They stepped out onto the green grass in the shadow of the giant spiral city and Jagum was looking up at it, but Etani was looking at the clouds, roiling and angry above them. The wind was heavy, and she frowned as lightning cracked down somewhere.
"This is bad," she yelled over the wind and Daemon nodded, hurrying them along towards the side of the city.
"Let's get this done before we go in," Uzo called. Accepting his hand, he pulled her closer and his free hand touched the underside of her chin.
His kiss was light, gentle and brief but the sheer amount of magic that he poured into her had her knees buckling and it was only his arm around her that kept her from hitting the ground.
He lingered as long as he dared, and she felt like she might pop from the energy singing in her.
She looked up at him, tingling and she had to wonder at how much magic the man was capable of holding if he could feed that much into her.
He grinned wickedly and tapped her nose before she was able to get her feet under her again. She felt like she was going to fly away but she remained solidly on the ground.
"How powerful are you?" she breathed, the man laughing gently.
"You don't ask a gentleman that question, my dear girl, it's impolite." Winking at her, he went serious as their eyes went to the city above them and the smooth, sheer wall they were pressed against.
"The only way in is the gates," she said, biting her lip, refusing to give into fear. "I guess it's my turn to lead."
They followed along the wall in a single file, making it harder for them to be spotted from above but then they came to the gates, and she frowned at the sight of it going unguarded.
That was seriously abnormal, and she paused, searching the gates for a hint of a trap.
They were elaborately tooled in spirals and arcs made of solid gold and inlaid with massive precious and semi-precious stones, offsetting the sheer blankness that was the city itself.
"Why are there no guards?" she whispered as Daemon leant forward to peek around her shoulder.
The lack of guards had thrown her off entirely and it was raising all sorts of alarms in her head. But they had no choice and so she set off at a run, crossing the inner curve to the flat line that started the spiral shell shape.
The others followed along behind her and they found the gates to be open just enough for someone to walk inside.
Daemon pulled her back, and he went in first, frowning as he found no ambush on the other side and he shrugged, motioning for them to come in.
Stepping inside, she cursed silently under her breath as she saw the solid flatness that was the inner walls.
"They closed the doors," she said slowly. "They knew we were coming."
The gates slammed shut behind them and she grabbed the two closest to her, yanking them forward on instinct as arrows rained down.
Jagum already had the reflexes to avoid it, and she pulled them as more and more figures stood up along the walls.
"Go! Up the spiral!" she snarled, the two men sprinted ahead, Jagum keeping pace with her.
"This whole city is designed to trap you," he said, and she nodded, her legs burning on the incline.
She noted that the arrows never were aimed directly for them, only trying to push them upwards and she clenched her jaw, realising they were being herded.
Reaching the top of the spiral, they skidded to a stop and found the circular flat meeting place to be filled with people.
They were all pale. Pale hair, pale skin, pale eyes and pale clothing that had always made her stick out like a sore thumb with her black hair and vivid eyes.
There were weapons everywhere and she felt a sudden dread that she had led her friends to their deaths. She should have gone alone.
"Get them out," she whispered to Daemon, barely audible and his body tensed. Jagum growled and Uzo twitched but none of them responded as a woman moved into view from a balcony set into the largest white walled building that was the palace.
She had white-blonde hair and pale skin, her eyes a soft grey-green that Etani knew all too well.
Wearing nothing but a sheer gauzy dress that did nothing to hide her nudity and a crown made of five large crystals sticking up, her pale lips turned up into a smile as she observed the group.
"How nice of you to return home, Etania," Illia said, her amusement cold.
"Illia, you're as bitchy as usual," Etani retorted, and Illia glared.
"Insolent girl, you'd think the humans would have taught you some manners by now."
Glancing behind her, she found the passage back had been enclosed by more pale figures and she noted a few of them from her childhood, all cold and angry.
"Don't suppose we can all go our separate ways and pretend this never happened?" she called out, the Queen's malicious laugh echoing through the meeting place.
"No, I'm afraid not. The cat can go, but I need a new husband, and you have two very delicious looking men with you."
Snorting, she glanced at Daemon who looked revolted and Uzo was smiling politely, but she could see the anger in his face.
"Sorry Illia, I don't think they're keen, and he's an incubus. Imagine that, being so unappealing that an incubus wouldn't even want you," she taunted, the Queen's face flushing with rage.
"Kill her," Illia snarled, and her stomach dropped out in fear.
"Do you really want to try and kill the Queen of Winter?" Daemon called out and Illia froze along with several of those around her who had started moving forward.
Etani was looking at him curiously and he looked back at her, grinning.
"You're Fae now," he explained. It took her an instant to realise what that meant. She could tap into Faerie and claim the throne. "Do it…"
She looked from him up to Illia who was glaring down at her and she grinned savagely.
"I am Etania Daewen, Queen of Winter."
The magic hit her like a physical blow, and she gasped, her breath escaping her in a cloud of mist.
Her skin tingled and burned as markings began to engrave themselves into her flesh, leaving her marked with sharp angles and smooth lines down to her fingertips. Her scalp stung and she looked down to see that her black hair was turning silver starting from the roots and flowing down to the tips before it all lifted under a gust of frigid air, and she felt it winding into a tight braid that clung close to the back of her head.
Something tickled her ear, and she touched it to find a string of tiny gems trailed from her earlobe up over her head and hung down loose, more in her hair.
Her clothes melted away to be transformed from her pants into a long, slender and flowing gown that started in a heart shape at her chest, leaving her shoulders and arms bare, the fabric of her dress inlaid with small white gems and embroidered with a pattern similar to her skin.
She could feel Faerie whispering to her, loving her for what she was, and who she was. It wanted to please her, and it would do anything she asked, anything to make her happy.
Her eyelashes felt longer and thicker as she looked up at Illia, who looked utterly terrified.
"Kill her!" she screamed but Etani knew instinctively what to do.
She pulled viciously on the magic and a barrier of thick ice shot up out of the ground, buckling the stone as she forced water up out of the mountain below.
Turning her eyes to the door to the palace, she lifted her hand, and the ice flew in a line for the door, expanding out to form a passage.
Her friends were frozen in place, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the ice she had created and she decided to leave them where they were, going for the palace.