“Oh, really?” He couldn’t have forgotten what we’d been up to earlier.
He flushed. Ah-dor-able. Maybe I would keep him after all. Affai or not, right now he belonged to me.
Darius elbowed Marcus, who promptly told him to grow up.
Arim rubbed the back of his neck. “I appear to be the only one concerned about Cadmus. Will you three shut up and listen?”
“Don’t you mean four?” I added, trying to be helpful.
The brothers chuckled, and Aerolus placed an arm around my shoulders, hugging me tight. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Arim stared with speculation. I wondered if he planned to share one of those “Don’t buy the bee if you can get the honey for free” references with Aerolus.
Sava liked to tell me that to make me play hard to get with eager Der warriors at home. Apparently, more than a few had bugged him about marrying me. But Arim didn’t need to worry. I had no intention of trying to lure a Storm Lord into marriage.
As soon as the thought surfaced, the intrigue and trickery required to make such a thing happen grabbed hold of my mind and refused to let go.
Darius glared at his uncle. “I keep telling him that if Cadmus were hurt, we’d know.”
“But can you sense his thoughts?” Arim asked.
“No, and I never could.” Darius’ eyes blazed, and the coffee cups I and Aerolus had left on the counter suddenly steamed. “Aerolus, you tell him.”
“I tried. The Djinn presence in Cadmus’ aura is protective. And female. It’s odd, but not in the least harmful. He’s increased in strength. And if he wasn’t so busy feeling sorry for himself, he might sense it.”
I nodded absently, scheming at a dizzying rate to trap a royal Storm Lord in matrimony. It would be the coup of a lifetime. Not to mention unspeakably romantic to marry for love, my heart insisted.
“Alandra?” Aerolus asked.
Already giddy at the thought of landing a royal Storm Lord, I glanced up to see three other pairs of eyes on me. I forced a smile and tried to put us all at ease. “Ellie would no more hurt Cadmus than I would harm myself.”
The sudden stillness in the room told me I’d said something wrong.
Arim’s brows drew close. “We never said the Djinn’s name.”
Chapter 21
Alandra
Arim concentrated his will on my mental walls, the weight of his power staggering.
“You didn’t have to say the Djinn’s name,” I snorted, thinking rapidly to cover my blunder. “I’ve watched your Royal Four ever since they stepped foot in this plane, remember?”
“What’s she talking about?” Darius frowned.
“What do you mean?” Marcus’ eyes grew cold.
“Alandra.” Aerolus turned me to face him with that caring intensity that made my heart flutter. “Tell us the truth, please.”
I wondered if I should have mentioned this to him earlier. But he hadn’t seemed too anxious about his brother’s disappearance. And frankly, I’d been too concerned with other things to talk about my friend, Ellie.
I gauged the distance to the nearest exit. The window wasn’t open, but the front door would do. If I had my Mir charm, I could have already been gone.
Aerolus saw me unconsciously finger my throat and grabbed my hand.
Then he waited.
“Relax. He’s fine if he’s with her.” I tried to edge out of his grip, but a glance at his relatives suggested I was safer with him.
“Please explain.” He squeezed my hand then let me go.
