Moments later, in absolute horror, Sarafina watched Annie calmly stand up and put herself in the way of an Atrika barreling toward her. It looked like a pure act of suicide.

“Annie, no!” Sarafina lunged toward her from her kneeling position on the floor, but to no avail. The Atrika just ripped out Annie’s throat as he went past and her lifeless body collapsed.

Just like that.

Numb at the sight of the once vibrant witch on the floor, eyes sightless and her blood pooling on the marble, Sarafina rested against the wall behind her for a moment and closed her eyes in anguish. Somewhere in the distance she heard things crashing above the din of terrified witches on the verge of losing all they held dear.

Things crashing. Yes. Somewhere out there Claire and Mira were kicking some demon ass with air magick.

Again she scanned the throng for Theo but couldn’t find him. In the foyer, her gaze seized on Thomas, Isabelle, and Micah. The three were trying to get to Stefan, who still controlled the magick blue ball of death.

Stefan.

Sarafina scrambled to a crouching position and made her way toward him. Their best hope was to take Stefan out and stop the alien magick filling the Coven. Then they’d have to deal with the Atrika, which was another issue.

Just as she reached Thomas, Isabelle, and Micah, a shot of blue came streaming right toward Thomas. Sarafina paused in mid-crouch, her breath catching in her throat.

Oh, God . . . no. Not the head of the Coven.

“Thomas!” Micah lunged toward his cousin, knocking him to the side and out of the way of the bolt. It hit Micah in the side.

Micah rolled on the marble floor of the foyer, holding the center of his chest, his face contorted in agony.

“Micah!” Thomas grabbed Micah by the shirt and yanked his cousin toward him on the floor, Isabelle coming down on the other side of him.

Sarafina reached them just in time to see Micah staring up with wide, glazed eyes. “Oh, my Gods, it’s gone. I’m empty inside.”

Sarafina looked up at Stefan who stood with the spinning, spitting ball of light above his head, looking down at the scene with a smile on his face.

Her jaw clenched in a surge of rage, she stood and threw a huge volley of white-hot fire at him, only to have her blast blocked by an Atrika. One bat of the huge daaeman paw and it evaporated into the air as if it had never been.

Stefan fixed his gaze on her, his lip curling in disdain. Without Stefan even lifting a finger, a shot of blue came right at her forehead. Sarafina ducked as the bolt whizzed past her, hit the floor, and ricocheted into a nearby witch. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as a sob clenched her gut, listening to the witch’s cry of anguish.