“Elissa, run,” a man roars as I open my eyes and see the entrance hall to the castle. Pieces of stone and dust fall from the ceiling near me, but I can see the destruction surrounding me. I turn and just see the back of Elissa, running up the steps of the castle. The castle is old, and in ruins as one wall is on fire and another is in crumbles. The smoke in the room just floats around the white dress I’m wearing, the sparks coming off the wall of fire should burn me, but they don’t. I can’t even feel the heat from the room, if anything, it still feels cold.

“You and me then, boy,” the familiar voice of the demon king says, and I turn to see the voice coming from an attractive, middle-aged man. The man has a long, black cloak on and dark-black hair. He stands holding a sword at his side, and at his feet is the dead body of Atti’s ancestor, the first witch. I watch as he holds the blood covered sword up at his side, blood dripping onto the stone floor.

“Whatever happens here today, she is safe. She will live, and her child will finish this war. She will finish you,” the voice of the first vampire, Wyatt’s ancestor, says as he holds his own sword in the air. They don’t say any more words as the demon king rushes forward and attacks him, their swords clashing together and the force nearly springing them both backwards. I try to move as they fight, as I know the ending to this vision already, he will die. Both are fast, but the demon king is better, it’s clear with every hit and swing of his sword. The demon king hits the vampire ancestor in his side, and he falls a little, giving the demon king the second he needs to shove his sword straight through his heart.

“No,” I breathe out, but no sound comes from my lips, and the world is silent for a second before the vampire ancestor’s pale face has black lines crawling over it, and he collapses on the floor.

“All but children in a game I’ve played for many, many years,” the demon king says, his tone almost soft as he speaks to the two bodies on the floor. He steps over the witch and walks up the stairs, going after Elissa. I turn slightly to the left and see a woman walk in, her long, white cloak dotted with blood. She lowers the hood, and shock fills me when, for a second, I think it’s Elissa, but it’s not. It’s Demtra, but they look so alike, the only difference is the hair and eyes. I met her once, when I died, and I thought it was Elissa, but it never was. Demtra looks straight at me, her green eyes staring straight through me.

“They did not fall so that you would fall, Queen Winter. Only you can stop this, you and your mates. Their last children if this is not stopped. Win the war, Queen Winter, win the war, win the war . . .,” Demtra says in my mind, and the sentence repeats again and again in my mind as she walks up the stairs.

* * *

I shoot up in bed, feeling a hand shaking my shoulder, and open my eyes to see Atti leaning over me, relief spread across his handsome face before he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. I throw myself into the kiss, letting him pull me closer. I break away and just stare up at him, seeing his stormy, grey eyes that almost glow. He has a cloak on, his hood up, so I can’t see his blonde hair, but I lift my hand and place it on his cheek under the hood.

“Atti,” I whisper, seeing him close his eyes and pull me close. The bond between us is clear when I’m in his arms, my back almost tingles, reminding me of my marks and Atti’s, which I haven’t seen yet.

“We have to leave,” Milo’s voice comes from near us, and I break away from Atti to look over at the door, where Milo is hovering in the air. Milo has a strange, green outfit on and a green sash holding his blue hair up. It’s such a relief to see them both, but as I look around, I have a feeling we aren’t out of danger yet.

“Milo, Atti how are you here?” I ask, looking around the bedroom I’m in and down at the black dress I’m still wearing. I’m still in the vampire castle, how am I not under his control, and where is he?

“Milo can pull people through demon wards, now we have to go. The distraction isn’t going to be long,” Atti tells me and pulls me off the bed. A wave of dizziness hits me as I stand up, and I can feel the demon king in my mind, only a little bit. It’s like a dark stain.

“Wait . . . how did you?” I ask Atti, pulling his hand to stop us walking across the room.

“Make you not, well controlled? I just flooded your system with my magic, mates can do that. You might feel a little–” Atti says, and I interrupt him.

“Dizzy?” I ask, resting on his shoulder, and he nods.

“Can you run?” he asks me. I stand straighter and remember everything I have to fight for. This isn’t the time to be weak, I don’t have time for that.

“Yes,” I reply, and Atti links our hands as we run out of the room. Milo lands on my shoulder. I smile at him, and he rests his head next to mine as we stop at the end of the corridor, and Atti looks around it before we start running down the next one.

“Glad you safe,” Milo says quietly and lightly kisses the side of my head.

“Me too, and thank you for saving me. I will always be thankful,” I tell him quietly, and Atti smiles at me before we stop at the end of another corridor. Atti places a finger on his lips as he looks around the edge of the wall and then nods at me, tugging on my hand. We run down familiar-looking corridors, and Atti has to catch me when I trip on the lacy dress, ripping it. I pick some of the dress up as we get outside, and I hear the sound of screaming in the background. When the ground shakes, and the blast is strong enough to shake the castle, I know Jaxson is near. Worry fills me from the idea of him fighting the demon king, but I trust my mates to have made a plan.

“Jaxson?” I ask Atti as we run down the main court area and towards the large walls that enclose the castle. It’s surprising how there isn’t anyone here, not a single person or demon around. I think back to the humans that used to live here, how they never really had a chance to truly live, to be free and are most likely dead or demons now. I’m not sure which fate would have been better for them. An awful, groaning noise comes from next to us as we run, and I look to the left of Atti to see two demons running at us. They look horrible, their grey skin falling off their faces, and the smell from them can’t be missed.

“Jaxson is making the distraction,” Atti tells me and pushes me behind him as he raises his hands, and a large stream of fire leaves his hands. I look around him to see two piles of blue dust, and then we are running again before I can look at or say anything. In some ways, killing them is putting them to rest. Or, that’s what I have to keep telling myself.

“We need to jump; can you do that?” Atti asks me, and I look up at the big wall and the blue ward that is just on the other side. Milo starts flying up as I watch and take a few steps back.

“Yes,” I say remembering my training with Leigha. She would kick my ass if I don’t jump this. All that training is finally becoming useful, and I could just see her smirking at me if I told her she was right.

“One, two, three . . .,” Atti says, and I run next to him, jumping at the same time and pushing as much as I can to make the jump. I fly through the air and just manage to hit the top, catching my hands on the stone and hanging off the edge. My hands scrape across the sharp stone, and it cuts my fingers; my blood making it harder to hold on as the cold wind pushes me to the side. I look up, just as it starts to snow, it’s falling thickly from the sky. I try to pull myself up, but the stupid dress catches on the stone and stops me from using my legs to help. These old dresses are not meant for climbing. Atti lands after me, pulling himself up and reaches down to lift me up only a minute later. He pulls me to his chest and I gently press my lips to his.

“My mate,” I say softly, and he presses his forehead into mine. Atti lifts my cut hands and wipes his thumb across the cuts, which are slowly healing on their own. My teeth extend, but I don’t feel hungry, which only makes me feel sick. I must have been fed or fed on someone while I was here. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

“Hey, don’t leave me and disappear into your thoughts. I missed you, and whatever it is you’re worried about, we will sort it,” he tells me, and I look up at him.

“I missed you, too,” I whisper, and he kisses my forehead before he steps away, our moment gone as we both walk over to the dark-blue ward. The ward is thick, almost stopping you from seeing the other side and the forest behind it.

“You touch and push,” Milo tells me as he flies over and Atti holds out his hand to Milo.

“You think I can walk through the ward?” I ask Milo, who nods his little head, making his hair bounce up and down.

“Demon, you,” he tells me, and I nod back, understanding what he means. I should be able to do this because it’s part of who I am. If the demon king can use that small part of me to control me, then I should be able to use it, too. I step forward at the same time Milo pulls Atti through the ward. I push my hands against it, feeling it pushing back like a sponge, but the more I push the further I can walk. I push and hold my breath, closing my eyes as I step through the ward. I gasp for air when I finally break through the other side, and I hear a loud shout.

“No!” the demon king’s roar seems to echo around my mind, and I hold my hands over my ears as darkness starts spreading in my eyes. My power starts rising, and I scream as I push it away, refusing to let it hurt anyone. Especially not my mate.

“Atti,” I whisper, feeling his hands picking me up and then the feeling of us moving, seconds before everything disappears into a familiar darkness.