When she woke, she found herself held in someone's arms, her head lolling back on her neck with her arm hanging limply below her in a state of confusion as she tried to understand what had happened and what inside her had changed.
Nothing really, but then also everything. She could almost feel him there with a finger on her soul.
He had never left her, and she tried to shake him off, but still he held her down and kept her pinned.
They were moving slowly, the air warm and wet, the oppressive atmosphere telling of rain rather than death.
She clung to that difference and the smell of silk and vampire that lingered around her.
Her eyes opened slowly, and she found herself looking at a forest canopy, thick and heavy with rain that hadn't yet reached them so far below.
She had no idea where they were, but there was something weirdly familiar about the trees.
"Etani?" A soft voice murmured, and she turned her head to see Kai walking at her side, his face relieved.
A gasp sounded and the gentle rocking of walking came to a stop.
Kai's hand was gentle as he lifted her head, and she was able to see the group. Jaia was holding her, Daemon had a huge welt on the side of his face, Uzo was bloody and Versalis was missing his shirt and jacket, but otherwise they seemed to be relatively okay.
"What happened?" she asked warily, trying to reconcile the blood, missing clothes and welt that seemed to be stubbornly refusing to heal.
"Hades gave you his magic but you looked barely alive, we were scared that he was going to kill you just for fun, so we attacked him. The sad part is that he could have killed any of us at any point during that meeting, he's obscenely powerful," Daemon said, touching his face.
Her eyes flicked between them, counting but they were all there.
"He didn't try to kill us, he just wanted us to stop trying to attack him while he was working on you."
"What did he do to you, we couldn't hear half of the conversation," Uzo demanded and she frowned as she tried to piece it all together.
"I think he was freezing me, and he was demanding to know why he should bother helping. That without the humans he would be free. But I told him that without them he would be nothing. He would have no purpose." Daemon was choking, indignant. "I told him that the humans needed him, but that didn't work. Then that the Queen of Winter would owe him and then finally that the descendant of the woman he loved was asking him for his help. That's when he stopped and he came into me and he was taunting me, telling me that no lich could contain me. Then I changed and I was wearing a black gown and my scythe and my wings. He said..." she trailed off, trying to remember. "He said 'the one whom is death shall rule the worlds and create more of her flesh,' but I don't know where he got that from,"
She frowned at the exchanged glance between Daemon and Uzo.
"It was a prophecy made by one of the first oracles to be born. She predicted that death would be a Creator but none ever were and so the Creators ignored it. But us who were there still remember."
A thought struck her and she looked at Daemon.
"You were creating this being, weren't you? You wanted to be the one to fulfil the prophecy," she was indignant, and his eyes went wide.
"I'm not the only one who tried. Most of us wanted to be the one. Hecate did it, Hades tried, Zeus tried, most of us tried but they all gave up, got bored or simply failed."
She gritted her teeth, glaring at him in resentment.
"You are a demon," she growled, and he looked somewhat offended, given her tone.
"I am responsible for your entire existence, little girl, show some respect."
She slapped him, right on his welt and he howled in pain, but as he turned on her, Uzo stepped between them.
"Don't retaliate. We have work to do," the Fae said gently.
Daemon glared at her over Uzo's shoulder, and she glared right back at him, furious that he had worked so hard, ruined so many lives all because of a prophecy and he was going to drag her along to make sure she fulfilled it.
Jaia shifted his weight and they set off again, she was fuming but she could do little to expend the energy.
"Where are we?" she asked finally, certain she had seen those trees before but having no idea why. They weren't reconciling in her head.
"This is where the Cat Sidhe lives. He's been here for as long as anyone can remember," Uzo said, and she squinted.
"I swear I have been here before."
"You have. This is where you first came out when you ran from Ceress," Daemon said and she blinked, looking around herself. Finally she wriggled herself free of Jaia and her legs wobbled.
Staggering into Daemon, she growled but used him to hold her up as she looked around.
He was right, she never lingered long in the area, but it was her launching point into the human world.
"A Sidhe lives here?" she asked, curious as to why she had never met them.
"Cat Sidhe does. He's been here since before you were born. I thought you met him already." Daemon was frowning at her and then at Jaia for letting her go, but he kept a firm arm around her to keep her from falling.
"Catsit lives here—" She stopped, blinking as she realised her mistake all those years. "I thought he said his name was Catsit. He never corrected me,"
A rumbling laugh sounded from under a rock and the black cat sauntered out, his white spot almost glowing in the dying light.
"I thought it was cute, so I adopted the name whenever you visited," Catsit said as he approached.
He was a large black cat with golden green eyes, that one white spot on his chest being the only thing keeping him from being a void of blackness.
Her arms stretched out for him, and he leapt into them, content to be close to her.
"Well, I'm not changing it. Did you know who I was?"
"Of course, Daemon and I have been watching. I always made sure the Fae couldn't find your tracks whenever you came through. That Cain fellow was sure I was helping but he could never prove it."
She hugged the cat and turned to Kai who had been making little squeaking and whining sounds under his breath and Catsit purred at the attention of the vampire who was almost giddy with the chance to pet the beautiful creature.
"You kept me safe?" she asked curiously.
"I knew what you were from that first day. Even before Daemon realised he had succeeded. It radiated off you like a scent," Catsit said gently, revelling in the attention.
"So why did you help me?"
"Because you are of my blood. I will always protect my blood," he said, his luminous eyes turning on her even as he leapt to Kai, the vampire giving him better attention than she did.
He was smug at her disappointment, but instead she scratched up under his chin and his eyes slid shut.
"I suppose you will be wanting magic?" he asked after a while of basking in the attention they gave him.
"Yes, we just left Hades."
"I heard Mara is talking about you all too," Catsit said, licking his paw and cleaning his ears.
"I figured he wouldn't be able to resist. What news is going around?" Daemon asked.
"That the Queen of Winter is trying to reclaim her magic to take back her throne."
Etani frowned, looking to Daemon but he seemed lost in thought.
"Will that help or hinder us?" Daemon asked.
"So long as you don't run into anyone who prefers Megara, you will get help. I think they are mostly just curious to see if you will succeed."
Chewing on her lower lip, she felt unsure. But there was no way of knowing who would be on her side or who would be on Megara's.
"I don't envy you," Catsit said lazily, basking in the attention.
"Will you give me your magic?" she asked and his eyes opened to look at her.
"Yes, I will. I am curious to see how far you can go, little Winter Queen."
She bent her head and he met her nose with his little wet one and she felt the energy flood into her. She shivered as the sleek, smooth feel of it and smiled as the feeling of warmth moved around her, but something caught her attention and she looked at Daemon, her eyes settling on his chest.
"I can hear your heart," she said, and he laughed, the sound a little loud but it sounded wonderful in her ears.
She smiled at Catsit and he blinked at her slowly, his head dipping just slightly.
"Run along now, I'm sure I'll see you soon enough."
Leaping from Kai's arms. He lifted his tail and sauntered away from them and under a fallen log, vanishing from sight.