But that meant Lexa had been in Tanselm. The land openly shuddered when evil touched its soil, such as it had when Sin Garu and the Netharat first invaded. Tanselm rejected the presence of evil but obviously welcomed Lexa, since none of us had had an inkling she’d arrived.
But if Lexa had saved me, a Storm Lord, why had she openly assisted the Dark Lords in Aelle? What exactly was her agenda in all this?
And why did I have the feeling my uncle knew a hell of a lot more than he was saying?
Chapter 20
Arim: Guardian of Storm
Having no need to control my temper since I stood alone in Ellie Markham’s apartment, I let loose a mouthful of curses that literally peeled paint off the walls. Not that anyone would be able to differentiate peeled paint from the assorted chaos in the place.
Scorched leather and wood, broken dishes, torn books, and overturned furniture littering the living room stank of Netharat destruction. Studying the scene with all my senses, I watched as a transparent battle unfolded over the scattered remains of the room, the latent energy of the skirmish coming to life again.
Cadmus impressed me with his power and the way he used it. Though I knew my nephew would never admit it, being thrust into this mundane realm had been an excellent catalyst, unlocking much of his untapped elemental energy. I just watched him summon shockwaves of power, ripping through wraiths with ease while smothering others in rich black soil.
Jonas performed as expected, a fierce Djinn warrior. His magic was formidable, filtering through the scourge with astonishing skill. Focused on Jonas, I almost missed the strange creature that appeared. I’d never seen a wraith like this one and could feel its seething hatred as if it stood right here in the now. The creature opened its mouth, and I wondered if its attack had been the source of the manifested pain felt by my nephews.
Before the creature could hit Cadmus, Jonas intercepted the blood-red blast. A Nocumat enveloped the Djinn, steadily tearing through the hasty walls Jonas tried to build. I made mental notes. The Light Bringers would need help combating this new, more powerful threat. It was curiously similar to a wraith, with critical differences.
The wraith-like being carried a creature of Shadow within, a combination of Dark energies that made the evil thing that much stronger than a typical wraith. Jonas, another creature of Dark, worked hard to combat the Nocumat. I wouldn’t be able to control or overcome the Shadren.
I watched Cadmus frown in concentration and felt a communication spell reaching out to…Aerolus. Irritated Aerolus had failed to mention this incident earlier, I watched as Cadmus repeated the magical words to trap the Nocumat within itself. Alandra’s work, no doubt. The red blob flew back into the Dark creature and disappeared.
What happened next was real cause for alarm. Jonas and Cadmus combined their strike against their opponent, instantly obliterating it. But their magic was nearly indistinguishable from each other. Both bands of energy were Dark with only thin threads of Light running through Cadmus’ magic — threads that should have illuminated his entire ray of energy.
Was this Darkness a result of the attacks, of Jonas’ presence, or, as I feared, something else?
Of all four princes, Cadmus had always appeared the most easygoing. Where Darius would rail, Marcus smirk, and Aerolus retreat into himself and ignore an altercation, Cadmus would joke and soothe any tensions. But for all that, I had always sensed in Cadmus a darker intent, a mired knot of emotion just waiting to be let loose.
Oddly, of my four nephews, he reminded me most of myself.
Is that why I can’t stop worrying about the troublemaker? Is it because, despite the front Cadmus shows the world, another—Darker—side of him lingers just under his skin?
Wandering the small apartment, I muttered a small spell to put the place back to rights. As furniture and odds and ends restored themselves, I took a resolved step into Ellie’s bedroom. I had no need of sorcery to know what had occurred in here between Cadmus and Ellie. The looks the two had shared, the way she’d defended me without question upon first meeting him, the way Cadmus had mooned after the girl from the minute he’d assumed Darius’ place in that bar — all signs pointed to an attachment so much deeper than lust or even affection.
I’d been pleased when Darius and Marcus found their affai. I’d been a little more reserved with Aerolus, given Alandra’s tie to Shadow-kind. Yet the love the pair shared was its own source of Light.
Cadmus flitted from woman to woman, on Tanselm and here in this plane. His fixation on Ellie disturbed me, more so when I found out about her ties to the Djinn. To learn her father was none other than Ethim il Ruethe, an ancient, powerful Djinn and leader of the Sarqua, I could no longer deny the reality of yet another tie between Light and Dark.
Ellie was no creature of Light or Shadow. Despite her innocence, Ellie was a true Darkling, with all the temptation and power of a true Djinn.
I shook my head as I studied the rumpled bed. The sex here had been incredibly passionate. Though I tried to mute the impressions, I couldn’t help sensing the deep connection — and lust — between the two.
A sudden vision of a petite woman with flowing black hair and ice-blue eyes laughed at me from my memories. In the distance, I heard echoes of Tanselm’s longing. Lust and love mixed before remembered pain shattered the sudden haze clouding my mind.
Why now? Why had Lexa suddenly returned just as her sibling was poised to bring a full war on us all? She’d always claimed to want nothing to do with Dark Lords. Then on top of her reappearance, Tanselm itself seemed wanting more Dark. So much mingling between our most powerful Light Bringers and those not Light.
Even Ethim had mentioned that Tanselm needed the Dark as much as the land needed her Light. But how could that be? For hundreds of years, my people, the Light Bringers, had stood their ground, caring and nurturing Tanselm’s rich earth to make up for the damage the Dark Lords had long ago caused.
Tanselm rejected evil in all its forms. Whenever real malevolence walked in Tanselm, the trees trembled, and the winds spoke of her pain. Yet the Shadowy race of the Aellei now populated the eastern kingdom, with Alandra, their princess and Aerolus’ affai, standing by to be queen.
That Tanselm welcomed the Aellei clearly told me they couldn’t be evil. My mind had a hard time acknowledging what my heart knew. For years, the only people I truly trusted were my family. In the past few months, I’d added a few more to that list. Namely, Samantha, Tessa and Alandra, all Storm Lord brides. But to trust a Darkling?
Could I? Just who was Ellie really? Ellie Markham, or Elliara al il Ruethe?
I needed to see her again, to delve into her being and figure out what to do about this situation. Cadmus’ feelings aside, I refused to let my nephew experience the pain of Dark betrayal. I knew too well the harm in loving a woman so very different from oneself.
But this wasn’t about me, but about Cadmus and Ellie. The remains of Ellie’s energy radiated with feminine hunger, power, pain, and joy. Bands of a dark rainbow, the muted colors of life shadowed the reality of Ellie’s Seattle apartment. I found the contrast odd but not in the slightest corrupt.
