Winter's War

by G. Bailey

  “You’re glowing a little this morning,” he says.

  “I had a good sleep, wolfman,” I tell him, avoiding saying the wakeup call was better, and he laughs.

  “I heard,” he says and nods his head towards his own room which is next door to mine. I don’t reply, only blush. I don’t know why the thought of him hearing me and Dabriel makes me blush, but it does. Damn, these hot mates of mine.

  “Any more dreams, lass?” Jaxson asks me, thankfully changing the subject.

  “No. Nothing unusual,” I reply, remembering the dream I had before the demon king took me and what my mum said about Lily, the fray queen. I need to tell everyone that they might not be helping us at all, and we need to plan for that. I know it was stupid to make that deal and I was played by that damn fairy. She used my need for a connection to my birth mum to make her seem like a friend to me, when she wasn’t. It was smart, but I need to be smarter now. I have four races of people and family I want alive after this war.

  “I need to speak to you, and everyone important to the war. I have things about the war I need to tell you all,” I tell him, he briefly frowns but nods.

  “Come on then, there’s a conference room that we use to talk,” Jaxson says and links our fingers as we walk down the corridor. We pass a lot of people, and all of them bow their heads to us as we pass. It used to be weird for me, but I’ve grown to accept who I am now, I’m not that normal girl who wanted to be a vet. I can’t be her anymore, it just isn’t in my future. As we pass the different kinds of people, it’s strange to see how they have adapted to living together, how they walk past each other like they would pass any normal person in the street. I think every wolf, witch, angel, and vampire here have lost a lot, and that binds people together, any kind of people. Jaxson leads me through the castle and towards the back, which I’ve not been to before, and we get to a set of three doors. There’s a door that leads outside, but Jaxson opens one of the doors for me, and I walk in.

  “I will go and get people, be right back,” Jaxson says and leaves me in the massive room. The room has a giant, round table in the middle, made out of a dark wood. There are three large windows that overlook the forest, and there is a big whiteboard on the one wall. I look at the dozens of seats around the table, and the only thought that goes through my mind is the old fairy tale my mum used to tell me about Arthur and the round table. Except this isn’t a fairy tale, and my mum isn’t here to tell me that story anymore. A loud purr grabs my attention, and I look over to see both Jewels and Mags sitting near the windows. These two used to scare me in their real forms, with no glamours to make them look like normal house cats, but now I know they wouldn’t hurt me. There’s also the fact that there are far scarier things out there than two cats who love shiny things and magazines. I walk over and try not to laugh at Jewels who has one large paw on top of a familiar box. My crown.

  “Are you keeping it safe for me?” I ask, and Jewels gives me a look that suggests I’m not getting it back. Mags walks over and pushes herself against me, and I stroke her head. Atti loves these two, they are part of him in a way. Or, that’s what he has tried to explain to me. Not many familiars survived the attacks on the witches’ city, or I haven’t seen many around the castle. There was a polar bear that I walked past yesterday and tried not jump. Just a random polar bear walking past me, no big deal.

  “After everything happens, he will need you.” I tell them both, and they seem to understand as they both stare at me. I wonder how intelligent they both are as I look at them, they almost seem sad. I turn and look out the window, watching the breeze move the dozens of different trees in the forest, and the mountains you can see in the background. I don’t know how far the trees go on for. They seem to stretch on and on, making them seem endless and beautiful. I look down when I hear some shuffling to see Jewels pick up the box in her large mouth and bring it over to me, dropping the box gently on my feet.

  “It’s time I wore this, huh?” I ask Jewels, who tilts her head to the side. I lean down and pick the box up, hearing the door open slightly, and I turn to see Milo fly into the room. Milo lands on top of the box and looks up at me.

  “Hey, Milo, you look nice today. Very Robin Hood,” I chuckle, seeing the strange, green leather outfit, and he even has a fake bow on his back. I will admit it’s likely the cutest thing I’ve seen, but he has a serious face which is unusual for him.

  “Crown keep you safe from blood.”

  “From blood? Do you mean my demon blood? Safe from the king?” I ask him, and he nods his head with a big smile replacing the frown. I wonder if it’s true, but why wouldn’t my mum have used it to keep herself safe? I don’t have to think of the answer long because I know, but it hurts to even think it. She didn’t use the crown because she gave it to my dad, for me. She let herself be taken, to keep me safe. My mum didn’t want him to know about the crown because she knew it could keep me safe one day. I lift the lid and stare down at the crown; the large white crystal in the middle and the four crystals encased around it in silver. Red for the vampires, green for the wolves, black for the witches, and the white stone for the angels. I lift the crown, feeling the power spreading through me, and I hear the door open, but I can’t look away from the crown as it lightly glows. It’s meant for me.

  “Winter,” I hear someone say, but I close my eyes and place the crown on my head, feeling the power spread through me. When I open my eyes, the room is full of people. Every one of them bows their heads, except my mates who stand strong in a line by the door. They never need to bow to me, they are my equals, as I am theirs. Damn, this crown is so powerful that it floods my mind, making me want to destroy things. I glance down at my hand, seeing it glowing blue slightly and feel for my power, knowing it feels stronger for the extra boost the crown gives me.

  “Winter, we don’t wear our crowns all the time because they are powerful, meant to be worn in war. They are meant to boost our powers and help us,” Atti says gently in my mind, using his gift to appear next to me. I don’t move as he takes the crown off me, and the power boost drifts away. I nod at Atti, just as he puts the crown into the box and closes it. Jewels slides between us as everyone comes further into the room and waits for me to say something.

  After taking a deep breath, I say, “The crown makes sure the demon king can’t control me. I can fight him now, and I can win. My family hid this crown for me, the demon king doesn’t know of its existence. It was hidden with my human mother for years and only someone of my blood could open the box. We finally have a way to win, a way to beat him.”

  The looks of relief around the room are clear. This has been a losing battle until now, we were just hoping for luck to win the war, but this is something else. This gives us a chance.

  “You can’t fight him alone,” Atti says gently, looking down at me. I look at him before meeting everyone else’s eyes in the room.

  “I won’t, but this is what I called you here for. Our first meeting of all the supernaturals, the first time we plan anything together. War is coming, and we need a united plan to win. There isn’t any other option, so sit or leave,” I say, and everyone takes a seat.

  13

  Winter

  “What was the reason you called us here today, Queen Winter? I have a feeling the revelation about the crown is new to you,” Harold asks as everyone finally sits down, and I stand up from my seat. I look around the room at the mixture of supernaturals in here, all of them sitting side by side to plan a fight. Harold, Drake, and Leigha are here for the vampires, today. Lucinda, a man I recognise as one of her mates, and Harris are here for the shifters. Then there are three witches, one man and two older women I do not know, but I’m sure they look familiar to me. For the angels, are Gabriel, Lucifer, and a female angel with long, dark hair and black wings; she also wears a stern expression as she watches me for the answer. I clear my throat before I speak, having the eyes of so many powerful people on me is a little daunting.

  “Do any of you know ab
out the fray? The fairies? Some call them Fey,” I ask, and no one says anything until one of the witches I didn’t recognise puts her hand up.

  “I’m sorry, I do not know your name,” I say, and she stands up, bowing before she speaks.

  “My name is Duzella. I was on the council for Atticus’ mother, and she was a true queen, as well as loyal friend. I was kept in the dungeons until Atticus took the throne, like he always should have. My loyalty is to our king, the rightful heir and the rightful new Queen.”

  “Thank you, Duzella, my mother spoke kindly of you often,” Atti says with a sad smile directed at Duzella.

  “I’ve heard stories of the fray, the ones who live in a dimension next to ours. They say the fray cross over when the wards between worlds are weak, to cause havoc. There were many books on the fray in the royal libraries of the witches. Unfortunately, I only read a few, but I will ask around the surviving witches and see if anyone read more than I did. I only saw them as fairy tales, I’m afraid,” Duzella tells me.

  “Thank you, that would be highly appreciated. Let it be known, the fray are a very real race, with a very real world,” I reply.

  “The plants tell me the fray are not to be trusted, that they only bring sorrow. Their world is connected to ours, with portals only fray can see. The plants told me about the portals but nothing else,” Lucinda tells me. I nod at her and give her a friendly smile. I haven’t had time to speak to Lucinda, but I did watch her in training the other day. She was teaching sword skills to some teenagers, they looked terrified of her by the end of the day. Well, except Freddy, Josh and Mich, who loved it. They are all amazing fighters, and it’s clear they have been training since they were little, with the way they fought. A clearing of someone’s throat makes me come back to the present and remember what I was going to say.

  “I apparently can dream call, a demon power I have. It’s a variation of the demon king’s power to control his own blood. My mother was rumoured to be able to control people, but I can only control bringing blood relatives into my dreams. I dream called the Queen of the fray by accident, her name is Lily, or that’s what she told me. But, it seems like she played me for a fool by making me believe she was friends with my mother,” I say, and Wyatt frowns as I look down at him.

  “Just before I was taken and controlled by the demon king, I had a dream. In this dream, my mother, Elissa, and Demtra were there.” There’s hushed whispers following my words. “They told me about how Lily is no friend of my mother’s like I was told, and how she cannot be trusted.”

  “How does that affect us all, Queen Winter?” Lucinda asks me.

  “It’s just Winter, no need for the title every time we speak. We have a lot of discussions to be made,” I say, and my mates chuckle a little. I hold in the urge to kick one of them under the table.

  “I made a promise with the Queen of Fray. I promised to hand over a half-fray child that is in this world, in exchange for soldiers and weapons on the day of war,” I say, and there are more whispers around the room following my words. I wait for someone to say something, knowing that all my mates know of this already, so it’s no shock to them. It is a shock that the fray has tricked me, and the anger written all over each of their faces says it to me. They are as mad as I am.

  “It sounds like an easy enough promise, and I don’t see how she will get herself out of it,” Lucifer says.

  “But, I disagree, mate. The child part is easy, the offer she made is not. There is always a way around what you promise in a deal. If the fray are not be trusted, then we can expect them to betray us,” the woman next to Lucifer says.

  “I don’t trust her. I have no idea if those soldiers will betray us, but I know we need to be prepared if they do,” I say, and there’s silence around the room for a long time as we think about it. I don’t know how she is going to betray me, but I just remember my mother’s panicked look when I told her I had made a deal with Lily. She wouldn’t have wasted her time warning me otherwise.

  “Right we need a plan, no more waiting around and training,” Wyatt says, and there’s quiet agreements around the room.

  “How are we going to win this war?” Jaxson asks no one specifically, but all of us.

  “How many of us are there for starters? Let’s talk numbers.” Atti asks as he stands up and goes over to the white board. I watch as he gets a marker off the side and opens it.

  “We did a head count, and not including women and children, we have nine thousand and twelve,” the vampire who spoke before says, and I feel a sharp pain at the thought of how many have died to get us here. So, so many are lost.

  “We have to take into account that it takes at least two of us to kill one. We can get lucky, but we don’t have the weapons we know the demon king’s army has.”

  “What is the weapon count? The pack doesn’t need weapons, remember that,” Jaxson asks, reminding us how the wolves are weapons themselves.

  “Neither do witches, not really. Most witches have element powers enough to fight,” Atti says. His point is true.

  “Okay . . . we have no idea how big his army is, but I’m guessing he has at least ten thousand, if not more, turned humans from Paris, alone. We know he has two dragons, and they will be able to fly in,” Atti says and writes this on the board.

  “Why can they fly in? In the witches’ city, the ward had to be broken to let them in.”

  “I figured this out last night,” Atti gives me a worried look, “the wards are always weaker on a solstice. It interferes with them somehow, and I forgot about it. It means the dragons might be able to get through easily.”

  “Dragon,” Milo says, flying off from the window and sitting on the table.

  “Dragons. There will be two of them. How do we kill them?” Atti asks Milo.

  “Yes, dragon Milo,” Jaxson says.

  “I will call dragon,” Milo says and flies off towards the door. I shake my head at him, having no idea what he is going on about. We really need to work on making full sentences with him some time.

  “We need help, and I doubt the humans will help us with this war, not after Paris,” I finally say into the silent room.

  “I know a place with supernatural people who may help us because the demons will be after them, too, but a warning, My Queen,” Lucifer says, “They might just as easily betray us, this is why I never wanted to tell anyone about them.”

  “Who?” I ask him.

  “My son is half angel, and they came to me once, asking if I wanted to give my son to them to protect. They claimed to have thousands of refugees and half’s that are hidden,” Lucifer says.

  “We cannot trust a load of halflings, my Queen and Kings. I’ve heard of these people, and they will betray you all,” Gabriel says.

  “Be careful, my son is a half, and I will rip your throat out if you say another word about them,” Wyatt snaps, his sentence followed by the wolves’ light, warning growls. I place a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder.

  “We need help, or it doesn’t matter whose blood we have. It doesn’t matter if we are halfs, if we are full bloods, or even human, we will all die the same way. The demon king doesn’t care what blood we have, to him we are all dead already, and this is just a game. I suggest we stop acting like children and win the big game,” I tell the room of supernaturals, who watch me with fear and hope in their eyes.

  “Wise words, My Queen, I am sorry for speaking out of turn,” Gabriel says and bows his head.

  “Our Queen is right. It doesn’t matter anymore. We all have family and children we want to keep safe and alive, and we need help to do that,” Dabriel says, his sentence hanging around the now silent room.

  “Where can we find these people?” Atti asks, leaning over me on the table, his chest brushing against my back. I have to resist the urge to lean back into him with all the eyes of the people in here on us.

  “They said you call for them in your mind, they have a witch who listens out for calls about halfs. I can get Josh to call for them, an
d then I will explain,” Lucifer says.

  “That must be one hell of a powerful witch,” Atti comments, and he has a point. I’ve never seen even Atti use that amount of power.

  “The man and woman who came to see me, were very powerful. They put a ward around us while we spoke and then just disappeared,” Lucifer says.

  “Like how witches move?” I ask.

  “No. With witches you can see them, a glimmer or something. Supernaturals can always tell when a witch uses their power. This was different, and the people that I saw, I believed were an angel and a vampire, anyway,” he says. I can’t tell much, but that might be because I never really look.

  “Freddy, my nephew, is powerful. Far more than I’ve ever seen any child,” Jaxson says.

  “I believe mixing our blood makes us more powerful, stronger,” Dabriel comments, and a few people nod. My eyes meet with Leigha’s across the room, but she only looks at me for a second before looking at Harris. The look says everything, she wants it to be okay for wolves and vampires to mix. She loves him.

  “Call for them, tell them the new kings and queen want to make a deal for help. We want to meet,” I tell Lucifer, who nods.

  “I can’t call from here, but I can from the local town. I will go there now with Josh.”

  “I will take you and protect you,” Atti says before I can even offer to send someone to go. I don’t like the idea of Lucifer or Josh going outside the castle right now.

  “I’m coming, too. Freddy wouldn’t forgive me if his new best friend got hurt,” Wyatt says, standing up as well.

  “I should come,” I say, and both Atti and Wyatt shake their heads.

  “No, the crowning for Dabriel is in two days, and important. I know Alex has a dress she needs you to try on,” Atti says, and I groan, looking around for Alex but not seeing her. I dread to know what kind of dress she has planned.

  “We will meet the day after the crowning to plan for war. Every person who is going to fight, needs to be training. Working together,” Atti says firmly and walks out with Lucifer and Wyatt following.