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Ruslan snickered, matching my pace and slapping a hand on my shoulder, making my brain rattle in my skull.
Rage surged through my veins and my hands itched to wrap around her neck and squeeze until the air left her lungs, never to be filled again.
I would find her, and when I did, I would use and abuse her to my heart’s content.
Because she was worthless, just like her beloved princess.
I couldn’t touch the princess, but nobody said I couldn’t touch her. So I’d make her my plaything. After all, every female in Raetia bored me. They were snobbish and insufferable.
The prospect of tasting pussy from a different realm was quite appealing.
I’d kidnapped countless mystics but had never partaken on their taming. Being a paying customer was more to my liking.
Though paying wasn’t necessary, as I almost ran this place, while my father and uncle spent their days wining and dining Raetia’s aristocracy, only to plan their demise in their attempts to conquer every realm in our world.
Yes. I would use her until she no longer interested me. I would turn her into the best sex slave the Villa had ever had.
But first, I had to find her. Lucky for me, my sense of smell was unmatched and so was my memory. Her scent would stay with me forever. All I had to do was follow it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Reetah
The sights and lights and smells were overwhelming.
This confirmed two things: I was no longer in Frentani but in one of the other realms of Anathema. And this was what they called night. Gratitude for my mother filled me, for if she hadn’t taken the time to teach me all she knew about the realms, I wouldn’t have a fighting chance. Not that I had much of one anyway, but at least I knew where I was.
The Aurora was our creator, the one most thought of as a Goddess. Though there were quite a few who believed it to be a genderless energy. The Aurora created the Island of Anathema, which housed the mythical crystal forest powering our world. Each crystal within the forest carried a different life force assigned to supply the energy to bring life into existence. There were crystals assigned to each of the four realms surrounding the Island of Anathema: Frentani, Lucania, Volsci, and Raetia.
Based on the blueish lights inside the homes and on the lampposts, as well as the fashion of those around me, I knew this was Raetia. Though the buildings and landscape of the city mirrored ours, it couldn’t be more different.
The cobblestone streets had rails running through the center for powered wagons. A floating railroad lay above the city, another strange type of wagon—though much faster—running on it.
Luscious vines didn’t cover the walls of every home and building. Their roofs didn’t have trees jutting up toward the sky. While people in my realm wore light and sheer fabrics in yellows, whites, and golds, the people here donned thick fabrics in dark colors, and lots of leather, sexy skirts with thigh splits or rolled up in the front, while the back hung down to the ankles. There were no flat shoes or sandals in sight. Instead, every woman wore elegant boots with high heels and lace details, while the men wore shiny and masculine ones. Elaborate leather pouches hung from waists by expensive buckles. Men donned fancy suits in dark colors with a thin piece of fabric tied around their necks like a skinny cravat. Their coats were shorter in front and longer in the back. And no one walked around barefoot, though I couldn’t blame them because the weather here was colder. And aether powered everything.
Aurora didn’t give aether to my realm. She gave us the sun and then, in place of aether, she gave us witches. All witches were native to Frentani. But over the last hundred years, more witches had been born without magical powers. The Stygian’s corruption of the Crystal Forest took magic away from witches, thus bringing the earth witch.
The earth witch was a fancy way of calling a powerless witch who had to make-do with learning about herbs, and how to draw on the healing qualities of nature. That’s what we were. Every female from my mother’s bloodline lacked magic, and I wanted nothing more than to be the first of many generations to be blessed with such a gift.
My jaw tensed because it angered me that in this moment, when I needed it more than ever, I had no powers to get me out of this.
I doubted if I could even wield such abilities. I sighed. It didn’t matter because my kind had been forgotten, abandoned, forsaken.
Stepping out of the alley, I made my way down the street, my cheeks heating when I realized everyone around me was staring at my hair and attire. So I stared back, shocked to find their hair ranged from black and brown to lavender, pink, and even green.
Curious.
My hands shook with adrenaline, but I kept walking briskly, turning every few seconds to make sure the demon wasn’t following me. I walked for so long my limbs also trembled. I halted my steps, my breathing heavy as I tried to ignore the onlookers. I needed to get back to my realm, or I’d be here for the rest of my life. The thought sent a deep chill down my spine. To remain here was a terrifying possibility, without my family, lost in a world I knew nothing about.
Wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the fear and the chill, I resumed my walk down the cobblestone streets, staring through shop windows and enjoying the sweet scent of pastries wafting from bakeries, all the while considering my options.
Fuck, I needed to eat.
I stopped in front of a store displaying a beautiful outfit. A dark gray leather bustier type garment and a long black skirt with a thigh split. It was so beautiful, I wanted to go inside and try it on, and maybe ask the store clerk for help. And that’s what I did.
A little bell above the door announced my entrance, and a beautiful woman with black hair came to greet me. She took in my state as I explained my situation and begged her to let me take refuge in her store. She said yes, and told me to stay put while she went in the back to get me a drink and a change of clothes. I thanked her and watched her go before turning to stare at the same outfit I’d spotted through the window. The bustier had ribbons crisscrossing in the back and no sleeves. It was so different from our fashion in Frentani, I couldn’t stop gawking at it.
I was so entranced I didn’t feel him coming. Not until a large hand clamped over my mouth and most of my face. Which meant I couldn’t breathe. I thrashed in his hold as a group of males surrounded us. All dressed in black. They smiled, like seeing a defenseless female in this monster’s grasp gave them the utmost pleasure. The store clerk ran out but she didn’t look at me, her eyes locked on one of the men. She walked up to him, and I watched in horror as he pulled her into him and kissed her.
