We both lurched forward, Mathias immediately taking the lead. His powerful wings cut through the air effortlessly, and in a way it was fascinating. But I had no time to think about something so ridiculously trivial at this moment; if I wanted to win, I would have to try harder. If he managed to get the upper hand in this competition…things would get much more complicated than they needed to be.

"Faster," I whispered, narrowing my eyes as the cold breeze sliced against my face. Obediently, I found myself jetting through the air, until I was neck and neck with my demon bodyguard.

Seeing me, Mathias snarled deeply. "Give up," he demanded, his whole body seeming to blaze with fire. "Give up and I won't have to hurt you."

"What?" I looked at him in confusion. "Hurt me? It's just a race."

His smile was wicked, hellish as he laughed. "The fosse said there were no rules. That means I can do whatever I want to make sure I win. And believe me, Majesty…I won't hesitate just because you're royalty." As if to add to his threat, his palms burned with flames.

My heart thrummed in my chest at the threat. How could my own bodyguard treat me this way? Was he not here to keep me safe? I shook myself, trying to focus. He was not the real Mathias. The real Mathias was at home, worrying over my unresponsive body. And home was exactly where I would be headed if I won this stupid competition.

"Fine then," I bluffed, trying to press back the fear. "Do what you want. But don't think I'll give up just because of that."

He smiled, seeing easily through the façade I had put up. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you too badly," he sneered. "Scarring your face would be a huge turn off."

I looked over defiantly. "Like I care about what turns you off, creep."

For a moment, I saw confusion and wonder flash in his expression, as if my comment had brought back his sanity. But before I could read further, his eyes hardened and he was on fire again, looking at me through a haze. "You have some gall, Lukas, trash talking a demon." His fist clenched hard around his battle axe, and the flames spread to surround the weapon. "But in the end, you have no power over me. Nothing but the sound of your voice, ordering me around like some obedient pet!" He laughed, swinging the axe toward me in quick arc.

I dodged the blow, feeling the blade catch a feather and singe it as I narrowly escaped.

"No weapons!" he continued, his voice trembling psychotically. "No special powers! Nothing! You have nothing, Lukas!" He swung the axe again, forcing me to drop back a little.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right; I had done myself an injustice. Everyone here had some sort of unique ability that made them able to survive, yet I had not given myself any powers. Just the appearance of angel and a set of wings. We were unevenly matched in physical strength. However…speed was a different story. All I had to do was will my wings forward and I was just as quick as Mathias. As I had the thought, I shot like a torpedo past the snarky demon boy, making sure to stay out of range of Mogens. If I could just keep up this pace, I was sure I could still win somehow…

Until I felt a searing pain in my shoulder, hot fingers clutching my bones roughly.

I gasped, biting my lip as I felt his long nails cut the blistering skin open. "Mathias, stop," I tried to order, but my voice came out weak and pained, as if I were begging.

The heat was incredibly intense…so this is what it felt like to be burned alive. Would he continue gripping me until the skin melted off of my body? Instinctive, humiliating tears stung my eyes from the searing injury and at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to fly down into the cool, icy snow to escape this beast's grasp. It would soothe the burn…it would end this horrible fire.

His hand crawled up to my neck, brushing it gently, seductively, making me shiver against my will at his scorching skin. I knew if he reached my wings, this race would be over. I had to do something. But with my shoulder rendering my left arm useless and the feel of Mathias's touch, I felt weaker than I ever had before. Anger stirred inside me at myself; helplessness did not suit me well at all. This was not how the king of Norway should act. It was pathetic.

"Stop," I hissed, my voice coming out strong and clear, as if I were not in immeasurable amounts of pain. "I demand that you stop this now."

Mathias seemed mildly surprised, but his hold did not loosen. "You're stronger than your delicate appearance suggests. You almost sound like a man," he chuckled. "Too bad you're my bitch."

I felt my anger deepen at his insult, the rage boiling inside me. "Unlike you, I am nobody's dog."

He grabbed my neck furiously, the flames torching me again. "Is that all you see when you look at me? A loyal puppy sent to do your bidding? That's pretty selfish of you, King Lukas. I've been nothing but obedient…yet still you…you want to leave again…" As he spoke, his grip became less and less intense, until he was no longer touching me. "How could you leave me again?"

His voice had softened to the point of a hoarse whisper. Surprised by the change, I turned to see that his terrifying demeanor was gone; he now simply looked like an abandoned child. "Why do you want me to stay so badly?" I asked.

His eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks as he looked down. "Because…you're the only thing that makes my existence complete, Lukas. Without you, I really am just a figment of your imagination. If you're here, this place becomes reality and I become the real Mathias. The real bodyguard. I miss you when you aren't here."

I couldn't help but be drawn in by his sudden mood change. "How can you miss me if I've only been here once before? You hardly know me," I said, feeling embarrassed.

"But I still love you. And that's why I'll do anything to make you stay."

"Even kill me?" I asked, too afraid to look at the blistering burn on my shoulder.

Mathias regarded me with animalistic, cat-like pupils. "If that is what it takes to win this competition for your heart. Murder is the ultimate crime of passion."

"Killing me won't make me love you back. Most people don't find cold-blooded murder attractive. Or physical abuse."

"But I'm not most people, am I?" He gave me a cheery smile, one that mirrored the other Mathias too perfectly. "Being a demon and all. Blood and death get me hot."

I ignored him, realizing that he was trying to sway my focus. "Disgusting," I muttered, flying past him. "I don't understand why you even feel compelled to compete against the other Mathias. It's not like you will ever meet him and I have already decided which world I want to belong to."

He opened his mouth to speak, to explain to me his incessant need to have me by his side, but the moment he did, the eerie music of a perfectly tuned violin permeated the air. It echoed across the mountains, a signal from Erick that we were getting close to the village. Beside me, the raven cawed in response.

"Looks like it's almost over," Mathias said. "I promise that when I win, I'll treat you much more gently."

"And I promise that when I win, you will never be able to touch me again," I retorted, my injuries stinging. "You've only made me want to leave this world that much more."

Scowling, we flew side by side, never getting ahead of the other, never falling behind. By the time the village was within our sights, we were practically clawing and biting each other to make the other lose ground. We tumbled into the village that way, nearly running my brother over as we barreled to a stop.

"Well, well. Hello there," Erick said, brushing invisible dirt off of his clothes and motioning for the raven to come to him. "Did you have a nice fight?"

I shoved Mathias away from me and stood straight. "Who won?" I asked.

His yellow eyes shifted down to the bird on his shoulder. "Who indeed?" he said, stroking the black feathered creature. "This guy says that Mathias was awful to you. Are you badly injured? Your shoulder looks horrible. You should probably think about healing it before it gets infected."

I glared at him, grabbing him by the fancy jacket. "Who won?" I repeated through my teeth.

He sighed, bending his head away from me. "If you must know, it was a tie. So I have decided as a compromise…you shall both get what you want. There. Does that suit you, King Lukas?"

Mathias leapt to his feet and came over, his eyes round as he mumbled, "It was a tie? Both get what we want? That means…" His face grew excited for a moment, and fell the next. "That means…"

"Yes, indeed. That means tonight my brother is going to get some," Erick said, his face perfectly serious. "But after that, you can no longer touch him or try to convince him to stay, Mathias. Perhaps you can persuade him with your body."

I closed my eyes, rubbing my forehead. Why had I been so foolishly confident, gambling with a demon? This had not gone the way I had hoped. I didn't want to feel his hands on me. I didn't want to be touched by him. There had to be a way out of this. I knew I was being a coward, but…I was too afraid to experience something like this with someone as unpredictable as him.

A warm hand went through my hair, pulling me out of my internal debate. "I won't hurt you again," Mathias told me, smiling softly.

I shuttered, smacking his arm away. "You're a worthless knockoff," I hissed, putting my head in my hands. "Fuck you."

He drew his hand back, looking pained by my outburst. "No, I'm not."

"May I interrupt this wonderful argument to point out that King Lukas is bleeding?" Erick pointed to my wounds. "Like I said, big brother, you should heal that quickly. A little blast of ice should do the trick."

"What?" I asked, daring to look at my burn for the first time. I nearly gagged at the morose sight of the blisters weeping pus and blood. "What do you mean 'a little blast of ice'?"

He blinked. "Did you honestly think Mathias was the only one with powers? Sigh. You're very slow, you know. If a demon can use fire, then quite obviously an angel should be able to use ice. It's quite simple, if you think about it."

Glowering, I stared down at my hands. "I must think you're quite an asshole, seeing as you act so ridiculously rude in this dimension. As if anyone would know automatically that an angel would have ice powers."

"You also have a weapon. But I'm sure you've figure that much out," Erick added, ignoring my comment. "Well, I have other things to attend to now, so I will be-"

"You mean your boyfriend? That weird Australian merman?"

He turned around abruptly, probably in an effort to cover up his blush. "No. Anyway, it's just a suggestion, but you might want to find Mom quickly. If you stay here too long, Tino and Berwald will catch up. They're caught in a mountain blizzard at the moment, which will buy you some time. Good luck." Without one more glance for me, he meandered out of the village, leaving me alone with Mathias.

I kept my gaze lowered, not wanting to look the creature next to me in the face. Still, I could feel his eyes on me as I tried not to think about what I was going to go through…I focused on attempting to figure out my apparent ice powers instead. The burning was steadily decreasing, but it was still obnoxiously sore and it would be relieving to be rid of it. I continued to stare at my hands, hoping that by some miraculous chance, ice would just fly out of them and heal me.

"Usually, you have to be feeling an extreme emotion to properly use your power," Mathias said, attempting nonchalance. "Those intense feelings bring out the desire to protect yourself and that's how powers usually appear."

"You said that I had no powers," I stated sharply.

"I didn't think you did, since you'd never so much as used a little bit of them. But Erick seems to know every fricking thing that goes on in this place, so I'd trust him. It's weird that it's both a healing and ice power combined, though." He grew quiet for a moment, and his stomach gave a furious gurgle. "Man! I'm so hungry… We haven't eaten since yesterday!"

Frustration flickered inside me. "Then how am I supposed to use the ice?" My eyes shot up to his of their own accord, navy meeting sapphire. "There are no intense, emotional situations."

He cocked his head to the side, his expression peculiar. "I could help you with that," he suggested, bending down so that we were eye level. "If you'll let me."

My heart kicked into gear at his implication, fear and curiosity melding inside me. But I made myself scowl at him, forced myself to decline. This was the demon that would kill me if I let him get too close. This was the demon that had burned my shoulder, my neck, and had never said a word about being sorry for it. This was the demon that didn't really exist, only wanted to. He was the man who I would leave behind.

I turned away, heading toward the village center wordlessly.

"Hey! Hey, Lukas! Where are you going?" Mathias followed after me, grabbing my good shoulder to spin me around. "What's the matter with you? You can't go into town with such a horrible injury. You'll be rushed to the nearest hospital and we might not get to leave here for days!"

"And who is to blame for the horrible injury? Perhaps if you had some dignity and control, we wouldn't be in this situation. Instead, you were so set on winning that competition that you were willing to do anything to rape me. Now I have no idea how to heal myself and we're both hungry."

He backed off submissively, finally wearing the ashamed expression I had been waiting for. "I'm…It's hard not to be what I am, my king. Demons are not tame creatures and they often lose control of their behavior. I may not be able to stop myself sometimes. But I will say this; I am really sorry that I hurt you. I hope it never happens again and I'll do anything within my ability to make sure it doesn't. The last thing any guard wants is for his charge to not trust him. Will you please accept my apology?"

I looked at him disdainfully, but gave a quick nod. "I can forgive your nature if you will forgive me for not wanting to be beside you."

Mathias put a hand over his heart, genuflecting before me. "I will do my best, King Lukas. Your forgiveness is all I can ask for. After tonight, I will not pester you anymore."

My hand drifted toward his sporadic, spiky hair, fingers clutching at it. Savagely, I yanked upward. "Quit it. You really look like a dog that way, licking my feet. It's unsightly."

He gave a shocked yelp, hurrying back up. "Ow…okay, jeez! It's like you suddenly got ten times more powerful out of nowhere," he mumbled to himself, readjusting his spikes. "Where was that spirit like five minutes ago?!"

"Getting his nails done," I replied, continuing to head towards the town.

Mathias trudged after me reluctantly, his tail twitching with irritation. "You could just let me help you. I'm serious. If Tino and Berwald catch up to us, this whole trip is going to have no purpose. Lukas? Hey, Lukas? Are you listening? Hey! Hey!"

I spun to him. "Just be quiet. We're not going to get caught, because we aren't stopping. And don't get so familiar with me."

Heaving a heavy sigh, he finished his protests as we entered the village's center.

The moment we entered, something was immediately apparent to me. This village was completely empty, deserted. Buildings cracked and crumbled, the snow in drifts over my head…it seemed to have been empty for quite some time. Not a single footprint remained to signal that another soul had wandered through. Yet somehow, as the breeze rolled through, I was sure I could hear the gentle tinkling music of my song hanging on the wind.

"What is this?" I asked, unnerved by the ghost town.

"It used to be a trading center," Mathias murmured, sounding just as surprised as me. "It was known for being haunted by the lost soul of a human woman. Your mother, I presumed. Though no one could see her, they could feel her presence. Of course, in our world, ghosts are not uncommon things. But humans…humans don't come here. And that's why she became a legend for the citizens here." Gazing around, he seemed distracted by a memory…until his nose twitched and he turned on me, his eyes back to red. "Get down!" he growled, yanking me behind him. "Someone's coming. That magic-user I smelled before."

Pressing down, we hid from view as another man walked into the village, his black cloak waving like a flag in the breeze. From here it was difficult to tell, but his face seemed familiar…As if feeling our gazes, he turned his attention to us, his eyes a vibrant green as they focused in. Without moving his head, he pulled a large book from his cloak and gave a small grin as his mouth began to move.

Mathias growled. "A mage. He saw us, too. Damn it…"

"I feel like I've met him somewhere," I muttered absently.

"Well, I hope you have, because you're about to meet him again," Mathias spat, grabbing me and tossing me over his shoulders just as the building behind us started to fall to pieces.

I was sure he would fly us away from the danger, this wild-haired mage, but instead he landed right before the boy. "You want something from King Lukas?" he demanded, his voice low and threatening.

The mage smiled, removing the hood of his cloak. "Why, yes," he said, surprising me by speaking in English. "I'm rather glad I was finally able to track you two down. Lukas and I have some unfinished business we need to attend to."