“Enough.” Their secret ally, a Dark Lord not nearly as evil as her brothers, took several steps closer to Cadmus. Lexa Van Norsen, their Dark Mistress, shook her head when Jonas took a step forward, ready to intervene. “Earth Lord, the vision you saw was a message from me.”
“Bullshit. I saw you die. You and your bastard brother, Balen.”
Her ice-blue eyes narrowed. Lexa’s smile, when it came, was as effective a weapon as her blue flame. “Balen is indeed dead. And you Storm Lords owe me a debt of gratitude for it.”
“Gratitude?” Cadmus threw several approaching Djinn from him with bursts of energy that visibly swelled from the ground. “If not for you Dark Lords, Tanselm would be in one piece.” He blasted another group of Djinn, his power growing with his rage. “My father, my uncles and aunts and cousins would all still be alive.”
A large tree groaned as it shuddered under a massive force, its roots reaching through the ground for Lexa’s legs.
She glided as if on air, stopping in front of Cadmus. Jonas felt the tension filling the space between them. Tendrils of negative energy snarled at him, and he flashed into the natural form of the Djinn, in truth, unable to help himself.
He didn’t even try to fight it, knowing he was much more powerful in his energetic state. His physical form blurred, keeping a man’s outline while consisting not of flesh, but of white, blazing energy surrounded by a black aura that danced like flame.
He was Djinn. He was powerful. And he had been born to return his people to their homeworld — to Tanselm, where they rightfully belonged.
“Hear me, Earth Lord,” Lexa uttered in a low voice. “You know nothing of true pain, of torture and worse at the hands of those you love. So carry the regret of your loved ones’ passing close to your heart. And be content that you will once again join them in the Next.”
Cadmus stared at her, quiet but wary. Jonas expected her to enthrall him. At the very least, to punish him for his disrespect.
But she surprised him.
“You look so much like Arim.” Arim, Guardian of Storm, Killer of Shadow, and the most powerful Storm Lord in existence.
Jonas had run into him a few times before and each time found himself lucky to come away in one piece.
Cadmus blinked. “What do you know of my uncle?”
“I know everything about Tanselm’s greatest sorcerer,” Lexa said with disdain. “A pity he still breathes when a fine man like your father is dead, hmm?”
Cadmus took a step closer. “I owe you my thanks, you said? Then allow me to thank you for my father’s passing.” He looked around him, his glare hot enough to burn. “You and all your Djinn friends. Without their poison, my father would still be alive.”
He reached for her. “Accept my gratitude on behalf of the Storm Lords.”
Oh hell. “Cadmus, no.”
The look on Lexa’s face wasn’t good.
Cadmus had no idea of the power she wielded, and Jonas had come too far to lose the Storm Lord because of his rash temper. Unfortunately, he couldn’t aid Cadmus because she wouldn’t allow it.
She held Jonas still with a thought, welcoming Cadmus’ touch.
The minute Cadmus touched her shoulder, he froze.
Lexa, their enemy’s sister and traitor to his cause, froze as well. Together, she and Cadmus stood like statues, locked in a war of wills. A soft blue nimbus of light blanketed them.
Then Lexa took a deep breath and pulled away, leaving Cadmus in a frozen haze.
“Very good work, Jonas.” She turned to him with an alluring grin. “He’s filled with a Darkness that complements his Light. I believe this Storm Lord will solve all your problems.”
Jonas brightened, his aura black with joy. “Truly? This one will see the Djinn welcomed back to Tanselm?”
“The Sarqua Djinn, yes,” she corrected. “Those who fight alongside Sin Garu are too tainted to appreciate Tanselm’s grace. But our people know the truth.”
“We won’t make the same mistakes as our fallen family. We may live in the Darkness of existence, but our hearts are pure.”
She nodded. “Light and Dark are sides of the same coin. It has ever been about balance. In time, all will see what you and I know.”
“And Cadmus?”
