Taken by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #8)(20)

“Who are your parents?” I asked, a little suspicious now. Could it be that Iannis had a son that he’d never told me about? But no, he wouldn’t keep something like that from me. We were about to be married. I didn’t expect him to tell me everything about his life, not when he’d lived for nearly eight hundred years, but surely he would have divulged something that important. Besides, he wasn’t the kind of man to leave a child behind, out of sight and out of mind. He took his responsibilities seriously.

Right?

The boy merely shook his head and went back to his hunk of cheese. I tried to coax some information out of him, but either he was too afraid to speak to me or he’d been ordered not to. Sighing, I gave up and went to raid the larder. The cook had been gone for several minutes, and if I didn’t eat something soon, my stomach was going to devour itself.

Drawe watched with wide eyes as I made short work of a large ham, several sausages, and an entire cherry cake. I offered him a piece of the cake, which he took after a brief hesitation, though he still wouldn’t speak to me. That was fine. I would find out the truth about him eventually, from Iannis himself, or perhaps from Deryna if I could get a moment alone with her. In the meantime, I replenished my canteen, then tucked some dried meat, bread, and cheese into my magical sleeve without even a shred of guilt. Since they’d abducted me, I reasoned, the least these women could do was feed me.

I was just screwing the cap back onto my canteen when the door banged open and Ta’sradala stormed in. “Who gave you permission to eat?” she thundered, her face red with anger. Before I could answer, she immobilized me with a slice of her hand, then used her magic to yank me into the living room. The little boy cried out behind me, but there was nothing he could do, and I hoped he stayed in the kitchen. The last thing I needed was for him to face this old biddy’s wrath.

Ta’sradala stared down at me for one long, terrifying moment, and for a minute, I thought she intended to leave me standing like a statue in the middle of the room all night. The other two women were absent—nobody was here to naysay her if she decided to choke me again, or worse. Helpless rage filled me as I glared up at her—I hated feeling so powerless, especially in the face of a bully like this. Wasn’t there anything I could do? I strained against her magic, but it was far beyond my strength.

Was this how normal humans felt when confronted with a powerful, angry mage?

Finally, the Tua made another gesture and released me. I nearly stumbled over the hem of my dress as my body began moving again, and I caught myself against the edge of a table to keep from face-planting. As I righted myself, I tucked away the canteen I was still holding and turned to face my persecutor.

“I have had enough of your bullshit,” I growled up at her, my entire body trembling with anger. “You might be powerful, but you have absolutely no manners or sense of honor. You terrorize everyone with your power like some overgrown spoiled brat. It’s no wonder Iannis never talks about you—he must be ashamed that he has to call you a relative.”

Ta’sradala’s eyes blazed. “A miserable mortal like you has no right to insult your betters,” she hissed. “You’re nothing but a mongrel, and now a thief!”

“Thief!” I spat. “A thief because I helped myself to some food? Technically I’m a guest here, which means that your family owes me some form of nourishment. You must actually be afraid of me,” I taunted her, “if you’re resorting to starving me. Maybe you’re worried I might actually win this twisted game of yours.”

“Pah! We’ll see about that,” Ta’sradala scoffed. “I’ve clearly been too easy on you.”

She waved her hand, and the air around me began to stir. Before I could react, I was caught up in an icy whirlwind. My surroundings blurred, and I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut as dust began to sting them. Clenching my fists, I braced myself for the next challenge and hoped that Iannis knew how much I loved him. If not for that, I’d sincerely be reconsidering tying myself to him, knowing that such a hideous monster clung to his family tree.





11





By the time the whirlwind died down, I was excruciatingly nauseous. Doubling over, I braced my hands on my knees and took deep, slow breaths to keep myself from throwing up. The last thing I needed was to lose my lunch after going so long without real food. Since Ta’sradala had likely thrown me into an even worse predicament than the last, I needed to keep my strength up.

When the dizziness and nausea had finally subsided, I slowly rose so I could get an idea of my surroundings. I blinked as I looked around—I seemed to be in some kind of forest, but there was something very odd about it. The tree trunks were purple, the leaves cinnamon-colored, and the air smelled very different from any forest I’d ever seen in my life. Looking up, I gasped at the sight of the sky—it was jade green in color, and the sun hanging above was bluish with purple overtones.

This must be the Tua realm, I thought as a butterfly floated past my nose. Iannis had been here as a child—no wonder he had been frightened. It was too strange and different. The forest shimmered in a thousand different colors all at once, and I had to look away as my eyes started to ache. Panic filled me as what little information I had on this place began to pop into my head. Most of it was of dubious value, based on ancient legends and scary tales. Yet there were common themes, like time passing differently. If I ever managed to get out, would centuries have passed? Would all my friends be dead and gone, including Iannis? Tears stung my eyes at the thought, and I angrily blinked them away.