We're supposed to move on the next morning, but we don't. We decide to rest a little longer. Wash our clothes in the stream before the weather gets too cold. Nick hunts rabbits and Cat collects berries once they're both feeling better.

Cat has black bruises up and down her spine and purple burns that ripple across her back, stretching out like frost.

Charlie has to fly to a village down the mountain to get medicine for the burns. He does what little he can through magic to treat them. It really only makes the bruises fade to a sickly yellow and purple, but it makes it easier for her to move.

The first week in the cave, it rains nonstop. We fall asleep each night to cracking thunder and flashes of lightning that make Cat flinch.

The day the storm breaks, I wake earlier than everyone, which is normal.

I creep to the mouth of the cave with Danny's hoodie on.

Frost creeps along everything and the world seems to hold its breath.

Everything is still, and quiet, and peaceful. It reminds of Rae, with her dark eyes and her calm anger.

Warm arms wrap around me from behind and Danny rests his head on my shoulder.

"Do you think she celebrated her birthday alone?" I ask.

Danny purses his lips. "No. But I'm sure she misses you." He sweeps my hair to my other shoulder and presses his lips to my skin.

I close my eyes, leaning back into him.

Cat had stopped glancing at us in the same sleeping bag before she went to bed a few days ago.

Danny had explained to her that he isn't attracted to women. Obviously, not because of the body, considering Cat and I are identical. I guess it's more about 'vibes' than anything.

Cat spends more time with Nick these days, out in the woods. Once she's gathered enough berries, she'll sit with Nick in the quiet and they'll practice their shooting.

I don't know if Danny wants anything more than cuddling and mutual support. For now, that's all we're both willing to ask for. It's comforting, having him there.

If I stumble, he's there to catch me. And I'm there to catch him.

The days continue to get colder the further into November we get. We put sleeping bags that aren't being used over the cave entrance to seal out the cold.

Ava's visions keep getting worse without James. She'll wake up screaming, and I'll leave Danny in our sleeping bag to go to her.

I'll hold her in my lap and rock her back and forth as she sobs about what she's seen.

She keeps seeing my death. Over and over. Not an almost death, like with the poison, or our friends we sent to Ebony. My real death. In various ways. Trying to save Ava. Hurting myself. Trying to kill Thomas.

Each one seems to make her even more upset than the last, but there's not much I can do to make her feel better.

James seemed to understand the visions in a way none of us do. He claimed he never had them, but growing up on the reservation, he'd known people who had.

Nick tries to help, but it just makes Ava even more distraught.

Meanwhile, Charlie's getting increasingly anxious. He's been reaching out to Shay for the past week or so, without answer.

I barely know her, but she's helped us so many times, I can't help but worry.

Has Thomas learned of her betrayal? Is she... gone now?

Charlie spends days at a time away from camp, searching for her through the skies.

I do the same on foot.

Without her, if something happens again, there will be no one to take our friends through the portal.

It's several weeks into November when Charlie throws his sword on the ground and rakes a hand through his hair. "We still haven't found her," he says.

Nick glances up from cooking a fish Danny caught with a handmade fishing pole. "Calm down, lover boy. I'm sure she's fine."

Charlie glances at Cat, who's sitting too close to Nick for anyone's comfort. "I don't like Shay like that," Charlie protests, trying to catch Cat's gaze.

Cat ignores him, smiling at Nick. "You're really good at cooking, Nick."

Nick scowls into the fire. "James taught me."

"Can't you give me any hints?" Charlie asks, nudging Ava's foot with his boot.

Ava clutches Alex's sketch book in her hands. She's taken to scribbling in it to calm her nerves about her visions.

I've tried to sneak a peek several times, but she always seems to know.

"I haven't seen her."

Charlie huffs, "you see everything else! Why not her!?"

"Back off," Danny growls, looking up from a book he'd found in someone's bag.

Probably Rae's.

"I don't see you trying to help," Charlie growls at Danny.

Nick stands, extracting himself from Cat's side. "Why don't you go flying again? I'll go on foot so Raven can rest this time."

"I can come with you," Cat offers.

"That's alright," Nick grumbles, grabbing his bow. "I want some time to myself."

I catch Danny's eye across the fire.

We have a silent argument.

He raises his eyebrows and I sigh, raking a hand through my hair.

"I'll go check on Nick."

Danny puts his book aside and moves towards Cat. "Hey there, Cat."

Charlie frowns at him, then turns and flies off.

I follow Nick's tracks until I've caught up with him following the stream. "You know this heads down the mountain, right? I doubt Shay would've gone this way."

He glares at me and I put my hands up.

"Sorry. I know you wanted some alone time but-."

"No, it's fine. I wanted time away from Cat, specifically."

"I will not tell her you said that."

He sighs and rubs his neck. "Thanks."

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He glances at me, then kicks a rock into the stream. "What's wrong? What's wrong is I don't know how much longer I can sit here. Our friends are waiting on us, right? Aren't we supposed to be returning to them?"

"I'm sorry," I mumble. "It's my fault. I needed the rest. I thought we all did."

He runs a hand over his curls. "No, I did. I just... feel guilty, I guess."

I hug myself, gripping Danny's hoodie sleeves. "I get that. But if we get some rest, it decreases the chance of one of us dying again, right?"

He runs his finger along his bowstring and sighs, "I guess."

I link my elbow with his and rest my head on his shoulder while we walk.

A cold breeze rushes past us, sending a shiver down my spine.

The feeling of being watched washes over me and I stop, scanning the trees around us.

"What's wrong?" Nick asks, following my gaze.

"I don't know." I step back towards camp, tugging his arm. "We should head back." I turn around.

Nick's hand snatches my arm as he lets out a gasp.

I turn back, then reach for my daggers.

"Not so fast, little lady," the man breathes. His incisors, which are way too sharp to be normal, press into Nick's throat.

"I'm not a lady," I growl. "Let him go."

More men appear out of the trees, surrounding us. Some of them have swords and wings, while others have sharp incisors like the man holding Nick.

Vampires. That's a new one.

I wish Charlie was here to tell me if these were enemies or not.

"Who do you work for?" I ask. "Thomas? Emily? The Rebellion?"

The man at Nick's throat laughs, "no one you would know. We're here because someone's paying us. He's interested in you, Raven Black."

I grimace as the words slide over my skin like oil. "Gross. But if you're not with the rebellion, that makes you an enemy." I reach for my daggers again.

"Ah!" He says, pressing his fangs closer to Nick's neck. "What did I say? You wouldn't want to be responsible for your friend bleeding out on the forest floor, would you?"

My eyes flutter and I lift my hands instead. "Okay. Just let him go."

"Raven," Nick hisses.

"Let him go?" The vamp asks. "That's cute. But he's keeping you docile. Max. Carter. Grab her."

"I'm not-."

Two vampires appear at my side in an instant. They force me to my knees.

My eyes glint silver. When I look up at them, the glow makes them grimace and look away. "I suggest you let me go," I warn.

"Carter," the vamp on my left says, his eyes studying my glowing ones.

"No," Carter says. "He's gone."

"We have to be sure," the vamp insists, who I assume is the one named Max. "We vowed to him to protect her."

The vampire holding Nick shifts from foot to foot. "What are you two on about? Prep her for transport." He nods at the ones with wings. "They'll take her through the portal."

Carter sighs and leans in close to me.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Nick shouts, struggling against the vamp holding him.

Carter inhales deeply, nose pressed to my throat.

"Excuse you!" I yell, slamming my elbow into his face.

He stumbles back, his eyes snapping to Max.

"Well?" Max asks, eagerly.

Carter shakes his head. "Something's suppressing the magic. I can't be sure. But it's powerful. More powerful than an Elf."

Max takes a breath, his face lighting up. "So, she's not Thomas's?"

I freeze. "Hey! What are you two talking about!?"

"I'd like to know that too!" The vampire shouts. He shoves Nick into the arms of someone with wings, who puts their sword against Nick's throat. The vamp marches towards us. "You agreed to this job same as everybody else! Put on your big boy pants and stop fooling around! The boss doesn't want this job screwed up!"

"We just needed to get close to Raven," Carter says. "We thank you for your help."

The vamp gestures to the other winged people.

They draw their blades and turn them on us.

Nick tenses against his captor. "Raven," he warns, indicating his bow.

He's not good with melee fights.

If he can't get far enough away for his bow to be useful, I'm on my own.

I nod.

"You better explain what you think you're doing right now, or your ass is through the first portal to Ebony and I'm marching you straight to the Ancient Lands," the vamp snarls.

Max nods at me. "I'm sure you're familiar with the rumors about Raven's birth. Because of Zoey's affair, no one was sure if Thomas or Chase was the father."

"My mom had an affair?" I ask. I shake my head. "I don't know why I'm surprised. Who the hell is Chase?"

"He was a good man," Carter breathes, eyeing the people around us. "And we vowed we would protect his child. I can't tell if you're his for sure, but I'm nearly certain you're not Thomas's."

"This wasn't the plan," the vampire hisses.

"Plans change," Max growls. "Whether or not Raven is truly Chase's child, we made a vow. We can't break that."

They step back from me and turn on the winged people. "Stay behind us, Raven."

"What about Nick?"

Carter glances back at him. "He's not our problem."

"Well, too bad. He's mine." I slam myself against the head vampire before he can react.

He goes down with a shout of surprise and I plunge a dagger through his hand, into the ground. He screams and grapples at it with his other hand.

"Raven!" Max shouts, then goes down under a Daemon's wings.

The Fae holding Nick shifts from foot to foot, his eyes wide. He presses the blade deeper into Nick's throat. "Don't even think-!"

My dagger is out of my hands before he can finish the sentence.

Nick screams and closes his eyes.

The scream dies when the Fae lurches backwards and collapses to the ground.

He turns, slowly, eyes wide. "Nice shot," he breathes, raggedly, touching the top of his head.

"You're not the only one with nearly perfect aim."

"Nearly?" He squeaks, turning his wide eyes on me. "You could've killed me."

I smirk. "But I didn't."

"Raven! Look out!"

Arms wrap around me from behind, pinning my arms to my side. I'm hoisted into the air and wings beat down, launching us upwards.

Nick screams and grabs the Daemon's foot.

The Daemon lurches down with a shout. He looks down and kicks Nick in the hands.

Nick does his best to hang on, but there's not much he can do. He drops to the ground, tucking and rolling.

I scream and kick my legs wildly, trying to get the Daemon to drop me.

"Raven!" Carter shouts. He tries to position himself under me, lifting his arms up as if he's going to catch me from all the way up here.

A Fae tackles him from behind and forces his head into the river.

I search the skies as we rise higher and higher.

Fae have enhanced senses, but even Charlie's hearing may not be enough to hear me.

"Charlie!" I bellow.

"Shut it!" The Daemon growls.

"Charlie!" I shout again.

Pressure starts to build between my ears and electricity zaps down my spine like Izzy's touching me.

"Put me down," I rasp.

"You have no idea what I'm getting paid for this," he snarls.

"I hope it was worth your life."

"Wha-?"

The energy explodes out of me like a star collapsing in on itself.

All of it slams directly into the Daemon and he chokes. He releases me and grabs his heart as it most likely stops.

I try to grab the Daemon to hold myself up, but his wings lock up and he starts to fall towards the ground too.

I squeeze my eyes closed. I don't want to see the ground coming. I've never been scared of heights before. I actually liked them, most of the time. But the idea of falling like this, without being able to stop myself, to have it not be my choice... it terrifies me.

I wait for the quick pain, then darkness, but it doesn't come.

Instead, something from above slams into me and the falling turns to a glide.

Charlie groans. "Brace yourself! This is going to be a rough landing!"

My breaths come sharp as I look back at him. "You're here!?"

His eyes widen and I follow his gaze.

We're about to crash head first into a tall pine.

He yanks to the side, his wings opening vertically. But we lose the air current he'd been riding and start to plummet. He pulls me flush against him and coils his wings around me.

We hit the ground and roll until Charlie's back slams into a tree.

He grunts and his wing unfurls, releasing me onto the ground.

"Oh God! Are you okay?" I scramble to grab his shoulders.

"I've... been better," he groans. He shakes out his wings and blood drips from the left one.

"You're bleeding," I rasp.

A scream that sounds too much like Nick echoes from behind me.

My head snaps over my shoulder.

"Go," Charlie groans, "I'm right behind you."

"But-."

"Go! Get Nick!"

I huff, but get to my feet and take off. I race through the forest, slapping tree limbs out of my face. My hands are bleeding by the time I skid to a stop next to the stream.

Carter lay face down in the grass. Max is on his knees with his hands on his head.

Nick has been backed into a tree with a sword tip pressed to his throat.

"Call out for Raven," the Daemon holding him there demands.

Nick lifts his lip in a snarl. "Suck my dick."

The Daemon growls and pulls his sword back to swing at Nick's neck.

I lunge for Nick's bow, notching an arrow. Everything seems to slow down as I aim at the Daemon, as if the entire world is stuck in molasses.

Charlie stands at the edge of the trees, his eyes closed, hands held out.

He and I seem to be the only things moving normally.

I don't take the chance for granted. I let the arrow fly.

Time snaps back to normal and Charlie collapses to his knees. The sword shinks through the air towards Nick's neck.

The arrow goes straight through the Daemon's throat, cleanly.

Nick's breath whooshes out of him. His nails dig into the tree behind him as the Daemon chokes on his own blood.

He takes a step back, the sword in his hand clattering onto the rocks beside the stream.

Another Daemon lurches forward. "Cade!" He scrambles forward, colliding with Cade as his knees give out. "No," he pleads, stroking Cade's face. "No, no, no!"

As Cade's breathing stops, the Daemon lifts tear-filled eyes to me.

"What did you do!?" He screams.

I reach for another arrow, but Nick's quiver is empty.

I step back.

He stands and twin spheres start to expand in his hands. The entire world trembles as his eyes focus on me. "You killed him!"

I throw Nick's bow to the ground and lunge out of the way as the spheres launch towards me.

They hit a tree in the distance. The tree explodes, sending shards of wood everywhere.

One catches my face, slicing the skin right below my eye.

I cry out and stumble, reaching for the bleeding wound.

The Daemon snarls, grabbing Cade's sword from the rocks. He starts for me. "You're going to pay for that." He lifts the sword and drives it down towards me.

"NO!" Nick throws his hands out and the sword freezes above my chest.

The Daemon grits his teeth and pushes his whole weight into the sword hilt.

Nick's arms tremble and sweat pours down his face. "I can't hold this! Move!"

I roll out of the way and Nick collapses to his knees.

The sword plunges into the ground where I'd been.

The Daemon tries to pull it free.

I scramble to my feet, searching for a weapon.

The other Fae and Daemon do nothing to stop the Daemon.

I doubt they'll get paid if I'm dead, but they don't seem to care anymore.

Max struggles against the Fae keeping him on his knees, but there's more of them than him.

I scramble for another sword lying in the grass beside a fallen Fae. I would grab my daggers, but they're still imbedded in people. I lift the sword to the Daemon as he approaches with his sword.

I'll admit, I've trained with a sword for years in the simulations, but this is my first time in an actual fight with a real one. It's heavier than I expect and I'm slower than I want to be.

Nick is trembling from head to foot.

I don't think he has the strength to do whatever he did again.

The Daemon swings his sword down at my head.

I bring my sword up to parry it, then kick him in the chest.

He grunts and stumbles back. He lunges, plunging his sword towards me.

I dash out of the way.

He keeps coming, relentlessly. He wails attacks down at me and it's all I can do to not get my head cleaved in half.

Any time I get the upper hand, he lobs a sphere at me and I have to dodge it.

I'm running on fumes by now, but the Daemon seems to have unending reserves of energy.

He's unstoppable.

He keeps forcing me back.

I trip over the vampire I'd pinned with my dagger. I manage to stay on my feet, but the Daemon has me pinned against a tree now.

He slams his sword into mine, forcing it out of my hand.

I gulp as he puts the tip to my throat.

The Daemon looks over to Cade, lifting his lip in a snarl. "Look at what you did," he hisses. "Look what you took from me!"

"In my defense-."

"You don't get a defense!" He roars.

He pulls the sword back and I wonder if I'm fast enough to move before it reaches my stomach.

I decide I'm not and close my eyes. I deserve this.

But the pain never comes. The punishment never comes.

I risk peeking one eye open.

The first thing I see is Nick's taut shoulders, his arms out to his sides. His dark curls are damp with sweat and his brown skin is getting lighter by the second.

He turns, blood gushing from around the sword in his stomach. His eyes flutter. "Sorry," he breathes. "I couldn't-couldn't let you die." He collapses to his knees, then falls to his side.