Anya Bast - Witch Fury

He stood for a moment in cold, painful shock, then raised his gaze from the place where Sarafina had disappeared to the smirking warlock not far away. Sarafina had slipped through his fingers, but there was someone here to take all his aggression out on.

Gathering power, he ran toward him, intending to make him into a warlock mash. Stefan sent up a wall of white-hot fire. Theo countered, pulling earth right through the floor of the Coven to put out the flames. The walls shook and the floor moved in a wave that didn’t trip Theo up for a moment. He leapt over the smoldering ridge of earth and kept going.

On the other side, Stefan was just disappearing around the corner at the opposite end of the hallway. Theo pounded after him, his sword heavy in his hand. Rage and grief twisted inside him, but he couldn’t let it get the better of him. Instead, he used it, transforming it into speed and a deadly will to make Stefan pay.

Theo caught him on a staircase somewhere near the Conservatory. Pulling a charm, Theo used it to trip Stefan, who went sprawling on the steps. The warlock flipped and shot a wave of white-hot flame at Theo that he only narrowly managed to dodge.

“She’s gone.” Stefan snarled. “Bai’s taken her to Eudae. You’ll never get her back now.” “Then I’ve got nothing to lose, warlock.” Theo advanced on him. “You’d better start praying.”

SARAFINA PRESSED HER PALMS AGAINST THE FLOOR and retched. Her whole world was focused only on that for a moment. When she finished, she closed her eyes as another wave of intense nausea swept through her.

The scent of the place wasn’t helping. It smelled of old blood — tangy and metallic — and a twist of unfamiliar, decaying plants. The spot where she’d landed seemed to exude death and violence. When she moved her hands, cold dirt and grit bit into her palms.

The Atrikan part of Eudae. It had to be.

The look on Theo’s face. . He’d been shattered, terrified. What could he be feeling now? Sarafina couldn’t venture a guess. He’d be feeling like this was his fault, like he’d failed her. Theo thought he failed everyone. This would destroy him.

Her heart grieved that more than anything, even more than the fact that when she lifted her head she would find herself in a brutal alien world with no hope of rescue or escape.

Oh, God, she missed Grosset so much. It hurt like a physical pain in her chest and gut. She knew Theo would take him in as soon as the smoke cleared. As gruff as Theo acted toward her pet, she knew he had a soft spot for Grosset. The little dog would be okay. But she’d never be able to bury her face in his warm fur again.

And Theo.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tears splashed to the concrete floor. Sarafina couldn’t even think about that loss right now. It hurt too much.

Anyway, she’d lost him before Bai had ever grabbed her.

The wave of nausea faded and she rocked back on her heels, taking stock of her situation through her tangled hair.

She blinked, not believing the scene that met her eyes. “What?” They were back in the building in Kentucky, in the room where they’d had the knock-down, drag-out fight with Stefan and the Atrika .

Bai hadn’t moved her to Eudae.

She wondered why for a fleeting moment before a surge of incredible joy made her entire body sing. If she wasn’t on Eudae, there was a slender thread of hope to hold on to. Her euphoria tamped out like a candle in a tornado as soon as she saw the shadow in the corner.

Using one of the tipped-over chairs to help herself up, she stood and grabbed an old towel from one of the tables to wipe her mouth clean. The fabric smelled of herbs.

“What are we doing here?” Her voice echoed eerily in the large, empty space and raised goose bumps along her arms. Dropping the towel, she hugged herself.

Silence.

She sighed. “Look, if you expect me to play broodmare, expect me to bear and raise all your brats, you’d better answer me when I ask you a question, buddy.” He moved his gaze from where he’d been staring off into the distance at some unknowable thing and settled it on her. All her bravado evaporated. “Eudae is not like Earth for Atrikan females. You cannot expect. . respect.” “I’m not an Atrikan female.” “You’re not a full blood, but you carry our spark in your DNA. You are descended from the Atrikan line, I can smell it on you. Why is it do you think I am so attracted to you?” There was so much wrong with that last sentence she couldn’t even begin to fully digest it. She had Atrika in her DNA? Oh, wow, that was so not a compliment.

Bai took a step toward her and she took a step back involuntarily. “You have just the barest trace, as do several others in the Coven.” He tapped his nose. “It’s a special talent of mine.” Another step. And another. For every one he took toward her, she moved back. She knew she might be backing herself into a corner, but she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t want Bai within ten feet of her, even though Bai wanted to get much closer than that.

Much closer.

The backs of Sarafina’s thighs hit an overturned table and she almost went sprawling. The feet of the table scraped against the concrete floor — loud in the otherwise quiet space.

Sarafina spied an abandoned sword on the floor and scooped it up, holding it between her and Bai. Uneasily, she inched around the table to put more distance between them.

Bai held out a huge hand. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant, vae Sarafina.” She raised her sword and gave a grim laugh. “Oh, I intend to make it pretty damn unpleasant, Bai.” “You could learn to accept your circumstances, accept me. It’s my hope that one day you will.” “You mean actually learn to like having sex with a monster, carrying and raising little daaeman bratlings? Serving up raw meat for dinner every night? I think not.” “You have seen only Atrikan battle behavior, not our everyday life.” “I’ve imagined it, and it makes me shudder with revulsion. How do Atrikan children play, anyway? By dismembering small animals?” His eyes glowed red and his lips pulled back a little, revealing sharpened teeth. Man, she really needed to learn to keep her thoughts to herself.

He turned his face to the side and closed his eyes. When he turned back his eyes were no longer red. Apparently, he’d mastered his sudden flash of temper. That was good news for her.

He held out a hand. “Come with me, vae Sarafina. You are so beautiful, like the human image of an angel. Your mother named you well.” She clenched her hands around the sword handle. “Why haven’t you taken me back to Eudae yet?” “I cannot until Stefan gives us what he has promised.” “The elium.”

Bai nodded. “He is not stupid, this warlock. He has managed to manipulate us well, but we will have the better of him in the end.” Sarafina had no doubts on that score. Stefan was stupid — or desperate — to have tried to control this daaeman breed. He deserved anything he got, in the end.

“Stefan somehow gained control of the one thing the entire Atrikan breed never could. How did he do it?” she asked.

Bai smiled. It was a terrifying sight. “Love.” “What?”

He motioned at the sword. “Put the sword down and I’ll tell you how he managed it.” She hesitated, staring at him.

“I will not hurt you, vae Sarafina. I want you to mother my children, after all. At the Coven when Stefan released the magick, I was afraid for you. I searched until I located you with the intention of protecting you.” That made sense in a horrifying, stomach-lurching, bile-in-the-back-of-her-throat kind of way. Sarafina set the sword down on the floor at her feet, then rose and waited expectantly.