POV EMMA BELLE
The impact of my landing sent a shockwave through the snow, cracking the permafrost in a jagged circle around my feet. The cold didn't bite me; it recognized me. I stood tall, my white wolf-fur cloak billowing behind me like a war banner.
Across the frozen courtyard, the Ice Seer stopped. Her silver hair whipped in the wind, and her pale blue eyes narrowed, reflecting the violet glow of my skin. Around us, the world was a symphony of chaos. I could hear Damon's guttural roars as he tore through the Northern wolves, the whistle of Félix's arrows, and the silent, deadly strikes of Vincent's blades. But for me, the world had narrowed down to this one woman and the frost she commanded.
"You speak of crowns, little bird," the Seer's voice echoed in my mind, cold and sharp as an icicle. "But you are merely a spark in an endless winter. The North does not bow to sparks. We extinguish them."
She raised her staff, and the ground groaned. Massive pillars of ice erupted from the earth, racing toward me like frozen spears.
"Emma, move!" I heard Félix's voice scream from somewhere to my left.
I didn't move. I didn't need to. I felt the tether to Nathaniel flare. His intellectual precision flooded my mind, showing me the structural weaknesses in the ice before it even reached me. I reached out a hand, palm flat, and imagined the air turning into a solid wall.
CRACK.
The ice spears shattered against an invisible barrier three feet from my face. The shards fell like diamonds in the snow.
"My turn," I whispered.
I didn't use a weapon. I used the raw, kinetic fire Damon had awakened in me. I lunged forward, not running, but propelled by a burst of energy. I was a blur of white and violet. The Seer tried to summon a shield of frost, but I was faster. I slammed my fist into the ice, and it didn't just break—it vaporized.
We collided in a burst of mist and power. She was cold, so cold that her skin felt like marble, but my blood was boiling with the heat of four Alpha souls. I grabbed her shoulders, and for a second, our eyes locked. I saw her memories—thousands of years of winter, the hunger of her people, and a deep, festering fear of the light I represented.
"You're afraid," I realized, my voice resonating with a power that shook the very air. "You didn't come here to conquer. You came here because you know the sun is finally rising."
She snarled, a sound more beast than human, and pushed me back with a wave of absolute zero. I flew backward, my boots furrowing the snow, but I caught myself.
"Félix! Now!" I shouted.
From the shadows of a nearby tower, a golden blur launched into the air. Félix—my Lixie—didn't hesitate. He wasn't in his wolf form now; he was a human whirlwind, diving from the heights with two silver daggers drawn. He wasn't aiming for the Seer; he was aiming for the source of her power—the crystal embedded in her staff.
The Seer turned to blast him out of the sky, but she forgot one thing. I wasn't alone.
A massive shadow loomed over her. Damon had fought his way through the Stalkers, his body covered in blood, his eyes glowing like molten gold. He swung his axe in a horizontal arc, forcing the Seer to drop her staff to avoid being cleaved in two.
CLANG.
Félix landed perfectly, his daggers shattering the staff's crystal into a thousand useless pieces. The violet sky flickered, and the oppressive cold began to lift.
"No!" the Seer shrieked, her form beginning to shimmer and fade. "The Council... they promised us the heart of the Queen!"
"The Council lied," Nathaniel said, appearing at my side, his silver eyes cold and calculating. He pointed his dark wood staff at her. "And now, you're just a trespasser in our domain."
The Seer looked at the four men surrounding me—Damon's brute strength, Nathaniel's sharp mind, Félix's wild agility, and Vincent, who had reappeared behind her like a vengeful ghost. Then she looked at me. I wasn't the trembling girl from the forest anymore. I was the center of their circle.
"The winter is coming for you all," she hissed, before dissolving into a pile of harmless snow and wind.
The Northern wolves, sensing their leader was gone, let out a mournful howl and began to retreat into the mists. The battle was over, but the air remained heavy with the weight of what had just happened.
I felt the adrenaline leave my body all at once. My knees buckled, and for the third time that day, I prepared to hit the ground.
But I didn't.
Damon caught me on one side, his massive arm around my waist. Félix caught me on the other, his hand gripping my shoulder, his face pale and covered in soot but his eyes bright with relief.
"I told you," Félix whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. "You're a terrifying Little Bird, Emma."
"Lixie," I breathed, closing my eyes and soaking in his heat.
"Don't get too comfortable," Damon growled, though his touch was surprisingly gentle as he helped me stand. He looked at the horizon, where the mists were still thick. "The Seer was just the vanguard. The Council sent the North to test us. Now they know what you can do."
"And what can I do, Damon?" I asked, looking up at him.
Damon's golden eyes locked onto mine. He didn't answer with words. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on the mark on my neck. The tether between us hummed, a deep, possessive vibration.
"You can change the world," he whispered. "And that's why they'll never stop until you're dead. Or until we've killed them all."
Nathaniel stepped forward, holding a piece of the shattered crystal from the Seer's staff. "There's something else. This crystal... it wasn't just a focus for her magic. It's a recording device. The Council saw everything. They saw the bond, Emma. They saw how you used our power."
"Let them watch," I said, my voice hardening. I looked at my four kings. "Let them see exactly what's coming for them."
We walked back toward the fortress gates, the black obsidian walls looming above us like a promise of safety. But as we crossed the bridge, a scout came running from the internal tunnels, his face white with terror.
"Alpha Damon! Alpha Nathaniel!" the scout gasped, falling to his knees. "The southern border... it's been breached."
"Caleb again?" Félix snapped, his hand going to his bow.
"No," the scout whispered, looking at me with pity. "It's the Eclipse Pack. But they aren't attacking. They're... they're pleading. The Council has taken the children. They said they won't release them until the 'Abomination' is delivered to them."
The "Abomination." Me.
My heart turned to stone. Caleb had failed to kill me, so the Council was using my old pack—the innocent ones, the children I used to sneak extra bread to—as bait.
I looked at Damon, then at Lixie. I saw the conflict in their eyes. They wanted to keep me safe in the mountains, but they knew what this meant.
"We aren't waiting for the war to come to us anymore," I said, the violet light in my eyes flaring with a cold, lethal brilliance. "Damon, get the warriors ready. Nathaniel, I need a map of the Council's stronghold."
"Emma, it's a trap," Nathaniel warned.
"I know it's a trap," I replied, stepping toward the gate. "But they made a mistake. They think I'm still the girl they can bargain with. They're about to find out that a Queen doesn't bargain."
I looked at Félix, who was already grinning, his dimplesshowing despite the blood on his face. "Ready, Lixie?"
"Always, Little Bird," he replied, falling into step beside me.
The Four Kings and their Queen marched into the darkness of the fortress, not to hide, but to prepare for the end of an empire.