Winter's War (Her Guardians series Book 4)(29)

“Behave,” Soobeen tells Chesca who sighs but looks away from us all to look at her nails.

“I will speak to the Queen and the half boy, alone,” Soobeen says, and Jaxson’s growl is all that needs to be said on the matter.

“Give us a minute,” I say loudly, and Soobeen nods at me, understanding that I need to talk to them about this. We all walk back off into the woods a little, close to the ward.

Jaxson says, “There is no fucking way I’m letting you and Freddy go in there alone.”

“We don’t have much choice. I don’t want to, but I’m not weak, and I saw the fear in their eyes when my powers came out. I don’t think we are a threat to them. Look at how they are dressed, how thin they all are. I think they need our help as much as we need theirs.”

“I will protect her, too,” Freddy says and comes to stand next to my side.

“They have fifteen minutes, and then I’m coming to get you.” Atti pulls me closer to him, kissing my cheek. “Until then, I can speak in your mind,” Atti whispers the end part just for me.

“I don’t like it,” Jaxson says.

“Neither do I, but I trust Winter and Freddy. I’ve seen them both fight and know they can do this,” Wyatt says, and I see Freddy give him a strange look. It almost looked respectful.

“At the end of the day, if they kill me, the demon king wins, and they will never be safe because you would all kill them. The demon king doesn’t want me dead, so even if they are working for him, they won’t kill me. I will shout in my mind for you if I sense the demon king, but I don’t think he is stupid enough to fight you all out in the open like this,” I say, knowing it’s true.

“I would love to fight the bastard,” Atti says.

“That’s the point, he won’t fight you alone. He is a coward that hides behind his army. If he wanted to fight you, he could have done so easily in the castle, but he didn’t, he came for me when I was alone,” I say, and Jaxson pulls me into a hug when I step away from Atti.

“Fifteen minutes,” he says and kisses me gently. Wyatt and Atti nod at me as I hold Freddy’s hand and walk over to the sisters and Chesca. The closer I get to them, the more I feel like I can trust them for some reason. I don’t get why it is, and it’s not something I can explain to my mates. There’s just something.

“You have fifteen minutes,” I tell them, and Mila nods at me in response. They all look between each other for a second, but I see it.

“Sure,” she says and walks into the old ruined house. The house looks like it could be blown away any minute, and the inside isn’t any better. There is nothing inside, other than a burnt-out fireplace and a massive, red rug that’s covered in dirt and burnt in places. It stinks of smoke in here, making me wonder if there was a fire recently. I watch as Soobeen pushes the old rug across the floor, and Mila opens a hidden door in the floor. The loud creaking of the door is the only sound, and it’s eerily quiet.

“This place looks like the Shrieking Shack,” Freddy whispers.

“It does,” I whisper back, wondering why the place looked familiar to me.

“This isn’t a book about witches, little boy,” Chesca snaps before walking down the steps in the trap door.

“I know,” Freddy says but smirks at me. I try not to laugh at his attitude.

“Come,” Mila says and walks down the steps, with Soobeen holding the door open. I walk in first, making Freddy walk behind me, and take the steps down to the dark room below. The steps are lit up by small fires in sconces on the walls, and the steps are pure stone. There isn’t anything to hold on to as I take each deep step, and it takes everything in me not to trip up. I could just imagine tripping over and crashing into Chesca in front of me. I doubt she would take it well.

“Everything okay?” Atti asks in my mind, almost making me jump and fall down the steps like I was thinking about.

“Dammit,” I mutter out loud.

“Be careful, Queen Winter. The steps are difficult down here until you know how to walk down,” I hear Chesca say, and the sarcasm in her voice is overwhelming.

“So far, so good,” I think, but know he can’t hear me, and I feel a little stupid until I remember he actually asked me a question, so it’s natural to answer.

“I can hear you when you project your thoughts like that, it’s a witch mating thing,” Atti says, with almost a laugh.

“Then we are walking down a creepy, underground staircase, and I’m trying not to pull the annoying angel’s hair out,” I tell him, and I can hear his laughter in my head for a little while as I concentrate on walking down. I feel Freddy place his hand on my back a few times, the steps are just as large for him to walk down, and it’s comforting to know he is okay despite me not really being able to see him.

“Be careful,” I hear Atti say, his tone gentle.

“Love you,” I say back, and then there is silence, but I know he heard me, and that’s enough. I bet he is telling the others about what I said. I look forward as we get to the end of the stairs from hell, and there is a clear ward. I can’t see anything through the ward, despite it being clear.

“You must walk through the ward. It will not interfere with your bond and your mate hearing you,” Soobeen says behind me, and I can’t see her in the dark, but I feel Freddy place his hand into mine.