Aftershocks

Chapter Three

“I swear by the Light’s Grace, if I never have to search for this misbegotten prince again, it will be too soon.” Arim Valens, Guardian of Storm, Killer of Shadow, and disgruntled uncle, swore under his breath as his sister approached with a scowl on her ageless face. “Not now, Your Grace,” he managed respectfully and turned away.

Too late.

Her irritation churned through the hallways of the WesternPalace, stirring Tanselm’s magic like a heavy breeze. At moments like this, Arim clearly recognised his sister’s awesome power, and how good she was at making him feel less like the kingdom’s sorcerer and more like her younger, recalcitrant brother.

She grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him into a private room off the corridor, much to the shock of several of her retainers. She slammed the door shut, giving them privacy.

“Don’t you dare put me off,” Ravyn said, fury in her bright green eyes. Despite her small stature, she was more than a match for him. “I want to know why I can’t see Cadmus now that the brunt of the Netharat has fallen.”

He wanted to shake her, to tell her to take a look around. Djinn had infiltrated the Royal House, those of Light were not all to be trusted, and creatures of Shadow were now openly invited into Tanselm’s warmth, courtesy of Aerolus’ new wife. Instead, he hugged her tightly, knowing he would do everything in his power to make his past mistakes right—mistakes that had cost the kingdom its greatest overking and the rest of a once-great Tetrarch.

He squeezed her shoulders and pushed her away enough to look at her. “Ravyn, the walls are not safe here.”

She waved a hand and visible sparks blanketed the walls, ceiling and floor, caging them inside. “Now they are. Stop stalling. What’s wrong with Cadmus?”

“Nothing,” he immediately protested, feeling like a small child caught with his hand over the sweets. How the hell did she do that? Was it a motherly thing, or her distinction as overqueen? “He’s fine. I left him with friends, people I’m not at liberty to discuss.” He held up a hand to silence her. “Not even with you.”

She shook her head. “I almost lost Aerolus just a few days ago. Three of my four sons are here, safe with me. I want the last one, and I want him now.” The look she gave him made lesser men tremble.

Arim, however, didn’t bow to his sister. “Older you may be, and queen as well, but I will not jeopardise Cadmus to make you feel better.” He twisted inside as her eyes welled with tears. “I’m sorry you worry,” he added softly, “but to compromise Cadmus to ease your fears would break your heart for certain. Have faith, Ravyn. Cadmus is fine. When I bring him back, you can set his hair on fire and turn his skin blue if it will make you feel better.”

She chuckled, wiping her eyes. “It’s not as if he doesn’t deserve it.”

If she only knew. He forced himself to smile and escorted her to the door. She removed the magical barrier and followed him into the hallway, where an attractive woman waited.

“Samantha.” Ravyn nodded to her new daughter, Darius’ affai, who stood discreetly against the wall. “Don’t think we won’t discuss these new security measures, Arim,” Ravyn muttered over her shoulder. “If I didn’t have a meeting with the council now, we’d more than discuss the matter.”

He bowed, his eyes deliberately mocking at her back. Samantha saw and covered her mouth to stifle a grin. “At your leisure, my queen.”

His sister left the hall with Samantha in tow, not bothering to look at him as she strode towards her conference.

“Nice work.” Darius, the red-eyed Prince of Fire, spoke from behind him. “Now how about you tell me where my missing brother really is and why my affai suddenly needs to be shadowing Mother around the castle?”

Arim knew he couldn’t put off explanations any longer. He gave his nephew a curt nod and walked swiftly towards his room in the centre of the castle—where he found another nephew lingering, this one with blue eyes. He swore.

Marcus, the River Prince, smiled coolly. “Uncle Arim, how lovely to see you too.”

“Lovely.” Darius snorted. “Love has made you soft in the head.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow, an arrogant gesture designed to irritate his brother, which it did. He smirked. “Oh? I’m not the one who was seen raiding the larder for his affai’s sweet tooth. Chocolate-covered berberries?”

Darius flushed and his red eyes snapped. Before he could say anything, however, Arim spelled them both inside his room and reinforced the area with a soundproof shield.

“Enough. You two are a constant source of headache. You’d think your affai would keep the both of you busy.” He glared at Marcus. “And speaking of which, where is Tessa? Shouldn’t you be in the south, strengthening your defences?”

Marcus shrugged. “Tessa is fine. And I’ve been building our defences since last week. The only reason I’m here is that Mother begged me to come speak with you.”

Arim groaned. Ravyn was becoming as irritating as a chronic burr. “Perhaps it’s good you’re both here then.” A knock sounded at the door, interrupting him. His irritation growing, Arim released the shield around the room and used magic to yank the door open.

Aerolus stood passively in the doorway.

“I should have known. Come in.”

The steely-eyed Wind Mage entered as if gliding over the floor. Since wedding Alandra, a Shadow Dweller with incredible magic—Shadow magic—he’d been showcasing some powerful skills, talents he was most likely unaware of, as Aerolus was anything but a grandstander.

“A party without me?” he asked innocently, making Darius and Marcus laugh.

“I’m so glad you all find this amusing.”Arim recalled the last time he’d been with these three brothers together. They’d been searching for Cadmus before scattering to protect their affai and Tanselm. Once again, history repeated itself. Respelling the room, he nodded at his nephews to sit.

“Though the last few battles seem to have disbanded the main Netharat threat over this kingdom, the northlands still sit vulnerable without a Storm Lord in residence. Cadmus must be found, and soon.”

“Can’t you just locate him with a spell?” Darius asked.

Before Arim could answer, Aerolus shook his head. “If he could have, Cadmus would already be here. No, Cadmus is under Djinn enchantment, and their Dark energy plays havoc with Light Bringer magic.”

“Well said.” Arim turned to the others. “Jonas Chase guards your brother.”

Marcus sat up straight. “Jonas is alive?”

“The Djinn that helped save Marcus and Tessa against ‘Sin Garu?” Darius asked.

Arim nodded. “I’m surprised Aerolus never mentioned it.”

Both Darius and Marcus glared at their brother.

“What? I wasn’t keeping it a secret, exactly,” Aerolus hedged.

Arim frowned. “You and Cadmus keep too many secrets. And you’re supposed to be the smart one.” He shook his head. “Jonas and a group of rebel Djinn have been plotting against the Dark Lord invasion for some time. I left Cadmus with Jonas days ago by our time here, but it could be weeks or months in the mundane world.” He’d been distracted lately by the Netharat attacks, and knowing Cadmus was protected, he hadn’t been overly concerned about keeping in touch with the Djinn. “I’ve heard from Jonas once since then.”

“Only once?” Darius sounded amazed. “I can’t believe you trust the Djinn after everything we’ve been through.”

“Do you not remember Benold?” Marcus asked.

Arim gritted his teeth. He didn’t need the ‘inquisition’ from his sister and his nephews. “Yes, I remember the Djinn traitor in our own keep. And yes, I know he most likely still has friends here we have yet to discover. But Jonas Chase is trustworthy, that I know.” The handshake he’d shared with Jonas before entrusting Cadmus to the Djinn had told him such.

What he didn’t share with his nephews, however, was that although Arim trusted Jonas, he wasn’t so sure about Jonas’ comrades. Something about the Djinns’ resistance smacked of too much Dark, even for the Djinn. It had taken far more work than he’d anticipated to learn anything about Ellie Markham, Cadmus’ apparent love interest.

A Djinn. The daughter of Ethim il Ruethe, a Djinn clan leader and the equivalent of a Storm Lord king.

He exhaled heavily, feeling the inevitable weight of future change. Not a purist by any means, Arim had lived too long to believe peace could be had by intermingling Light with Shadow and Dark. His history with Lexa had taught him more than anything that love did not conquer all.

“Arim?” Aerolus asked quietly, and he glanced up to find all eyes on him.

“What?” he snapped.

“What would you have us do?”

Arim breathed deeply, needing to move, to do something. Sitting in Tanselm waiting for the other shoe to drop smacked of idiocy.

“Darius, you and Samantha continue to protect your mother and the western kingdom. The threat here seems to have passed, but with the possibility existing to replace your mother with an Aellein look-alike, or worse, a Djinn clone, we must be careful.

“Marcus, keep your eyes open for treachery among the people. I find it hard to believe the Dark Lords would confine this battle to the royal house and nowhere else. The rumours I’ve heard tell me unrest trembles in the south—your responsibility. Pay close attention to the new sorcerer I sent you. Aark’s a soothsayer. See if Tessa can’t siphon his talent and begin evaluating all your people. That should make finding the traitors easier, especially if they don’t know exactly what Aark can do.”

“Good idea.” Marcus’ eyes sparkled. “Between Aark and Tessa, we should be able to clean up the south fairly soon. Then we’ll send them your way,” he said to Darius, who nodded.

“Aerolus.” Arim sought his nephew’s keen gaze. “Much as I hate to suggest it, see if Alandra’s Aellein brethren are receiving any feedback from MornMountain. Tanselm feels the intrusion of Dark before her Light Bringers do, so if somehow the Dark Lords have infiltrated from another path we have yet to find…”

“Then our people will find it,” Aerolus said firmly. Arim grimaced, not wanting to enter into a lengthy discussion about the sense in trusting the Aellei. Granted, Alandra had clearly shown her mettle in the fight against the Dark Lords. But her people had yet to reveal themselves to anyone but Alandra and Aerolus.

“Her people, your people, I don’t give a Light’s damn.” Arim glared, his patience coming to an end. “Just get it the hell done. If you need me, cast a beckoning spell. I’ll be circling in the between.”

With a whisper, he cast himself into the pathways between worlds, seeking the strands of Cadmus’ signature elemental earth energy. As he flowed with life’s ever-present magic, he caught stray bits of Dark, icy tendrils of feminine energy that instantly called Lexa Van Nostren to mind.

Startled to be thinking of her again, when he should be focused on his nephew, he shook free of the woman and zeroed in on Cadmus. When he finally found the wayward Earth Lord, questions would be answered. No more games, no more stand-offs. He needed information about the Djinn only Cadmus could tell him, and Arim intended to get it, one way or the other.

“Come on, Ellie, you know you can’t stay mad at me forever.” Cadmus grinned, but Ellie couldn’t see past the haze of anger to his charm. Clutching the strap of her purse, she hurried into the nearest coffee shop and ordered a latte with a double shot of espresso.

“I cannot believe you announced to everyone in the bursar’s office that the only reason Jane Rascoll took the new teaching position is because she’s probably sleeping with the head of the department!”

He arched one arrogant, black brow. “It’s what you were thinking. What of it?”

“What of it?” She poked him in the chest, gratified by the scowl that replaced his grin. “I was thinking it. I never said it aloud. Several of the students that were in there know me. They’re going to tell Jane and the professor what I said.”

“But I said it.” He actually had the nerve to look puzzled.

“Are you really that ignorant, or are you just playing at stupid?” He scowled, but before he could speak, she cut him off. “This is not a large school, and the English department is a tightly knit group. No one knows who you are here, Prince Big Mouth. But they know me. Since you were all over me like a cheap suit, they’ll know who put those words in your mouth.”

His brow furrowed. “Cheap suit?” Glancing down at his plain black t-shirt and denims, he shook his head. “I hadn’t realised this passed for a suit.”

She glared at him and muttered a thank you to the girl with her coffee. Swallowing the potent brew, she could only pray her day would grow better. As it was, her patience had all but frayed to nothing, her bright career seemed in the toilet unless she moved to bum-diddly university far away from here, and her head was beginning to throb, she feared, due to the vivid sunlight.

Tuning back in to Cadmus, she noted the feminine speculation directed their way. She saw him flirting with the girl behind the register and cursed him under her breath. Leaving him to fend for himself, she found a table outside and sat, watching the passersby while deliberately subjecting herself to the sun, refusing to be anything but a normal woman.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger ran like a mantra through her head.

“What the hell are you doing?” Cadmus growled in her ear and yanked her hard to her feet.

“Hey, you just made me drop my drink!” She watched with no small sorrow as her latte disappeared down a nearby drain.

“You intentionally put yourself in pain. This is unacceptable.”

Trying to ignore the pounding behind her eyes, she pulled back, only to find Cadmus refused to let her go. Not wanting to cause a bigger scene than they were already stirring in front of half a dozen mooning women, she smiled through her teeth and let the royal busybody haul her into the shade of an adjacent building.

Ripping her arm away, she lowered her eyes and rubbed at the sore lids. “Thank you.” “I could have done that myself, Cadmus.”

“Ah, I love the way my name ripples off your thoughts so lovingly when you’re angry.” He stroked her arm, causing shocks of warmth to shoot through her system. Immediately, her blood heated as he sent her beads of his energy to soothe her hurt.

Unfortunately, he’d taken her anger away with her pain. “I don’t need your help with this.”

“Little Djinn. So angry all the time. You don’t want anyone to help you.”

She watched several young professionals eating up the sidewalk with their three-inch heels and designer suits. She wished she needed to be somewhere and in a hurry. “I’m five-eleven, Cadmus. I’m not little. I’m an independent woman—a woman used to making her own decisions in this world.”

“Then I’m doubly glad you gifted me with your body not so long ago. The memories keep me more than warm at night.” He leaned closer, subtly working her with his nearness, with his earthy scent that made her want to melt. His lips touched the rim of her ear as he whispered, “Do your dreams haunt you as much as mine haunt me? I can’t stop seeing you naked, over me, taking me into your body.”

“That’s enough.” To her horror, she found herself breathing hard. She glanced at him and felt marginally better to find him in the same state. The rigid evidence of his desire pressed against his blue jeans.

“That’s right, baby. I want you. I’d take you right here, right now, if you’d only say the word.”

Her lips parted before she thought the better of it. “But I thought you wanted me to beg.”

His gaze caught and stayed on her mouth. She licked her lips, and he groaned. “Ellie, with little effort, you could have me begging you.”

The thought brought forth the wicked streak she’d been suppressing since he’d showed at her door. “Is that right?” She projected her vivid recollection of the last time she’d trailed her mouth down his frame, licking at the tantalising skin on his perfect body. Nibbling her way towards that most impressive part of him.

“Stop,” he said hoarsely. “I swear, if you’ll teleport us to your home, I’ll get down on my knees and apologise for anything you want me to.”

She started to smile when his words penetrated. “Teleport us to my home?” The idea he still thought of her more as a Djinn than a regular woman stopped her in her tracks. Despite the desire coursing through her, she resolved to avoid going down that road with Cadmus again, and start instead with a fresh, platonic slate. Swallowing around a dry mouth, she forced herself to grin. “Look, Cadmus, I was just teasing. We have more errands to run. Let’s get started, okay?”

Deliberately keeping space between them, she invited him to accompany her downtown with a polite smile and friendly chatter, her mind a careful blank. She could feel his will trying to force its way through, but she remained firm. The sexual tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife, and even the cabbie who dropped them off on Pine Street gave them a second glance before leaving.

“I really have my work cut out for me,” Cadmus muttered. He sighed. “Fine. Show me your world, Ellie. I know little more of Seattle than Outpour, Greenlake and Mt.Rainier. If I don’t see it now, I may not get a chance before Tanselm beckons me home.”

The realisation Cadmus was not in his homeworld, was in fact hiding from a powerful enemy, of whom some Djinn were a part, made her feel a moment’s compassion. Then a pretty woman eyeballed him as she passed, and Cadmus openly returned her smile.

All bets were off.

“Great, Cadmus. I’m so glad we can at least be friends.” She smiled, syrupy with as much sincerity as she could muster, considering she wanted to send that flirty woman a bouquet of knuckles for breakfast. “Today is going to be so much fun.”

Shoe shopping, clothes shopping, and more shoe shopping. She’d teach him to ogle strange women in the midst of an argument.

Four hours later, her feet hurt and she knew the heels she’d spent two hundred dollars on would never see more than the inside of the box in which they now sat.

Cadmus’ upbeat mood should have soured. But damn him, he’d behaved wonderfully all day. He’d bought her sweets, the chocolate-covered cherries she loved so much at the market. He’d taken part in finding her clothes to try on, unerringly finding her the correct sizes. And he’d been pleasantly polite to the saleswomen throughout town.

Hell, if he said one more nice thing to her today, she just might lose it.

“Really, Ellie, your eyes were the first thing I noticed when I saw you enter Outpour for the first time.”

She groaned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just hunger pangs.”

“You should have said something.” He frowned and immediately guided her to the nearest restaurant.

And that was another thing. He kept taking care of her, as if she were the one hiding out from the bad guys and he her host.

They sat and ordered their meals in record time. The minute the waiter left, she leaned close and hissed at him over the floral centerpiece. “That’s it! Stop it. You’re driving me nuts.”

He blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Don’t ‘sorry’ me. This whole nice attitude is definitely beneath you.” Even to her own ears, she sounded bitchy.

He looked confused. “You don’t want me to be nice to you?”

She kept her inner shields in place as she thought her answer. No, because you’re way too hard for a local girl to resist, Your Freakin’ Majesty. Thank God Jonas had taken the time to teach her to shield her thoughts long ago. Though most Djinn weren’t telepathic, other beings in the universe certainly were. Like the sexy Earth Lord staring at her in confusion.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to be nice to me,” she tried to explain. The waiter neared with a tray, and she prayed he had their lunch. He arrived at their table. “Thank God.”

“Ellie?”

“Our lunch,” she said quickly. “It’s here.”

She spent the next half hour engrossed in food and a pleasant, if slightly distant, Cadmus. When the bill came, he motioned for it, as if there were no question of his paying. Thinking of her two-hundred-dollar shoes, she reluctantly accepted his arrogance and waited for him to pay.

They left the restaurant and she saw him pocket his wallet. “I noticed you paying with a credit card. Is it real?”

His lips curled in amusement, and her whole body lit up at the sight. Ellie was a sucker for a man with a sense of humour. Put that together with a face to sigh over and a body to kill for and she had to remind herself not to drool.

“The credit card and the money are real, courtesy of some local gambling and a few spells, thanks to Uncle Arim.”

“I thought you didn’t like your uncle.”

“Of course I like him. He’s family.”

Now she was confused. “But before you said—”

“Look, he’s a pain in the ass, has a quirky sense of humour and always thinks he knows best. I admit, he’s more than a little annoying.”

“Really?” she asked dryly, amused that he was describing himself and unaware of it.

“And he always has the worst timing. When Marcus was courting Tessa, Arim showed up and frightened the poor woman into attacking him.”

She wondered what that had been like. The few times she’d heard Arim’s name mentioned, it was with awe and usually a warning to steer clear of the powerful Killer of Shadow. Of course, that had come from Jonas, and he had a tendency to over-dramatise most things.

“How did Tessa do?”

Cadmus smiled, his grin an obvious indicator he approved of his brother’s wife. “She caused him some damage before he fully phased—completely teleported back into the house,” he explained. “Then Marcus stepped in to protect her.”

“Typical. You Storm Lords are a pushy bunch. Always taking charge, protecting the little woman.”

“Little woman?” He laughed. “Tessa’s almost as tall as I am. Trust me, she kowtows to no one, especially not Marcus.”

The affection he held for his brother and Tessa started another fissure in the ice surrounding her heart. “You really love your brothers, don’t you?”

He nodded, his expression sobering as he stopped them both on the sidewalk. “I truly do. That’s why I was so angry when I learned you weren’t who I’d thought you were, Ellie. I could never imagine placing my family in danger. I’d give my life for any of them, including my new sisters. Family is everything to me.”

And the Djinn had killed his father.

“I understand.” She felt like crying, which made no sense. Grabbing him by the arm, she started them moving again. “Let’s see if we can’t forget the past for just a little while, okay, Cadmus?”

He nodded, his gaze searching as he met hers.

“Let’s use the rest of today as our own personal—”

“There you are.” A large man, taller even than Cadmus, with blue-black hair and brown eyes so dark they looked black loomed dangerously close. “When I’m through with you, the Netharat will look like a pleasant diversion.”

Ellie took a step back and unconsciously tapped her powers, lending Cadmus aid as she subtly drew off the large man’s negativity.

“Shit.” Cadmus placed himself between the man and Ellie. “I thought I’d lost you for at least another few months.”

The stranger smiled, a menacing grin that had her heart racing. His teeth were bright, and the whites of his eyes seemed to almost glow with rage. Her senses screamed Light Bringer, though she’d never before encountered one besides Darius and Cadmus.

“Ah, Cadmus—” She swallowed the rest of her sentence when the large man turned his gaze on her.

“Wonderful,” he growled. “Another Djinn.” His attitude grated.

Despite his obvious threat, she snapped at him. “Look, buddy, I don’t know who you are—”

“Ellie,” Cadmus warned.

“—and I don’t much care. We’re in a public forum here, so take your bad mood and your hokey magic and go away. I’m not a Djinn,” she snarled, including Cadmus in her aggravation. He at least had the sense to nod in agreement.

The stranger seemed to grow taller and stared incredulously from Cadmus to Ellie. “Now you’ve got them fighting your battles for you, too?”

“I said—” she paused and took a step closer to Mr. Attitude. Cadmus tried to hold her back instead of protecting her from the rude man. “—I’m not a Djinn, so stick that up your tight ass, you Light Bringing piece of—”

Cadmus interrupted in a loud voice. “Ellie, meet my uncle. Arim, my good friend and Jonas’ cousin, Ellie Markham.”

Ellie froze. She glanced back and forth between the men. Cadmus had many of Arim’s features, his strong nose and chin, the same almond-shaped eyes, the golden skin. Even the dark hair looked similar, styled the same way. But whereas Cadmus looked charming, rogue-like and clearly sensual, Arim possessed an air of cruel strength and rigidity that screamed ‘hands off’.

Arim, in turn, studied Ellie with an intensity that made her want to squirm. He said what sounded like a curse in a lyrical, foreign language. Then he bowed, shocking her speechless. “Forgive my rudeness, Ms. Markham. But I’ve had the Dark’s own luck in finding my nephew. Could I perchance ask you to find us a safe haven in which to speak?”

Cadmus snorted. “He wants to know where we can talk privately.”

“English is my first language, Cadmus.” She rolled her eyes at him and turned to his uncle. Uncle, my ass. He’s maybe a year or two older than Cadmus, until you look into those ancient eyes of his. Positively scary, in a sexy kind of way. “Sure, Arim. We can go to my place and talk.”

He smiled. The black eyes that had moments ago been flat and treacherous now looked deep and full of promise. His full lips quirked in a half-grin that made him look both cocky yet seductive. And his body fairly radiated sex. So like Cadmus.

“Hey, back off, old man,” Cadmus growled, pulling Ellie into his arms. “Just take my arm and you’ll see where to go.”

Ellie didn’t understand. “But I can show—”

“He’s not putting his hands on you, at all.” Cadmus glowered, and Ellie had to blink at the complete role reversal between Light Bringers. Now Cadmus seemed as remote as his uncle had been, while Arim screamed temptation.

“Very well, youngster,” Arim said with a straight face, though Ellie would swear a smile teased at the corner of his mouth.

Arim reached out to Cadmus and everything blurred. The next thing Ellie heard were loud voices, a doorbell buzzer, and her father’s startled, “What the fuck are you two doing with my daughter?”

Hell on earth, and all in her little apartment. Was nothing sacred anymore?