Fog surrounded us, and I lost sight of my family. In the mass of white, I clutched only my crossbow, keeping my eyes peeled for demons, witches, or any faces I recognised.

A scream made me whir. Then a crackling roar like wildfire. I ducked in the dirt as a flaming ball flew overhead, the light igniting the faces of two witches, one a Coven Lord, and a wolf-shaped demon shrouded in shadow.

It dove for the Lord, mouth open, fangs baring, then yelped as I shot an arrow into its chest, landing behind him.

The Lord spun around, thick brows lowered in a frown on his sharp, sculpted face. I met his forest-green eyes as I forced myself to my feet and gave him a tired salute. Blood already streaked strands of his shoulder-length chestnut hair, and nodded, one side of his mouth curving upwards.

He turned back to the battle and raised his hand at an opposing witch. She crumbled before him, eyes turning black as she screamed at the agony of a magic I had never seen before.

Witches, I realised, were frightening creatures. Still, I called out, "You're welcome."

His head snapped back around but I had already darted further into the fog -- where the pained crying and the mist was its heaviest.

Running, I collided directly into a firm body and hit the floor with a pair of grunts.

"Erika!" Pete reached for my arms to help me stand. "You're okay."
"Still alive, I see." I grinned at the sight of him; blood-crusted and bruised, but alive.
He let out a little laugh. "Yeah. But if we don't make it out of this--"
"We will."
"But--"
"Pete, this isn't the time for--"
"There never will be a time for this. But--"
"MOVE!"

I shoved him to the side as a shadowed wildcat pounced for the gap between us. It skidded over the dirt, and hissed with bared fangs.

Pete clutched his sword as I twirled an arrow between my fingers.
"Cover me."

I did as commanded and loaded my crossbow as Pete sprinted for the cat. It spat and bounded our way, yapping and spitting.

It leapt — Pete ducked. Lightly, it landed behind him and made a beeline for me as I clicked an arrow into place.

The bolt flew, as did the cat. I sidestepped out the way when the tip of the arrow scraped the cat's clawing paw. It let out a yelp, and scrambled towards me.

I fell for the trick. The clever cat feigned it's movement and changed course at the final moment, flying and latching onto my arm with knife-like claws that pierced the skin of my upper arm.

Saliva dribbled from its bloody maw, landing on my jaw as I angled away. It growled then yapped when I thrusted a handheld arrow into the centre of its rib cage, bleeding onto my knuckles.

But it wasn't enough. To anger it, maybe, but to kill it—

It's jaw opened wide, ready to close in on my frightened face.

I let out a whimper when a blade drove through the neck and out the opening of its mouth.

Clenching my eyes and mouth shut, I turned away from the ink-black blood of the demon, and grunted as the full weight of its body slumped against my chest.

Pete chuckled and threw off the corpse, offering a hand.

"Just like old times, Lupine."
"Missing messes like these, are you?" I smiled as the tug of his arm brought our chests together, my head bumping off his chin.
His lips tugged upwards as he stared down at me. "Only the ones with you in them."

"Erika!" Dad called from the fog.
"Pete!" It was Wyatt in another direction.

Pete nodded. "Stay alive for me?"
"Only if you do the same."

He squeezed my hand and let me go with a silent promise to reunite again.

I found Diana first, then dad. Dad pointed a sword, Diana twin blades, and myself a crossbow.

"Erika, thank god. Where are the twins?"
"We have greater priorities," dad scolded.
Diana scowled. "No priority exceeds my children, Christopher!"

I found one that did. And that was the great bear encased in flames charging towards us.

"Any suggestions on how to tackle that?" My voice quaked, panicked.
"Yes," dad replied. "Run."

We scattered our separate ways, but I found myself tailing Diana's path. When I was sure I heard Florence call out to us, I nudged Diana.
"I think I can hear Flo--"

Diana screamed as a root latched onto my throat and yanked me backwards... towards a frantic, furious Kate, blood dripping from her palms. My crossbow crashed to the floor, leaving my unarmed.
"I've had enough of you Lupine. If you think you're getting out of this, you are mistaken."

I wedged my hand between the root and my throat, but the pain still choked me, and the rough ground scraped against my skin even through the clothes. Numbing fingers looped around an arrow and slammed it into the ground, but the noose on my neck tightened further, rendering it pointless.

"KATE!"

The stern tone made even the cult leader freeze and watch as my aunt raised my crossbow to the level of her eyes, armed with an arrow ready to soar. To my astonishment, the weapon remained open for her, unlike The Collector.

"Let my niece go. That's an order which I will not repeat."

Kate tightened the roots. Diana scowled.
"Fine."

She fired an arrow at a witch I did not notice running to Kate's aid, killing him instantly, and charged. Kate raised her second hand, pulling roots from the ground to snap at Diana's heels, but she dodged them all. As the witch began to panic, her grip on the roots around me loosened and I wriggled free.

Diana swung her left blade, followed by the right, crashing them down onto a shield of roots held before Kate's face. Kate whipped and swung branches at her, but Diana was swift. She blocked them all, sneaking jabs at the gaps in Kate's armour until one hit her shin, sending her to the ground.

My aunt shrugged hair over her shoulder and crossed her blades over Kate's neck. "I never did trust you, you know?"
"Who would have thought," Kate taunted, "that feisty Diana Lupine would have grown up to become a widowed housewife by thirty?"

My glare matched my aunt's. And as she made to thrust her blade's into Kate's neck, Matthias stopped her.
"Stop! She is mine to deal with."
Diana snarled, "You know the penalty for breaking the Treaty."
"The sentence will be passed in a trial."
"And her followers?"
"If they can be restrained, they face the same fate."
Diana grumbled. "But--" Then sighed when she met my eyes while I stood. She knew the Treaty just as well as I did. Their future was sealed, but she wanted to be sure. If she disobeyed a Lord, however, she would face her own punishment.

She nodded at the elder witch. "Take her, then."

Kate's features softened as the witch approached, taking over Diana's position before her. "Thank you, Matthias."
"I did what I could for you. I see it was not enough."
Her head fell forwards. Although crazed, I knew how it felt to disappoint someone you looked up to. Kate had evidently lost her way.

Her gaze snapped back up at the call of a boy.
"Mother!"

Nathaniel bolted for his mother, scowling at the three of us, hands ready to cast--

Until a knife pressed to his throat.

Florence snarled in his ear, a bitterness lacing her tone that I had never heard from her before. "Don't move."
Nathaniel swallowed. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you--"
He winced under her tightening grip. "But you did. That's all that matters now."

Diana let herself smile. "That's my girl."
I glanced at her hands then belt, frowning. "Where's Horizon's Edge?" I asked Florence.
"I was being chased and gave it to Pete," she replied.
"Is he--?"
"He's fine. Don't worry."

Shouts from the battle made us turn as the fog began to clear. Most witches were either dead or restrained, with the remaining demons being picked off. Alex took on the greatest of them all: the flaming bear, brandishing longsword to keep the inferno at bay.

He backed from the beast and yelled, fuelled by the pain of the burns down his arms. The bear charged, foaming at the mouth, and snapped.

Alex's blade dug deep into the centre of the bear's chest, pushing it in right down to the hilt, flames catching his sleeve.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned, letting himself smile at me when he realised the battle was just about over. His shoulders dropped, as did my own and the rest of the hunters and the Lords and Ladies of the witches.

Tommy Arwood clutched his son's shoulder when he made his way across the burnt battlefield, relieved to see him alive. Lucie and Lily, although little more than strangers, hugged tightly, Vanessa bolted for her unharmed mother--

I frowned. "Where's Alfie?"

We looked around, knots in our stomachs with paling faces. Diana's lip quivered at bubbling anger, while Florence narrowed her eyes at the remnants of the battlefield.

Then they softened.

"Florence!" We sighed in relief at the voice. "Florence, where--?" Alfie grinned when he spotted his twin holding Nathaniel with her blade, so happy to see her alive I had to smile.

"Kept yourself alive, did you?" Florence teased.
"Barely," dad tutted, following his nephew. "The boy needs training, he almost got himself--"
"Christopher," Diana warned.
Dad sighed. "But he kept himself alive. Well done, boy."
Alfie blushed.

My eyes combed the crowd. "Where's Pete?"
"Missing me already, Lupine?"

Of-fucking-course I was.

I pushed by Matthias and bolted across the battlefield, following the voice I craved every day I spent away from him, damning all opinions or consequence.

He beamed at my pace, letting out a chuckle with his arms opened wide.

I smiled back at him, ready to jump into his hold, so overwhelmed with the joy of him being alive that I was blind to everything around us.

Blind to the black-haired witch that crawled from his grassy deathbed to snatch Horizon's Edge from Pete's belt—

And dig the blade deep into his back.

Florence screamed but all I could feel was the shatter from within me at the sight of him collapsing to the floor, blood dripping onto the grass. A nearby torch ignited its flame but I kept running.

Before the witch could do anymore damage, I bent back his wrist and pushed the blade in his neck, entirely numb to the grisly sight.

Flesh squelched, and he slumped on the grass.

I crawled straight for Pete. I fell back on my knees and rolled him over, pulling him onto my lap.

The wound cut through to the other side, and blood fell from both. "S-Shit this can't be--" I looked to the Lords and Ladies. "You can heal him, can't you? Your magic. It can help him."
They looked to Matthias, who shook his head. "We can't."
"We could at least try," the silver-haired witch argued.
Matthias shook his head again. "No. It is too late for him."
"No, it's not!" I barked. "It's--"
"Erika." Wet fingers touched my face. Even in this state, Pete was smiling at me. "It's okay."
"It's not. Pete, none of this is okay. This is--"
"Come here."
My voice broke. "What?"
"Please. You heard me."

Quivering lips pressed against his. Warm, despite the coldness of his hands that reached for my own. I clutched them tightly, desperate to cling on to the last bit of life left within those hazel eyes possessing a fire that never wavered.

His wrist turned limp and fell in my lap, energy drained from all but his lips. I held the back of his head, throat closing as I struggled to find the words when he could no longer reach me.

"You... You can't do this. You promised you would--"
"I know." He forced himself to smile. "And I want you to keep your promise, okay?"
I sniffed. "Pete--"
"Stay alive for me. Promise me."
I nodded, eyes stinging but nothing fell. "I will."
"Good." He let out a sigh but the breath caught in his throat. He gagged and spluttered, blood spilling onto his chin.

"Shit, Erika, I don't want to die."
"I know." I held him towards me, feeling him crying against my neck. "I know."
"Stay," he pleaded. "Stay till I... till I..."

Nothing.

I frowned. "Pete?"

When I turned to look at his face, the fire was gone.
"Pete?"

Before I could let out a single sob, strong arms pulled me away from Pete's body as Wyatt Martin dragged him away. He cried into his son, but I refused to let go, yanking back my arms to touch him again.

"Let him go," dad ordered.
"I can't leave him!"
He took me by the arms and pinned them behind my back. "Don't cry," he whispered. "Don't let anyone here see you cry."
"But he--"
"Don't cry."

Diana rushed to my side and took a more gentle hold of my arms. "Give her to me."

Dad loosened his grip and let me fall into Diana's warm hold. She whispered to me over and over, telling me she was there -- she would not let go -- but I closed my eyes and fought the urge to break in front of everyone there.

Florence did not hold the same mindset, and bawled her eyes out into Alex's chest. My friend held her close, giving a silent nod in respect and assurance to not worry about her or Alfie, who's shoulder he clutched should he need an arm to steady him.

The witches stepped back from the scene in silence, entirely placid at the sight of a fallen hunter as if he did not matter. The silver-haired witch, now watching over Nathaniel, opened her mouth to offer some words, but Matthias pulled her back by the shoulder.

"We should honour his--"
"Hunters are not of our concern," Matthias retorted. "We collect our dead. Then it is time for us to leave."
Bastard. I opened my mouth in a snarl but Diana's hold tightened. "Leave it," she warned. "Don't say something you might regret."

As I scowled into my aunt's shoulder, the Lord I saved, the one with the chestnut hair and forest-green eyes, approached his fellow Coven Lord. "The moment we get back, we need a discussion about this mess. This was your coven, Matthias. Don't forget that."

The elder Lord voiced his distaste with a frown, and bumped his shoulder when he stormed by towards the stone alter, eyes shining orange in the light of the flames which bounced off the bronze coffin.

***

With the battle over, hunters and witches alike broke apart from their groups to begin the clean-up. I'd never fought a fight such as this. Battles of the past, even in dad's youth, seemed impossible to me. Stories kept them at a distance, but today I faced the reality. We all did, in fact. Including Pete.

While the others tended to the wounded back in the scorched clearing, I headed for the trees. The twins suffered a few scrapes, but our run-in with The Collector achieved more damage. Alex approached a witch for healing of the wound on his arm, and waved me off when I asked if there was anything I could do. Diana rushed around to help in whatever way she could, and did not see me leave. Dad did. He met my matching eyes across the clearing and nodded with familiar understanding.

I walked for barely two minutes before I broke down, clutching the trunk of a balding beech for support but it was not enough. I slid down the wood and huddled at the base, sobbing into my knees among the dirt and foliage, hidden where no-one from the clearing could see.

I couldn't cry in front of the other hunters. Especially the twins. Lupine's were strong. Stronger than ever despite our suffering -- despite losing mum, losing Freddie... losing Pete. I had to set an example for Florence and Alfie. When our enemies struck us hard, we kept our heads held high and prospered in adversity. Weakness was kept in the dark behind closed doors, even if it kept the warmth out.

A rustle made me lift my head in attention, and some shameful part of me hoped Alex had followed me but it was not him. The Lord I saved angled his head around the trees, pursing his lip in curiosity at my puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

I wiped the tears away. "Sorry," he said. "I came to check for any stragglers."
"None here." I brushed my thumb under my nose and sniffed. "Just me."
He inhaled then froze, holding the breath as he made to backtrack... then turned back around. "I'm sorry about your friend."

I nodded, begging myself not to sob. It was enough to stop the flow of tears, but not to speak.

"He seemed a good fighter. And an honourable hunter," he went on. "He didn't deserve such an end."
I gulped, looking at the patch of grass beside me. "He didn't deserve any end."

His shoulders dropped. "Many of the hunters that died today were innocents. They died for the mistakes of their parents, and the mistakes of some of my own people."
I looked him up and down. "Solving our parents' mistakes is what being a hunter is about. We fill in the gaps they left behind, working together as a united front."
He shook his head. "It shouldn't be that way."
"And witches shouldn't discard us like toys." My voice broke, and with it I sighed. "It doesn't matter."
"Wait."

He strolled over and held out a hand. When I glowered at it, he waved his fingers with an amused grin. "I won't wait forever."
"I can get myself up."
"I don't doubt that you can. Just let me help--"
"No."

I gripped the side of the trunk and dragged myself up, still aching from the inside out, glaring at the witch.

He let out a sigh. "There's no shame in asking for help, Miss...?"
"Lupine."
His brows raised at the name. "Hm. Well, Miss Lupine, there is no shame in asking for help sometimes. You said hunters rely on each other?"
"We do."
"Good. How about you confide in them?"

And burden them? Expose weakness? We battled as a united front, but we remained in conflict from within, silently competing with one another for honour, glory, recognition -- anything we could get our hands on.

I rubbed my sore eyes and turned back to the clearing. "I should get back."
"Of course," the Lord replied. "And Miss Lupine?"
I raised my brows, telling him to continue.
"It may seem irrelevant now, but if no-one else thanks you for your service today, I will. From the witches and my coven, in particular, I thank you."
I forced a halfhearted smile. "Just doing my job... but I appreciate that."

He paused to watch me go, eyes following me with curiosity even when I turned my back on him, keeping my head held high and my face dry from tears to face my colleagues.

***

Diana rushed to my side the moment I stepped into the torchlight, taking my hands.
"Erika? Are you alright?"
I shook my head, cheeks dry and face placid. "No."

I brushed off her hold and made my way further into the clearing, spotting dad lecturing the twins. Florence caught my eye and waved gingerly. I gave her a tight-lipped smile in return.

Movement from behind Diana and I made us turn, and the Lord from before shadowed us into the clearing. He met my frown for a moment then joined his own kind.

"Who was that?" Diana whispered.
"One of them," I replied.

She narrowed her eyes at the Lord as he approached a somber Wyatt Martin, offering his condolences.

"Cassian!" Matthias barked, making the hunters jolt. "Let's go."

The green-eyed Lord — Cassian — rotated around without another word. He joined the six other Coven Lords and Ladies, and the eldest woman stepped forward.
"We will be in touch with your Council in the coming days. This disaster cannot be repeated."

None of us replied.

"Cassian?" She turned to the witch. He nodded in my direction before an ash-scented gust swept through the clearing, and the Lords and Ladies disappeared in a vortex of shadow.

All that was left was the quiet sobs of a grieving father and scattered bodies of fallen soldiers of either side, left in the burnt grass, some with mourners, others without.

Alfie rubbed his glasses and settled them back on his nose. "Where's Leopold?"

Chest aching, I looked towards the grass close to where Pete's body laid before hunters carried it away to be properly cared for, the area where the corpse of his murderer had been abandoned by the witches. The murder weapon was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Horzion's Edge?" I croaked out.

I was quiet, but they heard me. The hunters stilled, a brisk chill hovering over our heads, carrying with it a new scent: decay. Decay as the moulding leaves of Bekker's forest weakened their hold on the trees that bound them. Winter was nearing, but something else along with it.