Imprisoned.
Chapter 15
Alandra
“Alandra, wait.”
I raced into the adjoining bathroom and slammed and locked the door. Frantically searching myself in the mirror, I studied my reflection, which now glowed with a strange light. I ran my hands over myself, relieved not to feel anything physically out of place.
But I had to test myself. I shimmered into likenesses of Trudy Warner, Queen Lidra, even Arim. I looked like each of them. I became small, then larger, flapped my wings, and zipped around the room.
“Alandra.” Aerolus knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”
To all outward appearances, I remained the same. And yet, clearly, something had changed.
I studied myself and noted that the Light in my aura was actually quite becoming. Especially with my pale coloring. I seemed to shimmer before the glow dimmed and faded.
Fascinated, I couldn’t help reaching for the foreign strands of energy interwoven with my own. What should have hurt me didn’t. Aerolus’ energy soothed, strengthened, and aroused me simply by being there.
And I’d run from him in horror. I’d have to apologize for that.
My actions hadn’t exactly been the stuff of romance. The sex with him had been indescribable, but my sudden panic was jarring. It made me wonder just how I felt about him.
For over a year, I’d studied him like a complex puzzle. No doubt one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen, he also possessed an intellect and an overt curiosity about everything that made me feel as if we shared several traits in common.
I was curious, smart, and studied with a veracity that had surprised my fellow students. Unlike Aerolus, I enjoyed life openly, unafraid to risk a bit of pain in my quest for the ultimate pleasures life had to afford.
Funny how I’d almost thought myself in love with him. But seeing our auras entwined felt so permanent. I was a creature of Shadow. What being of Shadow wanted to cling to the Light? Especially since the Light Bringers were so intent on erasing anything with a hint of darkness from Tanselm?
Aerolus isn’t like that. He’s special, no matter the circumstances of his birth. My damnable conscience, that irritating speck that forced me from Aelle and made me the self-appointed guardian to Prince Aerolus Storm, refused to leave well enough alone.
Light and Shadow aside, Aerolus made me feel things I’d never felt before. He made me laugh. He aroused me into an entirely different realm of passion. When we physically joined, I felt as if I’d come home, and the longing for Aelle didn’t hurt so much.
Our magic still flowed together seamlessly, as if we had no beginning or ending without the other.
How could that be possible?
I knew why the Storm Lords had been sent to this world. To find their affai — brides to the Royal Four.
Where would a disgraced, hunted Aellein princess fit with the Storm Lords? Rumor had it that Aerolus’ people still battled the rebel Shadren lingering in the shadows of Tanselm’s Morn Mountain. They hated anyone not entirely Light.
And where did that leave me?
I felt…sad. There was no future for me and Aerolus, except for our attempt to rescue Tanselm from the Dark Lord threat. And I still didn’t completely understand why I cared so much about that world, which had banished my kind over a thousand years ago.
My aura suddenly sparkled like Christmas tree lights, and I couldn’t help admiring Aerolus’ magic — my magic now. But mingled magic could be remedied. A broken heart, on the other hand… Sadness was not a natural state for an Aellei.
I lived with joy, humor, suspicion, and frustration daily. But I couldn’t cope with genuine sorrow. When my parents died many years ago, I’d grieved so hard my magic had almost consumed me. Only my parents’ good friend, Lord Sava, had helped me through that dark time.
Since matings of the heart were discouraged, most Aellei felt only a passing sadness for departed mates and friends. But I’d felt too much. I clung to loyalty when most Aellei considered fidelity to be a liability.
Already I cared way too much for the domineering Wind Mage. And that worried me.
The raw emotion between us made our relationship almost tangible. I felt tethered to him. But who could blame me? He’d been so tender and kind to me after Arim’s attack.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had come to my defense, not since Sava had taken me in short of a century ago.
Bah. I didn’t need bad thoughts. I had enough to worry about. So I turned my mind to happy things, like aggravating my bitch of an aunt by continuing to aid Aerolus, and making sure she knew about it.
