Demon Slave (37 page)

Unfortunately, Sonya must have seen them
because she appeared just as they were ready to start up the
contraption.

“
What in the name of the
gods do you think you’re doing?”

Nadua and Analia exchanged worried glances.
Nadua tried to explain the urgency of the matter with a quick
revelation of her gift and a recap of the vision she needed to
prevent. Sonya listened, calm and rigid. But she was also
calculating, and Nadua feared the demon was going to stop them.

After she shot a questioning look at Analia,
Sonya gave a curt nod and moved to gather the weapons Sebastian had
taken from them earlier. To Nadua’s surprise, she said, “Well, we’d
better hurry then.”

Maybe she wasn’t so bad, after all.

With them settled inside, the craft rumbled
to life and they jetted into the black abyss.

Hours passed by, yet Undewla was nowhere in
sight. Just never ending darkness dusted with twinkles of light.
Nadua’s gut wrenched. What if they didn’t get there in time? She’d
never forgive herself for leaving.

Analia was piloting the shuttle,
concentrating on the many confusing buttons and screens. From the
passenger seat, Nadua had already stopped trying to make sense of
it all.

Sonya sat behind them. She’d folded up the
remaining chairs to lay out the weapons and inspect them.

Nadua’s bow leaned against the hull. Next to
that was her quill, which held only two arrows. Still, that was
better than none. A couple of daggers rested on the floor beside a
set of swords. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to use any of them.

Silence filled the space as Nadua watched
the stars, keeping her eyes out for a speck of white that stood out
among the rest.

Sonya spoke from behind her, her tone
venomous. “So, Red, what’s the deal with you and Marik?”

Nadua glanced back at her. Sonya was
studying the edge of a blade. Her violet eyes tilted up at Nadua,
not even trying to hide her contempt.

“
You first. What’s up with
you and Ethan?”

Sonya’s lip curled.

Before she could respond, Analia added,
“Yes, there is something strange with you two. Your energies
fluctuate wildly. I can’t figure it out.”

Sonya frowned and her deep blush was a
satisfying sight. The silence stretched on again and Nadua was sure
she wouldn’t respond.

Finally, she did. “We fought.”

Analia groaned, a bit of disappointment
seeped into the sound. “I thought you were going to make an effort
to be nicer to each other.”

“
We were sparring,” Sonya
corrected.

Analia still didn’t look mollified.

“
He was, uh, really good at
it, and we fought for a while.” Sonya shifted uncomfortably. “And
then we were...doing more than just sparring, which was different
for me. And really nice, at first.” A faint smile fluttered over
her lips, then she frowned again. “But then...it hurt, and...he
freaked out and—he just left. Left! What the hell is that about? No
wait, first he yelled at me, then he left.”

“
He hurt you?” Analia
asked. “Did he stab you with a sword?”

“
Uh, you could say
that.”

Ignoring Analia’s sweet naivety, Nadua
interjected, “Well, it only hurts the first time, it gets better
after that.”

“
No, swords hurt every
time.” Analia looked at her like she was daft, and then spoke a
little slower. “They’re metal.”

Sonya snorted, at the same time Nadua
snickered. Realizing they were laughing together, both stopped
immediately and took on a more a serious demeanor.

Sonya continued, “I know, and I was
expecting it to hurt. That’s not the problem. The problem is I hate
his guts. More than hate his guts. I mean, he took advantage of me
when I was in need of...sparring.” She paused, as if wondering why
Analia wasn’t following along. “But then he goes and does this
weird gesture that was...really stupid.”

Sonya’s expression said that, on some level,
she appreciated whatever it was that Ethan did.

Analia shook her head. “I don’t think you
guys should be sparring at all. You can barely work together
without killing each other.”

Nadua and Sonya shared a comedic look before
breaking into laughter.

Analia looked at them. “What?”

“
Your turn,” Sonya
said.

Nadua cringed.

“
How is it you’re mated to
Marik, but he looks as miserable as the day we bought him out of
slavery?”

Did he look that bad?

Nadua had only gotten a glimpse of him
tonight, but he was no worse than when he locked himself in his
room on Undewla, drinking, and refusing to come out for
anything.

Nadua swallowed hard. Had he taken himself
back to that place? And if he really was miserable, then why?
Surely not because of her.

Nadua wanted to be with him. It was Marik
who pulled away.

Well, whatever the reason, Sonya was blaming
her for it. She was waiting expectantly, and her eyes said she was
ready with a slew of accusations in response to anything that came
out of Nadua’s mouth.

“
I’m not sure why Marik
would be unhappy,” she finally offered.

A soft growl came from behind. “How dare
you! You’re his mate, and yet you feel nothing for him?”

“
I never said I feel
nothing!” Nadua countered, anger pounding each syllable.

“
Then what in the name of
the gods is keeping you two apart?”

“
Didn’t they tell
you?”

Sonya lifted her chin. “Tell me what?”

Hesitantly, Nadua explained the manner in
which Marik had claimed her, steamy details extracted. That she had
initially suggested the Serakians could fix it. And that she hadn’t
felt then what she felt now and was surprised to find Marik still
wanted their bond broken. The last part had her eyes burning. She
wished she had never suggested the Serakians.

Through it all, Sonya had sat, seemingly
relaxed in her chair, but it was obvious by her expressions, and
the random cursing under her breath, that she was hearing
everything for the first time.

After a long moment, she pointed her intense
gaze back at Nadua. “Well, do you love him?”

Taken aback, Nadua contemplated the
question. Marik was abrasive and crude. Overbearing and
overprotective. Possessive and irksome.

Despite all that, he was smart and funny,
and made her go wild with a simple touch. A hint of lust in his
eyes made her heart flip. And any time she thought about him, she
wanted him.

But did she love him?

Nadua was overcome by the answer. She opened
her mouth to speak, but a loud beep cut her off.

A computerized female voice bounced through
the cabin: “Incoming transition.”

“
Anya! Nadua! You get your
asses back here right now!” Sebastian’s tone actually made Nadua
shudder.

Analia, however, showed no reaction. “Sorry,
hun,” she chirped. “If you could feel how important this is to my
sister, you would understand. We’re going back to Undewla, just for
a little bit.”

Analia’s phrasing was strange at first, then
Nadua remembered what Marik had told her about her sister’s gift.
Analia could sense energy, as well as emotions.

“
Absolutely not! No. Not
going to happen.”

“
Hi, Bastian,” Sonya said
in a singsong voice.

“
Sonya?
You’re
with them? I am going throttle
you for this! I am not kidding.”

“
You could try. I am in the
mood for a good fight.”

“
Marik is going nuts by the
way. If anyone cares.”

Nadua got the feeling that last comment was
intended for her.

Analia pressed a few
buttons, mumbling to herself, “
Marada
is getting closer.” More
buttons. “Sebastian...” Her tone turning warning, “I’m not going to
let you catch us.” Then she flipped open a small side compartment,
pulling out a thin wire.

“
Oh, Anya.” Sonya grumbled,
strapping herself in.

The look of worry on her face was more
alarming to Nadua than Sebastian’s threat. Not really sure what was
going on, Nadua followed her lead.

“
Oh Anya what?” Sebastian
sounded panicked.

“
Bastian?” Anya asked
sweetly.

“
Yeah?”

“
I love you,” she said in
that way couples do when they are about to get into trouble with
the other.

Sebastian’s resulting sigh was long. Then he
let out a defeated, “I love you too.”

What happened next had Nadua’s mind reeling.
Analia pierced her skin with the wire, and the ship went
supersonic.

Nadua’s back pressed into the soft chair.
The stars in the distance began flying toward the cabin window.

The jaunt was short, thankfully, and Undewla
appeared in their view. Analia seemed to know exactly where she was
going. At least, she wasn’t asking Nadua for her input.

The ship dived into a deep valley,
surrounded by the familiar muted bare trees of the ancient forests.
They were soon following the line of mountains that housed the
Caves of Kayata where Nadua had made so many memories with Marik.
When the Cliffs of Ashtel came and went, and the city of Sori grew
closer, Nadua sucked in a horror-filled breath.

Were they too late?

It was like déjà vu of the previous battle,
only now, Nadua was watching it from a different angle.

She spotted Wren, engaged with three hostile
opponents.

“
Take us down!” She leaned
forward, asking no one in particular, “Where is Ava?”

While Analia lowered the craft, Nadua jumped
out of her chair and began arming herself. Bow. Dagger. Sword.

Analia looked drained, and
she agreed to stay in the shuttle. “
Marada
will be close behind,” she
reassured. “Bastian will be pushing the engines hard now.” She
smiled then. “And I’ve been secretly adding juice.”

Sonya looked eager, her hand gripped the
hilt of a sword. “Who are we going after?” She scanned through the
window.

“
Just follow me. I need to
find Ava.” The door flipped open. Nadua didn’t wait for the stairs
to fully settle before jumping out and landing on her haunches in
the soft snow. Just as in her vision, flakes were falling, far too
serenely against the backdrop of tangled bodies.

Sonya landed directly beside her, the
corners of her lips turned up to reveal a small set of fangs as the
violet in her eyes darkened, mixing into a deep maroon.

Nadua fired off the last two arrows in her
quill and then discarded the weapon before the projectiles met
their marks. Scanning the field, she searched for a familiar face.
Unfortunately, the face that popped out was not the one she
expected.

“
Lidian?” She gasped under
her breath.

The girl stood on the outskirts, surrounded
by soldiers and looked to be in deep concentration.

Nadua’s head snapped to a rising shaft of
ice, interrupting a three way fight. The Kaiylemi? The traitor
living with Cyrus? It was her! Disguised as an innocent!

Sonya asked in an incredulous tone, “Does
ice always sprout up like that on this planet?”

Teeth gnashing together painfully, Nadua
replied, “No.” She pointed her sword at Lidian. “It’s her. And we
need her taken out. Do you think you can—?”

Sprinting forward, Sonya yelled back, “On
it! Don’t get yourself killed, Red!”

Nadua ran her eyes over the battle again. It
looked as though every Cyrellian on both sides had come out to
play. Even Cyrus was here, fending off a group of rebels with the
grace of a dancer. He must have decided to escort Ava back to the
palace.

The number of rebels seemed to have tripled,
and she was horrified to see some of her own guards were turning on
their fellow soldiers. Once again, patches of red mixed with white,
smearing at the feet of those still standing. Nadua’s heart broke
for the unnecessary loss of life.

She spotted Wren in the crowd and moved
through the chaos to reach him. He was never too far from Ava, and
the fact that Nadua didn’t see her was terrifying.

Nadua fought to get through, deflecting and
dodging weapons, pushing against the rage and noise with every
ounce of her strength. A rebel launched at her and nearly knocked
her to the ground, but she caught her footing just in time and
countered with a swift slash across his chest.

Nadua twisted through a string of spikes
that seemed to be following her progress. As soon as she twirled
around one, another would burst in her path. She hoped Sonya would
make it to the Kaiylemi soon. Chest heaving for breath, Nadua
hissed with rage at the shifting ice but managed to keep up her
pace.