War of Winter: (Reverse Harem Serial) (Winter Princess Book 4)

by Skye MacKinnon

"Princess, have you counted the demons? They've outnumbered us from the beginning."

  I huff. Of course I knew that. But there's a difference between having 150 stupid demons or 144 stupid demons and 6 very strong ones.

  Crispin gasps and points to where Frost is fighting.

  "He needs help!"

  My Water Guardian is surrounded. More demons must have followed the initial breakaways. He's shooting icicles in all directions, but whenever a demon goes down, another takes his place.

  I reach for my bond and give Storm a tug. I can see how he falters for a moment and know my message got to him. Now he knows someone is in trouble. Once again, I regret that I can't give him more information via the bond.

  But he's already running towards his brother, blowing demons out of his way with large gusts of wind. They're not intended to kill, just to make it quicker for him to reach his twin.

  Frost is fighting hard. A wall of water is rolling over the beach, towards him and the demons. Is the water going to hurt him when it breaks over them?

  Surely not. It’s his element, after all.

  I notice I’m gripping Crispin’s hand. When did that happen?

  Storm has almost reached his brother when the wave crashes over Frost and the demons surrounding him. For a moment, they’re hidden from view. Storm skids to a halt, waiting for the water to disappear.

  With bated breath, I wait. Every second feels like an hour. Then, the water wall that has stood upon the ground crashes down, releasing its victims. Demons collapse, drowned where they were standing. A few still move, but they don’t pose a threat anymore. Frost stands in the middle of them, victorious.

  And collapses.

  Storm is by his brother’s side in a flash. He lifts him up, obviously concerned. I wish I could understand what they’re saying. He stretches an arm into the air, waving.

  He needs Crispin’s help.

  “You ready?” I ask the healer.

  “Yeah, let’s do this. It’s best if we circle the field as much as possible. It’ll take longer, but if we get caught in the fighting it could mean we won’t reach them at all.”

  I nod and release his hand. He pulls his sword from its sheath, and I do the same with my dagger. Into battle.

  Progress is slow. We’re trying to stay out of sight, hiding behind low heather bushes and in an occasional ditch. It’s a pity that this area has been landscaped for tourists who want to enjoy the view. There isn’t much cover.

  Once, we run into a demon struggler, but Crispin dispatches him with a single stroke. A drop of blood splatters on my face. But I don’t have time to think about how disgusting it is, as Crispin takes my hand and drags me on.

  Our original plan was that I’m to protect Crispin if we have to get to one of the Guardians. So far, it’s been the other way around. I really need to start pulling my weight.

  By the time we reach Frost and Storm, I’m covered in sweat and am having trouble breathing. I need to do more exercise. Maybe one of the Guardians can become my personal trainer once we’re in the Realms. Or perhaps all of them. Of course they’d have to be topless to do that.

  I’m grateful for my mind being silly as always. It distracts me from the dead demons littering the ground. One of them grips my ankle – okay, he’s not quite dead yet. Instinctively, I bend down and stab him with my dagger. With a crunch, it sinks into his ribcage. There’s almost no blood.

  He lets loose of my foot and breathes his last breath.

  My first kill.

  I shudder.

  “Wyn! Crispin! Over here!” Storm calls, his voice full of urgency.

  Ignoring the dead demon at my feet, I run over to him. Frost is lying on the ground, his cheeks sporting a blue tinge. His eyes are closed and his breath is shallow. His armour lies discarded next to him, giving us a view of his pale upper body.

  “What happened?” Crispin asks, his tone all business. This is Crispin the healer, not Crispin the friend.

  “A demon stabbed him from behind, broke his concentration. The wound is shallow, but he lost control on the water and it almost drowned him, just like the demons.”

  “Turn him around,” Crispin orders, and Storm gently rolls his brother on his stomach.

  A large gash runs from Frost’s left shoulder blade down to the bottom of his spine. It’s bleeding heavily; his armour doesn’t seem to have been strong enough to prevent the weapon reaching his skin. If this is what Storm describes as a ‘shallow wound’, I don’t want to know what a deep wound would look like.

  Crispin curses under his breath. “This will take a while. Wyn, look out for demons, you’ll have to keep them away from us. Storm, the others will need your help. Go back and fight.”

  “He’ll make it, right?” he grumbles.

  “Yes, but none of us will make it if you don’t kill those bastards,” Crispin retorts, already waving his hand over Frost’s unmoving body.

  With a sigh, Storm takes his sword and turns away from us, running back to the battlefield. Two land spouts spring into life on either side of him. The fury of my Guardian is visible. I silently cheer him on. Demons hurt my Frost. They need to die.

  I get up and take a protective stance in front of Crispin and his patient. Crispin is whispering under his breath, but it’s too mumbled to understand.

  I focus on our surroundings. A demon is approaching us, separating from the rest of the battle.

  Brenda.

  Shit.

  I’m not sure I can deal with a higher demon yet.

  “Crispin, there’s a demon coming, but I’ll get rid of her,” I say with a confidence that is entirely made up.

  I grasp my magic tightly, preparing to fight. This demon is going nowhere near my Guardians.

  Now that she’s coming closer, I get a better view of her hideousness. Her flesh looks like it’s too large for her skin. Boils cover her arms and legs, but I’m not sure if they’re from the battle or always like this. Sharp teeth are protruding from her puckered lips; they’re totally out of proportion with the size of her mouth. A few hairs are stretched over her otherwise bald skull. She’s the ugliest being I’ve ever seen.

  And right now, she’s smiling at me – if you can call it a smile. More a slight movement of her mouth.

  “Daughter of Breia,” she hisses. “It’s time to die.”

  “Can’t you come up with something more creative?” I yell back at her. “That’s such an overused sentence.”

  She stares at me. Apparently, no one has called her out on her stereotypical phrases.

  Then her smile grows broader and with a flick of her hand, the ground before me explodes. I’m thrown back; luckily not onto Crispin and Frost.

  “Do you need help?” Crispin shouts. I want to say yes, but he’s busy healing.

  “I’ll deal with her,” I respond through clenched teeth. That bitch is going to die.

  She wants to use magic against me? I’ll show her my magic.

  I don’t even have to think about what to do. I simply reach into myself, take a bundle of magic and throw it in her direction. A huge fireball races towards her.

  She shrieks, but manages to throw up a wall of earth in front of her just before the fire hits her. Damn it.

  Let’s try something else. I twist my hands and a whirlwind springs into being in front of me. I nudge it towards Brenda, and it shoots forward, crashing against her wall of earth. I twist my arm further and the wind turns into a small tornado, ripping through the earth, destroying her protective barrier.

  I will the wind to move further, until it reaches the demon. She shrieks as it tears at her, ripping her few remaining hairs off her scalp. I laugh as I form another fire ball and throw it at her.

  It mixes with the wind, turning the tornado into a burning torch. She screams as the flames touch her. Burn, demon bitch.

  I channel more magic into the fire, willing it to burn even hotter. Her screams turn into wails, and I smile grimly as her skin begins to melt on her body. She threatened m
y Guardians. Now she’s paying for it. They are mine.

  “Wyn!” Crispin suddenly shouts, ripping me from my victorious rage. I turn around – and my heart drops. A demon is holding a knife to the healer’s throat.

  It’s a small, unremarkable demon – he looks just like most of the other ones. But there’s an intelligence burning behind his eyes that makes me categorise him as a higher demon immediately. This one is dangerous, probably more so than Brenda (who has now burned to a demon crisp behind me).

  Crispin is looking more annoyed than scared. Well, guess I’m scared enough for both of us. That knife looks very sharp. And deadly.

  “What do you want?” I snarl at the demon.

  He laughs. “The same thing as every single one of us wants. You.”

  “Well, you’re not getting me. Now release my friends.”

  I quiver with rage. I’m not going to let him get away with this.

  He laughs even harder. “You’re not in a position to make demands, abomination.”

  “What did you just call me?”

  He grins widely, saliva forming a spider’s web around his crooked teeth.

  “You’re a halfling. A bastard. An abomination born of incest. You should have been killed when you were born. Now my Mistress is making things right. And I will be the one to do it. She’ll reward m-“

  He drops to the ground, taking the knife with him. A tiny drop of blood runs down Crispin’s throat. He wipes it off with his hand. Strange how he is wounded, but the demon lies dead on the ground, no sign of injury. He could be sleeping. Nobody will know how I stopped his heart with just a single tendril of magic. Except for Crispin, of course.

  “Couldn't you have done that a little earlier?” he huffs.

  “Sorry, couldn’t decide how to do it. It’s strange, his heart looked just like a human one.”

  He smiles sadly. “You’re a good student. But I wish you wouldn’t have had to do that.”

  Actually, I’m glad. Stopping that demon’s heart was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m glowing inside. I want to jump and tell the world. Then I want to burn it.

  “I’m going to kill some demons,” I announce and leave the two Guardians, ignoring Crispin’s protest. I stride onto the battlefield, looking for demons to kill. My magic is sharpening her claws inside me, purring at the thought of demon blood pouring onto the ground.

  No one is going to stop us.

  I’m a demi-goddess. These demons are no match for me.

  I’m feeling a little hot, so I conjure fire balls and let them rain down on the battle field. Demons shriek all around me, running away from their burning comrades. I laugh as heather brush catches fire on the ground. Thick smoke is beginning to rise, making it hard to see. But I don’t care. I throw more fire all around me, not caring whether it actually hits someone.

  I’m drunk on magic, and it’s the best feeling ever.

  A demon runs at me from behind, but I know he’s coming and send a fiery lance towards him. It rips a hole into his abdomen, and for a moment, I can look through him, until he collapses to the ground.

  A few more demons are running towards me. I smile and form a few fire whips and wrap them around their necks, cleanly slicing through them. Four demons less.

  Maybe I should see if Arc needs help. He doesn’t have destructive powers like me and the other Guardians.

  I skip across the battlefield like a child, ignoring the dead demons all around me. I haven’t had this fun in a long time.

  I feel for my bond to Arc, and turn into his direction. He’s not far. A few more demons get in my way, but I kill them with more fire lances. This is so easy. At least Brenda was a challenge, but these demons are nothing but critters that I can crush with a single thought.

  I wave when I see Arc, shooting fire into the air. Oops, that wasn’t the plan. He looks at me strangely, and I turn to see if there are demons behind me, but I’ve burnt them all.

  There’s a demon next to Arc, though. She’s not going to hurt my Arc.

  I ready a fire ball.

  “Arc, get out of the way!” I shout, but strangely enough, he shifts until he’s standing in front of the demon.

  As if he’s protecting her.

  What the fuck?

  She’s a demon, she needs to die. All demons need to die. That’s the way it is.

  “She’s going to kill you, get away from her!” I warn him, but he’s just shaking his head.

  “Snap out of it, lass! It’s Chesca! Ye ken Chesca, she’s not like the others!”

  Somehow that rings a bell, but the fire in me extinguishes that thought.

  “One last time, get away from her!” I shout.

  “Or what? You’re going to burn me?”

  No, I’m not. Right? But there’s a demon, and she needs to be killed. My magic is growling. She wants blood. Demon blood.

  Not letting go of my fire ball, I conjure a wind lasso with my other hand, just like the ones I used this morning to get Storm off me. I wrap it around Arc’s waist and pull, ripping him away from the demon. He flies through the air and I’m sure the landing isn’t too comfortable for him, but he’s safe now.

  Finally, I can throw that fire ball at the demon. I grin and send it towards her, but – she’s no longer there. She’s extended her wings and is flying a few metres above the battlefield.

  We can’t have that. I shoot some more fire at her, but she’s too quick and easily evades them. Time to change tactics. I form a wind lasso and swing it around her, aiming to pull her down to the ground so I can burn her and –

  I’m wrestled to the ground. I prepare to shoot fire at them, but then I see Arc’s green eyes and retract my magic. My Guardian. Why is he looking at me so strangely? Isn’t he proud of me?

  “Wyn, ye need ta stop,” he whispers.

  “But they need to die,” I protest, but he shushes me.

  “This isn’t you. The magic is controlling ya. I can help ya, but ye need ta lower yer barriers for a moment, lass.”

  His voice is calm and soothing, and I want to do what he tells me to. But the magic isn’t letting me. She’s clawing at me, urging me to get rid of him so she can kill more demons.

  I take a deep breath. He’s asked for it. This isn’t on me.

  I reach for my magic – and stop as I feel something strange happening. It takes me a moment to realise that it’s a weird kind of scratching at the shield around my mind. I take a look at my island. It’s still surrounded by my glass sphere, just as I left it. But something is knocking against it from the outside. Someone.

  My ginger Guardian.

  I run to him, everything else forgotten. He puts his hands against the glass, and I do the same on my side of the barrier. Suddenly, the glass disappears and his hands grasp mine. A second later, he stands next to me.

  “Quickly, mend the shield.”

  Confused, I do as he says and fix the hole.

  “How did you do that?” I ask him once the sphere is whole again.

  He smirks. “Trade secret. Now, what do ye think ye were doing out there? Are ye mad?”

  “I was killing dem-“ I gasp.

  What did I do?

  What the hell happened?

  What the fuck is wrong with me?

  I press my hands against my mouth, suddenly feeling queasy. All that blood I spilled. All those demons I killed. The wounds I inflicted. The joy I felt while doing it.

  I retch, bending over. But nothing comes out. Guess puking doesn’t work in the mind.

  “It’s okay, lass,” Arc says soothingly, rubbing my back. I stand up and lean into his hug. His strong arms press me against his body and I feel guilty for enjoying it.

  I should be punished. I shouldn’t be comforted. I don’t deserve it.

  We stand on the beach, joined in our hug, for a long time.

  Finally, I ask the question that has been drumming in my mind the whole time. “Why did I do this? How could I?”

  “Yer magic took control of ya. Yer
not experienced enough to use so much magic at once. Remember the earthquake?”

  I nod. How could I not? I levelled a street.

  “Some elements have a stronger effect on ya. Looks like fire and earth are yer strongest elements, but they’re also harder ta control. Have ye felt the same with any others?”

  I think back to the start of the battle.

  I used wind to capture Brenda, but it didn’t affect me in the way fire had done. I hadn’t used water, so no idea about that one. And when I stopped the demon’s heart, it had been quick and I didn’t feel happy about it. Not like with fire. I had revelled in the flames devouring demon flesh.

  I shudder. “No, but I haven’t used water yet. Wind seems to be safe.”

  “Then stick to wind as much as ye can. But first, we need ta get ye back ta Crispin.” He looks down at me, his eyes softening. “Do ye need more time, wee one? This is all in yer mind, there’s almost nae time passing in the real world.”

  “Yes. I’d rather not face Chesca just now.”

  He chuckles. “She’ll be mad, no doubt aboot that. But it was a nice move, the way ye pulled me away from her. Yer skills are improving.”

  “Let’s not talk about the battle, please,” I whisper. “I don’t want to think about it just yet. For now, I just want to enjoy how you –“ I better shut up now.

  “How I what, lass?”

  In response, I rub my cheek against his chest. He’s not wearing armour here, just a tight t-shirt that is highlighting his muscles. He runs a hand through my hair. He gently moves my neck until I’m looking up at him and his beautiful green eyes.

  “How I what?” he repeats.

  I blush. “Feel. You feel good. Okay? You feel amazing, smell amazing, look amazing. And I really shouldn’t be saying all this, but apparently, I don’t have much of a filter in here.”

  He laughs, his chest vibrating against my cheek. I love it when he does that. “I’ll show ye how amazing I feel.” And presses his lips against mine. I hungrily open my mouth, inviting him in. He kisses me with a passion that surpasses any other kiss. Ever.

  He runs his hands over my back, drawing circles on my skin. I can feel my tense muscles relax. I moan as he leaves my lips to take a breath.

  “So impatient,” he chuckles. “We shouldnae do this, Princess. But I cannae stop.” With that, he plunges his tongue back into my mouth, and I meet him with my own. I slide my hands under his shirt and explore his soft skin. It’s amazing how silky it feels, even though the muscles underneath are rock hard. Just like another part of him that is pressing against my stomach.