"Don't get used to it," Sofi said, rising.

Jenn looked at her closely, uncertain how to take the words. The Oracle probably knew how this day would end, which world would survive.

Darian would swing through here like a wrecking ball. Jenn shivered at the idea. As powerful and patient as he was, he wouldn't hesitate to lay waste to anything between them. She suspected even his promise to sacrifice her if it meant saving their world would melt in the furnace of his fury. He'd been sweet to her last night. He meant what he said: if she wanted him, she could have him. If she didn't, he'd accept her decision.

She'd never had much of a choice before. Sex was a weapon, her body a tool. She wielded it well, but it usually meant the choice was never really hers. Darian had given her the power to choose. He treated her as an equal, a partner in a relationship with a wild god, one who respected her enough to let her decide.

"Not so bad, is it?" Sofi said.

Jenn shook her thoughts away, her heart hammering with both anticipation of seeing him again and fear. Her hand was clenched around the necklace.

"I think hell is a good word for it," she said.

"At first, maybe," Bianca added. "It's worth it, though."

"Everyone in this fucking room can read minds but me," Jenn said with a snort.

"We're sisters now. Get used to it." The firm words came from the Healer, not the Oracle, who smiled in agreement.

"I guess we are," Jenn agreed uncertainly.

After thousands of years alone, she inherited a mate and a family over the course of a single night. Her gaze lingered on the two women. Despite being polar opposites, they were both honorable to the core and two of the most powerful Naturals ever discovered. Yully, the third woman who would become her sister, was just as unique with a heart equal to that of any of the women.

She didn't expect her life to change quite so fast or to be accepted into the White God's family with such ease. Of course, none of that mattered if she couldn't get them out of there.

"They should be back around soon," Bianca said.

"Do they come in?"

"They've just opened the door. They don't come in."

"Door opens out," Jenn said. "This will work. Stay back, unless I get my ass kicked. Dusty will kill me if anything happens to you."

Bianca retreated to the far wall where Sofi stood. Jenn paced and stretched, edgy. She had one knife on her, plus Bianca's. It'd have to be enough; there was no back-up this time. Her fingers swept over the cuff, and anger swirled through her again. Jonny or Xander. The two people she wanted to see least of all. She'd have to approach one of them eventually if she ever wanted her powers back.

She grew impatient waiting for the guardsmen to return. At long last, she heard the sound of boot soles against stone as people walked down the hall.

"That's more than two, Bianca," she said, listening. "Sounds like four. Ikira, I think it's time for you break the rules. No one's playing fair anymore."

Sofi's gaze swirled. "Bianca, stand in that corner. The third one's gonna kill Jenn. Blast her when she falls." The Oracle strode forward, hand held out.

Jenn took Sofi's hand and staggered at the vision the Oracle implanted. Sofi released her. Jenn's closed her eyes, running through the motions in her head that Sofi directed her to take.

The sound of a key scraping against the door drew Jenn's attention outward again, and she moved to the side of the door, flattening her back against it. In order to find her, the first guardsmen would have to enter the cell.

Steadying her breathing, Jenn gripped her daggers and waited.

The heavy door opened with a grating sound. She held her breath as the guardsman on the outside hesitated, seeking out the two prisoners he couldn't see. Only Sofi was visible from the door.

The point of a sword entered ahead of the guardsman. Jenn waited. She counted to three, when the guardsman's hand came into view.

Jenn launched into action. She chopped at his hand with one dagger, slamming the sword into the ground as she whirled and slashed his neck with her other hand. She whirled again, this time slamming the dagger into the opening between the door and frame, just above a hinge, to keep it from closing. She snatched the dead man's sword and shoved him into the hall out of his way as two more swords descended.

She couldn't sense them as she did when her magic was free, but she could dance the way Darian and Xander taught her. Jenn let her instincts take over, ignoring the instinct that told her no mortal should be able to fight one guardsman, let alone three. She slashed and blocked, soon seeing what Sofi meant. One of the guardsmen was half the size of the other two, and his strikes were almost too fast and low for her to catch.

Another fell, and the third shoved her into the cell. Jenn slammed onto her back, the sword flying free. She rolled and leapt to her feet. Her kicks were ineffectual against the guardsman's chainmail, and his sword plunged into her chest.

Instantly, her world fell into blackness. Just as fast, it exploded into light again, as Bianca's charged healing power slammed through her. Jenn pushed herself up. Bianca stepped away, and Jenn dropped, sensing the guardsman's next blow. It grazed her arm.

She rolled onto her back and swept his feet from beneath him, pouncing. A punch to his throat kept him from reacting, and she launched up again as the fourth guardsman attacked. A fifth appeared, as in Sofi's vision, and tried to push the door closed. The dagger jammed it open, and the guardsman reached up to snatch it.

Anger filled Jenn. With a wince, she stepped straight into the sword of the smallest guardsman then slashed his throat. Pain radiated through her, but she pushed herself towards the door. The guardsman on the ground rose, coughing and choking from her blows. Jenn tackled the guardsman trying to close the door. She slammed her elbow into his face, grunting as his dagger sliced through her shoulder.

She was losing blood fast, her movements growing heavy.

"Bianca!" she barked. She strained to keep her hold on the guardsman, even as the other one left the cell and snatched a sword to finish her off.

Fire blazed through her as Bianca snatched her leg. Jenn rolled away, blocking the standing guardsman's shot of her. She gripped the blade of the dagger the man on top of her tried to shove through her throat. Smashing her forehead against his nose, Jenn wrenched the knife free and drove it through him.

She struggled out from under his body as the last of her opponents slashed at her. Kicks made him keep his distance and bought her time. His sword slashed downward at her. Jenn rolled, ran into the wall, and cried out as he split her back. She didn't wait for him to step back but kicked his knee as hard as she could. He staggered, and she snatched his wrist, hauling herself up. With the last of her energy, she stabbed him through the eye.

The man dropped. Jenn fell with him, bloodied and in pain.

"Bianca," she called again.

The glowing woman emerged, trailed by Sofi. The two looked around, visibly unsettled by the damage Jenn had done. The walls and floor of the hallway were splattered with blood, the bodies of the newly killed still kicking. Even cool Sofi appeared upset.

Jenn didn't remember a time when she would've looked twice at a dead man. She couldn't help pitying the women who had been thrust into a bloody war when they met their Guardian mates. It wasn't an easy life, though if anyone could adjust and thrive, it was the women Damian, Dusty, and Jule chose.

"Anytime," she murmured, feeling herself sinking into the darkness.

Bianca dropped to her knees beside her, and her cold healing fire tore through Jenn. Jenn gritted her teeth against it as her body mended itself. The Healer released her. Jenn rose unsteadily and looked down at herself.

She was a train wreck. She stripped off the shredded T-shirt and tossed it. Returning to the cell, she used the long-sleeved shirt to wipe the blood off her body quickly and then to clean the blades of the weapons she snatched off the ground. She shoved one blade into her belt and stripped the knives off the dead men, putting them in her cargo pockets. She kept two out and joined Sofi and Bianca in the hallway, handing one to each.

They stared at her. Jenn wasn't sure what to say after the battle. Both women took the knives, handling them with awkwardness borne of a lack of familiarity with handling deadly weapons.

"You were awesome," Bianca said finally. "Dusty said you trained him. I believe it now."

"That was cool," Sofi agreed. "Gory but cool."

"Thanks," Jenn said. "We need to go. Sofi, any idea how to get out of here?"

The Oracle shook her head. Jenn chose a direction and paused at the first intersection to listen for anyone approaching. She moved forward again. Glancing out a window, she confirmed they were in the city, somewhere near the center. The ocean was visible; she estimated they were about half a mile from the orchard.

"Ocean," she said, pointing out the window. "If anything happens to me, go that direction."

She stayed on the same floor until finding a stairwell leading down. They hurried to the ground floor. Jenn readied herself for a battle as she cracked the door open. She saw nothing and stepped cautiously into the hallway, looking both ways.

Sofi and Bianca trailed her. They wandered the hallways on the main floor until finding one that led to a side door of the large, stone building. Jenn opened it, relieved to see the outside world. Her gaze assessed their location for a safe path towards the ocean.

"We're going there," she said, indicating the next largest structure nearby. It was the remains of another large building.

"Something's not right," Sofi said.

Jenn looked around for signs of a trap. She was about to venture away from them when Bianca took her arm. Jenn turned to see Bianca's other hand on Sofi, while the Oracle's hands were around her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Jenn asked immediately.

"Call me crazy, but I think Sofi's getting ready to deliver," Bianca said.

"That's impossible!"

"It's gotta be the immortal world. She's not due for another four months."

"Can you stop it?" Jenn looked around again and then at Sofi. She'd thought the Oracle looked much larger than a few months pregnant. Everything that held magic was amplified in the immortal world. Even carrying a White God, Jenn couldn't explain Sofi's pregnancy accelerating so fast, unless ..."Wait, exactly how long have you been here?"

"At least a day and a half," Bianca said. "We were grabbed yesterday before dawn."

"A full twenty-four hours in the immortal world," Jenn said and sighed. "Sofi, you had to know this was coming."

"I can't see my own fate, but I suspected this might happen when I saw yours," the Oracle said. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Jenn trotted forward, towards the huge block of marble. They slid behind it, and she sought their next move. Sofi leaned against the rock. Jenn exchanged a worried look with Bianca.

"No," Bianca said to the unasked question. "I can't stop it."

"Then we need to keep moving," Jenn said. She started forward again, towards more debris. While she tried to keep close to objects that might provide some sort of cover if attacked, she chose the fastest route possible. Sofi slowed as they walked, and Jenn looked up at the midday sun. Changes undergone in the immortal world normally weren't permanent, once they returned to their world for twenty-four hours. However, if they didn't hurry, Sofi would come back with a child before twenty-four hours passed in the mortal world.. Jenn didn't know if her pregnancy could be reversed, even upon returning to the mortal world, but she knew they couldn't stop long enough for Sofi to have her baby.

Jenn gasped, dismayed, as the wall around the orchard came into view. It was patrolled by guardsmen wearing the Others' symbols on their cloaks. She motioned to a hollowed-out building and turned to face the other two.

Sofi was pale and Bianca anxious. Jenn watched Sofi lower herself to a boulder. For the first time in long while, Jenn didn't think she could get them to safety alone. The Oracle was ready to pop and the wall was guarded by half a dozen men.

"Fuck," she murmured. "How long do we have, Bianca?"

"An hour, tops," the Healer said.

Jenn calculated silently. "We're not going to make it."

"We'll make it," Sofi said.

"Is this the Oracle or the pregnant chic talking?" Jenn asked.

Sofi gave her an icy look.

"I take it it's the pregnant chic. I'll work fast."

Jenn gazed towards the wall, mentally determining her chances at taking on six guardsmen and getting them all over the wall before more came or worse-before Others showed up.

"Bianca, you know where to stab someone?" she asked, facing the two of them again.

"Dusty taught me."

"Take Sofi's knife. If anyone, and I mean anyone, comes this way, you stab first, talk later. Got it?"

"Yes."

Jenn turned to leave, almost crying out in surprise. The creature she least wanted to see stood before her, eyes glowing red. She lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"Interesting," Xander said, gaze sweeping over them and lingering on the Oracle. "Bet you didn't see this one coming, Oracle. I did."

"What do you want?" Jenn demanded, stepping between the women and the towering vamp.

"I see you made a choice." His eyes went to the necklace dangling at the center of her chest.

"You didn't come here to gloat. If you came to stop us ..." Jenn drew her second knife.

"He's going to help us," Sofia said.

"You're talking about Xander, right?" Jenn glanced over her shoulder and saw the Oracle teetering to her feet with Bianca's assistance.

"Yes. You're going to take that thing off Jenn's arm, and you're going to make sure we all make it back safely," Sofi said to the Original Vamp.

"I didn't come here for that," Xander replied.

"But you'll do it."

"What the fuck is going on?" Jenn asked, startled as the Oracle pushed her aside to stand before Xander. The small woman glared up at the Vamp. Jenn sensed some sort of silent communication between them, one that made the Original Vamp shift.

"I do nothing for free, Oracle," he growled finally. His eyes fell to Jenn. His fangs lengthened. They were half the size of her longest finger.

"If that's all it takes. I survived the first time" she said and lowered her weapons. She swallowed hard. Xander's bite hadn't been gentle. "Bite me, Xander."

"You'll do it, Xander, or I'll reveal your little secret," Sofi said calmly.

"An Oracle-"

"-has nothing to lose right now and doesn't mind breaking your rules."

Jenn glanced at the fiery Oracle, impressed by her spunk. The woman radiated cold power, her eyes brighter than even Xander's.

"You get one favor in exchange," the Vamp snarled. "The other will cost one of you."

"Your secret. And I won't fuck up your ... fate. That's two."

Xander stared at her. "Someone's not playing fair."

"Looks like you just got your ass beat," Jenn said, unable to keep the smugness out of her voice.