“Do not give me orders.” Bai’s eyes flashed red again and Stefan’s breath choked in his throat for a moment.

For a moment he almost took a step back, away from the demon who had been denied his candy, but retreating would make him appear weak. And that would be suicide.

Bai bared his teeth, now pointy and sharp, a mouth full of fangs. “You are making an error. I care not for anything but Sarafina. She is mine whenever I decide to take her.”

He jumped from the room—in that eerie way they had of bending space to travel between two points—and Stefan was alone.

EIGHT

EIGHT

“SO THAT’S TWICE NOW THE DEMON HAS VISITED you.”

Theo watched Sarafina shift uncomfortably under Thomas’s gaze. She was flanked by Claire and Isabelle. Mira stood nearby. The three had immediately taken her under their wings.

“Yes,” she answered. “The first time was like he was simply watching me. Watching me sleep. The second time he was knocking around in my apartment like he owned the place.” She shuddered and her voice hardened. “Then I hit him with the baseball bat.”

Thomas averted his gaze and looked out the library window for a moment before speaking. “Since Stefan just brushed off the incident at the farmhouse, we’re going to assume that he’s found a way to ally with one or more Atrika.”

“Bai is obviously pretty cozy with Stefan,” Sarafina answered. “Had the run of the house, apparently.”

“My point exactly.”

Micah sat in one of the leather chairs near Thomas’s desk. He shook his head and frowned. “But that seems totally impossible. The Atrika are unable to open any portals between Eudae and Earth.”

“It’s my understanding that Rue, the head of the Ytrayi, is the only one with enough power to do that,” Claire broke in. Her lips twisted in an odd smile. “I remember it well.”

Yes, so did Theo.

About a year and a half ago, Claire had been trapped on Earth, after having lived her whole life on Eudae. After the Cae of the Ytrayi, Rue, had imbued her with a weapon called the elium, he’d pushed her through a portal and snapped it shut after her when the Atrika—the enemy of the Ytrayi—had stormed their palace. Two Atrika had managed to dive in after her and there had been a life-and-death chase all over the Midwest to avoid them.

That was how Ingrid and many other witches had been killed. That’s how Theo had ended up with a broken leg. He’d walked with a limp for months.

“Right,” answered Micah, “and we all know how difficult it is to open a portal from this side because we tried it.”

“Without using blood magick, you mean,” Theo interrupted. “You don’t think Stefan would sacrifice witches to open a portal?”