For all that Aerolus seemed sure the Djinn influence over Cadmus wouldn’t harm him, I had my doubts. Ellie might be innocent, and she might not. But until I dealt with her, I wouldn’t know for sure.
I started forward with the express intent of taking the woman for questioning when a sudden stillness settled over the club.
People around me slowed. The beer at the taps came out like heavy syrup until it stopped flowing altogether. Another time distortion. From the Aellei, the Djinn, or creatures of Dark?
Regardless, I had no intention of letting my only lead to Cadmus slip away. As I combated the effects of the time warp, I noted slithering creatures coming from the dark to mix with the frozen club patrons.
Great. Wraiths, just what the situation didn’t need. I had to do my best to kill them without harming innocent humans. What else could go wrong?
And there, a few Aellei popped up behind the wraiths and pointed at me.
It didn’t take me long to dispose of the wraiths, who seemed much weaker than previous creatures with which I’d dealt. The Aellei had been more difficult. Now all but two of them lay dead on the floor.
Which wasn’t to say I hadn’t taken a few licks during the altercation.
I leaned down to glare into Zartic’s face. The troublesome Aellei hadn’t learned from our last encounter. “Back for death, hmm?”
My ribs hurt, and I had to wipe the blood from a cut above my eye. The slight burning in my side reminded me the measures I’d been taking to withstand a wraith’s blue flame needed work.
Mostly, I felt tired. And irritated. Ellie had disappeared while I’d been battling to protect the crowd and myself. So much for her being a normal human.
“My lord, please,” Zartic begged, his face smeared with blood. He stood propped against a wall, one leg at an odd angle from his knee. His gaze darted beyond us, and he blanched. “So many dead, and for what?”
“Yes, for what?” I wanted an answer. Why the show of force? Why come after me in such a public forum? Or had they been after someone else? Ellie, perhaps?
“For me,” a woman answered with a hard growl before shoving me from this world to the space between.
Chapter 18
Alandra
I rubbed at my forehead, a sudden shifting of Shadow making me wince.
“Alandra?”
I waved away Aerolus’ concern as the throbbing in my head faded. “I’m fine. Probably tension from thinking about this mess.” I had to work not to stare at the tent made by his thick cock under that tiny towel. Why had I wanted to talk first and play later?
“Sure. That’s why you’re so distracted.” He smirked at me.
Oh right. How cute that he might think he’d bested me.
I cleared my throat and focused on winning our little game of seduction. “As I was saying, Lidra and Zartic, her Der captain, were lovers on and off again for several years. I’d learned growing up that knowledge was power. If I truly wanted out of the royal courts, I’d need something really good to escape.”
“You’re talking about blackmail.”
“Of course I’m talking about blackmail. Duh, I’m a princess.” I frowned. “Don’t even try acting better than me. You don’t grow up in a castle without being familiar with politics and intrigue, Prince Aerolus.”
He sighed. “Point taken.”
“I knew Zartic was Lidra’s current lover. So when they’d meet, I’d wait for them to do their thing. Then I’d listen in. One night, I overheard Lidra talking to Zartic about Tanselm.”
Aerolus’ attention focused in on me like a laser.
“I hadn’t thought about Tanselm in ages, not since I studied your world in our battlements class. But I still grow tingly when I think about the power resonant there. Tanselm teems with magic, from the soil to the animals to its people.” I stared at him, my awareness growing. “Tanselm is part of who you are, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “Our elemental magic is tied directly to our world. My winds are Tanselm’s, Darius’ fire her fire, Marcus’ water her waters. And Cadmus is perhaps the closest to her bounty.”
“The Earth Lord. It’s funny how alike you all are, but I don’t see any of them as powerful as you.”
