I’ll go hunting,” and wrapped both arms around me to lend me his warrior’s body heat.