CHAPTER TWENTY

Winter

Alec and I walk through the light, hand in hand. Our five sets of footsteps echo in a vast silence. It's like we're in some sort of tunnel, or at the bottom of a well. It's that quiet.

And then the light starts to fade. I squint my eyes, waiting for them to adjust.

"We're inside," Elena says from right behind me.

And we are. We’ve made it inside the tower.

I'm so happy all I can do is laugh. Alec squeezes my hand, but I can sense his hesitation. He won't be celebrating until the Golden Coin is actually in our hands.

The inside of the tower finally comes into focus. There's nothing in here but a winding staircase with no railing, stretching up so high that I can't even see the top.

We stand there for a moment, craning our necks back, trying to see what's up there.

"What do you think," Hank says, "the chances are that the Golden Coin is up there, and we can just walk up there and get it?"

We share a round of looks.

"Without any monsters attacking us?" Damon asks. "I'd say it's pretty low, but I can be positive."

I feel Alec's gaze on me. It doesn't matter what's on that staircase. There's only one way forward.

"Guess we'll find out." Letting go of Alec's hand, I step onto the staircase.

It's ridiculously narrow, maybe three feet wide. Why the designer didn't add a railing beats me. Maybe to scare us.

At this point, though, I feel like I'm becoming an expert at heights. I lead the way, keeping close to the wall. Alec comes behind me, and then Damon, then Hank, and Elena.

"So," Elena's voice is cheery, and even though it's strained, I can appreciate her for trying, "what will everyone do once we get out of here?”

“Take a shower,” Hank says.

“Eat a steak,” Damon answers. “And then a whole cake.”

We all laugh, the sound booming through the tower.

“Scratch that,” Damon says. “I’ll be eating the cake first.”

“Assuming we make it out of here alive,” Alec adds, his voice serious.

“We will,” I say firmly. “We always do.”

We continue up the staircase in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.

As we climb higher and higher, the air grows thinner and colder. My legs ache from the effort, and my heart pounds in my chest. But I keep going, driven by the hope that we’ll soon have the power we need to defeat the Silver Hunters once and for all.

“At least this beats climbing the outside of the tower,” Alec says.

I don’t answer him. I grind to a halt, my eyes on something above.

We’re maybe the equivalent of a floor away from the top, and something glinting there has caught my eye.

It’s the Golden Coin.

It hovers in midair, at the very top of the tower, above a platform. There’s no gate around it. No monsters protecting it.

So far as I can see, it’s right there for the taking.

We all freeze, staring at it in awe. It’s even more beautiful than I imagined it would be. A light that seems to come from nowhere reflects off of it, casting a golden glow throughout the room. The fake in Hawthorn’s wishing well is nothing compared to this.

“That’s it,” Damon murmurs.

“Yeah.” My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

We’ve come so far. Is it really this close? Or am I staring at some kind of illusion?

I speed up, taking the stairs two at a time. The group’s footsteps ring out behind me, but then there's a new noise. A scuffling. A bump. A yell.

Elena screams, and there are shouts. I whirl around just in time to see Hank falling through the air, his arm outstretched.

"Hank!" I yell.

By the time I even reach out to him, he's hit the ground six stories below. His body lands at an awkward angle, and he doesn't move.

Alec grabs my hand, and I choke out a cry. "Oh my god," I rasp.

Elena buries her face in her hands. "He slipped. He was looking at the coin, and he sidestepped. He just went down. I-I tried to grab him, but ..."

"Liar." Damon stares at her with wide eyes.

Elena drops her hands from her face, and the three of us gawk at him.

"What?" she gasps.

"You pushed him." A muscle flexes in his tight jaw.

She goes pale, her hand pressed to her chest. "Damon ... No, I ... Hank was my partner. My friend ... I would never ..."

"But you did." He takes a step back, coming closer to me and Alec.

"Winter," Elena shakes her head at me, "I didn't do it. Do you really think I did?"

My mouth drops. Everything is happening so fast. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Hank was alive a mere minute ago.

Elena wouldn't kill him. There's no way.

So, why would Damon lie about that?

Unless ... he's the one that pushed Hank.

No. That doesn't make any sense either. Elena said she saw him fall. So, he fell.

... Right?

I shake my head, trying to clear it as Alec takes a protective step in front of me.

"Alec," I hiss. Behavior like this won't make anything better.

Damon turns to me, his eyes burning with anger. "She did it, Winter. I saw her. She pushed him."

Elena sobs, her hands shaking. "Damon, I didn't do it. You have to believe me."

But Damon seems determined to blame her. "I'm sorry, Elena. I can't. I saw you do it."

"Why?" Alec asks. "Why would you do that?"

I open my mouth to tell Alec to cut it out, but I don't get the chance to speak. Elena lunges at Damon, pushing him into Alec.

The two of them stumble towards the edge, and I instinctively grab Alec and pull him back. Damon's not so lucky.

He falls onto his side and rolls, going over the side.

"No!" I scream.

Alec darts to the edge, where Damon has managed to grab hold of the side with both hands. He starts to haul Damon up, and Elena takes the opportunity to kick me square in the stomach.

I double over, all the air leaving me. Stars spin in my vision, and I can barely stay standing.

The voice in my head tells me to use my powers. We're on such a narrow staircase, though, and I'm not good at directing them to one small space. What if I hurt Damon and Alec?

Elena grabs me by the hair, and I manage to spin around and break free of her hold. Screw it. If I don't do something, then she'll kill me too.

Focusing on the strength coursing through my veins, I call it forward. Elena tries to rush me again, but this time, I block her punch and hit her back.

She falls to her knees, shock etched across her face. Over her shoulder, I see Alec finally pull Damon back onto the stairs.

Elena looks up at me, hair falling across her face. "Think about what you're doing, Winter. We can get the coin together. We can both be winners here."

I'm too shocked to speak. Is this why she was so insistent that we rest before coming into the tower? Was she planning on sneaking into the tower while the rest of us were asleep and grabbing the coin for herself?

Finally, I find my voice, my hands curling into fists. "And what about Hank? Why wouldn't you share it with him?"

Elena's eyes flicker with guilt. "Hank was weak. He didn't have the guts to do what needed to be done."

I feel a surge of anger, hot and fierce. How can she say that about him? Hank was kind and brave, and he didn't deserve to die like this.

"You're sick," I spit at her. "You killed him because you wanted the coin for yourself."

Elena's expression darkens. "It doesn't matter now. He's dead, and we're still here. You can either help me get the coin, or you can join him on the ground floor."

I shake my head. "I'll never help you. Not after what you did."

Elena's eyes narrow. "Then you'll die."

Before I can even respond, Alec is on Elena's back. His teeth start to sink into her neck, but she ducks and throws him off her back. He hits the wall next to me.

"Alec!" I crouch at his side.

"I'm okay." His face twists in pain, but he's alive.

Damon has already shifted, and he's advancing on Elena. "I don't want to hurt you, Elena," he growls in his deep, werewolf voice. "Surrender and we'll sort this out."

She starts to raise her hands in peace. A millisecond too late, I realize she's bluffing.

White streaks of magic shoot from her palms and strike Damon like bolts of lightning. He falls a handful of steps, his wolf limbs flailing. My shock matches my anger.

Is everyone not what they seem? Elena uses magic?

I narrow my eyes at Elena, realizing that I don't really know anything about her. She fed us a story, but how much of that is true? Why were she and Hank really after the coin?

She takes a step forward, a smug smile on her face. "You should've joined me when you had the chance, Winter. Now, you're going to regret it."

I grit my teeth, feeling the power coursing through me. I can feel it building up inside me, and I know that I have to use it. I focus on Elena, channeling all my energy into a single blast of power.

Wind whips through the air, and I channel it into one small spot. It spins into a tiny tornado, blasting through the air and striking Elena in the chest. She staggers back, her eyes wide with surprise.

"You ... you're a witch?" she gasps.

Am I?

Who knows?

"I'm powerful," I say, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that much is true.

Elena glares at me, her eyes filled with hatred. "You'll regret crossing me."

Alec stands next to me, and I can nearly sense him calculating the right move. The steps are too narrow. We're stuck side by side, Elena directly below us. You'd have to be able to fly to escape or get around her.

And, luckily, Alec can do just that.

He jumps from the staircase, and it's enough to momentarily distract Elena. I lunge at her, tackling her with my massive strength.

We tumble down the steps, passing a groaning Damon on the way down. Elena lands on top of me, and I go to kick her off, but I can't. She's too strong.

Her fingers curl around my throat, and she squeezes tight. The edges of my vision start to go black.

"Winter!" Alec yells.

Elena lifts one hand from my neck and sends a bolt of magic backwards. There's a brutal grunt from Alec as it hits him.

Now, both Damon and Alec are down. I don't know if they're okay. I don't even know if Alec is alive.

Elena's second hand is about to return to my throat, but I seize the opportunity. Grabbing her shirt's collar, I yank her down and to the side. This makes her fall off balance, leaving most of her body exposed to me.

I channel my power and kick her in the stomach as hard as I can. She flies backward, tumbling over the staircase, her mouth and eyes wide and silent with surprise.

Hacking and coughing, I scramble on all fours to the side of the stairs. Elena lies below, right next to Hank's body. She doesn't move.

The sick truth sets in, and I fall backwards onto my butt. I've killed her.