"WELL WELL well, if it isn't the Princess."

Andorra didn't bother looking up from where she sat against the floor of her cell. It had felt like hours had passed since Nohx had paid her a visit, and since then, she had plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to stew and panic and cry about the future of Anlithamy.

The last person she wanted to see was Anders.

"Am I shocked you're in on this? Not really." She called back. She tilted her head to squint at him, and it made her stomach churn when she saw a golden crown atop his head. The same crown that Bazile had held in his hands just hours prior.

Anders wrapped his hands around the bars. "You're looking a little pathetic."

"So you're okay with this? With the daeominem entering Anlithamy and killing everyone in sight? Or, how about the fact that Bazile wants to be king?"

The metal bar around Andorra's wrist began to turn cold, freezing against her skin. She rubbed her hand over the metal, trying to lift it from her wrist. She glanced down at it, shocked at the sudden frost that skated across her skin.

"Our desires don't exactly align, but they do cross paths. I rub his back, he rubs mine. It's a win-win."

"Destroying Anlithamy is a win-win?" Andorra narrowed her eyes at him. "Killing random fae is a win-win?"

A flicker of something passed Anders' face. "Oh, shut up. You and your human heart. I swear, I can't wait to finally put a nail in your coffin."

Andorra rolled her eyes and continued to fiddle with the freezing bracelet. "So what, you came down here to rub it in my face?" Goosebumps ran down her skin as she tried to lift the bracelet. "What is going on with this thing?"

"I came down here to check that you were still the same useless girl that I first met. And it turns out, you totally are. Useless, worthless, and a waste of space."

"Wow, coming from you? What an insult." Andorra snorted. "How about you do something useful, like go kiss Bazile's butthole. Maybe if you suck up enough to him, he won't kill you when he steals the throne."

Andorra watched as the bracelet on her arm turned to ice. Another trick of Bazile's? The chill was painful now against her wrist, and she winced as she tried to adjust it. Was he going to freeze her to death now too?

"Funny. Real funny." Anders shook the bars of the cage hard. "At least I'm not the one trapped like an animal down here. And guess what? Your friends are here, too. Well, some of them. It's too bad that Callum's loser girlfriend won't be protected. Neither will that ice fae you seem to be fond of. And poor little Coralia will never get to see her sidekicks ever again."

"What are you even talking about?"

"Why do you think they have you in these cages locked away? It's so the daemonium won't kill you when they arrive. Bazile's plan may be reckless, but he knows he'll need representatives from the four clans. And he picked the royal children to do so."

Andorra's mouth dropped open in shock. Protect us?

Andorra didn't want protection right now. She looked down at the bracelet, watching as it began to splinter, the ice cracking. She flinched from the ice against her skin, far beyond numbing it at that point, and then she let out a yelp as the bracelet shattered.

She flexed her fingers and rotated her wrist. The bracelet was gone, and in its place was the red, angry marks of the ice against her skin. She looked up at Anders then, wondering how that had happened. Had Bazile's bracelet only worked for so long?

He took a step back when he noticed her bracelet was gone. "How... how did you do that? It was supposed to nullify your powers."

Andorra stood, staring at Anders, a smile coming to her lips. She didn't have time to question what had happened, not when she needed to get out of that cage and save her new home. "Guess I'm stronger than Bazile thinks."

Anders took another step back. "You can't stop him!" he shouted, panicked. "Bazile will kill you! The daemonium will kill you!"

Andorra cracked her neck, more so to freak Anders out even more. "I've handled them once, and I'll do it again."

And then, she stepped in the in-between.

* * *

Callum had never felt so stiff in his entire life. He laid there, blinking up at the ceiling, his limbs feeling numb in all the wrong ways. He blinked up against the light overhead, trying to make sense of where he was.

As he began to regain his other senses, he saw a head poke into view: Vulara.

"Hey. Hey. Can you hear me?"

Callum blinked up at Vulara. His ears worked, but his brain felt a little sluggish, like he wasn't sure if those words made sense or not. It took a few more blinks for the sentence to register in his mind. He opened his mouth, trying to get the words out, but nothing passed his windpipe.

"Here, let me help you up." Vulara was now out of sight, but Callum could feel hands on his shoulders, pulling him into a sitting position. Still stiff, he stared straight ahead, blinking at the sight of the staircase. Then, he experimented with moving his neck, side to side. It felt a little painful, but he was happy that his body seemed able to move.

"What... is going... on?" He looked around again, but there was no sight of the Princess. "Where... is Andorra?"

It seemed improbable that she would leave him behind with Vulara. She wasn't the kind of person to ditch someone somewhere when they passed out. She also wasn't the sort of person to leave without some sort of note, or communication.

He could practically see her eyebrows pushing together in concern, telling Vulara that she couldn't possibly leave Callum behind.

"The Royal Counsel took her."

That had Callum grunting and groaning as he stood, gripping the wall for support. He eyed Vulara with narrowed eyes. "Are you kidding me? The Royal Counsel took her?"

"And turned you into stone." Vulara held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I've been breaking my back trying to get you out of the situation you were left in. A thank you would be nice."

Callum stared at Vulara, anger rushing to his mouth. Not for the creature in front of him, but for the counsel that stole the Princess. "They turned me into stone? Those fuckers." Callum shook his head, clenching his hands tightly. "Thanks for turning me back. I can't even imagine how you did it."

"There are scary rumblings. You need to go find the Princess now, before it's too late."

"I don't do riddles. Either you tell me what's going on, or you don't." Callum crossed his arms, waiting for Vulara to announce the end of world. Yet, Callum was still alive, so at least he knew the Princess was alive. In danger, maybe. But not dead yet.

"You should actually go talk to your father. Bazile is back."

Bazile? Callum didn't recognize that name. That could have been in reference to anyone. "You're getting on my last nerve, Vulara. What does this have to do with the Princess?"

Vulara grunted, turning away from Callum to lumber up the stairs. "Find your father. I'm done dealing with the cranky son of the Winter Prince. Let's all hope your father is planning on fighting Bazile, since I don't think the Princess will be saving anyone. Especially not with her little flame tricks."

Callum followed Vulara up the stairs, his body aching in places he didn't even realize could be in pain. "Hey! Can you stop being so cryptic?" Stupid stupid stupid. Callum knew he wouldn't even be in this position in the first place if the Prophet hadn't put Andorra with this ancient creature.

When he got upstairs though, he stumbled back a step. "Win?"

His girlfriend threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. She sobbed into his neck as he caught her. "Hey, what is going on?"

He felt his stomach pitch as she tightened her hold on him. "You've been gone for days, Callie. You and Andy."

Days. Callum rubbed his hand down Win's spine, feeling her anguish seep against him. Her tears were wet against his skin, but he hardly felt them. "I don't understand. How did you find me? Has anyone found the Princess?"

Win pulled back, only slightly, letting her hair fall around them. It created a cape around them. "She's not here, with you?" Win's voice was shrill.

"She was taken by the royal counsel. And I... I was turned into stone."

Win placed her hands on Callum's cheeks, her fingers pressing into his skin. He felt the familiar warmth of being around his soulmate, the familiar comfort, the relief that made him relax. They could figure this out together. Win could solve anything; this would be a piece of cake for her.

"Callie, we're in danger. We're all in danger."

Callum stretched up, kissing Win quickly. The anxiety and panic she felt melted into his mouth, and he could taste her fears. When he pulled away, she looked a little less panicky, and a little more like herself. "We'll figure it out."

"Sir Nohx's father is in the Royal Court as we speak, and he has plans to steal the throne. My grandmother told me she foresaw the end of Anlithamy."

Win's grandmother was one of the most frightening fae Callum had met. Other than the Prophet, Win's grandmother was one of the only fae skilled enough to read the future in the stars. Callum had no clue how it worked, but if she had seen the end of Anlithamy, then it wasn't a joke. It was incredibly real, and incredibly terrifying.

"What was her advice? She must have seen something to stop this."

Win let her fingers creep into Callum's hair as she tightened her legs around his waist. Callum adjusted his hold on her, tugging her closer so that her skin was pressed more firmly against him in a comforting way. We will figure this out together, like we always do. Callum thought to himself again. Win can fix this.

"There was no advice. She told me to return home, but I couldn't. Not without you. Not when you and Andy were missing."

Win pressed her forehead against Callum's. "What if Sir Nohx's father has Andy?"

"He definitely has Andy."

Win closed her eyes, then she let herself float back to the floor, out of Callum's hold. He felt the loss of her against him immediately, setting him on edge. Something about Win calmed him down, made his head clear. Everyone had said it was because of the soulmate bond, and Callum agreed, but a deeper part of him knew it was because he loved her. Simple as that.

And he wasn't about to lose the love of his life to Sir Nohx's father.

"We need to rescue her. Or, I have to rescue her. You should go home." It killed Callum to say that. The last place he wanted Win was away from him, back in the Autumn Court. He wanted her right beside him, always.

He also needed her safe.

"No, Callie. I'm coming with you."

"I can't protect you though. If it comes down between you and the Princess..." he swallowed thickly. "I have to choose Andorra."

Win put her hand back on Callum's cheek. "Callie, I can take care of myself. Of course you have to choose her over me, and I'm fine with that. This is Andy we're talking about. You know I'm right about the two of you being best friends. We will all be best friends, but only if she lives. And she will live. You both will."

Callum ran his thumb under Win's eyes, catching her tears. When she looked up at him, she looked again on the verge of tears, despite how strong her voice had been. They were just kids, after all. And this whole destroying Anlithamy thing was frightening.

"Fine. We go together. But if there is danger, you need to get out. I can't continue without you, Win. Please."

Win let out a watery laugh. "Stop talking about us dying. It's making me cry."

"It's a real possibility Win."

She gave his cheek a little slap. "I love you. I'll always love you, Callum. We won't be dying tonight, or tomorrow, or the night after that. We will save Andy, and we will save Anlithamy, and we will do it on our own, or with the help of others. But either way, we may be the only people who know where Andy is. And she needs us."

Win was right, Callum knew this. She was always right; she was the smartest person Callum knew. "Please. If something happens, you need to go home. Okay?"

Win stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss against Callum's lips. "Okay. I promise. Now let's go get our best friend and save her, before something else finds her."

* * *