At least I can breathe, I thought miserably as I stared up at the ceiling. My bodily functions were working just fine, as evidenced by my near bursting bladder. I needed to pee so badly I thought I might die, but I couldn’t even wet the bed, I was frozen so stiff. I sincerely hoped that Ta’sradala wasn’t going to force me to do any more tests. For all I knew she could be planning to put me through an endless series of challenges, claiming I had been cheating every time I won, until my strength and ingenuity finally gave out and I died.
Tears stung at my eyes as another wave of helplessness overcame me, and a scream built in my chest that I couldn’t release no matter how hard I tried. What had I done to deserve this torture? Was I destined to be Ta’sradala’s plaything for the rest of my life, simply because I’d dared to love her grandson? Was I going to die before I ever saw Iannis again?
And yet…even knowing what I knew now, I still wouldn’t have changed a thing. I hadn’t thought so at the time, but being taken prisoner by Iannis was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I had learned so much about myself, and had grown far more powerful and confident than I ever would have if I’d simply kept my head down and lived out my existence as an enforcer. Beneath his stern exterior, Iannis was wise and compassionate, with a heart of gold that so few people got to touch.
I was extraordinarily lucky to be one of those few.
As the hours passed with excruciating slowness, I tried to call for Broghan again. But if he was anywhere nearby, he didn’t answer. Wouldn’t he have caught up with me by now? Or was he stuck back in the cave world? Maybe he was afraid of Ta’sradala, too. Or, for all I knew, something else had caught his attention and he was off on another adventure. Broghan was fun-loving and capricious, and he didn’t seem to have any concept of danger. I had a feeling he was just as likely to come after me as he was to befriend someone else and go off looking for trouble.
Finally, just when I thought I could bear no more of this, the door opened. “Apologies for keeping you waiting so long,” Deryna murmured as she came inside with a tray of food. I felt a jolt of surprise at the sight of Ennartha right behind her, and I would have fallen off the bed if I’d been able to move.
“If Mother gets angry, this is on you,” Ennartha said to Deryna, not looking at all happy as she waved her hand to unlock the spell. I groaned in relief as my muscles finally relaxed. Sitting up, I winced as aches and pains rippled through me—everything was stiff from being locked up for so long. “I was never here,” Ennartha added with a warning glance at both of us as she left the room.
Deryna sat the tray next to me on the bed and took a seat, but I shook my head and rolled off to the other side. I was hungry, but my bladder was going to explode if I didn’t use the facilities. I hobbled off to relieve myself, then came back to find that Deryna was still waiting for me.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked as I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. A bowl of hot stew and thick slices of soda bread were waiting, and my mouth watered as I lifted the tray onto my lap.
“Because I don’t think it’s right, what Ta’sradala is doing,” Deryna said. “I wish I could do more, but she is far too powerful for me to stand against, and as you can see, my sister is not inclined to intervene.”
“No kidding,” I said after I’d swallowed a spoonful of stew. “If Ennartha is your sister, does that make you half-Tua as well?” I didn’t understand why she looked so old, if that was the case.
Deryna shook her head. “We are half-sisters,” she explained. “I was born from our father’s real wife, long after Ennartha was brought to us. We had other siblings, too, but I’m the only one left alive. It is frustrating,” she added, her wrinkled features tightening into a scowl, “to be powerless in one’s own house.”
I stared. “You mean to say that this estate belongs to you?”
She nodded. “Ennartha does not stay in one place very long—she travels extensively. Since she is family, I have allowed her to keep a residence here, but the estate is legally mine.” She sighed. “I am especially concerned about the effect Ta’sradala’s visit is having on my great-grandson. He lost his family to the Tua and is scared to death of her.”
I nodded sympathetically. “He told me about that earlier,” I said. “I invited him to stay with Iannis and me in Canalo. When this is all over, you should bring him there. Iannis said that Ta’sradala is unlikely to ever go to the Federation.”
Deryna opened her mouth to answer, then stopped as we heard a loud commotion downstairs.
“Where is Sunaya?” Iannis thundered, his fury echoing through the entire house. “She had better be here, safe and unharmed, Mother, or there will be hell to pay!”
16
“By the Lady,” Deryna exclaimed, rising from her chair. “Is that Iannis?”
I hopped off the bed as excitement rushed through my veins, eager to bound down the stairs and straight into his arms. But my legs were still stiff, so I was forced to hobble. Not exactly the way I’d imagined reuniting with Iannis, but it sure as hell beat never seeing him again.
“I’m surprised it took you so long to get here,” Ta’sradala said in a silky voice, and I froze. She was already back? My heart sank. “I knew that mortal was bad news, Iannis. She’s made you weaker.”
“Nonsense,” Iannis said. “I simply hadn’t expected you to hide out in Aunt Deryna’s house like a criminal.”
“How dare you speak to your grandmother that way!” Ennartha scolded. “You were taught to respect your elders and show better manners than that.”
“I would not call my manners to account if I were you just now, Mother,” Iannis said icily. “You have both gone far beyond the pale, kidnapping my bride-to-be. You even blocked our serapha charms so we could not sense each other. How could you connive at such cruelty?”
“It ill becomes you to storm and shout like this, Iannis,” Ta’sradala said sharply. “You are behaving like a human—no, worse, like that hybrid brat you’ve foolishly decided to marry. Clearly, she has exerted a very bad influence on you. I don’t know why you’re so angry—girls come and go, and marriage is really not a good idea for people as long-lived as us. If you wish to start a family, I know a Tua female with a fascination for exotics like yourself.” I could practically hear the feline smile in her voice. “She would give you a strong, long-lived child. This feeble, short-lived mortal is simply not a proper match for you.”
Iannis said something, but I didn’t hear it, because my ears were roaring and I was seeing red. Ignoring my stiff legs, I jumped down the rest of the steps, then burst into the sitting room.
“I’ve had enough of you,” I spat as Ta’sradala and Ennartha stared at me, startled. “Iannis and I are getting married whether you like it or not, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.”