“What?” my mother repeated, staring from me to Cadmus. “Don’t tell me this is the man Alex was telling me about? That sexy devil from Outpour?”
“Mother.” I flushed with embarrassment. Could my mother not keep a secret? And what about Alex? What was the use of having a best friend if your best friend told your mother everything? “Alex has a big mouth.”
“Yes, she does.” Amanda grinned. “So when is she flying back? Where is she now? New York?”
Jonas interrupted with a growl, “Cadmus, we don’t have a lot of time.” He rubbed his stomach. Odd.
I zeroed in on my cousin, studying him with that part of myself I normally kept in check. Jonas looked a mess. Clouded energy dimmed his normal vibrancy, and blood-red blisters of Dark seared the aura around his midsection.
“What happened?”
“A Nocumat.” Cadmus’ grin faded. “I’m sorry, Ellie. We have to go. All of us.”
Amanda’s gaze narrowed. “Did you say Nocumat? Oh hell. You’re one of them.”
“Mom.” Crap. My mother had that tone again.
“Don’t ‘Mom’ me. Of all the eligible men in this world, you had to fall for an out-worlder?”
“Out-worlder?” Cadmus raised a brow. His eyes widened. “Fall for?”
Jonas scowled. “Out-worlder is what Mandy considers anyone not from this plane. And Ellie —” he turned to me “—if you think we’re not going to talk about this, think again.” The glance he shot Cadmus spoke volumes.
I felt a disturbance deep within myself, as if I could hear the subtle vibrations of a massive door groaning while it slowly opened. Dim shrieks and a pulse of Darkness echoed within me.
Cadmus cursed. “Shit. Ellie, Mandy, we’re leaving. Now.”
To my surprise, my mom nodded without a word.
Jonas took a deep breath and released it with a pained groan. “Everyone hold hands.”
“Are you well enough to do this?” Cadmus asked with concern.
“I could use a little help.” Jonas glanced at me.
“Huh? Me? No. Not until you tell me what’s going on. I want to know just how you ended up injured and why you want us to leave.”
“Not now, Ellie. Take their hands,” Mom ordered. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Jonas, take us to Ethim.”
Bewildered but sensing their urgency, I lent power to my cousin. I didn’t understand what he did, but I recognized the magical pathways he utilized to transport the four of us. A sense of pressure surrounded me for a second. Then I felt as if I were flying.
Freedom, speed, and warmth carried me between worlds, through stars and a multitude of existences before we stopped mid-flight and dropped onto navy-colored grass in an alien landscape.
“Foreia,” my mother whispered, reverence and worry in her voice.
This was Foreia? My father’s homeworld? The place I’d been forbidden to discuss let alone visit? I could only stare at tall black trees with red leaves, a pinkish sky, blue grass, and some really weird looking bat/birds that hummed as they swooped through the air.
The sky felt overcast despite the bright fuchsia sun. Yet I cast no shadow. It seemed as if the Djinns’ Dark nature was mirrored in the very land on which I stood.
I inhaled a sweet, floral essence that revived me, and the air skimmed over my skin with a gentle, welcoming caress. My gaze automatically sought Cadmus, and he nodded with approval.
I heard him in my mind say, This is a part of you, Ellie. Embrace it.
But it’s Djinn. My life seemed to be turning upside down, and Cadmus was that one solid rock I could cling to for safety. No matter how hard I chipped at him, he remained immovable. Don’t you hate all this Darkness? I asked tartly, wishing I felt as stable.
He chuckled. When the Darkness comes in such a winsome package, I’m drawn to its lure. He fairly purred. And your Darkness, little Djinn, is so hot, so wet and welcoming that even now I long to —
I get the picture. I blushed, hoping my mother was too occupied by the foreign landscape to pay attention to her daughter. Subtly shifting my gaze, I saw my mom focused on Foreia’s pink skies. Unfortunately, Jonas studied me and Cadmus with a frown.
