“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Ta’sradala said coldly. “As the matriarch, I have the right to decide whether or not this…hybrid…is worthy of marrying my grandson. And so far, I am not impressed.”
“And just how the hell do you know that?” I demanded, pushing Deryna’s hand aside and taking another step toward Iannis’s grandmother. She towered over me, at least eight feet tall, but I refused to be cowed. “You haven’t stopped flapping your lips since you yanked me out of that pool. You don’t know anything about me.”
The air around Ta’sradala crackled with power as she bared her teeth. “Why you insolent little mongrel—”
“I’m a feline, not a dog,” I cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Not that it matters. Being called a mongrel would be a compliment compared to what I’d like to call you.” My gaze fell on the little boy cowering in the trees, who looked terrified at the confrontation. Who the hell was he? But if I asked, I would call attention to the child, which I couldn’t bring myself to do. He was pale and trembling.
“You are very impertinent,” Ennartha said, speaking up for the first time since she’d introduced herself. She was frowning slightly now, as if not sure what to make of me. “While it is long past time for Iannis to settle down, I had not thought he would pick someone this raw and uncouth. Even a human might have been preferable. Still, perhaps we should let her speak, Mother. Since Iannis isn’t here to shed light on the matter of his strange choice, maybe she can.”
“Very well,” Ta’sradala said. “Speak, mortal.”
“What am I, on trial?” I glowered up at her. “I don’t have to stand here and listen to this crap.” I pulled the gulaya I kept for emergencies out of my magical sleeve. But before I could speak the Word to activate it, Ta’sradala flicked her hand and hit it with a bolt of magic. I stumbled back as a jolt went through me, and the hum of power from the gulaya died in my hand.
“Don’t think you can escape so easily,” she said. “Your magic is mere parlor tricks compared to what I am capable of.”
I stared up at her, stunned. I’d never heard of anyone being able to disarm a gulaya like that before, and for the first time, real fear began to sink in. The Tua were legendary beings, seldom ever seen. Nobody truly knew what they were capable of, only that they were immensely powerful, and amoral by human standards. Could Ta’sradala really smite me where I stood if I refused to cooperate? Was she that cold? My intuition, and Iannis’s warning, told me not to expect reason or mercy from her. Perhaps it would be best not to provoke her if I could help it.
“Good,” she said, her lips curving into a satisfied smirk. “I can see you are finally learning to respect me. Perhaps you are not entirely witless.”
That smirk ignited another spark of anger in me, and I did my best to bury it. “Listen,” I said, splaying my hands in a placating gesture. “I don’t want any trouble here. Iannis and I love each other very much, and I don’t want to have any bad blood with his family. But you have to understand that if you hold me here and I don’t show up for the wedding, it’ll cause a lot of problems. Iannis will never forgive you, and it’ll be extremely humiliating for him. We invited officials from all over Northia, and other countries too. Not to mention all our friends!”
“I don’t give a whit about any of that,” Ta’sradala scoffed with a wave of her hand. “The governments of mortals interest me little, particularly those barbaric places where Iannis has chosen to hide away. And while my grandson might be a little upset should anything happen to you, your relationship with him is but a brief moment in his long life. He will soon forget about you and move on to greener pastures.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain of that, Mother,” Ennartha said cautiously, looking a little worried for the first time. “Iannis is far more attached to the human world than any of us have ever been. This is not the first time he has been infatuated with a female, and he does not react well to interference. I am not at all certain that this savage girl is a suitable match, but it is high time my son produced some heirs, so I am willing to let things take their course.”
“You have always been weak and spineless, Ennartha,” Ta’sradala spat. “You may not care about what happens to the family line, but I will not stand for it.”
“And what does that mean?” Deryna demanded. “You cannot mean to actually kill her, Ta’sradala. The poor girl has done nothing to warrant that!”
“Oh, I won’t kill her,” Ta’sradala said, her lips curving into a cruel smile. “The mortal shall be allowed to at least attempt to prove her worth.”
“The mortal has a name, you know,” I muttered, trying to hide my anxiety. Prove my worth? How in Recca was I supposed to do that?
“Ahhh, yes. What was it, Sumatra?”
“Sunaya,” I snapped. “Sunaya Baine.” I knew she was just baiting me, but I couldn’t help reacting. I was soaking wet, had nearly drowned, and was a million miles from home with no easy way to get back.
“Very well, Sunaya,” she said silkily. “I shall set three tests for you to prove your devotion to my grandson. I do not expect you to pass these tests, of course, as you are but a weakly shifter with a smidgen of magic. But I would be remiss if I did not at least allow you to try.”
“How magnanimous of you,” I sneered. I got the very distinct feeling that to Ta’sradala, who was probably quite jaded, this was just a cat-and-mouse game with a pre-determined outcome. She didn’t really care about Iannis and whether or not he was muddying up the bloodline. “If you feel so strongly about keeping your family line pure, then why did you have a daughter with a human mage?” I asked pointedly. “Isn’t it your own fault that your family line is all messed up in the first place?”
Ta’sradala’s expression turned icy. “Don’t presume to question me,” she hissed, slicing her hand through the air. My throat constricted, and suddenly I was unable to draw breath. Choking, I clutched desperately at my neck, trying every spell I could think of to loosen this magical hold, but nothing worked.
“See? You are powerless beneath my might,” Ta’sradala said, her eyes glittering with malice. Spots began to appear in my vision, and I slowly began to sink to the ground as my legs weakened. “Save your magic for the test, mortal. You’re going to need every bit of it if you want to survive.”
8
Ta’sradala made another gesture with her hand, and the next thing I knew, I was kneeling in a small, scruffy rowboat. Lightning arced across the stormy sky, followed by a deafening boom of thunder, and massive waves rose all around me.