Guardian's Redemption

Tanselm, two years ago Philadelphia, present day Tanselm, the northern territory

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Guardian’s Redemption ISBN #978-1-906811-30-3 ©Copyright Marie Harte 2008 Cover Art by April Martinez ©Copyright October 2008 Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz Total-E-Bound Publishing This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing. Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution. The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork. Published in 2008 by Total-E-Bound Publishing 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning. Storm Lords

GUARDIAN’S REDEMPTION Marie Harte Dedication To all the readers who’ve patiently waited for Arim’s story. And special thanks to Rae, for sound advice.

Glossary Aelle-a Shadow world Aellei-those who live on Aelle, a race of beautiful, vain tricksters, often mistaken for fairies by those on earth

aeva-an Aellein word for destined mate affai-a Light Bringer word for a Storm Lord’s destined mate Balance-harmony between the Light and Dark energies in the Spectrum blooddrinker-one who must drink blood to survive, and who lives in thrall to the hunger cinarum-a fine ale, both expensive and hard to procure Dark-one end of the Spectrum, intense, seething, negative energy Dark Lord-a race of people steeped in Dark energy, their numbers are few, their power immense Djinn-a race of people steeped in Dark energy Darkling-anyone of Dark descent Earth-a world with little to no magic, where xiantopes live Foreia-the Djinn homeworld

fhel-Dark Lord word for “shit” in truth-a Djinn’s natural state, whereby their bodies are of white energy surrounded by black flame Isle of Frigia-part of the Dark Lords’ homeworld, an island in Malern

Kreer-a magical world founded by the Aellei, steeped in Shadow

lekharn-Djinn word for “asshole” or “shithead” leraffes-pale, purple flowers with a sweet scent when in bloom, native to Tanselm Light-one side of the Spectrum, airy, powerful energy full of positive light Light Bringer-anyone of Light descent, most of whom live in Tanselm

melea-Dark Lord for “whore” Malern-the Dark Lord homeworld Mount Malinta-a mountain in Malern, home to the demons

Netharat-‘Sin Garu’s army consisting of wraiths, Shadren and Djinn, an evil conglomeration of monsters Nocumat-Shadren from Aelle who are made up of a red, gelatinous goo, and who have an insatiable appetite and gravitate toward mischief and calamity Orfel-a Dark Lord hideaway in the between overking-king who rules over all of Tanselm’s territories, a Storm Lord of immense power overqueen-queen who rules over all of Tanselm’s territories

purie-Light Bringer for “little one” Royal Four-(also known as the Tetrarch) four identical quadruplet Storm Lords who will one day rule Tanselm; one set is born every generation Sarqua Djinn-those Djinn loyal to Ethim, who fight against ‘Sin Garu

sertia-Light Bringer for “darling” or “beloved” Shadow-the middle of the Spectrum, where Light and Dark energy mix Shadow Dweller-one of Shadowy descent Shadren-creatures who live in Aelle, related to the Aellei but have less human forms (Nocumat and ogres, for example) Spectrum-the multiverse and all its energy Storm Lords-royal Light Bringer warriors who harness elemental power Tanselm-a sentient land currently ruled by the Light Bringers

the between-the space between worlds wraiths-malevolent creatures that feed on human flesh and blood. Part of the Netharat

xiantopes-beings of no magic

Cast of Characters

The Storm Lords Darius Storm-the Prince of Fire, one of the Royal Four Samantha Brooks-Darius’ affai, from Earth Marcus Storm-the River Prince, one of the Royal Four Tessa Sheridan-Marcus’ affai, from Earth Aerolus Storm-the Wind Mage, one of the Royal Four Alandra-Aerolus’ affai, an Aellein princess, Sava’s niece Cadmus Storm-the Earth Lord, one of the Royal Four Ellie Markham-Cadmus’ affai, half Djinn, Ethim’s daughter Ravyn Storm-Tanselm’s overqueen and mother of the Royal Four

Faustus Storm-deceased overking of Tanselm, Ravyn’s husband, father of the Royal Four Arim Valens-Tanselm’s Sorcerer, Guardian of Storm and Killer of Shadow, a Light Bringer warrior and uncle to the Royal Four, Ravyn’s brother Muri, Esel, Sercha-Lexa’s dead foster mother, father and brother, respectively

The Aellei Lord Sava-leader of the Aellei, uncle to Alandra

The Djinn Jonas al Surne-aka Jonas Chase, Ethim’s second in command, a loyal Sarqua Djinn, Ellie’s guardian Ethim il Ruethe-the Sarqua, or king of the Sarqua Djinn, Ellie’s father Amanda Markham-“Mandy” Ethim’s wife, Ellie’s mother Alor-a Sarqua Djinn warrior Remir-a Sarqua Djinn warrior

The Dark Lords Lexa Van Nostren-“Blue”, a powerful Dark Lord, Arim’s ex-lover, a woman trying to help the Storm Lords fight against ‘Sin Garu Ini-Lexa’s birth mother B’alen-Lexa’s deceased brother, a blooddrinker ‘Sin Garu-Lexa’s brother, and an enemy to the Light Bringers Caeth-‘Sin Garu’s favourite wraith, now dead Sirral-‘Sin Garu’s wraith

Prologue

Tanselm, two years ago Tanselm’s heart beat in time with the battered longing of lovers long parted. Light and Dark were the most basic components of life imbued in her chosen champion and the woman he’d once, and still, loved. Some of her inhabitants had an inkling of what Tanselm truly was, but most lived in oblivion of the gift she’d given them. They walked on her grasses, cut down her trees and inhaled the sweet air tinged with the perfume of pretty pink leraffes, flowers that bloomed year round. Tanselm was the earth that fed their flora, the stone with which they made their homes, and the waters which washed away their sins. Partial to neither Dark nor Light, she needed both in order to flourish. She was a land with sentience, and with the feminine need to bear fruit, both in nature and in her human children. A thousand years ago the Dark Lords had ruled her. Blood spilled, wars were fought, and the Light Bringers took control. Gentler than the Dark Lords, they nevertheless devoured her magic as greedily as their enemies. Years passed and the divide between Light and Dark grew stronger. Shadows barely whispered over her lands, giving her little respite from a steady drain on her magic. Recent battles for dominance over what she would have freely given hurt her greatly. She weakened more and more as Dark and Light continued to fight, yet she held out hope her champion would do what she needed him to. But he couldn’t do it alone. “Damnation. That I hadn’t expected.” Her champion gripped his sorcerer’s staff tightly and stared in shock at a woman who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. Tanselm couldn’t contain her relief, and the wind sighed through the trees. Right now, in her fertile woods, Light and Dark fused between these two people who had the capacity for greatness if only they’d listen to their hearts. Arim, her champion and sorcerer, a stubborn Light Bringer warrior. Lexa, a Dark Lord full of cold magic and a love needing to be let loose. Two pieces of a puzzle long forgotten, long denied their perfect fit. Tanselm welled with love, feeling a kinship to the slight female and her connection to the Dark. Lexa called upon the Darkness Tanselm poured into her with undue haste. The land felt Lexa’s joy and returned the sentiment whole-heartedly. “My lucky day. The Guardian of Storm and Killer of Shadow. I’m humbled.” Lexa snorted. As petite as Arim was large. Pale of skin where he was darkly tanned. Solitary as opposed to Arim and his family. Equals in every sense, if they’d let themselves just be. “Light’s breast. You have balls showing yourself here.” Light arched from the stone atop Arim’s staff to his free, upraised hand. He wore his power well, a sorcerer and warrior with strength to spare. Yet Tanselm knew he’d felt her wavering strength these last centuries. She had tried, but she couldn’t spare him all her pain. “More balls than some,” Lexa said with a sneer. She sounded harsh, but her feelings vibrated with passionate energy, a calling to her other half, the man she wanted to deny. Years ago Lexa and Arim had been inseparable, the answer to Tanselm’s divide. Then innocent blood had tainted her grasses, destroying her tenuous solution to bridge the gap in the Spectrum. Arim and Lexa had fought. Lexa left. Arim remained. They both mourned. Life moved on, yet it remained the same. Damaged, declining. Tanselm could feel the sense of loss in both her chosen saviours. To survive, they needed each other, whether they knew it or not. “You come to me on my own lands. To what, apologise?” Arim sounded incredulous. “Still small-minded and cold-hearted, eh, Blue?” Tanselm felt his scorn and Lexa’s pain. The Dark Lord’s blue eyes blazoned with power. Negative emotions gave her strength and Tanselm anticipated another battle, but this one the land encouraged. Lexa reached deep inside herself and further into Tanselm. She thrust her hands forward, blue flame leaping from her fingertips towards Arim. He absorbed the blow and remained standing. Ice encrusted his front and his skin turned blue with cold. He stood vulnerable, but Lexa didn’t attack again. The part of her that still hoped waited, and Tanselm felt hope as well, that the woman and the man might come to some accord. Then Arim melted the ice, tapped his staff, and shot Light straight at Lexa’s heart. She narrowly avoided that blast and the next, and the two opponents danced around each other as if choreographed. Tanselm hummed with pleasure as their energy tangled, combined and grew stronger. Beautiful. Wonderful. Healing. “Why did you return?” Arim asked before hitting his Dark Lord squarely in the chest. He took her off her feet, and Tanselm felt Lexa’s pain as her own. Arim frowned and took a step back. He doesn’t know why he cannot press forward, and therein lies the problem. “You can’t be here. This is sacred land. Why didn’t Tanselm warn me of your coming?”

Because you would have prepared to destroy her. If he knew how often Lexa had visited since her ‘banishment’ several centuries ago, he might destroy Lexa in truth. Tanselm had masked Lexa’s visits, welcoming the headstrong female’s healing Darkness. “The land did warn you,” Lexa lied. “I felt it. But my energy combined with yours when I entered through the void.” A truth, of sorts. Unlike most Dark and Light energy that cancelled each other out, Lexa’s Dark and Arim’s Light attracted one another. A perfect union, if only these stubborn humans would accept their appointed roles.

Lexa recovered while Arim experienced, once again, an unbidden lust for her, a distraction that cost him. She blasted him, stealing his breath, and kicked him to the ground. Her foot held him in place while he fought her powerful Dark magic. “Your precious Storm Lords will die one by one when ‘Sin Garu wins. A Dark Lord once again in charge of Tanselm. He’ll kill everything you love, everything that is pure and Light in this land. And he’ll do it because you aren’t man enough to see the truth.” “In your fucking dreams.” Arim fought her hold but Tanselm made no move to help him escape.

Finally. Someone understood what she’d been trying to warn her children about for years. As if the divide in the Spectrum weren’t bad enough, ‘Sin Garu, a scourge upon the living, had only grown more powerful with each passing year. In the last century, the evil Dark Lord had amassed an army of Darkness. His Netharat: wraiths, Djinn and monstrous Shadren, creatures that walked in both Darkness and Light, waged war on anything Light they could get their claws into. “Yes, ‘Sin Garu will kill us all. You need to make changes, you fhel. But you’re too bigoted to see what I clearly can.” “Oh? Is your perspective so much better from Malern?” Tanselm flinched and the ground under the pair rippled. She wasn’t the only sentient land. Malern existed, a world too steeped in Darkness to create balanced fruit. Too often his children killed and destroyed with ease. Foreia was better, a Shadowed world, and Krell as well. Poor Earth had all but died out, its magic nearly depleted by the greedy humans who dwelled there. “Malern? No, I’m talking about Earth, where I’ve been living on and off amidst those hapless xiantopes; beings of no magic make perfect victims for powerful Dark Lords. Imagine what ‘Sin Garu will do with Earth once he has Tanselm under his control. Your suffering is just the beginning.”

Yes, tell him, child. Except Tanselm could feel Arim’s resistance. Instead of heeding Lexa’s warnings, he took them as threats. “I’ll kill you for this,” he warned through gritted teeth. “Promise?” she whispered in a husky voice. “Maybe next time you think to trample a girl’s heart and banish her from her own home, you’ll think about the repercussions. Send your sister and nephews my regards.” She vanished into the between, the void between worlds, in an instant. Lexa left no goodbye, only a pool of Dark energy where she’d been standing. Tanselm absorbed it, as well as Arim’s pain. His anger did her some good. He’d always manifested his darker emotions in swirls of energy, feeding Tanselm though she knew he was unaware he did so. Offering him what comfort she could, Tanselm wept her sorrows, rain pelting the land. He stubbornly refused to go after Lexa. No matter how much she tried pushing him to seek what he truly needed, what she truly needed, Arim couldn’t hear her. Time wore on, and Tanselm began to lose hope. Over the next two years, ‘Sin Garu’s attacks began. Storm Lords died. Light Bringers and Netharat bled on her lands, poisoning her with their hate. Chaos grew, until only four Storm Lords, the queen, and Arim remained to heal her fragile state. Two of the Storm Lords took foreign affai, foreign brides, from Earth. The other two, thank the Balance, found a Shadow Dweller and a Djinn, a Darkling, to love. Still, the gap remained. For Tanselm to be whole, she needed equal amounts of Darkness and Light. She needed Lexa. She needed a miracle.

Chapter One

Philadelphia, present day Arim Valens clenched his jaw as he glared at the saturation of eager shoppers crowding the festively decorated mall. He’d finally had Lexa in his grasp. No more battles ending in stalemates or conflicts never resolving. With all that had been happening at home, her capture was the one goal he could meet, the one thing he’d looked forward to more than any other. He’d had her within reach…only to lose her when she’d teleported right out from under him. By the Light’s Mark! The time had come for answers, and to take that final step into annihilating ‘Sin Garu, to finally free Tanselm from the threat of ever-present destruction. Tanselm—a parallel world with its own sentience, a land filled with magic, vibrant colour and abundant life. As opposed to this… Philadelphia.

City of brotherly love, my ass. “Well now, looks to me like you could use my help.” Arim turned to face the bearer of the smugly uttered words, barely refraining from turning the Djinn, a damned Darkling, into a dirt stain over the grouted tile over which they stood. Jonas Chase looked like any other shopper during this harried season. Tall and laden with muscle, he wore his light brown hair cut in shaggy waves over a chiselled face. His brown eyes danced with humour, and he crossed his arms, clad in a blue knit sweater over snug denim jeans. He could have passed for a xiantope, like all the others looking for bargains around them, save for the powerful black aura that Arim’s magic clearly allowed him to see. Arim sighed. Had he been reduced to this? Tanselm’s most powerful sorcerer, a Light Bringer warrior, needing help from what he’d once considered the enemy, a creature of Dark? “If you want to help, tell me where to find Lexa. And trust me when I say you want me to find her before I lose my temper.” “In like what, the next two seconds?” Jonas scoffed. “And everyone says Darius has the temper in the family.” A cute blonde walked by and gave Jonas the eye. He grinned and raised his brows, apparently not at all inconvenienced by this out of the way trip to Earth. At this very moment, Arim should have been in an important meeting with his sister Ravyn, Tanselm’s overqueen, and with his four nephews, Tanselm’s last Storm Lords. Also known as the Royal Four, now that the rest of the Storm Lords were dead, his nephews sat poised to become kings, each commanding one of Tanselm’s territories. In addition to surviving the upheaval of so many of their family dead, the princes had recently taken royal brides. They had problems aplenty just trying to keep the land hale and hearty. Hell, they had enough on their plate without Lexa, another enemy, gone missing. Trying to find ‘Sin Garu and finally destroy him before his evil army killed any more of Tanselm’s people was priority number one. Until the next overking was chosen, protecting the affai of the Royal Four ran a close second. But since each of his nephews had finally come into his own power, the responsibility to protect their brides fell on them. Arim glanced around him again, still wondering how two of the four affai had come from such a mundane world, yet still possessed the wherewithal to conjure and control their husbands’ elemental magic—the heart of the Storm Lords’ power. The large percentage of the population on this plane didn’t even believe in magic, let alone possess the capacity to manipulate it. Jonas’ deep chuckle broke his train of thought, and Arim watched as the Djinn seduced a phone number out of an attractive brunette before she walked away, winking over her shoulder. “Lexa has a tendency to breeze through Sophie’s anytime she’s in town.” Jonas pointed to a nearby upscale lingerie shop. “Why don’t I check it out?” Disgusted with the whole mess, Arim snapped back, “Yes, why don’t you?” Unperturbed, Jonas strolled into the store, frilly clothing and eager young women swallowing him from sight. Arim breathed deeply and counted to ten, resisting the urge to turn the Djinn to stone. While the thought held appeal, Arim grudgingly conceded he needed Jonas, and as much as the thought disgruntled him, he at times liked the sarcastic bastard. Besides, Jonas and Lexa had developed an odd friendship that would definitely aid in Lexa’s recapture. Anger settled over him, and Arim uncomfortably shrugged it away. It wasn’t that Lexa and Jonas’ friendship bothered the hell out of him. No, Arim wasn’t jealous, or so he kept telling himself. Any feelings he’d once had for Lexa had died centuries ago when he’d caught her literally red-handed, her palms covered in the blood of her foster family. But recently, he’d begun to re-evaluate the past, wondering whether his memories of that heinous event were indeed correct. When he was younger, Lexa had been his whole life. His love, his future, his best friend. The hurt he’d suffered at her hands had nearly crushed him, and taught him a valuable lesson. He shook his head at his naiveté. Did he really think she’d changed after three hundred years of bringing chaos and death? Darkness into a world needing Light? Two years ago she’d literally kicked his ass. A few months ago when ‘Sin Garu had wounded her during a rare joint battle, Arim had gone soft in the head. Taking care of the petite Dark Lord while she’d recovered from one of ‘Sin Garu’s more brutal attacks, like a fool, he’d begun to think she might be different. Unconscious, vulnerable, and so achingly beautiful, she’d fooled him into thinking she might not be the treacherous Dark Lord he’d assumed her to be. And then she’d disappeared right in front of him. The slippery little witch. No. He simply felt a responsibility for the damned woman. Though they’d had their battles throughout the years, she’d never before put her life at risk to save his. And from her brother—‘Sin Garu, he quickly amended. She’d never referred to ‘Sin Garu as a blood relative, and he found he could

respect that much of her wishes. A blight upon creation, ‘Sin Garu and his sorcery tainted everything he touched, his magic both draining and malevolent. For all her faults, at least Lexa had severed her ties with a Dark sorcerer out of his mind with bloodlust. A commotion drew Arim’s attention. Several women waved as Jonas left the lingerie store, his easy stride aggravating Arim anew. Jonas reached him with a loud sigh and ran his hands through his hair, seemingly more from frustration than vanity. “She was here a few months ago. But since time passes much more quickly in this plane, the timeframe fits. Weeks missing in Tanselm, months spent in Philadelphia. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she shows up again. If not in the mall, then around her old stomping grounds.” “And you know this how?” Jonas shot Arim a look he couldn’t decipher. “You know, Arim, to you Lexa is a Dark Lord. To me, she’s my Dark Mistress, a woman worthy of respect, affection, and a healthy dose of fear. Hell, I’m Djinn. I’m not stupid. She can kill with the touch of her hand, so I like to keep on her good side. But apart from all that, she’s still a woman. I know what she needs.” Irrational rage filled him. “You do?” “Yeah, I do. She likes to talk, and I like to listen.” Jonas shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Here in this plane, Lexa blends in. She can be like everyone else, accepted, not like the pariah she is at home.” “Home, is it?” Jonas scowled, finally showing the same irritation Arim had been feeling all day. “She was right. You are a condescending dick.” Arim glared, and Jonas sighed. “Tanselm is now my home. Just as it’s home to dozens of other Darklings and Shadow Dwellers. Face it, Tanselm needs both Light and Dark to thrive. Much as you don’t want to admit it, you know Lexa’s right about that. Your magic felt stronger when she was there, didn’t it?” Damn, but it did. Not that Arim planned on giving Jonas the satisfaction of being right. Arim wasn’t necessarily prejudiced against the Dark, not anymore. But thoughts of Lexa riled him, to the extent that he started grouping targets under the flat of his irritation. Jonas didn’t help matters by beating the topic to death. Arim pinched the bridge of his nose as the Djinn continued. It was like listening to his nephew, Aerolus, all over again. “You like to think Tanselm belongs to the Light Bringers. To creatures of Light. But the Dark belongs in Tanselm’s fields, villages and mountains, too. If you’d listen to the land, you’d hear it.” “Enough. Now you sound like Aerolus, always analysing, dissecting Tanselm’s magic. In case I haven’t mentioned it before, the trait’s extremely annoying.” “Say what you will. We both know I’m right.” And in a lower voice, Jonas added, “As usual.” “I see why Cadmus volunteered your services. You’re a pain in the ass.” Jonas chuckled and punched Arim in the arm. “That’s just what your nephew says about you. Now why don’t we try the food court? I know Lexa likes the cinnamon bun place.” “We’re not here to fill your bottomless stomach.” “Arim, you wound me. I just thought Lexa might be feeding her sweet tooth. She loves cinnamon and chocolates and—” Arim shoved him out the way of attack with one hand while throwing up a shield of Light with the other. People screamed and ducked for cover as a half dozen wraiths, members of ‘Sin Garu’s hated Netharat, suddenly swarmed above them, appearing out of nowhere.

This shouldn’t be happening. Not here. Arim called on Tanselm’s magic within him, immediately decimating two nearby wraiths by turning them to stone, then crushing them with his will into ash. The other four shrieked, their howls like the scratchy echoes of a newborn’s cry. Covered in rags, their bodies seemingly frail—nearly insubstantial shades of skeletal mass and thin, ropy sinew—the creatures fed on fear, and on the living tissue of those they defeated. Their heads were lumpy, their skin a sickly yellow covered in large blue and black bruises. They had high-set pointed ears, large, white eyes and gaping mouths filled with rows of black, blade-sharp teeth. With no nose to speak of, they were unable to smell the constant stench of death they emitted wherever they went. One wraith grabbed a small child, gnashing its teeth in hunger, and Jonas quickly reached out with a band of Dark magic and yanked the boy from its taloned grasp. When the wraith would have attacked him, Arim shot a bolt of pure Light into its face, killing it instantly. Jonas dragged another two wraiths from the air, stopping them from hurting cowering xiantopes, and slammed one of the creatures through the floor, leaving only its head above ground, its body meshed with the steel girders, cement and supports holding up the second level of the mall. He turned the boy’s face to his chest protectively and lashed another beam of Dark at the wraith, effectively decapitating it. Arim took care of the remaining two Netharat and teleported what was left of all their remains into the between, knowing that the scavengers which passed through the voids would clear the mess in no time. “Oh, thank God.” A frantic woman with tears in her eyes rushed to Jonas. Yanking her son into her arms, she hugged him tight. “What was that? What did you do? How did—” Aware this was definitely going to be a problem, Arim muttered a spell under his breath and wiped the recent memories of everyone in the

immediate vicinity save for Jonas. Then he sent an electrical surge through the security cameras, affecting the same loss. The woman blinked up at Jonas and walked away with her equally confused son. Around them, foot traffic continued as usual, with no one the wiser of what had happened. “Hell. That was less than pleasant.” Jonas looked annoyed, but before he could say anything more, Arim latched onto his arm and sent them through the between towards Tanselm. That the Netharat had managed to break the covenant protecting the mundane worlds from open, magical intrusion meant something had seriously gone wrong. A powerful law had been broken. Which laid other worlds at risk. By the Dark’s own hell. What else might they now expect? And how close was ‘Sin Garu to mounting yet another invasion into Tanselm? For weeks they’d experienced only minor skirmishes, nothing like the Dark Lord’s previous massive assaults. It seemed Arim would not be venturing after Lexa just yet. He ignored his instant resistance against leaving Jonas’ ‘Dark Mistress’ free. Lexa was his … To question and defend against , he quickly remedied. Best to remember that and behave as befitting the powerful sorcerer Tanselm needs right now. Arim’s sexy Dark Lord would have to wait until he’d informed the Storm Lords and his sister about this latest development. His nephews needed to be appraised and Tanselm’s allies warned before they suffered similar attacks. Lexa would keep, Arim promised himself, ignoring the irrational worry for her that constantly chafed. She and I have unresolved business between us, and neither Light nor Dark will stop our coming confrontation. Arim and Jonas arrived in the hallway outside the Tetrarch’s current meeting. One way or the other, Lexa will answer to me.

**** Lexa sighed with relief once Arim and Jonas disappeared from sight. Peeking out from one of the dressing rooms in Sophie’s, she’d witnessed the entire scene as if watching a movie. The infamous Arim Valens, Guardian of Storm and Killer of Shadow, had annihilated the small contingent of wraiths no doubt searching for her. Apparently, ‘Sin Garu had yet to forgive her for nearly killing him, just another in her litany of crimes against the hated blooddrinker. And she’d been so close to ending their tie, so near to forging a new life for herself…

Hell. Why bother with regrets and what could have been? If that’s the case, I should be pining after that hard-headed Light Bringer sorcerer. She snorted and closed the curtain of the dressing room, staring at the silken bra and panty sets she planned on buying. More expensive than a cinnamon bun, they were, however, much easier on her figure…unless she fixed her troubling waistline using magic, which lately, presented a real problem. Lexa dressed again and checked herself out in the mirror. Short of stature. Long black hair. Ice blue eyes. A petite if too-curvy body. A blessedly enthralling package that normally glowed with power. Not so any more. Typically disguised in this realm as a tall, attractive young xiatope, since the demon attack, Lexa had been unable to hold the transformation for long periods of time and now looked like her true self. A dangerous position to be in when the forces of Light and Dark were after her. She felt a disturbance in the air moments before strong arms encircled her waist. Gathering her faltering energy, Lexa prepared to visit death upon the fool bold enough to attack her flesh to flesh, no matter the cost to her health. “You know, Lexa, that you can’t hide forever.” Instantly relieved to hear Sava’s voice, she relaxed in his embrace, amused despite the precariousness of her position. “You can’t be in here, you idiot. This is a woman’s dressing room.” Turning when he stepped back and bumped into the wall, Lexa grinned at one of the few people she’d ever called a friend. Lord Sava, king of the Aellei—a more mischievous and troublesome race than her own—stood with a pinch of annoyance on his striking face. He wore his long, whiteblond hair shoulder length now. His sensual face was smooth and pale. A Shadow Dweller, Sava aligned closer to the Dark than the Light, but even so, he was more welcomed in Tanselm by the Light Bringers than Lexa would ever be. His niece, Alandra, had married one of the Royal Four, Aerolus, the Wind Mage. And that pair had magic brewing between them like it was going out of style. Tanselm cooed like a giddy new mother whenever Aerolus and Alandra drew spells together, baiting Lexa with images of a future that could never be. “I can go wherever I want, my dear.” Sava jerked the curtain to the dressing room wide and prodded Lexa to leave, grabbing her lingerie as he walked out with her. He touched her shoulder and she felt a surge of power run through her. “What did you just do?” “A little something to help, that’s all.” As she passed by a mirrored column, she stared wide-eyed at the stranger looking back at her. “Not bad.” She fingered her now short cap of red hair framing a heart-shaped face, from which moss green eyes stared. “You could have made me taller though.” And taken a little off my hips. Damn those sweet rolls. His grin turned seductive. “Then you would have needed a different set of silk.” He eyed her underwear sets with a connoisseur’s appraisal. “And though I wouldn’t mind watching you try them on, we’re a bit pressed for time.” “Lech.” “Witch.”

She sighed and rang up her bill at the counter. “Arim’s not going to be happy about your involvement in this.” “Yeah, well, I’m not too pleased with the way either of you have conducted yourselves over the years. I’ve decided to finally put my foot down.” Once the clerk handed them her bag, Sava grabbed Lexa by the elbow and dragged her out the door as she stared at him in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How is my relationship with Arim your problem?” “Since my niece, whom you know I just dote on, married one of Arim’s nephews, and since many of my people moved with her into Tanselm, I find it my business to keep abreast of things. Not that I haven’t before now, but I feel justified in fixing some problems that Alandra finds…disturbing.” Lexa vowed to have a talk with the sly little princess about overstepping her bounds. “Oh?” Sava grinned, and two women walked into each other, busy staring at him. Not that Lexa could blame them. Had she not been immune to his charm, she might have done the same. Even for an Aellei, a race of inhumanly beautiful people, Sava stood out. His skin fairly shone. His dark brown eyes twinkled with both humour and carnal promise, and his full lips were rosy with seduction. That was to say nothing of the perfection of his form, masculinity at its rock hard finest. Lexa couldn’t help being impressed but refused to give in to the vanity reflected by his knowing grin. “Your tone has just the right amount of frost in it. No matter what ‘Sin Garu and those demons did to you, you’re still a prickly little thing.” His tone grew husky and he chucked her chin. “I like that. The reports I’ve been getting from the Storm Lords aren’t good, Lexa.” She wished she didn’t care so much about Sava’s opinion. A Dark Lord cared about no one and nothing but him or herself. Hadn’t she learned the hard way what love and affection could do? Visions of her dead foster family swam in her mind’s eye, and she hastily countered the pathetic welling of grief with angry remembrances of Arim and his damned Light Bringer sorcery. “So what?” “So what?” Sava’s smile faded and he drew her into a narrow hallway leading to the restrooms. “So I’m trying to be the sound one by keeping my temper, but around you and Arim, lately, it isn’t so easy.” In seconds, Lexa felt herself teleported into the house she used when living in Seattle. The old days, she thought with a sigh, wishing Ellie were here, and not worlds away in Tanselm, married to Cadmus. Yet one more tie Lexa and Arim shared. Her friend had married one of Arim’s identical nephews—the one that most resembled Arim in temperament. Sava tugged back his power, restoring Lexa to her petite, blue-eyed form. He tossed her onto her couch before setting her bag on the coffee table. “Now I want the truth. What the hell happened to you? The last I heard, you and Arim had put away your hostility long enough to conspire to kill ‘Sin Garu. You two had some foolish, no doubt hastily thought out plan, to defeat the most powerful Dark Lord in existence. Next thing I know, my people in Tanselm are battling the Netharat and you’re near death. “From what Alandra told me, the others involved in the battle suffered minor harm. But you were unconscious for nearly three months.” Sava’s whiteblond brows drew close. “Even for a Dark Lord, that’s not a normal sleep. You should have healed much faster than that.” His gaze was critical. “There’s something more that’s wrong with you. Your aura is much Darker than it should be. Than you ever were.” Lexa crossed her arms over her chest, uncomfortable at being so easily read. After being kicked out of Tanselm, a sad reminder of how she’d never fit in, she’d spent most of her life trying to be something she was not, hiding behind one façade or another. The few people she’d allowed herself to care for had been on her terms. She’d befriended Ellie and Jonas out of necessity, and had found, to her surprise, that she liked them. So she kept them at a comfortable distance. They noticed about her what she wanted them to see. Sava, however, had a disquieting tendency to see through bullshit. Maybe because he was so familiar with dishing it out. As much as she longed to confide in him, longed to share her burden and stop being so damned alone, she couldn’t do it. “I’m fine.” She glared at him and wasn’t surprised when he dropped the hard-ass attitude and flopped next to her on the couch. He never had been able to win in a confrontation with Lexa. “Say what you want, your aura doesn’t lie. Your Djinn protector isn’t fooled either. Yes, Lexa, Jonas and I talk on occasion. You know, he’s actually very amusing. I’ve noticed he has a tendency to irritate Arim nearly as much as you do.” She smiled at that, and Sava chuckled. So when he latched onto her arm and muttered a spell under his breath, she was unprepared to relive the memory of her hellish imprisonment.

Hundreds of eyes stared at her through green, unearthly flame. Thousands of mouths fed on her spirit, gnawing at the energy of Lexa’s very being. Pinpricks of pain shot through her brain, icy daggers that demanded relief, if only she could move her hand to rub away the pressure. Trapped apart from her body, caught in the limbo between life and the Next, the constant torture stirred in her a loss so profound it caused her physical, mental and spiritual devastation. “A life for a life,” the demons around her echoed through gurgling laughter, choking on the essence of corrupted souls as they taunted her. They’d said the same thing to her repeatedly, eating away at her spirit until she almost looked forward to the bliss of true death. Almost. “Your Killer of Shadow is safe, but at what cost, Dark Mistress?” They spoke of the one man in all creation she didn’t understand and apparently never had. Arim. Just the mention of his existence was enough to stir her anger enough to fight, and she gladly embraced his memory, needing it to survive.

Here in the heart of Mount Malinta, her form was all energy. Lexa thrashed against the demonic bonds holding her tight, still not finding that opportunity to escape. For what seemed like an eternity, she’d been fighting to be free, to rejoin her body before she dwindled away into nothing. She knew her body remained alive though she couldn’t see it. She’d felt, oddly enough, a strong presence by her side. As if someone who cared about her wanted her to battle, to live on. It was that strength that had given her the power to continue the struggle. But her energy was fading. And all because of the Malinta demons that bloodsucking bastard, ‘Sin Garu, had unleashed upon her. ‘Sin Garu, the last living member of her blood family, and the person she refused to acknowledge as her brother. She and the evil piece of fhel shared a mother—the extent of their hate-filled relationship. He had made his bargain with these demons. Through no fault of her own, she’d been born of the same blood. She’d be damned—literally—if she’d allow ‘Sin Garu to escape the deal he’d made with the Malinta demons. Lexa had a life to return to, and quite a few scores to settle, the least of which was with Tanselm’s great sorcerer too stubborn for his own good. After all that she’d sacrificed for Tanselm, Lexa had no intention of succumbing to death to fulfil ‘Sin Garu’s pledge. Her thoughts straying to Arim again, to the thought of finally putting matters between them to rights, she called on the power deep within her. Like before, the green flames of the demons burned brighter, feeding on her Darkness. But she pushed through the agonising pain and sought the small source of Light still beating inside her heart. Arim’s face shone bright and steady within her memories, a small shard of love for the man stunning her even as she knew to embrace it. Shrieking with dismay, the demons loosened their hold in shock, giving her the opportunity she needed. With a burst of energy, Lexa pushed past the hatred binding her and shot through the demons’ plane towards her own. But as she left, she felt a tug and an excruciating tear as part of her soul was ripped away. Glancing back as she floated towards the boundary of the demons’ world, she saw them cage and contain a bright blue piece of her soul. “A life for a life,” the masses ranted as they swallowed that part of her. Confined in flame, the bit of her soul flickered but remained strong. The contract was not met, and her life was not yet forfeit. “You’ll get your life, that I promise.” But it won’t be mine. She stared grimly at the monsters and fires of damnation as she merged into the between… “Holy Mother of Shadow and Dark,” Sava breathed, staring at Lexa with shock. “They’ve got a part of you. I can’t believe you’re awake and breathing.” Admiration battled the worry in his eyes. “Lexa, you have to tell Arim about this.” She immediately shook her head, trying to focus her scattered thoughts. Dammit. Friend or no friend, Sava is going to pay for that. “He’s the only person I know of that can help you retrieve your soul. You need Light more than Dark and Shadow, I’m afraid. Despite the problems Tanselm is having, she’ll give everything she has to repair the damage you’ve been done. Tanselm needs Dark magic. The land needs you, Lexa.” “No, she doesn’t.” Sava continued as if she hadn’t spoken, his eyes hard and knowing. “Almost as much as you need Arim.”

Chapter Two Arim stared at the familiar faces around the large, marble table. He wondered if he might have been better off letting Jonas pass the word about the situation in Philadelphia while he chased after Lexa. His nephews sat around the table arguing while Ravyn and he did their best not to intervene. Except for their eye colour and personality, each brother was an exact replica of the other. “Cadmus, first of all, not all the Djinn are sympathetic to the Light Bringers, just the Sarqua warriors like Jonas.” Marcus, the icy, blue-eyed River Prince nodded in Jonas’ direction. “Most of the Dark ones are still working with ‘Sin Garu to kill the last remaining Storm Lords—which would be us, in case you’ve forgotten. Secondly, we can’t just invite all the Sarqua Djinn into Tanselm without stirring our people into a panic. Half of our Light Bringers have never seen a Djinn before. Integration takes time.” Marcus spoke with a bite, yet without raising his voice, intentionally aggravating his sibling. The angry flush on Cadmus’ face warned Arim of the coming argument. The Earth Lord had quite a temper when provoked, for all his mischievousness. “Screw panic,” Cadmus answered. “It’s time we stopped our prejudices from blinding us to the truth. Since I’ve been back, Tanselm has been reaching out, touching the Earth Lord within me. The land wants more Dark to help balance our presence here. So many Light Bringers is starting to wear her thin.” “Cadmus is right,” Aerolus agreed, glowing with magic, ever the peacemaker. The Wind Mage, a sorcerer in his own right. “Balance is needed. Tanselm’s power scatters.” He glanced at Arim, holding his gaze for a moment before turning back to those at the table. The arrogant whelp subtly let Arim know his weakening magic had been noticed. He needed to have another talk with his nephew. Too big for his own britches, Aerolus’s deceased father, Faustus, would have agreed. “Fuck balance.” Darius, Prince of Fire and resident hothead, spoke without thought to his mother beside him. Too late he realised his blunder, chastised when she smacked the back of his head. “Sorry, Mother. I mean, to hell, ah, heck with balance.” Darius fumed, his red eyes gleaming with

frustration. “It’s not the Light Bringer populace Marcus is worried about. It’s the Congregation of Idiots.” Ravyn sighed. “Church of Illumination, Darius. And Marcus is right to be wary. The Church exists to check our power. Tanselm’s watchkeepers. They make sure our sorcerers and Storm Lords abide by the needs and wishes of the people. Frankly, with all that’s going on around our lands right now, we can’t afford to alienate them.” Arim wondered. The Church used to stand for what was right. But lately… Things weren’t as they should have been with the Church. He’d been so busy hunting Dark Lords he’d begun to lose sight of Tanselm’s domestic problems. “Arim, what do you think?” Ravyn asked. “I think we have bigger problems than the Church just now.” He related the battle he’d fought with Jonas on the mundane plane, pleased to see frowns darkening his nephews’ faces. Good, they understood the ramifications of the Netharat’s interference. “So what do you intend to do about it?” Ravyn asked. “I need to talk with Sava and a few others I can think of off the top of my head. It’s time the leaders of our worlds came together to form an alliance. If ‘Sin Garu mounts a successful attack against the xiantopes, other Dark Lords may come forth and try the same with other mundane worlds, upsetting the Balance. Earth must stand fast against those with magic, or Light worlds will begin seeing serious repercussions.” Aerolus nodded. “In the altee scrolls I’ve been studying, I’ve watched prior battles fought over worlds without magic. Did you know Kreer was once like Earth? A flat plane with little to recommend it. Then one of the Aellei found it and began tinkering. Now the place is lit with odd resonances of energy. Though it’s mostly Light, Kreer is expanding—” “Enough, Aerolus. Thanks for the unnecessary lesson about Kreer, but if we could get back to our main problem at hand?” Darius rolled his eyes. “I feel like I’m back in University,” Marcus mumbled. “I hated University. Too much learning,” Cadmus said. The troublemaking Storm Lord turned a sly grin Arim’s way. “So how about we ask what we really want to know?” Arim inwardly cursed. “Have you found Lexa yet? With Jonas’ help, you must be close.” Jonas smirked. “Yes, oh great sorcerer. Do tell them how the hunt goes.” Arim clenched his jaw, not amused when Cadmus shared a grin with the Darkling. “I’ll speak to you about your ‘help’ later.” He glared at his browneyed nephew, then turned back to the group. “As for Lexa, it’s been three weeks and she’s still missing. I’m sure ‘Sin Garu doesn’t have her. We’d have heard if he did.” I’d have felt it. “I, for one, am glad she’s still alive.” Ravyn nodded. “Her magic helped save my life, and that of my sons, lest you forget. Aerolus, she healed you and Alandra when you needed it most, and asked nothing in return. Cadmus—” “You don’t have to sell her to me, Mother. She took care of Ellie for years and saved my ass—myself—from ‘Sin Garu.” He shivered, clearly recalling his time in the Netharat’s grasp. “The wraiths are not nice creatures. At. All.” Jonas piped in, the Djinn always needing to have his say, Arim thought with displeasure. “Don’t forget me. She allowed the Sarqua Djinn to return to our homeworld.” Jonas directed his emphasis Arim’s way. “She’s not the monster you think she is. She’s actually a very nice woman.” Darius stared at Jonas as if he had three heads. “Right. The woman who kills with a touch, who murdered her Light Bringer family and who worked with B’alen and ‘Sin Garu to kill our father, aunts, uncles and cousins, is just a wonderful gal.” Arim wondered why Darius’s sarcasm bothered him, considering he’d been thinking the same thing. “She didn’t kill anyone.” Jonas huffed, then quickly amended, “Well, not anyone not deserving of it. I’m telling you, my Dark Mistress—the woman—I know, is no more a murderer than you or me.” Marcus eyed him with a raised brow. “That so? Because I clearly recall you killing several Light Bringers not too long ago. A hunting party near Foreia during the Dark moon? I guess they deserved it, hmm?” His tone was as provoking as his words. Jonas’ amber gaze flared. “For your information, Prince Jackass, those Light Bringers were trying to kill me and Ethim at the time. I’ll be damned before I lose my ruler to a measly Light Bringer warrior who doesn’t know his head from his ass.” Cadmus chuckled. “Well said. Though I think those particular warriors were Church brethren who confused their left from their right, not exactly a head and ass thing.” “Shut up, Darkling,” Darius shot at Cadmus and leaned closer to Marcus. “Ever since he married Ellie, he’s been more one of them than us anyway.” Marcus nodded, his lips quirked, and chimed in about wraiths and the Dark, pecking at Aerolus, who’d married an Aellei. Aerolus, for once, didn’t remain silent and absorbing, but fired back in retaliation for the slight on his affai. “Alandra helped defeat B’alen, who could

have seriously damaged our people if he’d been allowed to live and join with ‘Sin Garu. What are you thinking, Marcus?” “You have some nerve, you arrogant lekharn.” Cadmus glared at Marcus, including Darius in his hostility. Jonas crossed his arms over his chest, apparently in agreement with the Djinn insult—lekharn translating to shithead. “Ellie saved our world from annihilation at the cost of—” Marcus cut him off, and then Jonas joined in the fray, voices rising in volume as male annoyance overrode the uneasy calm in the room. Arim merely sat back, locking his gaze with his sister. “Well, this is nice. Something to break the tedium of hunting missing Dark Lords.” Her lips curled, and she chuckled, ignoring the sudden bursts of heat and cold, of vines appearing out of nowhere in the room, and wind blowing wildly around the brothers. Jonas burst in truth, taking on the common form of the Djinn. White energy in the form of a man was surrounded by Dark flame all around the outline of his body. He crackled as he leaned closer to Marcus, who shot a blast of icy water his way. Jonas easily diverted the water with Dark magic, drenching the vine curling around Darius’s feet that Darius flamed with a blast of fire from his fingertips. “Boys will be boys.” Ravyn smiled. Arim couldn’t help laughing with her, the tension in him easing somewhat at the familiar scene of his nephews bickering. They normally teased one another, Cadmus being the worst offender. With all that had been happening lately, Arim knew they needed to let off some steam. Had he thought for one minute any of them meant what they’d said, he would have smashed their heads together. But he caught the feelings they were unaware of projecting, the underlying entertainment they found in taunting one another. To Arim’s surprise, Jonas fit in as if he’d been born into the family. The Djinn, like Cadmus, had an uncanny knack for being both amusing and irritating at the same time. And like Cadmus, he had Marcus in fits. After several moments of sheer chaos, Ravyn nodded to Arim. He immediately quelled all the magic in the room, Light and Dark. Jonas gaped like a fish out of water as he found himself in human skin again, his Dark energy caught by flesh and bone. “Damn, didn’t know you could do that.” “Remember that the next time you’re pestering me about Tanselm’s precious need for balance,” Arim muttered. “Boys, I take it you’re feeling better now?” Ravyn asked. “All out of your systems?” Her sons nodded, their faces full of chagrin. Jonas, however, laughed out loud. “By the Dark, that was fun. How about another round?” Darius snorted, and Marcus snickered. Cadmus slapped him on the back, their fight as if it had never existed. Aerolus stood, a slight smile on his face, still the most serious of his siblings. “Sorry, Mother. Tension’s been building throughout the land, and I know we all feel it. Believe it or not, I think Marcus has the right of it. We can’t introduce more Dark into the land without figuring out what’s wrong within the kingdoms. There’s more than just Tanselm’s magic at stake, but the welfare of our people. Alandra and I have discussed it, and we think the Church of Illumination is somehow behind this subtler discord.” Ravyn sighed. “I’ve had similar reports, but I hadn’t wanted to believe it. Bad enough we’re fighting a Dark Lord and the Netharat. At this point, we really don’t need any infighting to worsen our situation.” “How bad is it?” Arim stared at his sister, suddenly more worried about her than Tanselm. Now that he opened his senses to truly see her, Ravyn looked more than tired. She appeared drained, her magic much weaker than his. Of the two of them, despite being more than a hundred years younger, he was stronger, magically. But Ravyn had always possessed the ability to take him down a peg when needed. Now she looked as if a stiff wind would knock her over, the same way she’d appeared just after learning of her husband’s tragic death. “Reports of attacks on Djinn and Aellei have been coming in. It’s not just the northern and eastern kingdoms with problems. In Marcus’s territory to the south, the rilk forest has begun dying, the trees decaying from within. Our healers and sorcerers are baffled. Here in the west, the Church has been stirring unrest in the marketplace. Questions about the royal affai and,” Ravyn paused, staring directly into Arim’s gaze. “Your loyalty has been challenged.” “My loyalty?” Arim didn’t understand. Darius was happy to explain it to him. “Those dickhead—sorry Mother, but you know it’s true—Church brethren are implying that since you helped Lexa to heal, you’ve fallen under Dark enchantment.” Arim could feel the heat behind his eyes, anger building. “What?” “Yeah. Apparently, doing the decent thing and not killing a vulnerable, unprotected female now goes against everything we stand for. I don’t get it either.” And I don’t think our walls are safe anymore, Darius projected to Arim, using the telepathy he’d inherited from his mother. Mother’s still

recovering from ‘Sin Garu’s attack and doesn’t hear the things I can. There are those among the Light Bringers that seek to overturn Storm Lord leadership. Arim’s gaze narrowed. We’ll speak of this later. Say nothing to your mother. She doesn’t look as if she can handle any more stress. Darius discreetly nodded, shooting his mother a concerned glance, and turned back to Marcus to agree with his brother’s latest tangent about

instilling a curfew at night, to help protect the people from Netharat invaders. While his nephews came up with a game plan to better secure their people, Arim tried to see past his sister’s inner shields. How injured was she? Like Lexa, Ravyn had fallen during an attack by ‘Sin Garu. For weeks she’d lain unconscious, her energy perilously low. None of the Light Bringer sorcerers had been able to help her. Until Lexa had done something to restore his sister’s power. Arim still didn’t understand it and planned to fully interrogate Lexa when he found her again. Why would she do something so out of character? For that matter, why help his family at all? She’d saved Ravyn, Aerolus and Cadmus. Had turned both her Dark Lord kin into blooddrinkers, weakening them substantially, and even had a hand in B’alen’s death. But why? There had to be a sinister motive in there somewhere, something he didn’t see, or couldn’t see, because he was still too damned close to her. Despite the years and battles between them, the passion that existed whenever they neared was still in force. Hell, taking care of her had soothed him in ways he couldn’t explain, even as it bothered him to still feel for the murderous—he glanced at Jonas—alleged murderous, Dark Lord.

Why am I concerned with Lexa when my sister sits wounded before me? Shaking free of his traitorous desire that should no longer exist for the enigma constantly taunting him, Arim focused again on Ravyn. The idea floating in her mind shocked him into speech. “You know who the next overking of Tanselm will be?” The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to Ravyn. Arim didn’t understand why she hadn’t told him before now. Like Arim, Ravyn possessed a strong background in sorcery. A Valens by birth, who up until a few months ago had kept their sibling bond a secret from even her sons, Ravyn commanded Tanselm’s magic and wielded it with astonishing skill. She had particular talents that ebbed and flowed as she aged. The telekinesis that had once been her strongest gift had faded decades before, but her telepathy was still powerful. She still commanded the lightning her husband, a powerful Wind Mage much like his son Aerolus, had mastered when alive. And apparently, Ravyn could still prognosticate—an ability she’d passed on to Cadmus not long ago. “Mother?” Darius croaked. “Who is to be the next overking? Which of us has sowed the next Royal Four?” “Tell us, please,” Aerolus said with a smile, seemingly the only Storm Lord not panicked at thoughts of ruling all of Tanselm. “She isn’t pregnant yet, and until she gives birth, I’ll say no more.” Ravyn glared at Arim. I’ll talk to you about this later. Had I wanted any of you to

know, I’d have said something. Now stop digging through my mind. You’re giving me a headache trying to repel the intrusion. Arim released his mental hold on his sister, shocked she would have kept anything from him at all. From the time he’d been old enough to understand their place in the world, they’d bonded with a strength that had withstood curses, spells and familial deceit. Even while Faustus had lived, Ravyn and Arim had maintained that blood bond, though in secret from all but her husband. The Valens name, once synonymous with fear and death, had undergone a transformation centuries ago after Ravyn had recreated herself in order to marry the man she loved, King Faustus Storm. Even so, she’d pledged to remain faithful to her brother, her last living blood relative, and she had. Keeping their relationship secret had protected him as much as it had helped her. Only recently had they shared their relationship with his nephews, and only with the Royal Four and their affai. For Ravyn’s ceaseless selflessness and dedication to helping those in need, Tanselm had chosen Ravyn to birth the next generation of Storm Lords. Not only that, but the land and the Light had graced Arim with the power to protect his sister and her children, so that they might one day return the favour, defending Tanselm. Arim, however, had not protected his sister well enough. His inattention when it was needed most had given ‘Sin Garu the opportunity to kill not only Ravyn’s beloved husband, but nearly herself as well. Arim took a deep breath, trying to release the rage roiling within. He would do none of them good by sinking in self-blame, not when he had a kingdom, and a sister, to protect. Logically he knew he could never have protected Faustus from the insidious Djinn poison that had killed him, considering it had been served by a loyal servant. Emotionally, Arim couldn’t help second-guessing the measures he’d once ordered to protect the king. “Sorry,” he said to her softly before standing and addressing the others. “I’m going to take Ravyn back to her chambers. The rest of you, continue to plan our defences. And Cadmus, focus. You need to see when ‘Sin Garu plans to hit next.” Cadmus nodded. Arim took Ravyn by the arm and helped her to her feet, concerned when she glared but said nothing about not needing his help. The fact that she clearly did spoke volumes, and her sons noted as well, their faces strained with the knowledge. “Jonas,” Arim continued, walking with Ravyn from the table. “Stay here and gather the Sarqua Djinn. I want you and Cadmus to keep a sharp eye on your people. I have a feeling one of them is not as innocent in all this as he appears.” “Why do you say that?” Jonas didn’t protest the accusation, and his lack of defence against his Dark brothers told Arim what he’d wanted to know. “Just keep a sharp eye out. In the meantime, the rest of you watch your affai. ‘Sin Garu has thus far failed in his attempts to prevent the next coming of the Storm Lords. But if he harms any of your women before they conceive, Tanselm will fall.” Ravyn nodded beside him. “I’ve seen this possibility. It’s not pretty. You must take care with my new daughters.” Darius nodded. “We will, Mother.” His gruff voice softened as he stared at her hand clutching Arim’s forearm for support. “Now why don’t you let the

Tetrarch take over the city’s protection and get some rest? You must remain strong. We still have need of our overqueen.” “And of our mother,” Aerolus added softly, his eyes bright. “Please, go with Arim. I’ll send Alandra to you soon.” Arim thought about it. “No. Keep her in the east with the Aellei. She’s safer there. Cadmus, the same goes for Ellie. Jonas, play bodyguard, you and the select Djinn you can trust.” Jonas nodded, his expression tight. “Marcus and Darius,” Arim continued, “send Tessa and Samantha to the keep to help your mother. Ravyn, don’t argue.” He halted her objection before she started. “This will keep both affai safer than they would be without you. And they won’t argue if you tell them they’re needed.” Darius raised a brow at Arim. You want Samantha and Tessa with Mother to keep her safe, or to keep them safe and out of the way?

Both. And despite my reasoning, the plain truth is that your mother needs to take her mind off her worries. Having her daughters near comforts her. It makes her think of babies and a future instead of the bleak promise of Darkness over the land. “Good idea.” Darius nodded with vigour. “Mother, tell Samantha how much you need her with you. It would put me at ease to know she’s safe with you. She’s a little bloodthirsty when it comes to setting fire to invading Netharat,” he said with pride. Marcus agreed. “Tessa will listen to you over me. For some reason, she questions everything I tell her.” But he didn’t sound displeased. Cadmus snorted. “That’s because you don’t ‘tell’ her anything. You order her around.” “I do not.” Marcus grinned, his blue eyes lighting with pleasure. “I lovingly suggest. I am, after all, her lord and master.” “’Lord and Master?’ Please. She’d kick your ass. From what I hear, the master thing is more Aerolus’s department,” Cadmus ragged, earning a flush from the tight-lipped Wind Mage. Arim couldn’t help staring. He’d once overheard Alandra saying something of the sort to Ellie, and the two had shared a wicked laugh, but he’d believed her to be joking. Apparently, his nephew really was quite ‘masterful’ in bed. He winked at Aerolus. “It’s always the quiet ones.” Ravyn coughed, not managing to hide her laughter, and tugged Arim away from the others. “Before Aerolus gets any redder, let’s go back to my chambers. We have a few things to discuss in private.” Arim teleported them both to her room. Ravyn had never believed that he no longer cared for Lexa, so he was fully prepared to stave off any more questions about Lexa and his nonexistent feelings for the woman. He was shocked to see Ravyn’s dead husband, Faustus, shimmering with the glow of the afterlife, waiting for them with open arms.

Chapter Three Seattle Lexa’s fury gave her the magical strength to flip Sava over the couch onto his handsome ass, the golden strands of his hair flying over his face. “The next time you invade my memories without permission, I’ll do worse than muss that pretty hair.” “Duly noted.” Sava groaned. Once on his feet, he ran his hands over his hair with pleasure, unable to resist her compliment. The Aellei were so typical. Inhumanly beautiful, tricksters of the universe, and so utterly vain as to be comical. Sava stretched. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, ready to return to Tanselm? I’ll even go with you. I need to talk to Arim about what happened at that mall.” He said the word with disdain. “Imagine purchasing pre-fabricated wares in an open forum. So incredibly common.” Lexa couldn’t help grinning. “You’re cute when you’re arrogant.” “Cute?” He looked affronted. “Try incredible. Magnificent. Godly.” “Yeah, yeah. All that. But I’m not returning to Tanselm yet. I have things to do here.” “Like what?”

Like lick my wounds. Like try to get a handle on my weird libido that flares whenever Arim’s around, even after three hundred freakin’ years. “I’m not fully healed yet—” “Which you’re never going to be without help.” “—and until I am, I need to gather my strength.” “No, you need to grab that Light Bringer by the balls and make him see the truth.” “What?”

Sava had the oddest manner of throwing urban slang in with his archaic rhetoric. “The truth that you and I have always known. That you’re not as Dark as you pretend to be, or even as you want to be. You didn’t kill Muri and Esel anymore than you could stop crying at the sight of Sercha mutilated beyond recognition,” Sava said bluntly. “We both know who killed them.” “No, I don’t.” She honestly didn’t. At one time, she’d thought ‘Sin Garu had murdered her hapless family. After some careful digging, she’d found that to be untrue. “I’m not discussing this,” she added coldly, getting well and truly pissed at the Aellein king trying to stir painful memories best left buried. “Lexa,” Sava said gently, returning to her on the couch. He sat across from her on her solid mahogany coffee table. “Until you put it to rest, you’ll never be free. With or without your soul intact.” He brushed her hair back from her cheek, his fingers frosting as she allowed her anger to bleed over into the physical. Shaking his hand, he clenched it tightly into a fist. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. Either you go to find Arim before night falls, or I’m dragging you with me to Tanselm. I’ve kept out of it for years, letting the two of you knock each other over with magic so in tune, it’s a wonder you haven’t been fucking each other senseless with every stroke of anger between you.” Lexa flushed at his crudity, and the jerk laughed. “Tell me you don’t desire him with every fibre of your curvy little body,” he murmured, his gaze roving over her with appreciation. “If I didn’t know for a fact that Ini was your mother, I’d doubt your Dark Lord influence. You’re pretty enough to be an Aellei, or even a lesser Djinn. But you have Ini’s eyes, as much as that must pain you.” “Nothing pains me, Sava.” She smiled, the expression absent in the icy gaze she deliberately gave him. “I’m a Dark Lord. We’re inured to pain, didn’t you know? We feed on it, like the carrions of the universe we’ve been bred to be.” She pushed his arm aside when he would have touched her knee. In comfort. She wanted to snarl. As if she needed his pity. For a while, she’d welcomed him. Been glad to find a friendly face amidst a world that didn’t notice her, visited by creatures that wished her serious harm. Now she remembered why she’d stayed away from the Aellei, and from Sava himself. That press of cloying sentiment, of like and affection, led to powerful emotions that had once crushed her almost to nothingness. Lexa had no plans to return to the wounded little girl ripped from her world. To the naïve, trusting fool who’d thought love could conquer prejudice and fear. How wrong she’d been then, and how wrong she’d be now to embrace such foolish affection. “I think you’d better leave.” Sava stared at her, his dark eyes flashing into a white so bright it was as if looking into a mirror. Oh, so she’d annoyed him, had she? “If I find you’ve mentioned my whereabouts to Arim, I’ll curse you with magic you’ll never break. Dark magic.” She paused for effect, staring at his head. “Your golden tresses will never grow back.” Sava’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You little witch. You’d curse me for trying to help you?” He quickly stood, surprising Lexa with the menace oozing from his being. For all that Sava could intimidate, he was still a Shadow Dweller. But right now, he felt as Dark and powerful as a Dark Lord, or the Night forbid, as righteous as a Storm Lord. “Fine. Wither away to nothing while your brother takes over Tanselm.” A low blow, referring to ‘Sin Garu as her brother. Lexa had made it clear years ago she wanted no ties to that malevolent creature. “Don’t come crying to me when it’s too late to save yourself from the Malinta demons. Because I’ve been there before, Lexa, and the pain you suffered is nothing compared to a few hundred years in the Pit.” He winked away into the between before she could say anything, and she stared in surprise at the empty space before her. Sava had been imprisoned in hell? How had she never known that? And how old was he if he’d been there for hundreds of years? As far as she knew, he’d been alive and well in Tanselm and Aelle since she’d known him. When she’d first met Sava, she had been young, a mere ten years old. She’d assumed Sava was the same. She couldn’t see her friend, or maybe ex-friend, in the bowels of the Pit. Lexa shuddered, remembering the screaming and dread welling from that bleak area surrounded by cursed rocks in the middle of demon hell. The demons had recoiled when touching the stones, and went so far as to give the entire area a wide berth. Sava had been jailed there? For a moment she felt bad about refusing his help. Then she remembered Arim’s scorn, the disbelief and hatred on the faces of those Light Bringers she’d once called friends. People she’d opened herself up to. People she’d trusted. No, a Dark Lord’s best friend was herself. She’d do well to remember that if she wanted to outlive ‘Sin Garu and the Netharat. Come Light or Dark, Lexa would make it out of this tangle with her feelings intact. She rubbed at the ache deep within her. Her soul, however, was another matter entirely.

**** Jonas stared with consternation at Sava—apparently unconcerned at being caught uninvited in Tanselm’s northern territory— as he paced back and forth in Jonas’ room. While the king of Aelle recounted his meeting with Lexa, he raged, seeming to grow taller. Jonas watched with both awe and amusement as Sava swelled with fury.

“You want to keep it down? Need I remind you I’m barely tolerated in this place, much like you scheming Aellei?” Sava’s eyes glittered with anger. Jonas shrugged, unconcerned with the male’s power. He was impressed, but like all Djinn, he had little tolerance for royalty. Jonas didn’t even treat his own leader with reverence. He liked and respected Ethim, but he’d never bowed to his king and never would. “I told you she’s a handful.” “Stop acting so damned superior. I know she’s a handful. I’ve been around the woman since she was a child. Don’t tell me you think you know her better.” Sava’s glare turned as cold as ice. The energy in the Aellei’s being fed the Dark within Jonas, and he warmed with delight. “Ah. That rage feels really good. Not that I’m encouraging this displeasure, mind you.” Jonas grew tipsy on Sava’s energy. “I did try to tell you she’d reject your help. You’ve known her for years, but you haven’t spent much time with her recently. Why do you think I didn’t grab her when I sensed her at the mall?” “Because she might have killed you if you had?” Jonas chuckled. “There is that. I knew she didn’t want to deal with Arim yet. Not until she’s fully healed.” Sava’s brows met in worry, his mood growing dimmer, his energy richer. Jonas forced himself not to absorb any more from the Aellein king and concentrated on the wrongness he could see in sparks and lights in Sava’s flickering aura. “Sava? What aren’t you telling me?” The man came to a stop a few feet from Jonas. “We have a major problem, Jonas. My people and yours have felt Tanselm’s rumblings for weeks now.” Jonas nodded. That’s how he and Sava had first met. Tanselm clearly had a thing for the Aellein king, and for Jonas, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Flattered, of course, but also a little worried. The sentient land had a way of loosening her magic. Suddenly, Storm Lords were marrying Darklings. Sava spent more time in Tanselm than in Aelle. Light mixed with Dark. Night help them all if Jonas would be forced to wed a Light Bringer. Sava continued. “For all that our presence here is soothing the gaping wounds left by these idiot Light Bringers, Tanselm needs more. I’m just a visitor, but I can feel the land clawing at me to stay each time I leave.” He rotated his shoulders with discomfort. “The perfect answer to our problems is hiding out in a distant plane, pretending she’s going to heal all by herself.” Jonas recalled how stubborn his Dark Mistress could be. “I agree. I sensed it the minute I stepped foot on the land. Lexa belongs here, same as I do. Tanselm wants her. I already know that. But Lexa’s strong, Sava. She’ll be fine. The things I’ve seen her do…” “What you don’t know is that Lexa won’t heal, not unless we involve Arim. She’s missing a part of her soul, a piece of her ripped out and kept caged by the Malinta demons deep in the heart of Malern.” Jonas paled. “You’re shitting me.” Sava raised a brow. “Nice turn of phrase. I see you’ve been spending a lot of time among those of the earthen plane. Slumming, Jonas?” Jonas sighed, loudly. “Cut the crap, Sava. Just tell me how serious it is.” “Very. Lexa, like you, is a true creature of Dark. The demons that took a vital part of her essence are, in effect, draining her life with each breath she takes. I can’t help her with this, and neither can you. She needs a strong presence of Light to help her combat the growing threat within her. And not just from any Light Bringer, but from the strongest in the land.” “Arim? You actually think he’ll agree? I don’t know. He wants her back, badly, but I don’t think it’s to help her.” “So he wants you to think. There’s a lot of history between those two.” Sava’s smug grin put him on edge. “Things you’re not aware of.” “So tell me.” Sava studied him, and Jonas could feel fingers of magic trying to peer through his mind. “Cut it out.” Jonas sent a blast of Dark energy Sava’s way. Sava easily deflected the dark mass, dispersing it into the air, where Jonas easily reabsorbed it. But the distraction broke the tentative hold Sava had placed on Jonas’ mind, as he’d intended. “My loyalty is to Lexa. She brought the Djinn back into Tanselm. For that I’d be her slave forever.” If she’d let me. “This information is sensitive. I trust it will stay here?” Jonas nodded, feeling the small bubble of Shadow Sava projected around them to stave off eavesdroppers. “Several hundred years ago, Arim and Lexa, as well as myself and a few others you’ve never met, attended University together in Tanselm’s Great Hall, where sorcerers, Dark and Light, used to study jointly. It was thought that a combination of the Light’s spectrum could only help our ability to harness particular magics.” No wonder Sava knew so much. He’d been here when it had all gone to hell.

“Lexa grew up in Tanselm, a fact many don’t know. She was found abandoned as a baby in the between by a Light Bringer. Muri was her name, an enchanting woman with a full heart. Her family took Lexa in and raised her as one of their own. It naturally followed that as Lexa matured, she would take her place at University. She showed remarkable potential to harvest Dark energy from an early age.” “And the Light Bringers welcomed a Dark Lord in their midst?” Jonas didn’t believe it. “They did, such was the strength of Muri and Esel’s love for their adopted daughter. Both Light Bringers were extremely powerful sorcerers, and more open-minded than most. Tanselm treasured the pair, gifting them with an enchanting child named Sercha. Lexa was most fond of him,” Sava added quietly, a ripple of pain crossing his features. “There’s been much speculation about Lexa’s part in their murders,” Jonas admitted. The rumour floated that Lexa had murdered a powerful family of Light Bringers. The details were scarce, with no mention of them being her family. “No one’s really sure what happened, not even Lexa. One day Arim missed her in classes and went to check on her, concerned since Lexa never missed her studies. She lived for academia, and back then, for Arim as well. The two were inseparable, glowing with love. It was always expected they’d marry. There was such a feeling about the pair, as if they’d been blessed with Tanselm’s very grace even then. “Arim went to check on her and found, to his horror, Muri and Esel dead, Sercha butchered, and Lexa covered in blood, her eyes wild with horror. She was so incredibly angry, her energy bleeding everywhere, mixing with the Dark taint staining the home, that Arim only saw the surface. “He’d loved Muri and Esel as well, and their loss devastated him. But I don’t think he’d ever known such pain before. He mistook Lexa’s hurt and rage for aggression. He never told me exactly what happened once he found her, only that he and Lexa fought. They literally went at each other trying to harm the other, and then she vanished.” “But she’d never harm those she cared about.” Jonas couldn’t believe Arim wouldn’t have known that, not if he’d loved Lexa as much as Sava said he did. “No, she wouldn’t. But you’ve never seen her in a full-out fury, Jonas. I have. It’s a chilling sight, and I can understand why Arim would have thought what he did. He was new to love, then suddenly thrust into pain and fear. To my knowledge, he and Lexa had never even so much as argued prior to that. Quite a shock to find his young love covered in her parents’ blood as she tore through the house in anger. Don’t forget, a Dark Lord’s anger is extremely powerful, not to mention Dark. An instinctive threat to anyone with as much Light as Arim.” Jonas stared at Sava, understanding for both Arim and Lexa growing. “That just sucks.” Sava joined him in a chair by the bed. “It does indeed. I’ve never seen two people happier than Arim and Lexa in love. Watching them stab at one another for years has been unsettling. I’ve never quite gotten used to it, and I suspect, neither have they.” Jonas recalled each and every instance of Lexa’s behaviour where Arim was involved. “You know, anytime Arim came up in conversation, a subtle stillness would come over Lexa. The few times I observed her near him, she could barely take her eyes off him. At the time I thought it was from mistrust and anger.” “Probably those, as well as lust. Those two were made for each other. Even a Djinn can see that.” Sava crossed his arms over his chest and gave Jonas a droll smirk. “Yeah, well, this Djinn owes Lexa for what she’s done for my people. I’ll do whatever it takes to heal her. As far as what she and Arim have between them, that’s up them.” Did he want Lexa with a man who didn’t appreciate her? Sava’s gaze narrowed. “No, what’s between them is at the heart of Tanselm’s well-being. Those two are going to deal with each other, if it’s the last thing they ever do. And while they’re doing that, you and I are going to track down ‘Sin Garu.” Jonas opened his mouth to retort and paused. He could still feel ‘Sin Garu’s Netharat holding him tight, the insidious whisper of death at the hands of a dreaded Nocumat as fresh as if he’d been tortured just yesterday. “No offense, Sava. But I don’t see us defeating ‘Sin Garu, not by ourselves.” “Of course not. Honestly, it’s a wonder you Djinn emerged from the Dark at all. No. We’re going to track down ‘Sin Garu and let Arim know where he is. This is one battle that’s between a Light Bringer and a Dark Lord. The rest of us will just be in the way.” “But what about the Netharat? With that army, ‘Sin Garu, even weakened, is untouchable.” “That’s where we’ll come in. Between the Aellei, you Djinn, and the Light Bringer sorcerers under Storm Lord leadership, we’ll bring the Netharat to us and defeat them once and for all. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of my Nocumat drifting from my world to join a Dark Lord. Creatures of Shadow were never meant to invade worlds, to envision world domination.” Sava snorted. “We were created to enjoy life’s pleasures, to play and dance and laugh.” “Seems to me you’re always playing around,” Jonas muttered, getting a little tired of Sava’s highhanded insults towards his kind. “Maybe if the lot of you had any sense of discipline, you wouldn’t feel so threatened around the Djinn—the only race to give the Aellei a run for their money in the looks and magic department.” Score one for the Djinn, finally. As the Aellein glared holes through him, Jonas continued. “So what now, Sava? You seem to have thought of everything else. Why don’t you tell me how we’re going to get Lexa and Arim together without one killing the other?” “We’ll have to trick Arim and enspell him. Not so difficult for me, since he trusts me, to an extent at least. And we Aellei are the tricksters of the universe,” Sava said with typical arrogance. “I’ve an idea that’s been brewing since my last talk with Alandra. I’ll work on Arim while you go to Lexa and hold her there. Use this.” Sava muttered under his breath and suddenly a small bag appeared in his hands. “Put this in her drink and make sure she takes all of it. It’s enough to knock her out just long enough to put this plan in motion.”

Jonas took the small pouch, conscious of the coldness seeping through the bag’s pores. “What is this?” “Demon breath.” Sava smiled, a sinister look that had Jonas taking a second look. “I’ve been saving it a while. Trust me, it won’t hurt her. But it’s got enough of a kick to bypass her Dark protection. In her present weakened state, you won’t need more than the small vial within the pouch.” Jonas nodded. “Okay. I take it we’re going now?” “Right now. We don’t have a lot of time to wait for Lexa to realise how badly she’s hurting. I don’t trust the little fool not to leave since I know of her whereabouts. You keep her under guard while I deal with Arim. I think it’s best if they settle matters between them away from Tanselm, at Lexa’s place, perhaps. Tanselm is way too interfering for my peace of mind.” “You got that right.” Jonas winced when the land pulsed Light at him in protest. He noted Sava’s unease as well. “Handling Arim’s going to be tricky, which is to say nothing of the danger he’ll present once I’ve captured him. He doesn’t take kindly to deception, not like my kind, so if I’m not spot on, this won’t work again. I have to catch him right away and bind him before he can do any return damage. ” “Bind him?” Jonas stared, suitably impressed. He’d seen Arim turn opponents into stone and ash for less. “Takes balls I didn’t think you had.” He grinned when Sava frowned. “For a prissy king, you have a will of steel, don’t you?” “I’ll give you prissy,” Sava muttered, but his eyes flashed with excitement as he waved farewell and vanished. Jonas wondered if he’d caught whatever contagious idiocy Sava had. Turning on Lexa? Pushing her at Arim when he knew she felt uneasy and vulnerable around the powerful mage? Irritate a woman who had the power to bring him to his knees and take him from this world in the blink of an eye? Yet, if Sava was right, only Arim could truly heal her. For all that Lexa had sacrificed, for all that she’d done for the Djinn, and hell, for Jonas himself, Jonas would do what he could to see the shadows lifted from her beautiful blue eyes. To see that she finally belonged somewhere, accepted for the caring woman she could be, and not despised for the cruel sorceress she’d been forced to become in order to survive.

Chapter Four Arim stared at his dead brother-by-marriage with shock. Granted, as a sorcerer, he’d seen many strange and unusual occurrences with his magic. But he had yet to converse with the dead, let alone watch his sister share an embrace with one. Faustus grinned, his smile so like his nephews’ that Arim felt a stupidly wide grin split his own mouth. By the Light, he’d missed the fun-loving Wind Mage, Tanselm’s once-great overking. The great love Faustus had, not only for his family, but for his people, still clung to his pale aura like a second skin. The joyful warmth that had been missing in Ravyn’s eyes returned. The nimbus of pale light settling over them both only proved again how much his sister and Faustus loved one another. And how much Ravyn would miss him once he returned to the Next. Which begged the question… “By the Mother’s Holy Light, what are you doing here?” Arim had to know. Faustus chuckled. “Didn’t expect to see me?” “Of course not.” Arim took in his sister’s delight. “Obviously I’m the only one surprised. I take it you two meet often?” Ravyn answered, “Not as often as I’d like. Faustus is constrained by a lot, lately. The higher powers don’t mind using him to do their bidding, but the Light forbid he visit his bereaved wife.” Faustus sobered. “Now, now, love. My time is limited, and I’d rather make the most of it with you instead of being yanked back by those with no idea that I’m back where I’m not supposed to be.” He glanced over his shoulder as if seeing something they couldn’t. Ravyn stepped closer into her husband’s embrace. Arim could only stare, trying to absorb it all. “You’re substantial?” “Where are my manners?” Faustus gently released Ravyn and grabbed Arim in a huge bear hug. “I’ve missed you, brother mine. I see you’ve been weakening since I left.” Faustus shook his head. “You always were a hard-head. Can’t or won’t hear what Tanselm’s been telling you, hmm?” He stepped away and took Ravyn in his arms again. “Won’t,” Ravyn murmured, easing her head back onto her husband’s firm shoulder. Had Arim not known better, he’d swear Faustus stood before him, alive and well, his grey eyes sparkling with vitality. The slight tint of yellow that clung to him said otherwise. “Why are you here?” Arim knew Faustus hadn’t returned simply to visit his wife, not since Ravyn had ordered Arim to accompany her back to her room. “Your concern for your sister is admirable, but you shouldn’t be prying into her mind. I’m the one who told Ravyn about the next overking. She’s right to worry about the future. Your sister has been thoroughly drained by ‘Sin Garu, who even now eludes death. I don’t know how he’s been alive as long as he has, but what little humanity he had to begin with is long gone. The longer he lives, the more powerful he grows. It’s not the Darkness

within him that should worry you, it’s the demons that now fill his soul.” Arim too easily remembered the unholy green blaze of demon fire ‘Sin Garu had thrown. The blaze that had burned Lexa the last time they’d battled the Dark Lord. A blaze that had been meant for Arim. “You need to bring Lexa back or Tanselm is lost.” Faustus stared hard at Arim, his eyes full of power and wisdom, a supernatural energy visibly pulsing throughout his body. Arim could feel tendrils of Light, brighter and sharper than any he’d ever felt, creeping over his skin. Pinpricks of pain and a strange euphoria grew as he found himself unable to break eye contact. “Release him, Faustus,” Ravyn cautioned, a hand on his arm. She turned back to Arim. “The sensation will pass, brother. It takes some getting used to.” “Damn,” Arim rasped once Faustus let him go. His entire body felt like jelly, and a compulsion to follow Faustus’s orders clung to him. “What did you do to me? A spell of some kind?” He’d never felt anything like it. “Sorry, sometimes I forget I’m more than I was. Life after death changes you. But that’s another subject entirely, and one I don’t have time for right now. Arim, I know what’s in store for you if you fail. I don’t want to see my family…” Faustus frowned. “Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’m just here to visit my wife, still waiting for her before I finally settle into the beyond.” Arim didn’t understand what he was hearing. “You mean you haven’t passed into the Next yet? Where the hell have you been since you died?” “A very good question. I’ve been to the Next and back, and more. Wish I could explain it to you, but we’ve got company.” Just then a knock sounded at the door. “Open it, Arim. Our visitor needs you. And Ravyn, love, I need a moment more of your time.” Faustus smiled down at her, then glanced back at Arim. “Good luck, brother. And the Light bless you on your journey.” “And you.” Arim moved to the door. Opening it, he was surprised a second time. The guards who should have been protecting the queen stood frozen on either side of her door, locked in place by a hint of Shadow over their bodies. Lord Sava, King of the Aellei, stood there looking both annoyed and worried. Sava, worried? The Aellei’s eyes widened as he stared over Arim’s shoulder, and Arim hurriedly pulled him inside before closing the door behind them. “By Shadow’s vision.” Sava took two steps towards Ravyn and Faustus, then stopped. “Faustus Storm. It’s been a long time.” “And it’ll be longer still ‘til I see you again. Have a care what you do here, Sava. And don’t overstep.” Faustus seemed to brighten, and then he drew Ravyn aside and began speaking in a low voice. Arim studied Sava, curious at the flare of irritation in his friend’s face. “Something you want to tell me?” Sava shook his head. “I need your help. What I don’t need is a dead Storm Lord telling me what to do.” “Still upset Faustus managed to snare Ravyn out from under you, hmm?” Arim asked, amused at Sava’s annoyance. “Ancient history. What can I say? Love blinds us all at one time or another.” The look Sava shot him had Arim frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “If I have to explain it to you, you’re obviously not ready to hear the answer. Look, Arim, I’ve got problems that need immediate fixing. I’d do it myself, but I have a feeling your Storm Lords would take issue.”

Damn it. Arim knew that tone. Sava in a serious mood was no laughing matter. “Let’s go to my chamber.” Arim turned to his sister, still not sure how to feel about Faustus’s surprising presence. “Ravyn, I have matters to attend to. Faustus, good luck on your journey, my friend.” “And on yours.” An unreadable expression passed over Faustus’s pale face. “Don’t forget what I said. Bring Lexa back or the future will be dire indeed.” Curious that Faustus included Sava in that confidential bit of information, Arim teleported to his chambers. Sava appeared a moment later, trailing the energy Arim purposefully left behind him. They entered into a cluttered room. Surrounded by stone, the room had surprising space when not crowded by wall-to-wall tables covered in spell castings. Clay pots, earthen jars and all sorts of herbs, roots and books littered his workspace. An unused bed sat in the corner of the dimly lit room, no doubt covered by the dust that lingered in the musky chamber. Whispering a spell under his breath, Arim cleared the room of dust and dirt and brightened the space. “Looks the same as the last time I visited.” Arim frowned. “You were here at least two hundred years ago.” “Like I said, looks the same.” Sava glanced dubiously at the raw magic on the tables. “You need a wife, Arim. Or at the least, a hobby.” Arim couldn’t help but laugh. “Who has time for hobbies? I have a kingdom to protect, enemies to demolish, and Dark Lords to find.” His laughter faded at thoughts of Lexa. He wondered just what she was up to right now, if she thought about him at all, and why it bothered him that she might not.

“You were going to help me, were you not?” Sava asked, his voice light with innocence, but Arim wasn’t fooled. “What do you really want?” Sava crossed his arms over his chest. “Arim, I come to you, hoping for a peaceful way out of a hostile situation, and you insinuate I’m up to something? You Light Bringers have no sense of fair manner—” “Sava…” “Oh, all right. Alandra’s been telling me about what the Church of Illumination has been up to lately. Those bastards are trying to formulate spells to rid the land of Darkness and Shadow. All of it. To include Morn Mountain and other such fields in Tanselm that shy from the Light. That’s a major problem, wouldn’t you agree?” Sava’s sardonic voice rose with anger. “Yes, I do. But I just heard about this from Ravyn today. I’ve been busy trying to save Tanselm from destruction, so the petty politicking of the Church hasn’t been as much a priority.” “That’s all well and good. I agree ‘Sin Garu needs to be found and beheaded. But what about my people? The Aellei in the eastern territory deserve protection.” Sava’s eyes gleamed with menace. “I’m telling you now, they’re going to get it, one way or the other.” Arim felt his headache returning. “Why isn’t Aerolus hearing this?” Aerolus, ruler of the eastern territory and husband to Sava’s troublesome niece, Alandra. “Because the princes are too busy shoring their reserves for the next Netharat attack. ‘Sin Garu is positively brilliant. He plagues the land, and the lot of you rush to its defence, leaving the day-to-day open to invasion. Wouldn’t surprise me if the Church is infected with a Dark Lord taint.” “Who the hell knows at this point?” Arim glared at his friend, a sudden wave of weakness forcing him to lock his knees lest he fall over. Dammit, not

now, not in front of Sava. “Arim?” Sava looked as shocked as he felt, but the man’s brown eyes soon filled with concern Arim neither wanted nor needed. Ignoring Sava’s worry, Arim acted as if he felt perfectly fine and stood even straighter. “What do you want me to do? My hands are tied at the moment. I’ll talk to Alandra and Aerolus. Let them handle the Church. I have to find ‘Sin Garu and destroy him, to end this nonsense before he has time to regroup. If he is more demon than man, then it’s definitely time he met the Next. Demons loose in our world will mean the end for all of us.” To Arim’s surprise, Sava didn’t question the notion of demon interference. “Why aren’t you asking me about the demons?” “Because I have my own sources of information. I know that ‘Sin Garu is in bed with those Malinta vermin.” Sava tapped his fingernails against his chest, the action slow and hypnotic. Distracted, Arim blinked in confusion at the Aellei. “What the hell are you doing?” “What? Oh, this?” He stopped tapping. “Something my pixies showed me some time ago. The tapping calms me. Helps me to focus.” Sava tapped again, and Arim felt himself drawn to the motion, the weakness within him making it difficult to gather himself and look away. “Cut it out,” Arim whispered, unblinking as he stared at those long, graceful fingers. “Your problem is that you’re tired. You’re wearing yourself out, Arim. Delegate, my friend.” Sava tsked and produced two goblets in his hands out of thin air. “Might I recommend this fine cinarum I’ve borrowed from your sister’s larder?” The weakness suddenly left Arim. As he subtly steadied himself, he wondered what had happened in Tanselm to translate to his unexpected lack of strength. The sweet smell of the aged rum in Sava’s hands made his mouth water, and Arim realised it had been days since he’d last eaten or drunk anything. Still, a lifetime of wariness made him pause before taking the cup. “Of, for Dark’s sake, here.” Save scowled as he took a sip from both goblets. “No poison, just fine rum. Do you want some or not?” Arim accepted the drink. “Sorry. With rumours of traitors everywhere, it’s hard to know who to trust.” “That’s your problem, my friend.” Sava took a long swallow from his goblet. “You should never trust anyone. In my kingdom, we play games, and we excel at it.” “No one’s more shifty than you Aellein bastards,” Arim agreed. Sava preened. “Thank you. We’re good because we practise. I can’t tell you how many poisons I’ve become immune to or affected by in my vast lifetime. Or how good I’ve become at reading people. Take, for instance, Jonas Chase, your Djinn friend.” Arim waved a hand and a chair appeared. He sank into it, grateful to finally unwind, and imbibed more of the heated drink, filling his empty belly. By the Light, it felt good to get off his feet and, dare he say, relax with a friend. “What of Jonas? Don’t tell me I have to worry about him too?” Jonas had saved not only Marcus and his affai from harm, he’d also helped save Cadmus and was distantly related to Ellie, Cadmus’s affai. His position in the northern kingdom had helped many of the newly arrived Djinn to

adapt without causing an uprising among the northern Light Bringers. “You don’t have to worry that Jonas will hurt Tanselm. Your worry with the Darkling concerns someone dearer.” Sava’s eyes twinkled. “He and Lexa are great friends, Arim.” Arim should have bristled at the innuendo that he cared what Lexa did with the Djinn. But he felt too comfortable to argue. The cinarum warmed him where he hadn’t realised he’d been cold. He had to commend Ravyn for her precious stores. The cinarum he’d last brought her hadn’t tasted this fine. “Your point?” “Just that Jonas feels the same ties to this land that you do. Tanselm calls him hers. Though he visits the Djinn homeworld of Foreia now and again, Tanselm will always claim him.” Sava paused, his canny gaze on Arim’s face. “Just as his heart belongs to your pretty Dark Lord.” Arim froze in the act of drinking. “What?” “Lexa, your precious Dark Lord. Jonas loves her. Even now he’s with her in the mundane plane, watching over her in bed.” Rage frothed and boiled over Arim’s calm, igniting his desire to kill a potential rival. He rose with lightning speed, stumbling to regain his balance. “I knew Jonas knew where she was. That bastard. I’m going to kill him.” Sava nodded calmly and drained the rest of his cup. “Right. I’ll take you to him. But don’t let that go to waste.” Arim swallowed the rest of his drink without thinking about it and clumsily followed Sava into the between. He felt not himself, his fury that another sought to supplant him in Lexa’s affections obliterating everything else. Nothing mattered now but eliminating Jonas and taking Lexa back. He had to show her she’d made mistakes. Had to finally learn why she’d taken his heart and shredded it into nothing; why no other woman could ever compare to the heartless Dark Lord who’d promised herself so sweetly while killing his affections as cruelly as she’d snuffed out the lives of her family. In seconds he fell into the mundane plan. His knees hit the plush carpeting in someone’s living room. The tendrils of energy in the place felt Dark, like Lexa. And his soul buoyed. “Easy, friend.” Sava helped him to stand upright, the Aellei’s voice echoing around him. Arim blinked but could only see shadows blurring. So not right. The magic within him screeched a warning, and as if a cloud had been lifted, Arim realised he’d been under an enchantment. “Sava.” Even as he growled the name, Arim began calling on the Light, drawing on his ability to savour the purity of energy around him. “Hell. Jonas, now.” Arim struggled to see but could only make out vague outlines and dark blurs. Two powerfully strong bodies shuffled him across the floor and through what looked like a doorway. Before he knew it, Arim found himself tied up and in a chair facing a large bed. The hated feeling of bonds around his wrists stung, and he struggled against memories of helplessness as well as the Dark-hide rope that sucked at his energy. But what bothered him most of all, he’d again lost someone he trusted and cared for. “I’m going to kill you for this.” Bitter anger rose, mingled rage that his friend had deceived him and despair that he’d once again fallen for the lies from someone he’d considered almost family. “Do what you must.” Sava sighed. “If you two weren’t so damned stubborn, we wouldn’t have had to do this. Jonas, their clothes. I’ll take care of the rest.” Jonas murmured something Arim couldn’t make out before Arim’s clothes were wrenched from his body, presumably by the Djinn. Arim’s sight, unfortunately, no longer functioned. “Just so you know, the poison I gave you won’t hurt you.” Sava. “Just confuses your mental patterns enough to be led rather easily. It goes without saying it deadens the senses. Your sight will revert by tomorrow, your hearing as well. “The room is sealed with both Shadow and demon magic, effectively shielding you from anyone and everyone while keeping your own magic tamped within you. So don’t even try using it against your partner in here.”

Partner? Demon magic? Where the hell had Sava gotten a hold of that? And what did he have to gain with all of this? Had he made a deal with ‘Sin Garu? “Sorry. I’m sure you want to tell me to ‘kiss my own ass.’” More laughter, Jonas’ or Sava’s, Arim could no longer tell. “This is for your own good, Arim. You two have to work things out. I’ll be back to get you in a week, give or take a few days. I never can keep track of the time differences between planes. Everything you need is in this room. And I do mean everything.” Sava soon faded from his senses as darkness overwhelmed him. Arim stubbornly fought, but eventually his Light could no longer protect him against the invasion of numbness overtaking his reality. His last thought was that of an unknown partner before he faded completely.

**** ‘Sin Garu faltered as he stared at his reflection in the fine looking glass taken from the woman lying dead on the stone floor beside him. He wiped a

trickle of her blood from the corner of his mouth, annoyed his bloodlust continued to grow. Looking into the mirror, ‘Sin Garu considered his oncebeautiful features. He now looked like the monster to which many had likened him. His long, flaxen hair still flowed like silk around his face. But his eyes, which had once been a deep, inky blue, now flickered with red and green lights of demonic hunger that refused to abate. His pale skin was even whiter, any sense of Light a painful torture he could no longer bear. Jagged yellow nails encrusted with blood ended his thinner and longer fingers, which now resembled the talons of his Netharat wraiths. ‘Sin Garu studied the changes overtaking his body. His limbs, like his fingers, had lengthened. While he missed his old body, perfect in both tone and form, the demonic forces overtaking his reason forced him to acknowledge the benefits in such a frame. Stronger, leaner and more flexible, his body could contort to almost any shape, so long as he kept it fed and in the Dark. The muscles in his legs suddenly tightened. He noted with amusement that the shaft hanging between his thighs tensed as well. A spike of torture he’d used without cease on the woman lying so lifelessly beside him. The sight of her and the blood he’d just ingested stoked his hunger anew. “Sirral,” ‘Sin Garu mentally yelled to his newest assistant, irritated that his trusted wraiths kept dying on him. He’d been forced to kill Mirego a year ago due to his minion’s disappointing service. Then Caeth had fallen to a Storm Lord attack, another one of Arim’s casualties. The fucking Guardian of Storm. Snarling, ‘Sin Garu bellowed again, displeased his wraith still had not arrived in Orfel, ‘Sin Garu’s refuge in the between. Orfel was one of the last Dark Lord retreats still unknown to the Light Bringers or to his treasonous sister Lexa. He’d once considered sharing information of the location with her, a generous act he would have later regretted. That the bitch had instilled in him a measure of trust only proved, once more, how truly dangerous she could be. A small pop heralded Sirral’s entrance. The misshapen creature immediately prostrated itself, the scent of fear surrounding it overwhelming. “Yes, my lord?” “I need more blood, Sirral. This one obviously expired.” ‘Sin Garu kicked at the limp body on the floor, watching his wraith hungrily lick its lips, the thin, forked black tongue trembling as it sensed the female’s rotting flesh. Nothing ‘Sin Garu touched lasted long anymore. Not since the demons had taken over his body. He shrugged. No matter. They kept him alive and shared their considerable strength. If he had less control over himself than he once had, he considered the price worth it. His cock rose again, carnal hungers riding him hard. “Two more females, Sirral. Xiantopes. Ones with a bit of fight this time.” Sirral vanished, returning moments later with two attractive humans. The women made up for their lack of magic with waves of fear and anger, striking out against Sirral as he dragged them forward. The taller of the two had white-blonde hair, and ‘Sin Garu felt a longing for Alandra Storm, the Aellein princess he’d once been close to taking. So close, the magic of her kind within his grasp, and then Aerolus, her damned Storm Lord protector, had arrived. And with him, Arim. Always Arim. He scowled, and the brunette being dragged by her hair broke into screams. “Really, cease your caterwauling. You’re merely here to sate my hungers. Once you’ve done as commanded, you’ll be free to go.” “Like she was free to go?” the blonde answered shakily, her eyes wide as she stared at the dead woman by his feet. “Ah. Forgive the mess. I quite forgot about her.” ‘Sin Garu touched the corpse with his foot, sending her through the between into Malern, where the Netharat would feast on her body. A bit of a treat, and ‘Sin Garu figured that small rewards would keep his starving army hungry for victory. “Now come to me, lovely.” He faced the blonde, eager to taste her blood. “I so love that colour hair.” He waved his fingers, and she cursed as she unwillingly complied to his will. ‘Sin Garu ensorcelled this particular female to welcome his touch. While she moved sensuously, teasing him with her body, she internally fought every step while the brunette and Sirral watched together, respectively frozen in terror and desire. “Undress, melea.” Whore. The ignorant woman didn’t understand the insult. Sirral did and gave what passed for a smile on its hideous face. The evil within ‘Sin Garu writhed with need as the purity of the xiantope shone through her being. As her clothes dropped piece by piece, he felt his body stir at her beauty, her sun-kissed skin a ravager’s delight. “Now crawl to me, my lovely.” ‘Sin Garu gripped his shaft, holding it so that she might see his excitement building. “Drown your sorrows in my enjoyment.” He laughed, thoroughly pleased at how hard she fought his compulsion, even as he made her want what he offered. The minute she reached his feet he sank his fingers into her shoulders, piercing her flesh. She screamed even as her head drew closer to that part of him demanding attention. Inside him, the demons hissed and clawed at one another, eager to feel her pain, their pleasure. Her mouth opened, wet heat sucking him deep. As ‘Sin Garu threw his head back and allowed the beings inside him their gratification, he shared their bliss while that dwindling, rational part of him planned the next attack on Tanselm. He needed a distraction, certainly. Something big enough to draw Arim out again. But it had to wait until ‘Sin Garu had news of Lexa. Though disappointed that he hadn’t been able to dispose of her and Arim in their last battle, the fact that the stubborn fools had saved one another rather than finish him off told him much. He would never have guessed it by the way they’d fought all these years. Apparently, the idiots cared for one another. Affection, a vulnerability ‘Sin Garu had been surprised to find still in his sister. Yet she’d defeated him… again. Working with Arim, no less. The need to kill her in front of Arim, to finally break the Light Bringer sorcerer into little pieces, exceeded his desire for Lexa, and even what he held for Tanselm.

Nay, you shall have it all, the demons pledged as ‘Sin Garu felt himself pushing the edge of ecstasy. By the Night, the female knew how to suck.

He glanced at Sirral and the other female, amused at the pathetic erection straining his wraith’s ragged clothing. The brunette cried, horrified at the events transpiring around her, and her negative energy encouraged ‘Sin Garu’s rise towards climax. His fangs lengthened as sexual need beckoned his unquenchable thirst anew. So close… “Sirral, bring her to me,” he rasped, satisfied with the disappointment on his minion’s face. ‘Sin Garu continued to take his pleasure, licking at the blonde woman’s energy. He was enraptured with her internal struggle to dislike what she did. The demons within him screeched with delight, torturing her by increasing her pleasure in his taste. The woman wanted so badly to hate what he did to her, but her body and mind wouldn’t let her. The notion she might like him, a creature more demon than man, filled her with revulsion.

Yessss, the demons hissed as ‘Sin Garu finally exploded, his ecstasy their own. With his climax, his need for blood erupted. Using Dark energy, he yanked the brunette the remaining distance to him and sank his fangs into her throat. Sirral groaned as it watched, and the feeling of eyes upon him made ‘Sin Garu that much thirstier. Within minutes he’d drained one woman of blood while he continued to surge into the mouth of the one by his feet, his shaft pulsing as his ecstasy continued. The demons could never seem to get their fill, and since inviting them into his body and soul, ‘Sin Garu had experienced ever increasing desires, as well as seemingly never-ending orgasms. He spent and spent until his body held nothing more. The blonde gagged as he forced her to swallow every drop, the demons’ poison invading her system instantaneously. Despite her taint, ‘Sin Garu still hungered. He tossed the exsanguine brunette at Sirral and drew the blonde to her feet. “I hate you,” she garbled through angry tears, her passionate declaration most pleasing. Liking her defiance, ‘Sin Garu rewarded her by releasing the holds on her body and mind. “Ah, little melea, don’t you know that’s what I like about you?” She struggled like a wounded deer needing escape, and her terror lent his easy victory a sweetness that sated much of his desire. Content with Sirral’s choice of victim, ‘Sin Garu nodded to the brunette and watched as his wraith began eating the woman, clothes and all. The blonde before him began shrieking in fear. Without any more delay, ‘Sin Garu bit hungrily at her breast, forgoing her neck, and feasted on the salty flesh, coppery blood and piercing screams of his captive. While he fed, he idly wondered how his sister fared. Had she recovered yet from her brush with the demons? If so, how long would it take him to unite both Arim and Lexa? To see them beaten and prostrate before him as they awaited his judgment, and ultimately, their deaths?

Chapter Five Lexa woke with a groggy sense of her surroundings. The last thing she remembered, Jonas had been visiting. After her shock and disappointment that Sava had clearly shared her whereabouts after she’d explicitly told him not to, she’d welcomed Jonas with a grudging “make yourself comfortable”. He had, and he’d informed her of life in Tanselm. After that… She rubbed her temples, surprised when she felt the rustle of soft cotton over bare flesh. She lay naked on her bed. “What the hell?” After sitting up, she put her hands to her head to steady her swimming vision. How had she gotten in here? She’d spoken with Jonas, shared his concerns about the encroaching Church of Illumination, tried to gauge ‘Sin Garu’s next move and tossed ideas about his possible whereabouts. Jonas had made her a cup of tea, Earl Grey, her favourite, and they’d relaxed and popped in a movie. A touch of normalcy to give the illusion Lexa was no more than a tired working woman taking a holiday. And then…this? A male groan made her start and she stared around her. She saw nothing. He groaned again. The sound came from the floor to her left, and she leaned over the side of her bed. The sight of the naked male left her breathless and had her heart racing like mad. Arim Valens, her ex-lover, ex-friend and the man she couldn’t stop wanting even after several centuries, lay on her floor bound in Dark-hide rope. Lexa blinked several times and leaned farther over the bed, trying to validate the incredible sight before her. “Arim?” she whispered, not expecting him to respond. Jonas must have drugged her. A knockout with hallucinogenic side-effects. Perhaps a Djinn poison? But she was immune to most toxins. Perhaps the demon’s hold on her soul had made her more than magically weak, but physically ill as well? “Sava, you bastard,” Arim slurred, struggling in the binding around him. He looked uncomfortable, though scrumptiously naked. Sprawled as he was on the floor, and at an awkward angle from the chair, she figured he’d been tied up in it and had fallen out of the leather recliner onto the floor. The position he now laid in allowed Lexa a view she hadn’t seen in way too long. A creature of Light, Arim had golden skin—a tanned complexion that highlighted the muscular contours of his form. Though a sorcerer, Arim looked more like a warrior. He had powerful shoulders, a broad chest and ropy arms thick with strength. His legs were both long and well-developed, and the flesh between his thighs was thick, long and growing as she stared at it. Shocked, she glanced back at his face and saw the Killer of Shadow staring up at her with a look of hunger she hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. His response to her made her wonder, again, if she was experiencing odd effects from the drug Jonas must have fed her. Because Arim only ever looked at her with hostility or rage, never with lust clearly riding his dark brown eyes turning black with desire.

“Blue?” Arim licked his lips, his gaze leaving her face to linger on her chest.

Blue, what he used to call her when they’d been in love. And later, what he called her to remind her of how much they’d lost. It had been some time since she’d heard her nickname uttered in such a raspy, sexual tone. To her mortification, her nipples hardened under his stare. Her womb clenched with need, and had she not known better, she’d think Arim had cast a spell. Unfortunately, her body always clenched in his presence, and today was no exception. “Where are your clothes?” he asked, seemingly taken with what he could see of her as she leaned over the bed. Not embarrassed about her looks, Lexa nonetheless backed up onto the bed and lay belly-down, giving Arim no more than a view of her face. Bad enough her magic was all but gone. She needed at least the surface protection of the bed to gain a psychological edge against her powerful opponent. “What are you doing here?” “Here?” Arim tried to sit up but could only lift his head before he gasped and leaned back. “The damned Dark-hide is stealing my energy.” The minute he admitted his weakened state, he froze. “Are you behind this?” The lust flaring between them faded as his suspicion took hold. “I might ask you the same.” She scowled at him, wondering why he couldn’t have stayed silent longer. At least give her a minute or two to enjoy the sight, if not the sound of him. But no. He had to ruin it by opening his big mouth. “Why are you here? How did you find me?” “I didn’t.” Arim swore. “Sava duped me. Set me up and brought me to you. Said Jonas—” He stopped suddenly, his jaw clenched so tight Lexa wondered if he was in pain. “Jonas what?” Arim’s eyes burned a bright red, making him look very much like his firestarter nephew. She was reminded again of his ties to the Storm Lords, his royal nephews so close to restoring Tanselm to what it once was…thanks in no small part to her. The smug look she sent him had him snarling, and he roared as he tried to break free of the magical ropes. Such a temper. A pity it made him that much more attractive. For all that Arim was one of the most powerful Light Bringers she’d ever met, his anger had always been incredibly Dark, and one of his more attractive features. Too bad it had taken a terrible tragedy to show her his true colours. “I repeat. Jonas what?” she asked again, her libido under control. “Did Jonas fuck you in here? On that bed? Is that why you’re naked and I’m tied up? To watch while that traitor takes what’s mine?” Lexa’s mouth dropped open in shock. She didn’t know what surprised her more. The insane tripe Arim was spouting, or the notion that he considered her his. “Are you out of your mind?” He glared up at her. As he stared, she knew what it was about him that was different. Not his nudity or even his presence in her home, but the absence of his aura. She focused on the magic inherent in his being. To her astonishment, she saw…nothing. “Arim, what’s happened to you?” “What? Besides the fact that I’m naked and bound in front of you? Blame that bastard of Shadow, Sava. He and Jonas conspired to toss me to the enemy. But hear me, witch. I’m not helpless. Not at all.” Power flared in his gaze, and Lexa was taken aback, not sure what to make of this odd situation. She rose up on her elbows, careful to keep herself shielded from Arim with her hair. Flexing her hand, she tried to call forth blue flame, familiar Dark Lord energy. Nothing. Focusing, she called upon her weakened power to clothe herself. Again, nothing. What the hell had Jonas done? “Lexa?” Arim’s gaze narrowed on her in what might once have passed for concern. “Explain this,” he ordered in a deep voice. “You already did,” she answered icily, scared and determined not to show it. Her magic was all she had. Without it, she would surely fall to the demons, and she couldn’t imagine an eternity anywhere near the Pit. “Obviously I had Sava and Jonas bring you here. Now shut up while I try to think about what to do with you. Should I kill you first, or torture you slowly?” The untrusting bastard. Peering closely at him, she saw a flicker of his energy constrained, yet still there. He hadn’t lost a part of himself. He hadn’t sacrificed one iota of his stern, stupidly moral principles to do the right thing. Angry and hurt when she shouldn’t have been—really, what did she expect from a Light Bringer—she scooted backward off the bed. “Lexa, come here.” He sounded weary, no longer furious. She, however, still was. “Screw you. I have better things to do.” The first order of business was to throw on some clothes. With no other alternative, she showed Arim her naked backside and walked to her closet. Throwing the doors open, she found empty hangers. Her drawers were also empty. Minutes later as she stormed through the house, she found that all the towels, sheets, drapes and loose fabric had been removed as well. She could only thank the Dark that large trees blocked her windowed living room from her neighbours.

“What are you doing?” She heard Arim yell from the bedroom as she stalked around her living room. Thoroughly confused, Lexa tried to think. What did she know? Jonas had drugged her. Sava had drugged Arim. She had no power, and Arim was bound by Dark-hide in her bedroom. Yet even limited by the magic rope, he should have had the power to call a few spells. Instead, he bellowed at her. So, Arim must also be unable to summon his magic. Lexa turned the focus of her mind inward, a trick she’d learned as a young child to circumvent magic she didn’t like. To her consternation, she found what she was looking for. An Aellein spell meant to cloak those within its confines. Apparently, Sava and Jonas conspired to put Lexa and Arim together, sans clothing, for the unforeseeable future. “Shit.” Lexa gnawed on her lip and sat bare-assed naked on her couch. It was then she noted the scrap of paper on the coffee table. In precise handwriting with a masculine slant, she read, “The Mountain has come to Mohammed, as they say. Enjoy yourself, and work out your differences. I’ll be back to collect you both soon. You’re safe here from outside influences. But I can’t guarantee how safe you’ll be from each other. You’re both magic-free, at least. So try to fix what’s been broken. Because one way or the other, I’m dragging you both back to Tanselm. Sava.” The minute she dropped the note from her hands, it dissolved into nothing.

Damn you, Sava. And Jonas, you interfering Darkling. When I get my hands on you… A noise alerted her that Arim stood in the doorway of her bedroom. Standing, he was that much more imposing, his head brushing the top of the frame. As before, his eyes fixed to her body and travelled slowly over her from head to toe. “I gather you’re as clueless about all this as I am.” Not anymore, thanks to Sava’s note. “Sava’s a dead man.” “On that, we agree.” Arim strode forward, having somehow managed to break free from the rope holding his ankles together. His arms, however, were still tied snugly behind his back. He continued towards her, his impressive body taut with muscle as he closed the distance between them. Like clockwork, Lexa’s body began throbbing with want. Arim’s reaction, a thickening erection, told her he was as affected. His black eyes glittered with need. He stopped a hair’s breadth from Lexa, his shaft so close she could reach out and touch it. Her mouth dry, Lexa licked her lips and leaned back, not caring how weak she might appear. If he leaned one inch closer, she was going to grab him. And she didn’t want to touch him lest she lose all sense of why she should avoid him in the first place. “One thing that’s never changed, Blue. How you make my body ache.” His voice was thick with raw desire. Lexa’s pulse reacted on cue, racing towards a disaster waiting to happen. “So what?” She cleared her throat and glanced away. Anywhere but at the solid flesh whispering dangerously near. “Lust is an easy affliction to salve. It’s the hate and mistrust that keep us apart. I see no reason to change that now.” His silence disturbed her, but she refused to look at him again, until he stepped so close their legs touched, his body heat bleeding into her. “Don’t you?” His quiet question snapped her gaze to his with lightning speed, despite her intention to will him away. “Why did you step in front of the blast meant for me, Blue? Because I’ve had a lot of time to wonder about that. I still don’t understand.” “And you never will.” Because I don’t understand it myself. “You had the chance to kill ‘Sin Garu. To end his plague upon our worlds. And a bonus, to end my life as well. Instead, you saved me to let your bro —to let the enemy go free.” She stared at him, wary since he hadn’t referred to ‘Sin Garu as her brother. Arim was usually predictable, to the extent that she knew he would say and do whatever he could to irritate her. So why was he being so Light-smacking easy? “You took a hit meant for me, Blue. A blast of green demon fire.”

Oh hell. Arim’s gaze was softening. “So what?” “So why did you do it? Why did you save a man you’ve been fighting with for three long centuries?” “I did it to help Tanselm. That’s all I’ve ever cared about.” After you turned me away. “So your racing heart, your wet heat, none of that is for me?” He licked his lips, his gaze drawn to her flushed breasts. “None of it,” she snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest, betrayed by her body. “I was drugged, if you must know. Jonas set me up.” Arim smiled, a dangerous grin of seduction that made her twice as wary. “What is the Djinn to you?” “Why do you care?” She shifted to move around him and stand, not comfortable with his looming presence, or how close his erection was to her face, her mouth… But he blocked her with his body.

“Untie me, Blue.” “Do I look stupid?” “You look aroused. Sexy, beautiful, and very, very needy.” “Fuck you.” Needy? Lexa Van Nostren needed no one and nothing, despite her body’s flesh and blood demands. “Lexa.” He shook his head. His biceps flexed as he struggled with the rope behind his back, Dark-hide he’d find impossible to break free from. “Just answer the question. Or are you afraid of me? Scared I’ll do something to your precious Djinn?” She ignored the hard look in his eyes, the one that always turned her bones to jelly. “I’m as afraid of you as I am your nephews.” She snorted and crossed her arms back over her chest, wishing again she was standing. But she met his gaze, unafraid. “Storm Lords fresh out of the nursery. They’re barely into their powers and you think they can defeat a Dark Lord as powerful as ‘Sin Garu?” To her surprise, Arim chuckled. “Hell, no. I’m going to take that bastard out myself. My nephews are tasked with guarding Tanselm, and they will. You know this, or you wouldn’t have helped them protect their affai. For a woman so opposed to Light Bringers, you seem to have gone out of your way to help them.” “Them? Don’t you mean, ‘us’?” she reminded him, wanting him to acknowledge he was in her debt. “Of course. ‘Us’. Your sacrifice was remarkable, Blue. Taking a demon’s blast when I could smell the fear rolling off you. All to save me.” Arim suddenly sank to his knees on either side of her on the couch, his weight impossible to budge even as she struggled to be free. “Get off of me, dammit.” Oh shit. She could feel herself leaning into his heat, hungering for the sensations only Arim could arouse. None of the pathetically small number of her lovers had even come close to touching the joy within her body. His cock—hard and hot, and moist at the tip—nudged at her belly. He smiled wide and placed a hand on either side of her head on the couch. Burns marred his wrists, where the Dark-hide had chafed. Yet Arim had broken through them, once again accomplishing the impossible. “What’s wrong, Lexa? Don’t you like how my body feels against yours? Don’t you remember what it was like with me inside you?” He lowered his head to whisper into her ear, his breath making her quiver with raw need. “How wet you grew, how deeply I sank inside you, coming with such force we saw stars together?” Their breaths mingled, the sound of harsh panting increasing as their bodies rubbed together with carnal heat. “Get off me,” she repeated weakly, not meaning a word of it and wishing she did. “Tell me why you saved me.” He nipped the spot below her ear, pressing into her belly with an erection she wanted desperately between her thighs. “You would have given your life for me. Why?” He leaned up to stare into her eyes. His own narrowed, concern replacing the passion flaring in the black depths, as if he could see that part of her soul now missing. “Blue…?” Not wanting pity any more than she wanted to explain to him, or herself, why she couldn’t stand the thought of Arim’s death, Lexa did the only thing she could to distract him. She grabbed him by the hair and yanked his mouth to hers. Within seconds all questions ceased, and then nothing existed between them but true, honest passion. Arim couldn’t think. He’d wanted answers, not happy that Lexa clearly avoided an important truth hanging between them. But her close proximity eroded his control. The feel of her mouth under his blew his ability to reason completely apart. Groaning, he let her taste him. Succumbing to the sexual nymph licking his lips and delving into his mouth, Arim let her play as he basked in her touch. It had been so long, yet their connection felt as if it had never been broken. The magic tamped inside him reached out and caressed hers. Arim heard her gasp as his Light threaded through her body, and then she pulled him tighter, this Dark Lord, unlike the innocent he had once loved, so very commanding when it came to sex. Rubbing himself against her, Arim knew insane lust as he fought the urge to lower his hips and shove hard inside her. After so much time, though, he needed more. A quick fuck wouldn’t suffice. Her taste, the heady scent of Lexa aroused and wanting him, made his head spin and his heart yearn for more. Her small hands loosened their grip, caressing his scalp as she petted his dark hair. He cupped her head, angling her for a deeper kiss as his willingness to let her lead slipped. By Tanselm’s grace, the touch of her soft lips, so firm yet silky and ripe with her taste, had him near to exploding. Blue had a way of kissing so deep it felt as if she sucked at his very soul. In the years since their last coming together, that at least, hadn’t changed. She melted under him, her small resistance fading as she urged him closer. Pulling himself from her lips, Arim grazed her cheek and throat, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. “Arim, more,” Lexa gasped, squirming under him. He pulled back enough to glance at her, the sight of her flushed face and passion-stung lips making him long for the carnal pleasures he’d learned in the many years they’d been apart. The thought of putting himself in her mouth would have to wait, because he wanted to touch and feel the sleek skin beneath his body. Shoving the coffee table back and out of the way, he sank to his knees and nudged her thighs wider. Once nestled between

her legs, he cupped her breasts. Her lids closed and she arched into his hands, her lips parted on a breathy moan. By the Light, she was perfection. A carnal delight that thrilled every cell in his being. She rasped his name as he rolled her nipples in his fingers and watched as they darkened in colour, the blood rushing to the hardening tips. Arim followed his hands with his mouth, taking one firm breast between his lips, sucking hard on her nipple. Like fresh iria, her scent aroused, an aphrodisiac making him that much harder. He could feel moisture weeping from his cock, the need to push inside her and release a constant lure. But the waiting would make the pleasure even sweeter. Turning to her other breast, he nipped and laved with his tongue, and was rewarded with a spark of energy that shook him straight to his core. He felt Darkness, a complete rush of power crawling though his body. It was anything but unpleasant. “Lexa,” he groaned around a nipple, unable to keep from thrusting against the couch cushion impeding his flesh. “Fuck.” He let her go and gripped her thighs, holding them wide. Staring down at her, he willed her to look at him. When she opened her eyes, he found himself drowning in the mixture of confusion, desire and anger swirling there. Ice blue orbs stared up at him, waiting. “Take me,” she said clearly, her voice husky, her gaze direct. He broke from her stare and gazed at her mound, at the thin strip of dark hair shielding her from his touch. Arim wasted no more time and bent lower, his breath a whisper over her curls. He smiled, glancing back up at her. “I’m going to devour you, Blue. I’m going to make you beg for it, for me.” Challenge lit her gaze, but her stare was anything but cold. Filled with sexual heat, she dared him to try. Bringing her to the edge of the cushion, Arim manhandled her into position. He spread her legs and lower lips, staring at the pink perfection of her sex. Glistening with dew, she was ready, her perfume going straight to his head. He blew a breath over her clit and chuckled when she shuddered. And then he took it all. Closing his mouth over her flesh, he sucked hard on the bud growing taut under his tongue and teeth. Licking and tasting, he gorged on her passion and her power. Darkness flowed into him, a stronger rush from her core, the very heart of Lexa’s femininity. Like a drug, she pulled him deeper under her spell, addicting him in an instant. Hard and aching, Arim couldn’t last much longer. Pulling with his lips, he sucked her flesh between his teeth and tugged. When he inserted a finger inside her, she blew apart. Lexa came hard, her orgasm so strong they joined as one before either could stop it. Arim had a glimpse of vast Darkness, of pure power and an echo of something that should have been there. But the absence within her wasn’t enough to stop the tide of desire rushing through him. Yanking her from the couch to the floor, Arim quickly covered her and thrust deep. He panted her name over and over as he took her, conquering his Dark Lord while revelling in the shocks of ecstasy spiralling out from her womb. Pressure roiled from within, her inner heat in contrast to her cooler skin, the texture of her womanly flesh, her breasts sliding against his chest again and again as he rode her pushing him to his limits. Soft hands dragged at his hips, and he found the edge and crested over, joining Lexa in bliss. “Blue,” he cried, shooting into the heart of her womb. His pleasure lasted what felt like forever, linking them together as his Light flooded her, mingling with the Dark that swam between them. When he gradually came back to himself, he noticed her soft caresses, her hands stroking his flanks and making him wish he had more to give her. But he needed a respite after such a mind-blowing climax. Staring down, he saw her looking up at him with a dreamy expression on her face…until she noticed his attention. Her eyes frosted over, and she clenched him tighter within her, startling a groan from him. “Hell, Lexa, not yet. Let me stay a moment more.” She immediately relaxed, but the caution was back on her face, and the sight of it had him missing something he wasn’t sure he’d had to begin with.

Chapter Six Lexa stared up at Arim, her lover, with as much distrust as cautious affection. How he managed to slip beneath her safeguards time and time again after all the hurt he’d caused remained a mystery. A testament to his power, she thought. He flexed within her, and she had to bite her lip not to moan at the sheer pleasure of his touch after so many years. Like magic, they flowed together, their passion just one more thing linking them tight. Arim felt as if he’d been made just for her. If it were as simple as having great sex to solve her problems, she’d be in the bliss of the Next right now, contemplating an afterlife full of wonders. Instead, she felt her Dark essence begin to withdraw and hoped she hadn’t let anything slip in a weak moment. By Dark’s breast, her orgasm had completely shattered her. Her Light Bringer had learned a trick or two since they’d been together… She had to fight the jealousy she had no right to feel.

Once young lovers eager to experience only each other, they’d loved completely in ignorance of another’s touch. In the time since, Lexa had her share of lovers. He’d certainly not been abstinent, not if his experienced mouth was any indication. Good Night, but what he’d done to her with that tongue… With a groan, Arim withdrew and lay down on the couch. In seconds he had her in his arms on top of him. He pressed her head to his chest and settled his chin in her hair. Warmth spread through her, affection that fought the tight constraints of protection she’d spent years perfecting. “The Djinn means nothing to you, does he?” he asked with a contented sigh. For a minute, Lexa had no idea what he was talking about. Then she recalled his probing questions about Jonas. “Why?” Why ask her that now? What did he hope to gain from the information? “Because you were so tight, so hungry for my touch.” The jerk sounded way too arrogant, and Lexa decided to take the offensive, refusing to act the fool. “Oh? And you weren’t hungry for mine?” She slid a hand down his body and centred a cool blast in her palm, surprised when her magic actually worked. Arching the small energy over his shaft, she smiled at his exclamation and the firmness growing there. “Most men like what I can do for them.” Arim tensed. “Most men?” She shrugged, wishing they could go back to the calm press of their bodies, where the Netharat, ‘Sin Garu and Light versus Dark didn’t exist. But that would harm more than help, especially since just one taste of Arim meant she was losing her perspective. “Jonas is particularly handsome, I think. And very Dark, you know.” Arim reversed their positions before she could blink, and she found herself flat on her back looking up at him. “But it wasn’t his Darkness you were just clinging to, was it, sweet?” he asked silkily. “It was my mouth tasting you. My cock filling you with Light Bringer seed.” She pushed at his arms and he lowered himself, practically crushing her with his weight. Instead of feeling threatened, however, she felt incredibly turned-on. His jealousy pulsed like a warm wind, caressing her, as if readying her for another round of carnal pleasure. “You know, Blue, back then we were young. Innocent in the ways of pleasure. Of the games people play.” His eyes flashed with colour as he focused on her. “Seems like we’ve got nothing better to do than reacquaint ourselves. Since we’re both without magic at the moment, it’s my strength against yours.” He grinned, a mean smile that made her ache anew. “Your house, but my rules, my way. I have some questions I want answered. And you’re going to satisfy me.” “Right.” She huffed at a hank of hair suddenly in her eyes, disturbed when he caught both her wrists and held them over her head with one hand. With his other, he cupped her breast. Her body hummed with pleasure. Like a switch that had been thrown, she responded to his dominance, wanting more. Which scared her to death, because her heart didn’t seem to understand that sex and love didn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. Panicked at the thought of losing herself again, of going through the pain of rejection, she blurted, “So is this how the great Arim Valens treats women, these days? Forcing them to have sex? Raping them? Maybe you’re not as different from my brother as you like to think.” It was a low blow and totally off the mark. But her comment had the desired effect. He released her as if she were toxic and leapt off the couch, immediately putting distance between them. “I am nothing like that curse that infects all it touches.” He scowled at her as if she held the same taint. “I thank you for reminding me just where your loyalties lie. And for the incredible fuck. Apparently, you’re only a frigid bitch when you’re fighting, because that pussy was hot enough to melt ice.” His eyes glittered. “Sure were hungry for it, weren’t you, Blue?” Anger burned. Had she been able, she would have scalded him with blue flame and watched the cold sear his flesh from his bones. This was the Arim she’d left behind all those years ago. The same sorcerer she’d been battling all these years. One mind-blowing orgasm and she’d forgotten all that? “Yes, I was desperate.” She eyed him up and down, as if she found him lacking. It was all she could do not to dwell on the hungry part of him rising yet again. No man, especially no Light Bringer, should have a body that tempting and a mind that infuriating. “But then, you’d know all about whores, hmm, Arim? The only way those Light Bringer women will touch you is if you pay them. Too much Darkness in you, I’ll bet. Isn’t that a shocker from Tanselm’s legendary Light Bringer sorcerer?” His expression blanked, and she smiled, pleased the information she’d learned about him proved correct. In the many years since they’d parted, she’d kept abreast of his conquests. To her surprise, he’d formed no lasting attachments. Only short flings with indiscriminating women, some whores, some not, who demanded nothing more than a favour or two, and Arim’s coveted body. Under an enchantment of truth, the women had admitted that Arim had a habit of bringing Dark energy into the bedroom with him—an energy she now recognised as familiar. Funny, but at the time of their initial pairing, Lexa had been too innocent to know how similar she and her lover truly were. Arim stepped forward, his anger a palpable force that had the air around him warming. Surprised he could manage that with Sava’s shield in place, Lexa nonetheless stood her ground as he stalked her. Then that part of her that was missing—the piece of her soul caught and held by the demons —cried out from the demon plane. She was reminded again of what she’d sacrificed for this man and realised what a terrible mistake she’d made. “Too much Darkness for the ladies of my world, yes,” he hissed, stopping a few feet from her. “But not enough for the Ice Bitch of Malern.” Inwardly, she winced, always hating that name. “‘Sin Garu’s little sister certainly knows how to fuck like the best of them.” He tossed her over his shoulder, leaning down to grab something.

“What the hell are you doing? Put me down.” “You want me to keep my distance?” He laughed, an ugly sound that promised retribution. “Why should I? As you so clearly stated, I’m much more like your brother than I’d thought. Take you by force? Why the hell not?” He carried her into the bedroom. For the first time since she’d known him, Lexa felt real, honest fear towards the man she’d once loved with her whole heart. Just moments ago he’d gazed at her with tenderness, and now…this. As much as she struggled, she couldn’t free herself from his steely grip. He leaned down again, and she fought like a wildcat when she noticed what he’d picked up. A length of Dark-hide rope to match the one he’d fetched from the living room. Bound, she’d be helpless before him. “Arim, stop. Let me—” “Shut. Up.” He threw her on the bed and captured her hands, tying them together above her head and to the headboard behind her. Then he grabbed one flying ankle and secured it to the footboard, leaving her other leg free since he’d run out of rope. She was breathing hard, fear and excitement battling within her. The fear she understood, the excitement not at all. She’d never had rough sex before, and hadn’t particularly thought to try it. Watching Arim seethe with Darkness brought out her baser instincts. For as much as she wanted to be repelled by his strength, the Dark Lord within her revelled in his power, and in his willingness to use it. “Go ahead then, do your worst.” Lexa couldn’t help tensing when he leaned close. She closed her eyes, not wanting to appear weak while he took what she didn’t want to give. Her control. Her self-respect. Her last shreds of affection for memories of the man she’d once treasured. Seconds ticked by. A minute passed, and he did nothing. When she opened her eyes again, he was nowhere to be seen. Arim sat in a chair and stared at the wall, seeing nothing as he tried to calm his rage. That blue-eyed, black-haired witch was going to be the death of him. For one small, infinitesimally long second, he’d been tempted to take her by force. The thrill that afforded him made him ashamed to take his next breath. Seeing her tremble in fear had been almost as bad. Excitement he could handle. He’d seen that in her eyes. But fear? Leaving her side had been difficult when the Darkness inside him demanded he take what was his by right. A Darkness that shouldn’t have been there but was. He ran a weary hand over his face, humiliated Lexa knew what dwelled within him. He’d never been able to explain how a Light Bringer sorcerer so filled with Light could have such Dark needs, sexually. Lexa was just as bad, though she’d never admit it. For a Dark Lord, she had an amazing tendency to light up in bed, literally. The women he normally sated himself with liked bondage, a mixture of pain and pleasure that gave them that thrill they lacked. For Arim, it was as close a substitute to the pure Darkness he had only ever touched with Lexa. Still, the pain never matched the clarity of her blessed Night. Such a secret to hold. His family could never know. Ravyn would be appalled. His nephews would think him daft, and the Church of Illumination would order his head on a platter. Their beloved sorcerer, Tanselm’s Guardian of Storm and Killer of Shadow, at one with Darkness? Never. He flushed, embarrassed at such a weakness. But he’d always been this way. Tanselm knew who and what he was. The land accepted him. At first he’d wondered if the problems with his magic were her subtle way of finally rejecting him. Then he learned the land itself had a problem, and he felt simultaneously worry and relief. Lexa yelled his name, her voice gruff with anger and concern. Arim ignored her. He still didn’t understand how she could get to him. After such complete bliss, feeling their shared connection, he thought they’d actually begun to breech the hurt between them. And then she’d compared him to ‘Sin Garu? Referred to the evil as her brother? Something about her reaction didn’t ring true. He paused in thought. It was more than just Lexa’s avoidance about discussing Jonas. More than her odd reference to ‘Sin Garu, a man Arim thought she hated more than anything. She’d been with Arim every step of the way, her actions and sensuality in tune with his. Light’s breath, but a woman didn’t get that wet for a man she didn’t desire. What, then, was she hiding? He went over and over it in his mind, stopping when he remembered that odd sensation during orgasm. Lexa had been missing a part of her. In retrospect he’d thought it was her magic. What if that bit of her lacking wasn’t due to Sava’s spell, but to something more? She’d been attacked by demons. The only person alive Arim knew who’d survived a demon attack was Sava, an Aellein king much older and more powerful than many knew. And the man refused to discuss that bleak time in his past. His anger gone, Arim realised something else. When he’d lain with Lexa, all had been right with the world. She’d let him touch her, had breathed easily onto his chest. Then he’d blown it asking about Jonas. He wanted to kick himself. He was almost as bad as Darius, the least charming of his nephews. Needing the word ‘tact’ tattooed to his forehead, Darius often had to be reminded to consider others before he spoke. Yet he’d found a woman to love him. Arim only had the dream of a perfect love. Who could love a man with such Dark secrets, with a past as sullied as his family’s? An hour passed as Arim pondered Lexa’s strange state, as well as their inability to get along. They hadn’t even mentioned what had set them apart to begin with. Aggravated with his morose mood, Arim continued to ignore Lexa and stepped through the bedroom into the bathroom. He took a shower to revitalise himself. After finishing, he was pleasantly surprised to find a towel under the sink. He dried himself off and wrapped it around him. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, the towel disappeared into Shadow.

The Aellein bastard. Did Sava really think remaining naked with one another would solve all of Arim’s and Lexa’s troubles? Trust that idiot to think sex cures all. A look at Lexa’s naked and tied up body, however, had Arim rethinking the notion. The woman had a small yet curvy frame, with breasts that filled his palms and a waist he could span with one hand. That was to say nothing of the moist heat between her legs and the soft, firm ass begging to be ridden… His grumbling belly diverted him. He avoided Lexa’s intense stare by stomping back into the kitchen. The refrigerator, thankfully, was stocked with food. Minutes later, Arim stacked two plates of sandwiches, chips—his favourite creation in this mundane world—and carried two cans of cola. “About time you got back,” Lexa grumbled as he approached. He set the food on her dresser. Her face flushed and she continued to complain, but the sulky tone, and the fact that she couldn’t stop staring at him, buoyed his mood. “I have to go.” She nodded towards the bathroom. He leaned over to release her from the bonds holding her tight. Once free, Lexa suffered no burns. The Dark-hide only served as regular rope, whereas on him, the Dark-hide affected his skin with sores and burning cold. She scurried out of bed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Sometime later, when he was halfway through his sandwich, Lexa reappeared looking refreshed and just as alluring as she had before she’d left. No doubt about it, Sava was on to something about nudity and forgetting the past, because all Arim could think about was getting inside of Lexa again, and the sooner the better. Clearing his throat, Arim tried to focus on assuaging his stomach’s hunger. “You know, I’ve never seen you look bad.” She blinked at him in surprise. “Well, just once. Taking a shot from those demons turned you a little green.” Not to mention seeing her covered in her family’s blood. But Arim thought it best not to mention that time. Like the girl he’d once known, Lexa flushed, embarrassed at the compliment. Arim found her contradictions intriguing. “You know beauty is a simple spell, and one every Dark Lord is born knowing.” He chased the sandwich with a drink and prodded her with her plate. When she began eating, he decided to question her with kid gloves, in the hope something would break free if he had the discipline to ask nicely. He fairly choked on the thought. “You weren’t born knowing spells, though, were you?” “No. I instinctively knew some things. That I was different than my mother and father—Muri and Esel. That Sercha couldn’t harness Dark energy like I could.” Her voice was soft, sad, irritating Arim that he couldn’t help caring. “I had to learn how to cast spells. And to walk in the Light.” She took a sip of her drink and paused as if thinking. “I could always grab hold of blue flame. Its coldness is a part of me.”

A part, but not the whole of you. Arim dug into his chips and asked with a casualness he was far from feeling, “What was it like living on the Isle of Frigia?” She stared at him in surprise, no more astonished than he at his inquisitiveness. He’d always wondered, but had never had the opportunity to ask. He continued. “After…it happened, you disappeared. It wasn’t until years later that we learned you’d moved to Dark Lord lands—Malern, then to the Isle of Frigia. Where the Malinta Demons live,” he added in afterthought. She paled, and he knew he needed to follow up with questions about the demons. His instincts told him the truth would be vital to them both at some point. She took another long drag on her soda. “Malern is nothing at all like Tanselm. Lots of Dark Lords concerned only with themselves and what you can do for them. The beasts of the Dark aren’t very friendly, though they love the taste of wraith.” She smiled with cool satisfaction. “I started my ‘new life’ in Malern with Ini, my biological mother.” Her voice evened and she continued to talk, much to his surprise. Even more shocking, she maintained eye contact, her gaze both dispassionate and slightly challenging, as if daring him to pity her. “I know about Ini.” She laughed, a hard grating sound that bothered him. “You don’t know anything. That woman made ‘Sin Garu look like a Church brother, all kindness and Light. “Ini found me and beat me to make up for leaving her as a babe. She had it in her warped mind that I’d wilfully walked away at three months of age.” Lexa snorted. “Most Dark Lords aren’t really as bad as ‘Sin Garu. They’re just selfish creatures out to satisfy their own needs at the expense of everyone around them. Ini… She was a twisted soul. The things she did to B’alen and ‘Sin Garu…” “And you?” Arim guessed, his voice low. “She wasn’t anything like Muri. No warmth or compassion. Just ice-cold vengeance for anyone who stepped in her way, blood relation or not.” Lexa gave him a lopsided smile. “I took her lessons to heart. I used my brothers and turned them against one another. B’alen’s vanity was his downfall. ‘Sin Garu’s single-mindedness will be his.” “Why does he lust after Tanselm so much?” Arim had to know. “Because you have it.” “Me? What do I have to do with this?”

Lexa pushed aside her half-eaten plate, which Arim happily helped himself to. “Do you really want to know?” He nodded, half expecting her not to say any more since he’d admitted such. “Believe it or not, it’s pretty simple. Remember when we attended University, in the very first weeks of schooling?” Arim recalled it clearly. The first day of classes he’d seen Lexa…and fallen instantly in love. “The four of us used to spend a lot of time together. You and me, Sava and Kirsch.” “And ‘Sin Garu.” Arim stared at her, and then it clicked. “That sullen blond? He looked like a man fully grown. By the Light, he was an obnoxious fhel. Always taunting me, always trying to get your attention.” He saw the cruel male in his mind’s eye. “That was ‘Sin Garu?” “Ini pushed to have him enrolled in University. At that time, the scholastic board was all in favour of including as many colours and bands of Light as they could to better educate their students. Apparently, ‘Sin Garu knew who I was, though I hadn’t a clue. Male Dark Lords mature much faster than others their own age. He was only a few years younger than me, but he looked like a grown man. Larger. Meaner.” She shook her head. “When I chose you over him, he took the rejection to heart and complained about it to Ini. Like the good Dark Lord she was, she beat him for feeling inferior. Ini festered his competitive nature to destroy and take what he wanted.” “Which was you.” She looked discomfited and comprehension dawned. “You don’t mean…” “‘Sin Garu wanted me…sexually. Dark Lords have no laws governing sexual liaisons. From what I’ve seen, it’s fairly common for Dark Lords to bed their own before finding ‘cleaner’ lines.” “Hell, Blue.” Arim could only shake his head, sick to his stomach that she’d left Tanselm to live in that kind of environment. “You didn’t, ah, that is, no one ever forced you to…” “No.” She adamantly shook her head. “Luckily for me, Ini didn’t subscribe to incest. She definitely didn’t approve of her son lusting after her daughter, and she tore strips off him for thinking it. She turned his lust into anger using you as his target. It didn’t help that every time he met you after seeing us together, you bested him and rubbed his nose in it. You were so strong, even then.” “He was a piece of fhel, what could I do?” Arim’s heart warmed, unaccountably pleased that she remembered him as such a strong, capable male. “So you’re basically telling me ‘Sin Garu wants Tanselm because I have it? Or rather, because the land chose me to serve her?” “His obsession started that way, yes. But Tanselm is a force beyond compare, as you well know. With Tanselm in his control, ‘Sin Garu could conceivably launch attacks on any outlying worlds of magic, to include the mundane worlds, taking them with ease. He’s bent on universal domination. Aided by the speed with which he recreates his Netharat out of dead and decaying parts, it’s a wonder you Light Bringers have held out as long as you have. You still play by the rules. ‘Sin Garu doesn’t.” “Is that why you’ve helped us? Because you’re afraid if you don’t, he’ll take you when he conquers everyone else?” Arim felt sick mentioning such a possibility. “Partly. Mostly it’s because, aside from my family, Tanselm gave me what no one ever has.” That said, Lexa seemed to come to her senses and closed herself off. They finished eating and drinking in silence. When Arim stood to gather their dishes, he asked the question she’d hinted at answering. “What did Tanselm give you that no one ever has?” Lexa considered him for a moment, then sighed and turned away. “Something you wouldn’t understand. Unconditional, lasting love.”

Chapter Seven

Tanselm, the northern territory Darius Storm threw another fireball at an encroaching wraith. The monster screeched and combusted into ashes, floating over fifty or more Netharat. “You know, Cadmus. When you asked us to come for a visit, I thought it was for a relaxing supper, just the four of us. A small breather to recoup from the nuttiness of the past few days.” He focused his gaze and flame shot up in a wall in front of the large trees protecting the huddling farmers and their families on the edge of the northern kingdom. Whips of tree roots thundered out of the ground at Cadmus’s command, tearing through Netharat Djinn as the enemy hacked at Tanselm’s foliage. “Truly,” Marcus rasped as he forced a tide of water towards the red, gelatinous Nocumat, creatures only their Shadren brethren, the Aellei, could control, and only then somewhat. “I gave up my wife’s very creative company for a night with you three. I had no intention of spending my time battling this filth.” “Blame me later,” Cadmus snarled as he sent a ton of Tanselm’s earth crashing over more wraiths streaming through a dimensional portal in the sky. Streams of red and putrid, glowing yellow surrounded the large black haze. Like a disease, ‘Sin Garu’s Netharat had surprised the Light Bringers with a sudden appearance in waves that looked to have no end in sight. “Why are they here, now?” Aerolus asked as he stood with his brothers, his hands waving, stirring up winds that swept the enemy back towards the gate through which they’d entered. “Why would ‘Sin Garu’s legion attack here, tonight? Just a coincidence we happened to visit, or something more?” The brothers continued to fight, most of their sorcerers working to protect the Light Bringers without magic in the valley. Yet for all their efforts, the Netharat appeared to be gaining. Suddenly, the enemy slowed. Many of them began a retreat towards their portal while the others continued to engage in battle. Darius opened his senses, wishing he had the same ties to Tanselm Cadmus seemed to have. “Cadmus?” “I don’t know why they’re leaving.” Cadmus frowned at the scene before them. “Tanselm senses nothing amiss but our current battle, no sign of ‘Sin Garu at all.” “We’re here to help,” Jonas shouted as he and dozens of Sarqua Djinn appeared several feet away in the valley alongside the Netharat. They fought like demons, slaughtering their enemy kin while Darius and the others continued to fight. During a lull, Darius saw that most of the enemy Djinn had fallen. A few ice wraiths and several Nocumat dotted Tanselm’s fields, but that was all. Darius stared at their ally Djinn in fascination, taken with the people more energy than flesh. Jonas and the others looked almost like spirits, their white, pulsating bodies masses of energy that looked manlike, surrounded by black flames of pure Darkness. Even from his vantage atop the hill some fifty feet away, Darius could feel the pull of Dark tugging at his Light within. Jonas disappeared and reappeared a few paces from the Royal Four, still burning in truth—his natural state. “We have them on the run. Do you want survivors? Or would you rather we sent the lot of them back through the gateway?” The light where his mouth should have been curled in a grin. Inwardly, Darius flinched, a little spooked by the Darkling—not that he’d ever admit it aloud. “Push them back,” Marcus said. “Kill them all,” Darius disagreed. “Let them go. We have enough dead,” Aerolus stated calmly and began muttering under his breath. His affai suddenly appeared. A petite Aellei with hair so white it gleamed. Her soft skin looked so pure, she appeared an angel with the eyes of a devil. Alandra stirred Darius’s instincts to protect, even though he knew of her incredible power…and danger. Full of mischief and wit, Alandra was a true match for his brother, a man with a subtle sense of humour and depth of power only a true creature of magic could withstand. “Purie, control your kin, would you?” Aerolus nodded at the Nocumat breaking through the Dark bands of energy the Djinn threw at them. “For you, anything.” She blew him a kiss and laughed, then gripped the charm around her neck and vanished, only to appear beside a few languishing Nocumat. “I thought you took that charm away.” Darius had yet to figure Aerolus out before the enemy distracted him again. With another fire blast, he contained a mass of wraiths streaming towards Alandra. “Yeah. With that charm she can disappear whenever you piss her off,” Cadmus muttered as he shoved more dirt at escaping wraiths. “Wish I had a charm to take away from Ellie. Unfortunately, she now understands how to harness the Dark within her.” Darius wondered what it was like to be married to a Darkling, though Ellie was in fact part xiantope, like his own wife. Thoughts of Samantha made him grin. She’d be pissed as hell when she learned what she’d missed tonight. Thankfully, Arim’s ploy to keep her and Tessa with his mother was a success. Though Darius could tell Samantha was tiring of remaining inside the kingdom, her presence was working wonders on his mother, who lately looked better than ever. “Darius, get your head in the game and fry some Netharat,” Marcus yelled as a sudden blast of blue flame sent the four of them and Jonas scattering. Regaining his feet, Darius caught sight of four unusual looking ice wraiths. They were a new hybrid of some kind. Longer than the typical wraiths they normally dealt with, these four had a bluish tint to their skin. Their mouths were surprisingly devoid of teeth.

“Fuck.” Jonas threw himself in front of Cadmus. He absorbed a ball of blue flame as if it were water and shot bands of energy into the nearest creature. It shrieked and struck back, fully engaged with Jonas when a rush of Djinn appeared out of nowhere. “Friend of foe?” Marcus yelled. Jonas glanced over, still entangled with the blue-skinned wraith. “Friend,” he and Aerolus—who had some magical way to tell the damned difference—shouted. Personally, Darius thought the best thing to do was shoot first and ask questions later, because he still wasn’t sure about the changes Tanselm had recently undergone. He continued his assault on the enemy with his brothers, even as his mind wandered elsewhere, compartmentalising the battle. Marriage to a xiantope, even his cherished Samantha, had not been on his agenda when they’d ventured into Earth a year ago. He’d wanted nothing more than to return to Tanselm to defend his people. That and hunt down the evil that had killed his father and the other Storm Lords—his uncles, aunts and cousins—leaving him and his brothers the last Storm Lords in existence. On Earth, he and Marcus had found the brides Arim and his mother had intended them to find, strong women with enough magic to control their elemental power. Aerolus and Cadmus, his two troublemaking siblings, just had to marry equally provocative females. Not that Darius didn’t appreciate both women, but Alandra was an Aellei, and that race was a royal pain the ass. Ellie was a gem, but her father was leader of the Sarqua Djinn, an arrogant dick at the best of times. Darius didn’t understand how Cadmus could stand the guy. Knowing his brother, Cadmus probably got a kick out of irritating Ethim just by being his son by marriage. A loud shriek caught his attention. Darius, with his brothers, concentrated their efforts on the Nocumat now surrounding Alandra. The flare in the grey sky grew considerably smaller as Darius, his brothers and the Sarqua Djinn worked in tandem to overcome the enemy. Bit by bit the fallen were absorbed into Tanselm’s grasses and earth, their Darkness feeding Tanselm’s supposed need for balance. Darius still didn’t buy into that crap, but Aerolus and their mother spouted it so often it was becoming second nature just to nod and agree. Anything to shut Aerolus up, at least. “Finally,” Alandra said from behind Aerolus, appearing in a wink of light. “I have to admit, the Nocumat ‘Sin Garu’s recruiting are too young for this kind of play.” “Play?” Marcus stared at her in horror. “I was almost eaten by one of those things. And I can tell you there was nothing playful about it.” Obviously Marcus hadn’t forgotten his last run-in with ‘Sin Garu and an overly hungry Nocumat. Not that Darius could blame him. He couldn’t imagine being swallowed whole by a blob of red, living goo. Overhead, a sudden flash lit the sky. The gateway was closing. The portal blinked away. The grey sky returned to a healthy indigo-blue speckled with stars and moonlight. “How about that meal you promised us?” Darius asked, waiting with his brothers. He was tired, hungry, and pissed as hell that the damned Netharat seemed as strong as they’d been prior to their last major battle. Aerolus stared at the sky. “We still need to find out why they attacked now, and why here. I can’t put my finger on it, but I sense there’s a reason behind this particular skirmish.” “Well, I’ll leave you four to tinker with ideas. I’m hanging with the girls tonight at Mom’s.” Alandra kissed Aerolus, waved good-bye and disappeared. “She’s really into that whole ‘Mom’ thing. Hell, they all are,” Darius grumbled, secretly pleased Samantha also loved his mother so deeply. “And a good thing it is. Their love strengthens Mother,” Cadmus said in a burst of rare insight. “I hate to admit it, but before Samantha and Tessa started staying with her, Mother seemed a little…tired to me.” Jonas took the opportunity to interrupt. “Remir and I will take the Sarqua back to the castle. I’ll try to keep them out of the cinarum stores, but I’m only one man.” He flashed back into his human form. “Later, fellas.” He waved to his brethren and the lot of them disappeared from sight. “You don’t find that disturbing?” Darius asked. Cadmus sighed. “Not this again. Look, I wasn’t sure of the Djinn at first myself. But Jonas is trustworthy. I’d stake my life on that.” “And the rest of the Sarqua?” Marcus asked what Darius wanted to know. “Most of the others are okay…” Cadmus looked into the distance. “’Sin Garu has his hands everywhere. Our territories are no exception.” “Nor is the Church,” Aerolus said quietly. “I wish Arim were here. I’d like his take on this.” “On what?” Darius asked. “Spill it, egghead. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.” Aerolus allowed a small frown, a major concession of emotion from a man who, until he’d married Alandra, had barely shown surprise at any of Cadmus’s well-played pranks. “’Egghead?’ I think you spent way too much time in the mundane plane.” “On Earth. Yeah, but it was mostly in a bar with ale and good-looking women. Can’t complain.” Especially since Darius had met Samantha there. “So what’s with you needing Arim?” Marcus cut in. “Yeah, and what’s up with Arim anyway? He’s hot on Lexa’s trail. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s got a thing for her.” “Of course he

has a thing for her.” Cadmus shook his head, disgruntled. “First of all, she’s hot. Almost as beautiful as Ellie, and that’s saying something. When she turns those ice blue eyes on you, it’s downright scary. Even for a Dark Lord, the woman can make a man lose his mind.” “As if you had one to begin with,” Marcus muttered. Cadmus talked over him. “If you knew anything, you’d know Arim and Lexa were a pair a long time ago. Lovebirds, in fact, until Lexa’s foster parents died and she was blamed for killing them.” “What?” Darius blinked in surprise. “I’ve never heard that.” “No, because Light Bringer history is revisionist in nature,” Aerolus said dryly. “Especially when documented by the Church.” “So how do you know this shit?” Darius asked Cadmus. “Had a weird vision. I saw the past, as opposed to the future. In it, Lexa was seriously whacked out, covered in blood and crying. She looked younger than she is now, which isn’t saying much, I guess. She was really torn up by her family’s death. For the record, she didn’t do it.” Darius frowned. “You’re sure?” Aerolus answered. “Someone else killed them, and it wasn’t ‘Sin Garu.” When everyone stared at him, he shrugged. “Alandra and Sava were talking about it yesterday when I overheard.” “Overheard?” “Okay, I eavesdropped. But the bottom line is that Arim and Lexa have a history, and we need Arim to defeat ‘Sin Garu.” Marcus sighed. “So what? Get to the point, Aerolus. You’re giving me a headache.” Aerolus ignored him. “We need Arim, so we need Lexa. Once we find her, he’ll follow. Arim will never admit it, but he needs to find closure. It’s all about balance. Ask Cadmus. Tanselm has been telling him the same thing for months. The time, my brothers, has finally come.” Darius waited for Cadmus’s response, not disappointed when his brother rolled his eyes, as annoyed with Aerolus’s dramatics as the rest of them. “’The time can wait. I was going to mention needing Arim and Lexa after we’d eaten. Tanselm has waited this long, I thinks she can wait until we’ve had some food.” “Cadmus…” “Oh hell, Aerolus. Fine.” He turned back to his brothers. “Lexa’s going to help Arim. In my last vision, I saw them together, and they were definitely not fighting.” “For as much as he rode you and Alandra about having Dark affai, our uncle is involved with a Dark Lord? That takes balls.” Darius shook his head. Cadmus snickered. “Yeah. I can’t wait to throw that in his face.” “I won’t argue with you on that. First we need to find Lexa and bring her back here. I think we should start—” Aerolus broke off and stared at the ground near Marcus. “Marcus, is there something wrong with your shadow?” The four brothers glanced down. Marcus’s shadow was more than a lack where moonlight should be, but a Dark spot upon the ground. As Darius readied flames in his hand, he heard muttered cursing. Within a grey haze, a familiar presence separated from the shadow and coalesced into human form. “Dammit, Jonas. This is a private discussion.” Marcus punished him with a wave of water over the male. Jonas shook the water off him and slicked his hair back. “Thanks a lot.” “I hate it when you do that.” Marcus scowled. “Me too,” Cadmus agreed. “Sorry, but someone has to keep you four out of trouble.” Jonas looked to Aerolus, the most tolerant in the group, for support and found another annoyed stare. “Look, Sava and I have this under control. You four need to focus and keep the damned Church of Illumination in check. They’re awfully close to working up a spell to kill Darklings.” Aerolus frowned at that. “The Netharat are going to keep on coming until ‘Sin Garu gets what he’s after. Sava’s not sure, but we think the Dark Lord’s looking for something. Something or someone.” “Is that all?” Darius asked icily, more than annoyed a damned Djinn was telling four Storm Lords how to run their land. “Not yet.” Jonas flipped Darius the finger, and Marcus had to restrain him from launching himself at the Darkling. “Arim will be out of pocket for the foreseeable future. If you need him anytime soon, get with me or Sava.” Angry, Darius broke through Marcus’s hold to throttle Jonas, aware this time no one stood in his way. The damned Djinn teleported off the hillside before he could reach him. “Do you believe this shit?” “Actually, I do.” Aerolus sighed. “I’m going to have a good, long talk with my affai about her bothersome uncle. She knew something was coming up.

She warned me in that subtle way she has that always precedes trouble.” “You need to beat her,” Darius seethed, only half-joking. “I already do.” Darius, Marcus and Cadmus could only stare at Aerolus, the most quiet of them all. To their further astonishment, the Wind Mage gave them a large grin. “If you could see your faces. Now let’s grab something to eat before we wither away to nothing.” Aerolus prodded Cadmus to get him moving, then added as if an afterthought, “Alandra only likes it rough every now and again. But I find I have an aptitude for it.” Which had Darius dumbfounded for the first time in forever. As they tiredly walked back to the castle, Darius had to hand it to Aerolus. You always had to watch the quiet ones.

**** Remir, Jonas’ best friend and a trusted Sarqua leader, waited until Jonas and the others left the hillside. He trailed the Storm Lords a short distance, then watched for his contact to appear. While Tanselm absorbed the dead bodies of Dark into her earth, a figure strode out of the woodline. In a hooded robe made of black fabric, the small figure might well have been a fictional Reaper from the Next. If only, Remir thought tiredly. He was so ready to move on. Any more nights with ‘Sin Garu and he’d start losing his mind. The blood ‘Sin Garu took from him was no longer enough. As well as raping his body, the Dark Lord was now the conduit for the demons ravaging Remir’s soul. The hooded figure paused when he reached Remir, his innocence a surprising change from the zealots Remir had seen in the northern territory. The young man, having captured Remir’s attention, turned and walked back into the woods. The trees seemed to welcome the figure, a notable difference from the way nature greeted most of the Church brethren—with an open hostility Remir’s Darkness sensed. “My master wants a word.” The churchman sounded shaky. He didn’t seem as comfortable around Darkness as his holy brethren. Strangely pleased that his partner in crime feared him, Remir played on his Dark energy. Willing himself to burn in truth, he chuckled at the young man’s fear. With a gasp, his contact pointed in an opposite direction before abandoning him to run back into the forest. Snorting with contempt, Remir put out a psychic feeler and located the person he’d been sent to find. Walking through the forest, feeling more alive in his natural state, Remir wondered if an influx in his energy might burn off the demon touch lingering over his skin. His loins tingled as he recalled the baser acts ‘Sin Garu had perpetrated, and Remir hastened to deal with his contact and get back to his master before the Dark Lord decided on more of the same. “Here,” a deep voice called, one filled with arrogant assurance. Remir stopped and flowed back into a man’s flesh, not wanting his true self exposed to the evil seething in the Light Bringer traitor. His skin crawled in the presence of the churchman. Unlike the many people he’d met in the northern territory, this man stank of corruption. Here, in Tanselm’s heart, this misrepresentation of everything the Church of Illumination was supposed to be, stood a creature filled with malevolence. Strength was there in the dark brown eyes that glittered with scorn. “Tell your master everything is going according to plan.” Remir nodded, not trusting himself not to reach out and tear the man’s throat out. He’d been forced to turn against his people and Tanselm, but this holy leader, Ordinary Nohjen, had offered his services to the Dark Lord. “My spies are in place. The time is ripe for insurrection. The Light Bringers doubt their leaders. And with the Storm Lords away from the west this night, there’s no better time to bring down the throne. A small obstacle, really, but with the overqueen gone, the heart of the people’s resistance will fade as surely as Tanselm’s Light has been fading since the Dark stepped onto our lands.” Remir could only stare in shock. He had known nothing about this plot to kill Queen Ravyn. With her dead, he feared the Storm Lords would never rid their world of ‘Sin Garu. There would be too much pain and mired chaos to wade through, obviously what ‘Sin Garu was counting on. Remir’s heart sank at the thought of allowing the twisted Dark Lord to win. For months he’d been forced to do ‘Sin Garu’s bidding. Yet he’d always harboured a secret hope the Storm Lords would prevail, or at the very least, expose him for his part in ‘Sin Garu’s work. Would that the Sarqua Djinn or Light Bringers kill him before he could do any permanent damage to the Storm Lords. If only the spell around him didn’t keep him so distant and quiet when around Jonas… Remir stared hard at Nohjen, wondering how firm the zealot was in his convictions. ‘Sin Garu’s spell prevented Remir from turning to his trusted comrades. Perhaps he could plant the seeds of doubt in this man’s mind. He had to at least try, to know he attempted to prevent the downfall of the Light in this world. “If you’re so revolted by Dark presence, why have anything to do with a Dark Lord?” Remir didn’t understand the church leader’s willingness to work for ‘Sin Garu. “They don’t come much Darker than that.” Nohjen shrugged. “Sacrifice is a constant in the world we live in. For Tanselm, we’ll do anything to preserve her constructs. The fact is that the land needs more energy, Dark energy. But what we don’t need is so much filth staining the populace.” “So you’re saying you’re taking the lesser of two evils? One Dark Lord instead of the many Djinn and Aellei ‘corrupting’ your world?” Was the man completely crazy?

The churchman sneered. “Exactly. The lot of your kind pollutes the very air we Light Bringers breathe. If we must deal with the Dark, at least we choose to deal with one being, and one of power, at that.” He gave Remir a disgusted look. “I hadn’t realised you Djinn possessed anything resembling intelligence under that black flame. But I’m not surprised it now burns blue. You creatures are always fucking anything that moves. Dark Lords too, hmm?” Remir peered closer at his contact, surprised the man could see through his flesh to the Djinn that burned in truth beneath, or that a Light Bringer knew how to read signs of Dark Lord taint. He experienced another unfortunate surprise. Latent power blazed under a deliberately misleading guise. The man before him was no ordinary Light Bringer turned traitor, but a sorcerer who’d done a remarkable job of hiding his power. The knowledge was just another piece of bad news for this world needing more help than Remir could manage. If Nohjen knew of such Dark magic, who knew what else the Church of Illumination understood? How vast was their knowledge? Remir had a feeling the Church’s deception went beyond one or two individuals, and actually extended throughout their entire organisation. The Church of Illumination was the threat Jonas thought it to be. Thoughts of Jonas made Remir hurt worse. His friend needed this information, but Remir was helpless to share it. With each visit to the Dark Lord, Remir’s will to resist grew weaker. As easy as it should have been for Remir to leave this fhel and teleport to Jonas, the truth was that every fibre in Remir’s body vibrated with the need to feel Dark Lord flesh under his palms. The need to hurt, to feel the pain only ‘Sin Garu could bestow, shook him with an addict’s compulsion…and self-loathing. Nohjen flicked at several blades of grass clinging to the robe covering his sturdy body. “Tell ‘Sin Garu we move tonight. By the morrow, the Storm Lords will be without an overqueen. Then we’ll begin eradicating the rest of your kind from our lands.” The magic binding Remir to ‘Sin Garu’s will fought Remir’s urge to convince the churchman to forfeit his evil plans. Excruciating pain throbbed behind his temples as he forced out the words. “You’re not at all concerned ‘Sin Garu will kill you and your kind? He has no fondness for Light.” “But he respects power. The Church has its ways of protecting ourselves.” The churchman shook his head. “I’ve no liking for ‘Sin Garu, but he and others like him certainly exist. So we sacrifice some of Tanselm’s power to soothe a hungry Dark Lord and in turn help our world overcome its shortcomings. In the end, Tanselm’s lands will remain ours.” “You actually trust him to keep his word?” The words felt like shards of glass ripping through his throat, but Remir did his best to instil doubt. Unfortunately, Nohjen stood firm. “No. But he knows what we’ll do to him if he tries to break our agreement.” What could the Church do? Curiosity blazed, driving Remir to pursue his questioning. Nohjen waited, studying Remir with reluctant interest. “And what of the other worlds ‘Sin Garu will conquer with Tanselm’s power in his hands?” Remir was sweating, a burning pervading his limbs as he tried in vain to warn this man away from the course the Church had set. “What of them?” Chilly brown eyes stared back at him with dismissal. “As long as Tanselm remains safe, the Church and I have done our duty. But I will make sure to share your concern with my brethren.” Nohjen chuckled, his voice like daggers slicing Remir’s last hopes to shreds. “Now give me what you’re supposed to…fhel-sa Efan melea.” Unworthy Dark Lord whore. Remir wanted nothing more than to take the head from this man’s body. Instead, he watched himself hand the bastard a small black bag that appeared from out of nowhere. Dread overwhelmed him. “Four strikes to the chest. No more, and no less,” he said in a toneless voice, his body a mere puppet controlled by Dark Lord strings.

For your disobedience, Darkling, we’ll spend quality time together this eve. ‘Sin Guru’s laughter resounded in Remir’s mind, the promise of retribution swift and deadly. Nohjen took the proffered bag and disappeared into the forest without another word. Despite ‘Sin Garu’s threats, or perhaps because of them, Remir struggled to go after the churchman, to take back what would amount to a crushing blow at the Storm Lords. Lexa, he mentally shouted. Dark

Mistress, please. I need you. Like the dozen other pleas he’d sent, this one, too, went unanswered. Desperate to find the Storm Lords, to do anything he could to warn them, Remir focused on Cadmus, the Storm Lord he knew best, trying to get a lock on the man even as he fought the encroaching Darkness of ‘Sin Garu’s command to return home. A sudden blast of Dark energy gave him much needed respite from the sorcerer’s mental tampering. “Not you, Remir. Please, tell me I’m wrong.” Jonas tugged him into a small clearing strapping down his arms and his magic. Unable to free himself, Remir could only wait. Jonas circled to stand in front of him. His gaze had darkened to a deep black. The fury snapping from his aura was enough to make Remir wince with shame. But at least he could function through the pain hampering his magic. Jonas’ Dark energy sapped some of the strength of ‘Sin Garu’s binding spell. “I—” Blue flame shot from Remir’s mouth, a monstrous wave of pain taking him to his knees. “Shit.” Jonas muttered under his breath and turned the power ensnaring Remir into a boost of energy, helping him to further block ‘Sin Garu’s Dark

magic. “Hurry,” Remir rasped, fighting the coldness freezing his vocal cords. “Church going to… kill… the qu—” A demon’s shriek echoed. Remir writhed in agony as a creeping evil wound through the blood pulsing within him. “I didn’t want to believe it when Lexa told me she suspected you. I told her she had to be wrong. Not you.” Jonas leaned towards him, speaking through a tightly clenched jaw. Worry mingled with the blame in his gaze, and he increased the surge of energy he lent Remir. Remir tried again to do the right thing. “Help.” He coughed, pulling at his throat, his chest, needing Jonas’ strength to make sense of the misery that had so recently been his life. “I’m trying to help, dammit.” “Warn…queen.” Jonas stilled. “Ravyn?” “K-k-kill her.” He took a deep breath. “To-night.” Jonas scowled, and suddenly a Djinn appeared next to them. Alor, another of Remir’s battle brothers, stared down at him in shock. “Remir? By Dark’s breast, now they’re attacking us one by one?” Jonas cut him off. “Hurry back to the keep. Tell the Storm Lords Queen Ravyn is in danger. Don’t stop for anyone or anything. Go.” Alor’s face darkened, but before he could disappear, a half dozen Djinn, members of ‘Sin Garu’s Netharat, surrounded them. A burst of energy shielded them from teleporting anywhere. “So…sorry.” Tears spilled down Remir’s face. “Sor…cer…y.” He coughed again, blood pushing over his lips as he blindly reached for Jonas’ hand. “Bro…ther.” Before his vision completely glazed over, Remir swore he saw forgiveness flash in Jonas’ face. The sound of battle tore him from the haze invading his mind and body, and unbearable pain struck him as his own personal hell became real. He heard a bloodcurdling scream, felt the burn of his soul as it was ripped away by the demons crawling all over him, and belatedly understood the cries came from his own throat. “Mother of Night,” someone prayed before Remir lost all feelings but those of abject terror. ‘Sin Garu’s punishment had not been the worst thing he’d ever felt, nor did it come close to what the demons were doing to him as they carted him through the between into their world, one piece at a time.

Chapter Eight Arim stared at Lexa, wishing she’d say something. Since her outpouring a week ago, she’d been steadfastly silent. Truth be told, he’d welcomed her quiet…at first. Being around the woman he wanted to hate but couldn’t was hard enough. Confusing emotions pressed him from every angle, making him secondguess his interactions with Lexa throughout the years, stirring up the past and causing him to wonder about the future. For centuries Arim had tried to bury his feelings for the slight female, lingering only on that one day when their world had gone horribly wrong. It had been hell to remember the loving, blue radiance of her gaze, the delight she took in spending time with her family, the bewitching softness of her skin. From the first, he’d been enthralled. Her ties with Darkness had intrigued Arim on every level, his initial resistance to their differences nonexistent. Their innocent love had blazoned with the potential for so much more, until the damning deaths of her foster family. Deaths he’d always thought she’d caused. Uncertainty gnawed at him. The more time he spent around Lexa, the more he doubted what he’d seen so long ago. A small glimpse into her mind had pushed his reservations, snowballing into the cauldron of doubt now boiling over. Because for all of Lexa’s purported viciousness, he’d never actually seen her harm anyone save the Dark Lords and, well, himself. Even then, she’d never done him any real damage. Their battles had been fought fairly, Light against Dark. And just when Lexa had been granted an opportunity to kill not only ‘Sin Garu, but Arim as well, she’d chosen to save him, granting her enemy’s escape. At what cost to herself? That inconsistency he’d noted when making love to Lexa bothered the hell out of him. Regardless of the spell Sava had cast disabling both Lexa and him from using magic, Lexa didn’t look well. She was still sexy, still alluring in every sense of the word. But he could feel a subtle difference in her magic. Arim should have been pleased to finally be in a position of clear advantage. If her magic was off, the better for him. With both of them mystically powerless, superiority fell on the shoulders of greater physical strength. Bottom line, in this particular contest, Arim was the winner. So why did he want Lexa to engage him as an equal? Why wish that she confront him, talk or argue with him, about anything at all? Just to prolong contact with her? He grimaced at the ceiling in her bedroom, his hands clasped behind his head as he lay in her bed. They’d taken to keeping to themselves. He in

the bedroom, she in the living room. He needed a clear head to think, and every time he laid eyes on her, remembrances of their lovemaking seared him. One look at her siren’s face and body and Arim wanted to throw everything aside and finally slake his thirst for the contrary woman who bedevilled him by simply breathing. Dammit. He glared down at his rising erection, wishing he could get through even ten minutes without wanting her. “Bring her back,” Faustus had ordered. How could Arim do that when he couldn’t even function around the woman without wanting to bend her over and command her sensual obedience? He cursed again. While he lay trapped by a Shadow spell in the mundane world, Jonas and Sava were running amuck doing the-Light-knew-what. Arim could only pray his nephews and sister kept Tanselm safe while he was stuck here with Lexa. Stuck with a woman he wanted to love with every fibre of his being. A foolish pursuit, but one he couldn’t shake. And how stupid was that? His frustration built. Something had to give. He wanted Lexa. He knew she desired him. Staying away from one another wasn’t working. Arim had felt true peace the last time they’d touched. Dammit, he wanted to feel it again. Desperation for something more hit him hard, and he wondered at the sudden ache in his chest. For three hundred years he’d been without her, without Lexa by his side in his life. Now he had the chance to at least get the answers to the questions that had been plaguing him for so long. Never in a million years would he have expected an encounter like the one they’d had just a few short days ago. A perfect union followed by a brief moment of utter peace. So why was he avoiding her? He eyed the closed door between them, knowing the truth he’d been unwilling to face for so long. I’m such a fool. Arim flushed at his cowardice, finally understanding the course he had to take if he ever wanted to be truly whole. He had let her go once because he was confused…and afraid. That debilitating fear had returned after making love to Lexa again. Arim Valens, Guardian of Storm, Tanselm’s most powerful sorcerer, allowed fear to rule him. Disgusted with himself, he cursed low and long. His conscience, however, refused to back down, forcing him to look at himself. Losing Lexa all those years ago had nearly destroyed him. It had taken everything he had to go on with his life, to build new safeguards around his heart and strive to be a better man. Facing Lexa now would force him to review his past actions. To deal with her honestly, and to see where the truth would take them. Arim sat up and swung his legs over the bed. Time was a commodity that worked in his favour in this plane, yet that wouldn’t last forever. Who knew when Sava might return? Arim had spent a week trying to make the situation between him and Lexa go away. A fool’s notion, surely. Because the tension between them existed, and the dangers outside this small bubble of Shadow waited for them still. Something within him finally broke down. He stood, determined for the first time in days. Arim had to make the most of this opportunity. At least if he knew the truth, he could live content that he understood why Lexa had done what she had. That had bothered him more than anything, that he’d misjudged what his heart had told him. The key would be getting Lexa to tell him what he needed to know. The time had come to start acting like a man, to take charge of this mess and make sense of an inevitable confrontation. With determined strides, Arim left the bedroom, only to find Lexa curled up on her couch covered in pillows that did little to conceal her curvy shape. Arim stared down at her, a curious melting in the core of his heart. So beautiful, so vulnerable… He leaned down to stroke her soft black hair, unable to help himself. The minute they touched, the soft frown on her face faded. She gave a breathy sigh that went straight to his groin, and Arim both cursed and thanked Sava for this golden opportunity. His gaze fell on a piece of the Dark-hide Lexa had taken with her. It sat next to the couch on her coffee table, and Arim had a sudden desire to use it. A plan formed, an outlandish idea he’d fantasised about for years. Lexa responded to him physically, so why not use that to his advantage? She’d never tell him what he wanted if he asked straight out. The Light knew he’d asked her plenty of times before, to no avail. His cock throbbed at thoughts of dominating his little Dark Lord. Hell, I might be more like Aerolus than I thought, he imagined with a grin. Bending down, he gathered Lexa in his arms and sucked in a breath at the rightness in their contact. Arim ached to possess her, to feel her cool skin sliding against his own as he took what had once been his. “And soon will be again,” he murmured, kissing her forehead when Lexa frowned in sleep. She calmed instantly and snuggled closer, her breasts brushing his chest, stimulating him with each breath she took. Time to take charge. Sava, damn him, is right. This has gone on too long. One way

or the other, Lexa and I are going to find the truth. Either way, I’m finally taking what’s been denied me for so long. The pleasure in Darkness only Lexa can show me. Lexa rose to awareness feeling well-rested. A warm caress over her belly woke her, and she knew instantly that Arim lay beside her. Light streaked through her stomach into her core, the flare of passion not as surprising as her desire to feel him inside her again, despite the tension between them. Scared at how much of herself she’d revealed to a man known as the Killer of Shadow, Lexa had taken refuge in silence the past few days. While secure in her quiet, a larger part of her was disappointed that Arim seemed content to accept her isolation. Loneliness, a concept she’d lived with her entire life, pulsed anew as she spent day after day so close, and yet so far, from the only man she’d ever truly loved. Oh, she’d loved Esel and Sercha, but with affection and familial joy. Arim was another matter entirely. “Blue, you’re finally awake.” Arim’s touch roamed up her body, his hand passing under the swells of her breasts. His breath brushed the side of her neck, and an uncontrollable shiver of need shook her. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

As if their recent discord had never happened, the connection between them intensified. She tried to move and found herself unable to do so. He’d tied both her arms above her head to the bed frame, and spread and secured her ankles to the footboard. “I split the length of Dark-hide,” he answered her unspoken question. She noted the burns on his hands. “It hurt, but you’re worth the pain.” Lexa paused, startled at the confusing sentiment in his words. She’d never before seen him so aware of her, or so open about his desire. “Arim?” “We’re long past the time for talking, Blue.” He kissed her hard, forcing his tongue through her lips with a decided stamp of ownership. A large hand caught and caressed her breast, teasing her nipple with stabbing arousal. Arching into his touch, she sighed in response to the strength of his need—and his Darkness—pulling her in. “That’s it, Blue.” Arim ran his lips over her cheek to her ear. His warm breath made her shiver. The slow moving slide of his inner Light worked its way over her body, a painful burst of pleasure she was helpless to resist. “Need me the way I need you. I’ve missed you so much.” His confession startled her. Before she could say anything he was kissing her again, his hands cupping and plumping her breasts, his touch melting her from the inside out. The desire between them had yet to be sated. Instead it had grown during their days apart. As much as Lexa wished she could ignore the feelings his touch evoked, she was helpless against the onslaught of passion driving her mindless with desire. She wanted so badly to touch him, to feel his warmth under her palms, but the tug of Dark-hide held her fast. Bound and helpless before Arim—both a skilled lover and extremely powerful man—Lexa’s walls crumbled. The knowledge that she was defenceless under his control should have scared her. Perversely, being bested by Arim shattered the last of her resistance. Dark need slammed through her into him. She knew he felt it when he stilled and leaned up, staring down at her with a sexual haze of satisfaction. “You’re just what I need,” he said thickly, his eyes so black it was like looking into true Night. Ensnared, she couldn’t help feeding him more of her passion. “Darkness and Light, I could love you for an eternity and still not get enough.” She couldn’t help tingling when he said ‘love’, though she knew he meant ‘have sex’. Despite all she’d been through, some stubborn part of Lexa yet longed for the past, to feel cherished and loved again. The need for such weak emotion worried her, but she soon lost all train of thought when Arim trailed his lips over hers, down her cheek to her neck. Biting her throat, he startled a gasp out of her before soothing the mark with his tongue. The small prick of pain made the pleasure that much sweeter. Arim’s hot mouth continued its foray over her skin, lingering over the curves of her breasts. “I love how soft you are, how full you get for me.” Arim took one hard nipple in his mouth and sucked. Lexa moaned, helpless to stop herself from arching into the wet suction of his lips. She couldn’t spread her thighs any wider than they already were and wished he’d put himself inside her already. His mouth would surely be her downfall, a plague of ecstasy over a woman who longed to be shown what honest, loving desire could feel like. Arim swirled his tongue over her nipple, teasing the other with pinching and plucking fingers. He reduced her to a writhing pile of want, and while Lexa cursed her traitorous body, she desperately needed him to sate her. A physical ache throbbed between her legs. She would have done anything, given him anything at that moment to quench the hunger pressing her. “Arim, please,” she gasped and cried out when he suddenly thrust a large finger inside her. He continued to lave her breasts, stabbing her nipples with hot blasts of his breath and tongue as he thrust his fingers—first one, then two—in and out of her in a steady, maddening rhythm. “So cool, yet so hot,” he murmured around her breast. “You taste so sweet, Blue. Like honey melting all over me.” He groaned, sucking her into a near-orgasmic state. The hard feel of his arousal against her only intensified her desire, and Lexa put everything she had into breaking the bonds holding her tight so that she might force Arim to take her. Unlike the warrior on top of her, however, she hadn’t the strength to break free. “Oh yeah,” he rasped, shifting to kiss the valley between her breasts. “I’ve waited for you for so long.” Arim groaned and continued to kiss and caress her belly, her hips, and finally, the plump flesh between her thighs. The moment his mouth covered her sex, Lexa cried out at the feeling of fire shooting through her womb. “So good.” Arim gripped her thighs tight as he feasted. His tongue burned and stroked, pushing her clit to respond in spite of Lexa’s attempt to stave off her orgasm, to wait until he put himself inside her. “Arim, I want you.” She struggled against her bonds, moaning his name as he pulled on her sensitive flesh with teeth and tongue. “Tell me, Blue. What do you want?” His lips brushed over her clit, and it wasn’t enough. “And how much are you willing to pay?” “Anything, everything.” Lexa was mindless with need, to feel him stretching her, filling her with himself. “Arim, I need to feel you inside me. Come in me.” “I will.” He sucked hard on her clit and cursed, then rose over her, claiming her lips with his. She tasted herself on his mouth, excitement flaring along her skin like tingles of Light. His position over her put his shaft in direct contact with her clit, making Lexa tremble with anticipation as he pressed against her. “You’re hungry, aren’t you, Blue? So tight and wet for me.” Her body was on the verge of exploding. Arim fused his mouth to hers and stabbed deep with his tongue. The motion added to the combustion brewing between them and she lost her hold on reality. Lexa exploded as she hit her peak and heard Arim groan. He wasted no more time and thrust hard, claiming her pussy as his own as he began pounding into her. His tongue mimicked his cock, and as he rode her, she tasted the bliss of his Light beginning to overtake her body. Lexa continued to come, greedily accepting his surge of seed as he climaxed within her. Their inner magic mixed and held, her Darkness and his Light meeting and melding, and making them both something more

than they were when apart. Arim moaned her name and continued to thrust. To Lexa’s amazement, she could feel him pulsing inside her, could feel both the flow of lust and something more filling her up. When he finally ceased, Lexa realised he’d overridden her efforts to maintain a clear head with relative ease. Good Night, but she’d promised him anything if he’d just make love—have sex—with her. Before she could even think about gathering the energy to reject their closeness, Arim disarmed her. He leaned up on his elbows but remained inside her, his body still hard, to her surprise. He caressed her cheek with a rough finger, his touch soft and gentle. Then he closed his eyes and nuzzled her cheek, a familiar closeness they used to share so many years ago. “I’ve missed us so much, Blue.” Tears filled her eyes. She hastily blinked them back, horrified to feel her mental and emotional shields all but gone. Arim rose to look down at her, and his sad smile shook her to the quick. “One terrible event shook our worlds. You were ripped free from everything you held dear, and you took my heart with you when you left.” Arim wiped at a tear she hadn’t managed to blink away. “I have to know the truth, Blue. Tell me why. If you didn’t do it, why did you attack me? Why try to kill me when all I wanted was to help you?” Normally Lexa would answer his accusations with something glib before lobbing a ball of blue flame his way. But their shared passion brought back how much she’d loved him, and how much she might love him still, had she the courage to look deep within herself. Unfortunately, the weakness in her soul wouldn’t tolerate any more frailty. Lexa forced herself to speak without delving too far into the reasons behind her willingness to finally answer. “I didn’t kill my family.” She paused, staring up at the face that haunted her dreams, the dreams she thought she’d said good-bye to long ago. “I loved Muri, Esel and Sercha as much as I loved you, Arim. With everything I was.” It hurt to remember, to see the happiest days of her life and know it was all gone. Arim slowly withdrew from her body—their physical joining, another link to the happiness that was theirs—now lost. “As I loved you.” “Then how could you think I was capable of such evil?” Anger stirred, that bone-deep resentment he had planted in her hardened heart. “I would never have done anything to harm my family. I was hurt, traumatised and in shock. I tried to revive them. I called upon every ounce of magic I had inside me, but nothing worked. They were dead, and I couldn’t help them.” Arim caught the angry tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and leaned close. He kissed her with tenderness, yet the expression when he leaned up from her was impossible to read. “In the hundreds of years since, I’ve wanted to know. I think maybe I did know, but I still couldn’t equate the girl I’d loved to the Dark Lord bent on killing me in that house filled with death.” The question in his gaze forced her to respond. “I couldn’t think past the smell of blood. My entire existence was thrown, and the Dark energy surrounding their deaths sparked a reaction I’d never had to face.” Arim’s gaze narrowed. “I hadn’t considered that.” “You have no idea what it was like. I’d lived for years happy, loved and cherished by a mother and father who weren’t rightfully mine. I always feared it might be taken away from me some day. Oh, I heard the things others said when they didn’t know I was around. Churchmen and staunch Light Bringers who hated the idea of a Dark Lord changeling in their midst. But Muri always told me I belonged. “And then they were dead, and you looked at me as if I’d done it.” She stared at him, feeling his betrayal as keenly as if it had happened yesterday. “That’s not what happened.” “Then tell me why you looked at me like that. Tell me why you attacked me, why you turned away from everything we’d had,” she demanded, still needing to make sense of the one event in her life that forced her into a direction she’d never imagined she might have to take. “Because on that day I woke feeling loved and wanted. Before the night fell, I was taken to Dark Lord lands. To Malern, by Ini, a woman so vile, so beyond Dark, it was as if I’d died myself.” Arim closed his eyes, his jaw tight. When he looked down at her again, she saw a kaleidoscope of colour in his gaze, his emotion bleeding into the physical. Heat shimmered off his body, not harming, but comforting hers, which confused her even as she fought to hold onto the fury she rightfully carried. “I was worried about you when you didn’t show up for class. You loved spell casting, and I knew you’d never wilfully miss it. I waited, but when you didn’t show at University, I knew something was wrong. When I found you, you were covered in blood.” “From trying to revive my family.” “Your energy was erratic, strong and so incredibly Dark…” Arim paused, his stare piercing as he looked into her eyes. “I believed in you, Lexa. I loved you. I only wanted to ease your hurt. Then you slapped at me with a Darkness so painful I was stunned. Hate and violence swirled around you like a mantle, an aura of destruction that looked so much like what had settled over Muri, Esel and Sercha.” “That’s not true.”

“That’s exactly what happened. I didn’t believe you’d done anything, not until you struck out at me. I was stunned, hurt and confused. But if I hadn’t defended myself, you might have killed me…” “Killed you too, don’t you mean?” She tried to jerk out from under him, enraged he still wouldn’t accept the truth. “You and ‘Sin Garu deserve each other. You only see what you want to see. Pain and violence breed so much the same. You damned arrogant—” Arim covered her mouth with a hand. “This time you’re not going to make me lose my temper. We shared something special once, and whether you like it or not, we still do. I’ve come to understand that my memories of that terrible day aren’t perhaps as clear as I’ve thought.” She stopped thrashing beneath his hand. What was he saying? “Some time ago we put aside our differences to rid our world of ‘Sin Garu. You let me look inside your mind, and I saw something that confused me.” She glared at him, and he reluctantly removed his hand. “I knew it! I knew you’d looked into my memories. I only let you into my mind to convince you we needed to stop ‘Sin Garu together.” “Yes, well, that glimpse into your mind was unintentional. I wasn’t fully convinced at what I saw, that scene you described as you found your family that day.” His voice lowered, and she believed the sincerity in his brooding stare. “I’ve been wondering what really occurred and why since the day it happened. But it’s been easier to concentrate on other things rather than relive the pain of your supposed betrayal. No,” he said quickly, forestalling her denial. “I know you didn’t do it.” She opened her mouth and closed it as quickly. “What?” “I’ve been thinking about it, really thinking about you and the circumstances surrounding that day ever since you stood between me and death at ‘Sin Garu’s hands.” He ran a finger over her lips, causing her to involuntarily shudder. “You saved me, Lexa. You put yourself at risk to protect me. All the things you’ve done to help Tanselm, to protect my nephews and their affai… Hell, you even sacrificed a large part of your strength to heal my sister, and without telling anyone about it. I couldn’t have been more blind about you, could I?” Arim frowned in disgust. “My own prejudices shielded me from the truth. I don’t know how you haven’t killed me, when so many times you could have. Why didn’t you let ‘Sin Garu take me out? The Light Bringers, the only people you’d ever known, banished you from your friends and life in Tanselm. The man who supposedly loved you rejected you.” Arim kissed her, his sorrow unfathomably deep. Her Darkness radiated with his pain. “I’m so sorry, Lexa. You’ll never know how sorry I am for what happened.” “You…you’re saying you believe me now?” Her heart raced, and she told herself not to hope, not to believe in the impossible. His belief or disbelief should mean nothing. Yet it means everything. Desperate not to cling to even a shred of expectation, she tried to rile him. “Wait, this is some ploy to get me to confide in you, right? I’m just supposed to believe that after some hot sex you now believe me?” If only… “Well, I don’t know a hell of a lot about ‘Sin Garu’s plans, so this great big ball of ‘I believe you now’ is wasted. Sorry, Arim, but once again you’ve misjudged me.” “No, Blue. This has nothing to do with ‘Sin Garu, unless he’s the one who killed your family. This is about you and me. Period.” Lexa swallowed, uneasy that Arim refused to take the bait. He was acting as if he really believed her, as if he wanted her…forgiveness? “So what do you want from me?” “Nothing, Blue. I just want to show you how sorry I am for all that you’ve suffered. For all that you were made to do.” He sounded sad, and her heart dipped, aggravating her. Great sex with Arim and she’d been reduced to a pitiful mass of needy emotion. Hell, she struggled against the urge to tell him to forget the past, that she wanted to put it all behind her and start over. Weakness. “Now hold on.” She tugged again on her ropes. “Dammit, Arim. Release me.” To her surprise, he did. But he wouldn’t budge from his position on top of her. “What happened all those years ago was tragic, but it showed me who I really am and where I belong.” “Oh?” He lifted one brow in that conceited way of his and like clockwork, had her back up. “So all those rumours about you devouring small children and roasting Light Bringers for fun are true? Do you normally play tug-of-war with the Malinta demons for the souls of those you steal?” She snorted. “You are way, way off.” “I know,” he said smoothly and kissed the hollow between her neck and shoulder. To her dismay, his touch sent a bolt of lust straight to her womb. “I know a woman who hated me, who would love to see me dead, wouldn’t have put herself between me and Dark punishment at the hands of a mad Dark Lord. A woman who hated me surely wouldn’t have ignored a chance to humiliate me by outing my ‘sexual deviancy’ to Tanselm’s populace.” She squirmed, her body wanting him to share those deviant urges with her again. How the hell could she be so infuriated with him and so in lust with him at the same time? “Arim, let’s just forget—” “No. I don’t want to forget a moment with you. Not when we’ve spent lifetimes apart. I want more, Blue. I need more. I need you.” She took a breath, in shock at what she thought she saw in his eyes, when he took possession of her yet again. In his kiss she felt desire, love and the tendrils of possibilities snaking over her body, heart and mind. Not even the demon’s curse overshadowing her soul could stop her from reaching out to grasp at a foolish hope so close, and so long denied.

Chapter Nine

Arim groaned, wanting everything from Lexa they’d once had. That he could now clearly see the truth simultaneously hurt and freed him. To know she’d been so alone for so long but that she hadn’t deserved a moment of it broke his heart. He knew she hadn’t lived their years apart free from wrong-doing, but he also knew she wasn’t the monster the Church and others had painted her to be. In his heart of hearts, he’d never believed the horrible tales spread about Blue. Her Darkness once again embraced his Light, and despite the tension radiating between them, Arim wanted her even more. As if he hadn’t just jetted inside her, his body hardened again, needing her around him. She groaned into his mouth, her small hands clasping his shoulders with surprising strength. Tied up, he’d been in control. But the Dark needs within him clamoured to engage a woman who could withstand his raw desire. Only Lexa had ever met him thrust for thrust, and he wondered how she would taste fully freed from restraint. Urges rose, the need to pleasure and control, to dominate her completely. Hungers long denied threaded their way from his mind to hers, and he heard her gasp with feral pleasure. “I want to fuck you,” he growled and shoved her thighs apart. He thrust hard and continued to take her, slaking his need for battle in the clawing woman encouraging his control. “To own you, Blue. My own little sex slave.” She cursed him but instead of pushing him away, locked her ankles around his back and dragged his head down for a mind-blowing kiss. Her tongue pushed past his lips and took what she wanted. The press of her full breasts against his chest scored him with a burning cold that contrasted with his heat. Her pussy gloved him perfectly, gripping him with each push of his cock that sought the molten core of her. Lexa nipped his lip and he shoved deeper. “More,” she breathed, her eyes almost white with lust. He couldn’t stop himself from pulling out and flipping her onto her belly. Slapping her ass, he hefted her to her hands and knees and pushed himself into her channel, thrilling at the mastery of this position. “Fuck me,” Lexa cried as he rammed particularly deep. He couldn’t stop himself. The Darkness seethed within that hidden well of himself needing Lexa, to touch and hold her Darkness tight. Arim stared down at the milky white skin of Lexa’s smooth back, at her head bent in submission as he took her, and he came violently, shuddering as his Light and Dark flew into the place within her begging for him. She should have burned, should have shook with pain as his energy took hold of her and squeezed tight. But Lexa’s Darkness seemed to revel in his physical outburst, seeking more. “That’s all you have for me?” she purred, looking over her shoulder with an expression of sin. Her channel gripped him. A spear of Light, not his, jolted through his cock, setting him on fire with blue flame. Expecting pain, he was astonished when another roar of need filled him. Knowing instinctively what Blue wanted and needed, Arim pulled out of her slick heat and pushed into the opening just above the one he’d penetrated. Lexa moaned as he pushed deeper into her tight ass, and he could feel how new to this she was. “Does it hurt?” he panted, knowing his girth had to be causing discomfort. Yet her Darkness wouldn’t let him withdraw, encouraging more. “Yes, so good,” she whispered, opening for him as he shoved deeper. “Oh,” she panted, rocking back against him. “I need you.” Her juices coated his cock. Still his entry took patience to stretch her enough to take him. Leaning close, he gave her time to adjust and palmed her breasts, stirred anew at the perfect feel of her flesh in his hands. Love swelled between them as his cock hardened to the point of pain, and her flesh gave and gave as he grew. “Arim, what are you doing?” Lexa squirmed beneath him and broke that last vestige of control he desperately clung to. “Fuck,” Arim levered up from her back, still on his knees, still joined with her. He clenched her hips, helpless to keep himself from taking her. Pushing in and out, he found a quickening rhythm in time to Lexa’s rising heartbeat. The feel of her was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and his orgasm rose too fast to be denied. Yet this time he refused to come without Lexa. Internally grabbing the Darkness writhing within him, he took that bolt of desire and shoved it into her womb, focusing on the bundle of nerves between her legs. Her clit burned and throbbed, he could feel it. With everything he sensed and wanted from her, Arim pushed her into a climax that had her screaming his name. Her pleasure spiked his own, and even as he pounded into her, he couldn’t help relishing the fact he might be causing her painful ecstasy as he took his own pleasure. The need to own her, to possess all of Lexa overtook all sense as he shot into her ass, his cum coating her walls as he slid in and out, his orgasm so extreme he knew a moment of pure pleasure as he disappeared into the heart of their bliss. Darkness surrounded him. Arim thought he saw the essence that was Lexa, energy that burned a much dimmer blue than he might have expected from a soul so strong. Dim or not, her power captivated him. And then he was panting and coming again, his cock on fire as he jetted into her. Lexa rocked back into him as the bed shook from the force of his thrusts.

Arim couldn’t stop pressing, the need for her overwhelming him. When he could finally make sense of anything again, he realised his grip on her hips was all that held Lexa up. Disengaging, Arim prayed he hadn’t been too rough. Sure she’d encouraged him, but not to this extent, surely. She moaned as she rolled to her back. “I had no idea you were so powerful.” Arim stared, bemused, as Lexa glowed with a Light he’d never expected to see. “I feel so good right now. So at peace.”

Exactly. So she felt it as well. Dismayed his cock wanted still more of her when by rights Arim should have been as limp as a leraffe out of bloom, he sighed and joined her on the bed, his need to touch and be touched forcing him to lay almost on top of her. “I…ah, I hope I wasn’t too rough.” How did he ask if she preferred rough sex without sounding as if he was prying? He didn’t want to come across as pushy, but he was dying to know what she could take. There was so much more he wanted to show her. “I’ve never done that before,” she mumbled, as if reading his mind. “But I wanted it with you. You make me want things I shouldn’t.” “Blue?” “I felt your need, Arim. Your desire to dominate, to punish and possess,” she said, her eyes closed, thank the Light, so she couldn’t see the flush he felt staining his face. She opened her eyes, and he saw his hungers mirrored there. “I want more.” A pleased smile broke over his face. “More, hmm?” He put a finger between her legs and stroked, pleased at the hiss of pleasure-pain she gave. “Sensitive, are you? How sensitive?” To his shock, his cock struggled to rise again. “I think you’ve bewitched me.” She chuckled, a sinister sound that slid over his body like a silken caress. “I’d say the same, but I know Sava’s tamped our powers.” “I know.” Arim sighed as he stroked her soft skin. “Much as it will surely pain me, I’m going to be in Sava’s debt forever.” “Oh?” She tried to lean on an elbow to better face him, but he held her flat with a hand to her chest, a hand that itched to flick those hard little nipples until she screamed. “He gave me back that part of me long missing.” Arim didn’t miss the alarm that crossed her face. There it was, the mistrust he’d banished if for just a short while. “The part that’s going to belong to me whether she likes it or not.” To his amusement, Lexa’s gaze frosted over. In an instant, his arousal increased tenfold. “Just who do you think you are? My lord and master?” “Hmm, ‘Master.’ That’s what we’ve been missing.” Lexa looked to protest but caught sight of his straining cock and surprised him with a grin instead. “I knew you were bossy as hell, but this takes it to a whole new level.” Desire raged between them, to his delight. He quickly got to his feet and grabbed a damp cloth and soap from the bathroom. It took precious time to clean them both, but when done, his hunger returned full force. He rolled on top of her, no longer questioning his driving need to dominate. “You have no idea what I have in store for you.” But you soon will. Losing himself in her again, Arim focused his all on Lexa’s pleasure this time, and was rewarded with more than a “Master,” but with a splinter in the armour Lexa wore like a second skin. For a brief moment, he saw the emotion she held in check. That glimpse made him that much more determined to have it all. Tanselm, his family, and Lexa by his side for an eternity. Hours later, Lexa had trouble breathing when Arim finally let her up to take a shower. She was covered in his seed. Between her thighs, her ass, all over her legs and belly. Hell, the only thing she hadn’t done yet was blow him, but by the look on his face when he glanced at her mouth, she knew that act was not long in coming. Flushing at her own ill-timed pun, she scrambled for the bathroom to see to her needs, and for some much-needed privacy. They’d spent so much time in bed together that only her stomach rumbling, and her need to be clean, had finally forced Arim to cease. She didn’t understand his never-ending libido—or hers—not to mention her willingness to accept all of him. Those pieces of Darkness he allowed her to see only made her want him more. Granted, she had always been attracted to things Dark, but in Arim the sight of Darkness was so tantalising as to be mesmerising. His Light burned and drew on her essence, but it was his innate Darkness that beckoned her to be one with him. As if Tanselm could reach them even in Seattle, Lexa felt that pull to commit herself fully to Arim, to the Killer of Shadow. Bemused at the lust once again pooling at the thought of Arim’s fierce reputation and strength, Lexa blushed for being a fool and stood under the spray of cool water soothing her sensitive skin. How had he done it? How had Arim wormed his way beneath her emotional safeguards, getting her to the point where she now felt devotion instead of hostility? Where she wanted to be with him instead of apart from him? Even now, separated by a small distance, Lexa felt the burning

need to close the expanse between them and touch him again. “I missed you,” the focus of her thoughts said as he stepped into the shower with her. “Silly, I know, since I just came all over you.” He grinned without repentance. “But I’m trying to make up for lost time.” That bothered her too. The raw anger she normally felt when reminded of what she’d been through thanks to his ‘misunderstanding’ was fading. Arim normally enraged her. He inflamed her anger. He didn’t make her crave his touch, to feel his arms around her like he was now doing. “You’re confusing me.” She sighed. “I know. You want to hate me, to be angry with me. But you can’t.” When she broke from him to look at his face with suspicion, he shrugged. “I’m not reading your mind. I’m feeling the same. For so long we’ve been at odds, Blue. And it’s taken its toll.” Arim took a deep breath. “I made major mistakes with you before. I won’t make them again. Pride be damned. I love you, Lexa. I’ve always loved you. Now that I’ve found you again, I won’t let you go.” Lexa stared at him in shock until he turned the knob on the shower, heating them up. She sputtered and turned the water cooler, to a temperature better suited to a Dark Lord’s affinity for cold. Arim simply smiled, letting the cooler water slide off his cold-pebbled skin. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you. I love you, Blue.” He looked so happy saying the words she’d longed to hear forever. Yet hearing them put a fear in her belly. She had to look away at the shower wall to get a grip on her faltering composure. “Shh.” To her consternation, the Light Bringer sorcerer hugged her, offering comfort. “I know. You don’t believe me, and I don’t blame you. But I’m not going away. Not this time.” He kissed the top of her head and she felt his arousal rise against the small of her back. “Damn, sorry. Has a mind of its own.” To her surprise, Arim ignored his erection and cleaned her carefully, giving her a killer scalp massage as he worked the shampoo through her hair. After they soaked in water that she eventually compromised on a warm temperature, she and Arim dried off with towels that soon disappeared. “Sava is in big, big trouble when I see him again.” Though, being able to see Arim strut around with that impressive body was no hardship Lexa admitted. “Well, I’m not going to thank him. Or Jonas either, for that matter.” Arim glanced away from her. “Hell. I have to know. Don’t get angry.” She had no clue why he was looking so nervous, but she couldn’t stop staring. Arim never looked unsure. “You and Jonas never…that is, you and Jonas aren’t involved, are you?” His voice hardened as he waited with what seemed like an uncomfortable patience. Lexa couldn’t help laughing. “Me and Jonas?” At her laughter, Arim relaxed. “You asked me that before. Why would you think that?” “Something Sava mentioned.” Arim flushed and tried to turn away, but not before Lexa jumped into his arms, still grinning. She didn’t think she’d ever forget that look on his face. “You were jealous, weren’t you?” “Maybe,” he grumbled, looking put out. His hands, however, remained firm on her ass, holding her in place against him. A reluctant smile lit his face. “You like that, don’t you? That even when I thought the worst of you, I couldn’t help feeling you were mine. I could have taken Jonas’ tongue out whenever he spoke so lovingly about you.” Arim’s gaze burned, and Lexa tried to tamp the grin threatening to split her face open. “In fact, I will the next time I see the asshole.” “Why, Arim, I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” He chuckled and carried her to the sofa, where he dumped her before turning to the kitchen. “I’m going to feed that flat little belly of yours, Blue. Because if I don’t, I’m tempted to fuck you again. Damned if I know how you keep doing it to me. If Sava doesn’t get here soon with some clothes, I may not spend any time at all outside of that tempting body of yours.” Lexa kept quiet, a bit disturbed she had no thought to complain about Arim’s ideas for the foreseeable future. Making love with him was exhaustingly perfect. She’d decided to get as much of it as she could before the outside world once again intruded. At least this experience would be something to remember fondly when the world turned to shit again, as it no doubt would. Sighing, she couldn’t help wondering about ‘Sin Garu, which brought her thoughts back to Jonas and the others, and how she’d positioned all the ‘players’. Using Ethim il Ruethe to gather the Sarqua Djinn—those Djinn wanting freedom from ‘Sin Garu’s oppression—had been genius, if she did say so herself. Ethim had no liking for Dark Lords, but he’d been willing to risk a chance on Lexa if it meant freeing his people from a sadistic Dark sorcerer. It was through him she’d met Jonas…and Remir. Lexa wondered again about the Darkling who’d pledged his life and loyalty to her before any of the others had done so. For years Remir had given her information about his brethren, his affection for her impossible to miss. Just once she’d been weak enough to allow his attentions. Her disinterested body had quickly shown her what a mistake she’d made even though their intimacy had pulled Remir tighter. Which made it unfathomable to believe what she’d seen to be real. Lexa had been spying on Ethim and his kin a few months back, before her last altercation with ‘Sin Garu. There she’d prodded Cadmus, the last

unwed Storm Lord, to take her friend Ellie, Ethim’s daughter, as his affai. To Lexa’s pleasure, the Storm Lord had easily fallen into her plans, in love with the woman Lexa called a friend. Everything with the Djinn progressed according to plan. And then Lexa had seen Remir and a woman who could have been Lexa’s double having sex. Lexa didn’t have a twin. She had two brothers, one dead and one nearly so, his body reduced to a shell encasing demons that wanted nothing more than to sink the world around them into chaos. Not wanting to believe what she suspected, Lexa tried to contact Remir but had met with no success. Had she not been injured in her last battle with her egomaniacal brother, she’d have followed up on Remir’s disturbing disappearance. At the least, she would have tasked Jonas to look into the matter. Jonas. Lexa couldn’t help the warmth that filled her at thoughts of Arim jealous. Though Lexa easily admitted to Jonas’ good looks and obvious charm with the female persuasion, the Darkling had never made her burn the way Arim did. After her less-than-satisfying coupling with Remir, she’d sworn off males, at least until she resolved the regrets in her life. Lexa’s plans had been to kill ‘Sin Garu, destroy the Netharat, and find closure in her dealings with Arim. Reminders of her intentions turned her grin into a frown. How much closer was she now to her goals? She had no magic, no clothing, and nothing more than time to kill as she waited for that idiot Sava and that turncoat Jonas to return and set her free. The thought made her pause, because she wasn’t sure she wanted to be free, not if it meant leaving this behind. That in itself was cause for alarm. Lexa glanced at Arim, watching the muscles in his body flex as he moved. From here she could see the strength in his aura, could sense the magic returning to his body even though they both sat under Sava’s spell. Her Light Bringer sorcerer had so much power. That innate authority, along with his sexy body, made her mouth water. Just knowing he loved her gave her a thrill, even as his emotion made her wary. Love and hate were sides of the same coin, and how well she knew that truth. Now Arim thought he loved her. Lexa didn’t doubt his sincerity, but she did doubt his longevity. They’d been deeply in love before, and he’d ditched her at the first sign of trouble. Okay, she had to admit ‘trouble’ was too bland a word for what had happened to her family. But still. He should have demanded an explanation. He should have stuck with her through that terrible time, providing the same comfort he so easily gave now. Which made her wonder… “Arim?” “Blue?” He joined her on the couch with a plate of food. To Lexa’s dismay, she had a hard time focusing on her thoughts in view of his superbly conditioned frame. Arim grinned. “Hungry again, baby?” Embarrassed, she glared at him. “You are in perpetual heat.” And so the hell am I. She licked her lips, his arousal stirring her primitive needs. “Let me ask this before I lose my train of thought. Before, when you mentioned Muri that day it all happened… You said that I attacked you first.” His smiled faded. “You did.” “I don’t remember that. I was stunned at what had been done to my family. I was so scared, so sad and confused.” “So angry.” Arim reached for her hand and pulled her into his lap. “The Dark rage in the room was so strong. The violence grew, a shuddering wind of fury that literally hurt, Blue. For the first time, your Darkness attacked my Light.” “But I didn’t.” Lexa frowned, her hand over his chest. “I admit I was in shock. But Arim, I know what I did. I didn’t strike out at you. I was mired in the Darkness of death around me. The frustration and hurt about killed me, that I couldn’t heal Muri or Esel. Sercha was so badly wounded he had no chance. Mother, even Father…” She blinked furiously, not wanting to cry. Lifting her head, she met his gaze square on. “I destroyed the house in a rage. I threw things, crushed the material possessions that had meant so much to my family and were worthless compared to their deaths. But I know I didn’t try to hurt you. I only struck back to defend myself.” Arim’s brows drew together as he replied, slowly. “I was wrong about you killing your family, but I’m not wrong about what happened that day. So if you didn’t try to hurt me, then someone else did.” His gaze darkened as he met her widening stare. “The killer must have still been there when you, and later I, arrived.” The possibilities were staggering. “But I was there for hours. Why didn’t he attack me?” She shook her head. “That energy was Dark, we both felt it. I know for a fact ‘Sin Garu didn’t do it. I asked around, and his whereabouts back then were confirmed, as were his connections at the time. He was nearly as powerful as Ini…” Arim grimaced. “We looked into Ini’s involvement when we learned she was your biological mother. She had perfect motive, but she didn’t do it. Hell, we investigated everyone connected with you, Blue. We learned nothing from the Church we didn’t already know.” “From the Church?” Lexa scowled. “The corruption in that ‘sacred’ institution rivals the Netharat for sheer evil.” Arim stroked her hair, his calm acceptance easing the rage brewing within her. “I wish I could disagree with you. Back then the Church was the voice of reason. For the most part, they acted with good faith to protect and preserve a joyful way of life for the Light Bringers. “Now, they seem to be little more than vessels distributing hate and prejudice. Sava’s mentioned as much. I’ve been too busy with a certain Dark Lord lately to thoroughly look into the matter.” She met his quick kiss and snuggled into his arms, soothed when she’d initially wanted to fight. Damn it all, Arim made her feel like a well-fed kitten. Any longer in his arms and she’d start purring…yet she couldn’t make herself leave the security of his hold. “None of this makes any sense. If ‘Sin Garu and B’alen didn’t do it, and the Church says Ini was innocent, then who had motive to kill Muri and Esel?

Like you said, the energy in the house was Dark.” “Was it?” Arim glanced away, his energy folding in on itself. Lexa felt his rage quivering to be let loose, and she didn’t understand his sudden fury. “Death is a Darkness, especially when murder is involved,” he murmured, his voice low, pained. “What if the rage overlying the scene had been staged? What if someone with a sorcerer’s skill used the energy surrounding the vicious deaths to trap you?” “Why me? I was no one back then.” “You’ve always been someone.” He cupped her chin, and his inner will seemed to strengthen, allowing the rage within him to subside. “You were powerful, the beloved daughter of two famous Light Bringer sorcerers—voices who spoke out for Church reform. They wanted an end to an institution that disagreed with anyone not of Light Bringer descent.” “You think the Church was behind it?” Lexa didn’t understand why this mystery behind her foster family’s demise seemed so urgent, all of a sudden. As if it had happened yesterday, Lexa felt the terrible burden of grief and anger hardening her heart. Tension blazed, and she had an abrupt desire for some space. “I need a minute.” She nodded towards the bathroom as she rose from his arms. “Blue—” “Just a few moments. I’ll be right out, I promise.” She raced into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Lexa stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes wild. “Why now? What does it all mean?” She shook with suppressed rage, feeling too much when for years she’d existed behind a cold, calculated exterior. “What’s happening to me?” Movement behind had her turning and raising her hands in preparation to strike. She’d just left Arim outside, so she knew he hadn’t snuck up behind her. And then she remembered that her magic didn’t work here. Shit. A slap of energy filled the small space as a form coalesced into that of a person Lexa knew. The green eyes gazing at her were familiar and non-threatening. The glow about the body clearly spoke of the Next. With horror, Lexa stared at the bleak promise of Tanselm’s demise as it approached her on the legs of the deceased. The minute Lexa left Arim felt as if something had clenched his heart and yanked it hard away. He rubbed his chest, his appetite no longer for anything resembling food and everything that reminded him of the black-haired, blue-eyed spitfire he couldn’t stop loving. Now that he’d released the floodgates, allowing his emotions free reign, he could no longer deny how much Lexa still meant to him. He could only hope her desire to escape had more to do with bodily need than emotional heartbreak. He could understand the puzzle of her family’s death being hard to swallow no matter how they’d died or how much time had passed, but Lexa had to know she and Arim were in this together. No more castigation. No more Light versus Dark. Blue and he were a team, and they would be forever, until… Arim clutched his chest again, this time in real pain. Agony ripped through him. He seized, falling off the couch onto the floor as his mind was torn from the one person in life with whom he shared an unbreakable bond.

Ravyn.

Chapter Ten Lexa stared at Ravyn Storm in shock. “What the hell are you doing here?” And dead at that? Ravyn smiled sadly and shrugged. The pale glow of afterlife clung to her, a clear foreshadowing of doom. “I’m here to help.” “What happened?” “You’ll find out soon enough.” Ravyn sighed, and Lexa immediately wondered how hard Arim would take the news that his sister had died. “I have little time. You must return with Arim to Tanselm. There’s much you must do if you plan to help the Storm Lords save the land.” “It can still be saved?” Lexa had her doubts. For years she’d spied on Tanselm, on the land’s power and the Light Bringers’ inner workings from religion to politics to magic. As overqueen, Ravyn was the glue holding the Light Bringers together. Without her there, and worse, without a new overking chosen, the opportunity for internal strife would do more damage than ‘Sin Garu might hope thanks to the corrupt Church of Illumination. “It can still be saved. But not without Arim, or you. You, Lexa, are his biggest vulnerability right now, much as you might wish otherwise. You have to accompany him, for he’ll need your power to guide him through these hard times.” Ravyn shook her head. “There is so much I needed to tell him, so much he doesn’t yet understand.” “So why not tell him instead of telling me?” Lexa thought it most odd that Arim’s sister would contact her instead of the brother she’d clearly loved. “I can’t. My explanation would only confuse you.” Ravyn dimmed, her form seeming to vanish before reappearing with fainter colour. “He needs you now, Lexa. More than you can know. You’ll have to trust him if you hope for any chance to defeat your brother.” Lexa inwardly winced, hating the tie that bound her to ‘Sin Garu. “I don’t know that I can,” she answered honestly. She and Arim shared a temporary utopia, one that had no outside influence. In this small home, she could dream that her sorcerer loved her, that they might have a chance at happilyever-after. But life wasn’t perfect, and neither she nor Arim belonged here. “The Netharat had something to do with your death, I’m sure, and that army belongs to a Dark Lord. How do you think Arim’s going to respond to the loss of his beloved sister? By willingly taking another Dark Lord home with him? Won’t the Light Bringers love that.”

“He will take you with him. He loves you, Lexa. You have to trust him. You have to tell him…” Ravyn faded, but not before Lexa watched her pale face darken with frustration. Unfortunately, Lexa couldn’t understand what more Ravyn wanted of her. Compassion she could offer. The newly kindled memories of Lexa’s deceased family reminded her of loss, of the feelings of emptiness and grief. She knew how much Arim loved his sister, his only living relative for the last several hundred years. Even before she’d met him at University, he and Ravyn had been all that remained of the Valens family. A loud roar interrupted her reverie. She took a deep breath, not wanting to face the grief she would be sure to find. Her dread stemmed from more than revisiting her own pain. Lexa had no desire to see Arim experiencing the same. His hurt would be that much worse because she cared and couldn’t help herself. Lexa scowled, wanting and yet not wanting this tie. For years she’d banished Arim from her world, dealing with him in the only way she could and still survive—in opposition. But in just a few short days she’d opened up to him again. The damned Light Bringer said he loved her. She felt confused and heartsick at thoughts of his suffering to follow. Another point of contention in her relationship with this particular Light Bringer. Lexa was a Dark Lord, a creature that clung to the Dark spectrum of magic. Pain and suffering were a Dark staple, as was anything with a strong, emotional yielding. Yet she had no urge to experience Arim’s misery, regardless of the vital necessity to boost her reserves. Once again, even unwittingly, Arim interfered with her well-preserved, if not happy, life. Lexa left the bathroom and ventured into the living room, both frightened and worried out of her mind to see Arim clutching his heart as he writhed on the floor. She raced to him and knelt by his side. “Arim? Talk to me. What’s wrong?” She couldn’t see blood or any sign of an intruder present. Which meant his pain had to have come from an outside source. Lexa flexed her hand to call upon healing fire, but found her power still lacking. Sava’s shield still holds. Relieved Arim wasn’t under magical attack, she sat on her knees and stroked his soft hair. She wanted to cure what she thought caused his pain but knew there was nothing she could do but wait it out with him. “Ravyn,” he breathed, his eyes bleak. “She’s gone.” Lexa nodded, stroking his face. His emotional wounds called to her. Though she didn’t want to take from him in such a weakened state, she opened herself, knowing that in doing so she might help bear his burden. “We have to get back.” Arim’s eyes filled and Lexa stared in alarm, having never seen Arim cry before. Her own tears formed, compassion for the man filling with so much pain. His Darkness swelled like a black cloud, and she continued to siphon the energy, at least freeing him from some of his hurt. “By the Light, I love her so much. I don’t understand what’s happening.” “Let it go, Arim. Give it to me.” His black eyes looked so beautiful, so haunting in torment. “She was all I had for so long…when you were gone.” Lexa wanted to comfort him, to tell him she’d be here for him now. But she couldn’t offer what she didn’t know to be true. In this place, where only she and Arim existed, they had peace. Out there, beyond Sava’s magic, Dark fought with Light, and she and Arim were on opposite sides of the spectrum. No matter that they both had the same goal. Lexa simply didn’t see Tanselm’s residents ever accepting a Dark Lord in their midst. Especially now, having fought off ‘Sin Garu for so long. Arim sat up and leaned back against the couch, still rubbing his chest. He pulled her on his lap and clung tight, his tears falling on her shoulder. The touch of his grief ate at the feeble shields she tried to erect holding her emotions apart. Lexa hugged him to her, willing him to ease off the rage and horror continuing to bleed through his soul. “It will get better,” she said softly, thinking of Muri and Esel. Of Sercha grinning up at her with a soft smile. He clutched her tighter, and they sat together for a long, long time, calming to the sound of merging heartbeats. For now, at least, Lexa and Arim were one. The comfort Lexa felt at the thought made her fear the future more than the demons holding onto her soul. Arim didn’t know what to think, to feel. This grief he’d experienced before in his lifetime but had never wanted to sense again. Though the memories were vague, thanks to Ravyn’s protective magic, he knew he’d felt such pain long ago when his family had self-destructed, and again when he’d lost Lexa. He’d never expected to lose Ravyn now, not when she had so much life left within her. His rock, the foundation of who and what he was, his sister had protected him from a harsh existence during his adolescence and foray into manhood. After, she’d done her best to create a new niche for them both, including him when she married into the Storm Lords, when by rights she should have left him behind to start afresh. To his credit, Faustus Storm readily accepted Ravyn and her younger brother, folding them into his household and including Arim in their everyday lives. Then Faustus had died. And now Ravyn followed him. Arim couldn’t make sense of it. The only thing real was the flesh and blood woman offering him solace as he clung to her slight frame. He breathed in the scent of her hair, wanting to feel home, needing to experience a sense of belonging instead of that adrift loneliness resurrecting once again. Lexa kissed his chest softly, offering a measure of comfort, yet the cool touch of her flesh aroused him, and his body lit from within. Wanting nothing more than to lose himself in Lexa, to forget about everything bad and focus on what was good and right in his life, Arim curled her slim frame around his. “Arim?” she asked softly, staring up at him with that arctic blue gaze that had so much more warmth than he’d once thought. Affection and something deeper swam in her gaze.

“Love me, Blue.” Arim kissed her. “Just love me.” He didn’t give her a chance to refuse him but took what he needed. Their mouths met with a soft closure that sparked his entire body. Her Darkness flowed into him, soothing the savage desire needing relief. His passion rose as their tongues met, and she allowed him to overtake her, submitting herself freely. Arim groaned and bent to her neck, sucking hard, wanting nothing more than to consume her. He lifted Blue so that she rested on her knees on either side of his hips and fastened his lips to her breast. Suckling, drawing the taut nub into his mouth, Arim feasted on her cool flesh and the arousing moans she gave as she trembled. He teased from one breast to the other, pulling at her nipples, fascinated with her womanly contrasts. Lexa was cool to the touch, yet she stoked his desire higher and hotter. Arim felt as if he’d burn up, his cock thick and throbbing against her belly, which pressed him as she shook. His hands drifted down her body, cupping her ass as he ground her against his erection, needing respite but not wanting to rush this glorious sharing. He could feel all of Lexa, aware she held nothing back in her attempt to comfort as best she could. He loved her all the more for it. Blue might not know it, but she trusted him on a deep level like she trusted no other. “Feel me,” she rasped. Her Darkness bled through him, forcing the Light to cling to her and not to his pain. Her dominance called to the Darkness coiled inside him, and without at first realising it, he began bending her to his will. Arim clenched her ass with one hand, using his other to feel the slick heat between her legs. “By the Light, you’re so hot.” As he drew her nipple into his mouth again, his fingers sank through the tight walls of her channel into the wet fire of her sex. She groaned and pulled away from his mouth, grinding down on his cock pulsing so hard it was a wonder he hadn’t yet come. Blue glued her mouth to his and breathed with him, her cold breath stirring his ardour anew. Her powerful, contradictory nature to both heal and harm had always fascinated him, just as he was enthralled by the cool feel of her skin and the incredibly hot furnace of her core. Unwilling to wait any longer, Arim withdrew his hand to pull her up and over his cock. Impaling her over him, he forced her to move up and down, losing sight of the fact that she was as willing, if not more so, to take charge as she rode him hard. “So good, Blue. Take me deeper,” he rasped thickly, lost to the bliss overtaking reason. Up and down, her slick flesh clasped him tighter, the ache in his balls spreading through his shaft, the need to come demanding surcease. Desire flared, pushing at Arim to control, to lash out until he received his due—Lexa’s climax, Lexa’s love. He clasped her waist with bruising fingers, unable to help himself as he ground against her clit with every slap and press of their bodies. She moaned his name and thrust her tongue in his mouth, teasing, urging him to do more.

In me, all of you inside me, he heard whispered in his mind. Mental images of him shooting inside her overwhelmed him until he could think of nothing but gifting her with his seed. Their bodies were so close, their energy directly aligned. Arim could no longer tell where his Light ended and her Darkness began. And then he felt a distinct thrum from within, a steady haze of Darkness pushing at his very essence. The seduction of true freedom beckoned, and Arim groaned as he took command of Lexa’s body. Fucking her mercilessly, he added a finger to her ass, filling her with all of him. Mouth, ass, pussy, she belonged to him. He devoured every inch of her until she cried out his name and spasmed around him. Her ass clenched his finger tight as he thrust in time with his cock, and her walls clamped down on him as she milked his seed in a torrent of ecstasy that shook him to the quick. Even as he emptied inside her, Arim felt something more want to leave him. In a moment of perfect clarity, he saw a void in Lexa’s soul, that piece of her Darkness that should have been there but wasn’t. As they held each other tightly, both lost in the rapture of sexual enthrallment, Arim granted her everything he had. Determined to give her back the caring she’d just given him, Arim subtly lent her his strength, allowing the Darkness within him to cradle the power of his Light as he filled that void in Lexa that shouldn’t have been there. Grunting with the effort, he felt another orgasm crash over him and stiffened, the push of his Dark-enshrouded Light both a pleasure and a pain as weakness invaded his spirit. Though glad to be parted from that Darkness that secretly resided within him, Arim knew a moment’s panic, a distinct warning that he’d made a mistake that would eventually destroy him.

But if it helps Lexa, it’s not such a sacrifice to make, he told himself, and grunted with pleasure when he finished spending inside her. When he could focus again, he felt Lexa’s breath over his chest, felt her stroking his arms and belly as her heart gradually began to slow. A quick look inside her showed Arim the bright blue magic he’d expected to see earlier. He smiled, kissing the top of her head. He still ached at thoughts of Ravyn, but as he throbbed inside Blue, he knew his heartache would indeed lessen in time. The small Dark Lord on top of him would be his salvation. Ravyn, at least, now had Faustus, the man she loved, at her side. She suffered their separation no longer, though her people, her children, and certainly her brother, would miss her dreadfully. But if his sister had loved Faustus with the same intensity that Arim felt for Lexa, Arim could only imagine how hurtful the past few months in Tanselm had been without him. Snuggling into his arms, Blue surprised Arim with a burst of energy that felt an awful lot like love. Arim glowed with contentment, temporarily sidetracked from the pain of his sister’s departure. When he looked down at Blue’s face, he saw the emotion reflected in her warm gaze that gradually turned cooler as she watched him.

Arim felt no threat from her defences, as he’d come to expect them. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have accepted any less than Blue’s all, to include her suspicion and fear, her warmth at odds with her well-earned caution. She squirmed, and he sighed as she pulled away from him, leaving his flagging flesh cold without her. “You’re always making a mess of me,” she grumbled, even as she cuddled on his lap again. He smiled into her hair, content to have her in his arms forever. Unfortunately, as the seconds ticked by into minutes, the silence between them gave way to a truth that could not be ignored. “I’m sorry about Ravyn.” Lexa cleared her throat and pulled away from his hold to look at him. Sincerity shone in her gaze. “I actually liked her.” “Your magic healed her when nothing else could.” Lexa tensed. “How did you know about that?” He joked, “I know everything. So I should thank you for giving my sister that much more time to live. If not, ‘Sin Garu would have killed her that much sooner.” He swallowed, still trying to reconcile the truth of his sister’s passing with his seething hatred towards ‘Sin Garu. “At least she’s with Faustus now.” Lexa glanced away. “What’s wrong?” “I feel your anger, Arim. After all this, I think you should at least be honest with me. I‘m not asking you for anything.” Lexa wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I am honest.” Confused, he grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “What are you talking about?” “You blame me for what happened to Ravyn, don’t you?” “Why would I?” Lexa tried to leave his hold but he manhandled her into place, secretly pleased at the icy glare she shot him. He much preferred her anger to her hurt. “Much as I hate to admit it, ’Sin Garu is my brother. He wants me, and he’ll do whatever he can to get what he wants. No matter who gets hurt.” Arim stared into her glacier blue eyes, bemused that the frost of her gaze could be both incredibly seductive yet calming. “Lexa, you yourself said ‘Sin Garu wants to punish me. The best way to do that would be to harm those I care about.” Ravyn, his heart whispered, too late. “I’m a Dark Lord.” “And I’m a Light Bringer, kin to the Storm Lords. My kind have fought with yours forever. It’s a past we cannot change, but a future we can shape as we see fit.” “And what future is that?” Lexa asked quietly, her expression now shadowed. “This new peace between us won’t last. Not when ‘everyone you hold dear’ considers me the enemy.” Arim said nothing, thinking about the future, imagining a world without Lexa. He’d allowed mistrust to blind him once. He wouldn’t let it happen again. “Lexa, we both know you and ‘Sin Garu are bonded by nothing more than Ini’s blood. You’ve done more to help Tanselm and the Storm Lords than anyone could have expected, especially after how you were treated so long ago.” He rubbed her shoulders, forcing her to maintain eye contact. “I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t believe in you--in us. But as I’ve said before and I’ll say again, we can’t change the past. This is our future, Lexa. We’re both fighting for a world without oppression, free from evil persecution. Dark or Light, we want the same thing.” “Do we?” The Lexa he’d once known had wanted love, a family, children of her own and a purpose in life to help others. He couldn’t believe she’d changed that much about the core of her basic personality. “I want my people safe. I want to love and be loved. Don’t you?” She stared at him for a long moment, but eventually nodded. “I want children. I want to hold my son or daughter in my arms. I want to stand with you year after year and watch our children grow strong with love for Tanselm and its people.” Her eyes watered, and he smiled tenderly as she blinked furiously to clear them. “I…” She coughed, clearly uncomfortable. “I want to be happy.” “And children wouldn’t make you happy? A man who would worship the ground you walk upon wouldn’t thrill you to no end?” His little Dark Lord looked nervous, and he couldn’t be more pleased. No, his Lexa hadn’t changed. But breaking through those shields guarding her heart would take patience and time. Arim planned to give her all the time in the world, whatever he had left. He pushed aside the lingering sadness that hovered just beyond thoughts of Lexa, concentrating fully on the woman he planned to take as wife.

“You always make things so damned complicated,” she suddenly snarled. “Arim, can’t we just focus on the now?” Her breasts brushed his chest and made him want her all over again. “Of course, Blue. Anything for you,” he murmured and cupped her breasts, moulding their form to his large palms. By the Light, he loved her body. Lexa flushed and glanced at his mouth, her ice blue stare like a physical caress. She leaned down to kiss him just as a massive influx of energy filled the room. Without thought, Arim shoved her down and crouched in front of her to face the oncoming threat. Sava appeared. Arim glared at the interruption. The look on the Aellein king’s face promised trouble. “Arim, I—” “I know about Ravyn,” Arim said gruffly, standing to an imposing height over Sava. “And I know what you did and why you did it.” Before Sava could say anymore, Arim ordered, “Remove the shields. Now.” Sava waved his hands and mumbled under his breath. A rush of Light returned to Arim in the next breath. He sighed with pleasure as he magically cleaned and clothed both himself and Lexa before she could protest. Bad enough Sava had already seen her naked. Arim had no intention of gifting the shifty Aellei with more of his intended’s beauty. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, but you and Lexa are stubborn creatures, to say the least.” Sava’s face was drawn as he continued. “Words cannot express how deeply sorry I am about your sister. But Arim, even if you’d been there, there’s no way you could have stopped this from happening.” Lexa stepped forward, clad in the Light Bringer warrior’s garb Arim had given her. She now matched him, black boots, black trousers, and a black overtunic with red piping. Arim’s signature battledress. Sava’s brows rose as he noted their similar clothing, but he wisely said nothing. Lexa’s scowl clearly showed her displeasure with the garb, but she too remained silent. Both of them watched Arim, waiting. “It’s time to return home together.” Arim took Lexa’s hand in his, holding tight, daring her to disagree. Her keen intelligence and her ability to read him kept her quiet, if not happy about his decision. He turned back to Sava. “’Sin Garu’s time is at an end.”

Chapter Eleven Jonas helplessly stared at the chaos in the castle around him, not sure what to do. He was having a hard time standing, his battle with the Netharat having taken its toll. Grief at Remir’s betrayal ate at him, as did the guilt that he hadn’t seen the truth and helped his friend sooner. The knowledge that Ellie might still need his aid had him struggling to teleport to her side. He closed his eyes and locked in on the feel of her Dark energy. In more time than it normally took to move through the between, Jonas found her. He stayed to the shadows as he watched the sombre group before him, wondering how the Djinn in the northlands fared. During their skirmish with the Netharat, Alor, at least, had managed to break away, working through a gap in the Netharat shield containing them. Sadly, he’d escaped too late to do Ravyn any good. As Jonas stood in the western kingdom’s central keep, he watched the Storm Lords and their affai circle around the dead body of Queen Ravyn, overqueen of Tanselm no more. Ellie, thankfully, stood protected in the strong arms of her husband. Relief filled him that at least she remained safe. Alor would need to take control of the Djinn in the North to explain the precarious situation they now faced. Jonas knew it was up to him to explain what he knew to the Storm Lords. He had to make them believe the underlying danger to them all. But he wasn’t sure how to cut through the thick layer of grief covering everyone in the tomb-like expanse of the queen’s chambers. Another wave of dizziness hit him, and he cursed under his breath when he realised he was bleeding even though he remained in shadow form. A small pool of blood was steadily growing on the floor, drawing the attention of Darius. The Prince of Fire raised a hand filled with orange flame, and Jonas quickly showed himself before he suffered an attack he might not recover from. “I didn’t mean to intrude,” Jonas said hoarsely as he drew apart from his shadow on the wall and coalesced into a man’s form. “If it could wait I wouldn’t have bothered.” A frown replacing the anger in Darius’s eyes. He, Aerolus and the others soon surrounded Jonas. “What happened?” Aerolus asked quietly, the Dark, decadent aura of grief clinging to him like a second skin. “You look like shit,” Darius growled, his eyes wet with unshed tears. “They attacked us in the north. I tried to send Alor to warn you…” Jonas slumped and would have fallen to his knees if Darius hadn’t caught him. “Sit down, Jonas.” Aerolus turned. “Ellie, he needs you.” She knelt beside him. The look on her face tore Jonas in half.

“I’m so sorry, Ellie. That bastard has been one step ahead of us all along.” Rage burned, that his best friend had been a pawn of an enemy Dark Lord for so long and Jonas hadn’t known. He’d sensed something amiss in Remir, had even conferred with Lexa about Remir once or twice, but he’d never been able to solidify Remir’s guilt. Until today. Until it was too late. “It’s not your fault, Jonas.” Ellie rested her hands on his shoulders, tensing only slightly when Cadmus added his strength by placing a hand on her arm. She pushed Dark energy through Jonas, and Jonas absorbed it like a starving man. The Wraith’s Kiss—a spell that caused blue flame to burn its victim from the inside out—lingered like a disease after his battle with those ice wraiths. Blessed Night, but Jonas truly hated the wraiths. His pain eased as Ellie poured her energy into him. Cadmus’s touch aided greatly, as tied as the Earth Lord was to Tanselm, his healing was immense. In no time, Jonas felt himself, and he hastened to warn them against what he feared was coming next. “One of my men was compromised and barely managed to warn me of ‘Sin Garu’s intentions before dying. The Dark Lord is responsible for Ravyn, and I’m afraid it gets worse.” “We know.” Marcus spoke in a voice devoid of emotion, the intensity of his rage shining in eyes that turned from blue to black. “A Djinn killed our mother, a Darkling in league with several Aellei.” “That’s what you’re supposed to believe.” Jonas shook his head, aware the kingdoms were in serious trouble if he couldn’t get the Storm Lords to listen to him. Would they trust his word over the Church of Illumination’s? “Why wouldn’t we believe it?” Cadmus asked. “I want to think that this is all a plot to make us turn on each other. That’s easier to stomach than that our own citizens, Darklings we’ve taken into our hearts and lives, would turn on us, betraying our hope for peace between our kind.” “Exactly,” Jonas agreed. “With Darklings and Shadow Dwellers blamed for all this, the Light Bringers will turn on their new neighbours. Strife and discord will grow. The potential unity and strength we need to defeat ‘Sin Garu and the Netharat will be gone as if it had never been.” “A logical conclusion,” Aerolus said. “But if the Djinn and Aellei aren’t at fault, how then do you explain Sarqua involvement in Mother’s death? How do you know your people haven’t actually turned against the Light Bringers? They’ve been dealing with Church and Light Bringer animosity since they arrived. What’s to say ‘Sin Garu didn’t make them a better offer?” Frustrated, Jonas stood, not knowing how best to answer. He wanted to tell them he was sure it was the Church at fault, that the Sarqua Djinn were innocent. But what if he’d missed another Darkling like Remir, one enspelled by ‘Sin Garu? For that matter, he didn’t know exactly how Ravyn had died, only that Remir had whispered that the Church had something to do with this mess. Perhaps the Storm Lords had the right of it. Yet his gut told him this was all a part of ‘Sin Garu’s plan to weaken the Light Bringers’ hold on Tanselm. “We want to believe you, Jonas,” Cadmus said tiredly. He glanced back at his mother, his body tense, his aura impossibly bleak. “But I don’t think we can afford to trust in supposition any longer.” “Then what do you propose to do?” Jonas asked. “We send the Aellei back to Aelle and the Djinn back to Foreia,” Darius said bluntly. “We gather our sorcerers and warriors and tighten down like we should have from the beginning. Martial law enforced.” “Yes.” Marcus looked unhappy about the decision. “I sense what Jonas says may be true, yet keeping Darklings and Shadren here will only exacerbate the Light Bringers’ distrust in their leaders. Already there is talk of removing the Storm Lords from power. While I’d gratefully leave the throne to anyone more capable to defend us, quite frankly, there aren’t any. Without us here to marshal our people, the magic in Tanselm is doomed to ‘Sin Garu.” Jonas could see that Marcus was trying to do what was right, but the Storm Lords needed all the help they could get. “You don’t understand. Remir told me something before he died. It’s the Church. I think they conspired to kill the queen.” Marcus shook his head. “As much as I dislike the Church, I can’t believe that. They’re extremely bigoted, and I admit their antiquated ideas on Light and Dark need a lot of help, but they would never kill Tanselm’s overqueen. Our mother was the heart and soul of Tanselm.” Darius added his thoughts. “Much as I can’t stand the Congregation of Idiots, I agree with Marcus.” “But it’s possible,” Jonas tried, but was cut off by the Storm Lords and their affai beginning to argue amongst themselves. To his surprise, all the affai bonded against the Church, but the Royal Four weren’t so sure. Shit. This was getting them nowhere. Though they tried, no one in the room besides Jonas was thinking with a clear head. The loss of Queen Ravyn had deeply affected them all, especially Tanselm. Jonas could feel the land weeping, her magic surging in fits and starts, no doubt screwing with the Storm Lords’ ability to reason. Even their affai were affected, Alandra more than the others as she wept inconsolably while raging against narrow-minded zealots. Hastening to divert the pain growing in the room, Jonas carefully siphoned some of their negative energy and tried again. “Listen, I didn’t tell you this before, but Sava and I have been doing some digging.” “Does Arim know? About Ravyn, I mean,” Samantha asked softly, her arms around Darius’s middle, as if holding onto him like a lifeline. Like her husband, red glints of anger shone in her tear-filled gaze. “Where the hell is he?” Darius growled while trying to soothe his affai. “He must know,” Aerolus answered. “The minute Mother fell, we all felt it.” He rubbed his chest, and Jonas felt the ache as if it were his own. Involuntarily, his Darkness latched onto Aerolus’s pain, consuming the seething intensity. “Jonas, whatever you’re doing is helping, so keep doing it.

I’m able to think more clearly with you and Ellie near me.” Cadmus hugged Ellie to him. “I felt as if I would die when I saw Mother, but Ellie’s Darkness saps much of the pain of this loss, making it more bearable, if that makes sense.” “I’m glad something good can come out of this,” Darius muttered, running his hands through his inky hair. “We don’t have time to grieve, nor would Mother want us to, not now. You remember what Arim told us. We have to preserve Tanselm, not just for our good, but for the balance of worlds everywhere. If ‘Sin Garu takes our world, others with less magic may be next.” He held his affai’s hand. “To include the mundane planes, like Earth.” Tessa and Samantha looked at one another, their faces drawn. Alandra, however, burst out into a new flow of violent tears so unexpectedly that everyone was taken aback. “Purie, what—” Aerolus tried to console his affai, but Alandra glowed, her aura changing from one of Shadow to one of Darkness impossibly fast. Jonas felt the magic within her turn as well, and he grew concerned. The Aellei were more than magic users. They were magic itself. Alandra’s power rivalled anyone’s in this room, to include the conspicuously absent Arim. “They killed her. Our mother. A loving, giving woman who never hurt anyone. She was so good, so pure. She accepted me. Truly loved me, and now she’s gone.” Alandra made a shriek that sounded inhuman, and Jonas was reminded that she was Shadren, a cousin to those awful Nocumat he hated. “Alandra, try to relax,” Aerolus said with a deep, cleansing calm. “We all love and miss her, purie. But there is nothing we can do to bring her back. We can only serve her people now, as she’d want us to.” He drew her into his arms and let her weep, and the other women cried a torrent of tears. The Storm Lords weren’t unaffected, far from it, though each battled the pain growing in the room. Though he tried not to overindulge, Jonas began feeling the effects from so much negative emotion. Whereas before he’d been unsteady due to a lack of blood, now he felt woozy from imbibing too much power. Magically weakened from his altercation with the Netharat, he was having a hard time shielding himself from absorbing the Light Bringers’ pain. “I’m sorry. I have to get out of here for a minute. Too much energy…” Jonas flashed out of the room and into the courtyard outside the walls of the western keep. A mistake he immediately recognised. A throng of angry and grief-stricken Light Bringers mustered around several Church brethren spitting Light Bringer doctrine. The large group was intent on their holy gathering—a gathering he’d interrupted. Silence reigned for a long minute while everyone’s eyes narrowed on him. “There, see?” One of the Light Bringers sneered and pointed a finger at Jonas. The thin, gangly older man wore a long brown robe and sported a staff affixed with a large milky-white stone. The stone began glowing, protesting Jonas’ presence, and he inwardly cursed Light Bringer opal. The churchman continued. “It is as Ordinary Nohjen proclaims. ‘The Light shall ferret the evil Darkness from our world and send it back where it belongs. Holy is the soul that cleanses the impure from its pores.’” He pointed at Jonas. “His kind killed our queen. It is our bound duty as Light Bringers to send this spawn back to hell from whence he came. “Death to the Darklings and Shadren of our world. Death to all who would welcome them. Down with the Storm Lords. The time has come for a new regime to lead us back into the Light.” All they needed were pitchforks and torches, Jonas thought with amused dismay. He knew he shouldn’t have thought of this rebellion as humorous, but the overindulgence of energy he’d consumed couldn’t stop his shit-eating grin. Mistake number two. The Light Bringers found nothing funny about him and roared their disapproval as they tore past the churchmen towards him. Brother Pain In the Ass turned the orb on Jonas full blast, and he was unable to teleport to safety. Sharp nails and bony fingers prodded his already tender flesh, newly healed courtesy of Ellie, while Jonas fought for sobriety and escape. “What, by the Light’s Mark, is going on here?” Arim’s voice sounded heaven-sent as Jonas fought the press of bodies suffocatingly close. “Brother Forde?” The lead churchman pointed to Jonas. “This creature lives and breathes while our overqueen is dead,” he spat, his silent companions nodding like thoughtless drones. Brother Forde’s eyes widened, and he sneered with a savagery that reminded Jonas of ‘Sin Garu. “And you, oh great Guardian of Storm, bring with you a king of Shadow and a Dark Lord spawn. Our enemy stands freely by your side. What incredible hypocrisy! Your friends are the reason Tanselm is no longer safe. They kill our children, feasting on innocent flesh. Yet they walk beside you as equals.” Forde’s face turned beet-red and spittle flew from his mouth as he screamed, “Did you conspire to kill our beloved queen? Are you in league with ‘Sin Garu, as surely as you are with this Dark slut?” Forde glared at Lexa. The crowd quieted, in shock. As the silence settled, Brother Forde darted furtive looks around him. Probably looking for an escape route, thought Jonas with contempt. Even Forde must have sensed he’d gone too far. Jonas squirmed to be let loose and fought to see Arim and the others. What he finally saw made him shiver. The fury brewing in Arim stirred his Djinn soul to respond. Unfathomable Darkness in one so full of Light.

Jonas watched the spectacle unfold before him in awe, aware he was most likely watching Light Bringer history in the making. Sava, he noted absently, looked none the worse for wear. While Jonas had been fighting Netharat and teleporting into Dark strongholds all over the known worlds looking for signs of ‘Sin Garu, Sava looked as if he’d been frequenting the most expensive salons. The Aellein king’s long, white-blond hair lay perfectly straight and shiny over his shoulders. His pristine—again white—overtunic and trousers had not a smudge or wrinkle to mar their silken perfection, and his skin glowed with vigour as he stared at Arim, waiting with everyone else to see the sorcerer’s reaction. The sight of Lexa, however, shocked the hell out of Jonas. She looked like Arim’s other half in similar Light Bringer battle garb. Her skin glowed, a pale cream that shone under the moon’s ambient light, and the inky swell of her hair framed a face too beautiful to be real. Her light blue eyes whitened with anger as she stared at the masses glaring back at her, and Jonas could feel her readying to blow them all to hell. Arim, however, focused on the churchman, his black eyes turning a rainbow of colour that, Jonas had learned, promised nothing remotely pleasant. With a flick of his wrist, Arim lifted Brother Forde from his small platform in the courtyard several feet above the crowd. The man clutched his throat and gasped, his face red and his eyes bulging from his sockets as he struggled to breathe. “You dare malign me to our people when we are at our most vulnerable? You would attack me, chosen protector of the Light Bringers, chosen by Tanselm herself?” Arim snarled, his eyes inhumanly bright. The crowd cowered yet remained transfixed, like Jonas, at the wreck sure to follow. “My sister, your queen, lies dead. And you rally our people to war with themselves?” “Arim—” Sava tried to interrupt, but Lexa shook her head. “No, Sava. Let him. These fools think to ally with the force that probably took the queen from them in the first place.” All eyes fixed to Lexa, who stared with seething hatred at Brother Forde and his brethren. “What? Cursing the Djinn and Aellei here isn’t enough?” She glared at the crowd. “None of you, even those sorcerers in the back, can feel the Dark taint of ‘Sin Garu in these ‘stalwart’ Light Bringer churchmen?” Arim growled and threw the floating churchman fifty feet through the air into a towering rilk tree. The man hit the thick trunk with a solid slam and slid bonelessly to the ground, blood streaming from his ears. But Arim wasn’t through. He turned on the crowd and began expanding, literally growing into a giant as he addressed them, his size lending his voice an immense broadcast. “You will not support any stance on insurrection and live, not in my presence. After all King Faustus and Queen Ravyn have done for you, after all their sons have sacrificed and worked to protect this land and her people—you miserable Light Bringers—none of you will do anything to jeopardise our fight against ‘Sin Garu, do you hear me?” Jonas wondered how any of them might not hear him, as loud as Arim shouted. The bodies pressing Jonas close scattered like the wind as the giant sorcerer stomped towards him and lifted him to his feet with the tip of his forefinger. Arim continued towards the castle, gradually diminishing in size until he regained his natural bearing. Several feet from the castle wall he stopped. He turned around and glared at Lexa, Sava and Jonas. “Well?” Sava and Jonas quickly joined him, but Lexa stared at Arim as if seeing him for the first time. “Come on, Blue, I don’t have all day,” Arim muttered, sounding much more like himself. The rough tenderness in his tone completely floored Jonas, who was finally coming down off his power-high. Jonas glanced from Lexa to Arim and back again and grinned like an idiot. “It worked. Hot damn.” Arim glowered at him. “You’re not out of the fire yet, Darkling.” Lexa added her displeasure with a blast of cold that had his teeth chattering before she turned on her heel to follow Arim. Whatever. So long as she and Arim were together, Jonas and Sava had done their job on that score. Now to settle the Storm Lords before they wiped the land of all creatures Dark and Shadow, and to finally find out what Sava might have learned about their enemy’s whereabouts. Lexa really didn’t want to follow Arim into the damned castle, but she relished staying outside with ignorant Light Bringers and Church brethren even less. Joining Sava and Jonas as they trailed Arim, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of solidarity surrounded by a Darkling and an Aellei. Arim kept glancing over his shoulder, making sure she was still with him, until he sighed loudly and yanked her to his side. She did her best to ignore Sava and Jonas’ smothered laughter and tried to free her arm from the great Guardian of Storm. He only tightened his grip and drew her apart from Sava and Jonas. He waved his hand to shield them from everyone. “No, Blue. You’re staying right with me. It’s you and me together. Period.” She couldn’t help the warmth stealing through her at his firm declaration. Still, a Dark Lord had a certain reputation to uphold. She yanked again. “Fine. I’m with you, dammit. But let go of my arm.” She cursed. “I’m not your prisoner.” He stared down at his grasp on her. Slowly, reluctantly, he let her go. “Sorry. It seems to be a habit, my running after you. I just don’t have the strength right now.” Lexa pressed her hand into his, giving him a tight squeeze. “I know. This is hard, and it’s going to get harder.” She swallowed, emotion choking her

as she fought her own fears and tried to do the right thing. A burst of warmth lit her from within, and she started as she recognised Tanselm’s vibrant welcome. Somehow, that made it easier to share what she truly felt. “I’m here for you, Arim. Remember that.” He searched her gaze and gave a strained smile when he found what he’d apparently been looking for. “Good. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, you’re mine.” His tone and dark expression brooked no argument. The blasted man waved away the shield as he turned and stalked to the main staircase, still dragging her by the hand. “What was that about?” Sava asked in a low voice as he and Jonas rejoined them. “The privacy shield. What did you two talk about, hmm?” “Butt out, Sava,” Arim muttered. “You’ve done enough already.” “Don’t worry. I’m not forgetting my part in all this. You owe me, big.” “Ahem,” Jonas said with a slight cough as he hurried after them. “I was there too. As a matter of fact, I drugged Lexa at the cost of my very life.” He clutched his throat dramatically and stared at her in horror. “Please.” Lexa rolled her eyes, trying not to smile and failing to sum up the fury she’d once felt at his supposed defection. “You were nowhere near death’s door then, Jonas. Now, on the other hand… ” “You wouldn’t have killed him before? Going soft, Lexa?” Sava sounded smug. “Or is it that you were too weak before to harm a fly? What you’re really saying is that you’re much more powerful now than you were then. Thanks in great part, I’m sure, to a certain Light Bringer sorcerer we know.” “I’m not saying that at all. I felt perfectly fine then.” A lie. “I feel fine now.” Lexa did in fact feel wonderful. Ever since making love with Arim, she’d felt restored, as if the part of her withering away in the demon plane hadn’t been taken. Was her new strength the result of Arim’s power, her own revitalising energy, or Tanselm’s magic? Lexa wanted to look deeper into herself but couldn’t concentrate and keep up with Arim’s leggy strides at the same time. She resolved to investigate the matter later, falling on Tanselm’s welcome as the source of her newfound strength as the most likely answer to her question. That made sense as much as anything she’d experienced. And she knew the land had missed her. Ignoring the startled, frightened and angry glares of the Light Bringer warriors swarming the keep, they arrived at the royal hallway leading to Ravyn’s quarters. Arim faltered once before he squeezed Lexa’s hand and continued. Waves of sadness radiated from him with growing intensity. Lexa heard Jonas’ hiss and knew he was aware of the feelings as well. A glance over her shoulder told her as much when he nodded towards Arim in sympathy. Arim neared Ravyn’s door and Lexa dreaded the coming confrontation. She had no doubt at least one if not more of Arim’s nephews were near Ravyn’s body. She’d never gone out of her way to make friends with the Storm Lords outside of Ellie, now a Storm Lord affai. Nodding to the guards protecting the entrance, Arim pushed the door open and strode through with Lexa, Jonas and Sava close behind. He froze when his gaze landed on the bed, and Lexa wasn’t surprised by the pain leeching through the physical contact of their hands. Ignoring the startled occupants of the room, Lexa focused on Arim. “I’ll wait here,” she whispered and prodded him to move forward without her. He didn’t spare her a glance as he approached the body of his sister lying on her bed. The minute he her hand go, Lexa braced for the hostility sure to swing her way. Jonas and Sava moved closer to her, proving she wasn’t the only one with such thoughts. Four mourning Storm Lords and their weeping affai stared at her in befuddlement that quickly turned to anger. The Prince of Fire placed himself in front of his affai and conjured a ball of flame. Marcus’s glare cooled to an icy blue, and Lexa could feel his telekinetic power shimmering as water crystals formed around him and his brothers like a shield. Soon those crystals would form sharp, lethal daggers of ice, and she gave him credit for manipulating his talents to their fullest. Had Lexa the full use of her power, she would have waved them all into stillness to give Arim time to deal with the sight of his sister. He didn’t need his attention split right now, and Lexa certainly didn’t want to be the cause of his distraction. But they’d both known this would happen. Her anger grew when Cadmus and Aerolus, two of the Storm Lords she considered fairer than the others, especially as they’d wed women with Dark natures, assumed offensive, rather than defensive, stances. Shit. Did they really want to play right now? She understood grief, but she was tired of taking the blame for ‘Sin Garu’s doings. “Come to see what havoc your kind has reaped?” Marcus snarled, the usually cool River Prince as fiery as the hot-tempered Darius. “Marcus—” Aerolus inserted in a quiet voice. “No, Aerolus. Let him speak,” Darius demanded. “She needs to know that we’re not going to let them win no matter what they do.” “She didn’t do this.” Lexa scowled. Arim knelt by his sister’s body, his forehead pressed against her side as he held one of her cold, lifeless hands. “’Sin Garu did. And if you care at all for your uncle or your affai, you might tamp down your rage to prepare for the Netharat’s return. The final battle is coming. Tell them, Cadmus.” Cadmus shook his head, his brown eyes black with tension. “The visions I’ve seen aren’t worth sharing.” The others looked to him, all except Darius, who kept a furious eye on Lexa. “You’ve seen our defeat then,” Aerolus stated, his voice calm.

“Bullshit.” Darius sneered, his wife’s arms tightening around his waist. “Darius, easy,” Samantha said. “What you’ve seen is only a possibility.” Lexa told them. “It bodes well for no one. My mother is dead and our line very well may end with us,” Cadmus admitted, startling exclamations of disbelief and fury from his family. “Why didn’t you tell me?” his affai asked. “Ellie, I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, I thought it was all just a bad dream. Some of my nightmares are just that. This particular dream didn’t feel like a vision. I wasn’t dazed and didn’t black out.” “Perhaps it wasn’t a vision at that. ‘Sin Garu has ways of infiltrating even the strongest of minds.” Lexa had a feeling the Dark Lord had been tampering with Cadmus’s clairvoyance. He’d done the same to her a time or two. While she pondered ‘Sin Garu’s next move, she kept her attention on the Storm Lords and on Arim by the bed. When her lover tottered and fell to the floor, she immediately moved to his aid. The Storm Lords took her sudden action as a threat. Darius and Samantha shot fire. Marcus created and released a volley of icy daggers while Tessa shielded them all with a wall of water. Aerolus let loose his winds, and Cadmus pushed the many plants in Ravyn’s room to grow and lengthen like attacking vines. Only Alandra and Ellie remained unmoving as they watched the chaos erupting around them. As if in slow motion, Jonas deflected Marcus’s attack with a band of Dark energy. Sava whispered under his breath and absorbed fire into Shadow. Lexa could do nothing but get to Arim. Without conscious thought, she waved her hand at her attackers and raced to Arim’s unmoving form. Everyone around her froze. Despite the aid Tanselm was giving her magic, with the demons feasting on her soul she shouldn’t have been able to amass that much power. Suspicion took root, that her strength had come from another source, one that even now lay helpless and unconscious before her. “Damn you, Arim.” She glowered as she reached him and took him into her arms. Closing her eyes, she searched deep within his mind but could see nothing through the safeguards there even in his subconscious. She did the next best thing and plunged a hand directly into his body, her physical flesh melding with his and seeking the source of his Light. It hurt terribly, this invasion. But it showed her how very weak Arim had become. The selfless bastard had given her a chunk of his energy; the Darkness that normally dwelled within him now sat heavily in her. Much of his Light had also shifted. The familiar pulse beat within her own heart to drive away the demon decay, now that she’d taken the time to truly hear it.

Arim, what have you done? Lexa screamed at him in her mind, angry and afraid all at once. When they finally seemed to be mending the breach between them, he had to go all sacrificial on her, diminishing their chances to find out where this ‘togetherness’ might lead. In spite of the full restoration of her powers, which even now topped what she’d had before—Arim’s Light making her incredibly strong—Lexa felt emptier than she had in a long time. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, let alone examine her feelings, but she could no longer deny what she felt for Arim. Seeing him so weak, she could imagine him wasting away and dying, and the notion terrified her. Without Arim in the world of the living, Lexa didn’t know what she’d do. Raw grief tore her apart. As she sat there cradling him, she dimly realised the walls around her were shaking, and that in the distance she heard people screaming. Pulling free from her terror, Lexa toned down the Light and Dark energy in the room disturbing the castle. At once the yelling outside abated. The occupants in the room remained frozen except for Sava, who blinked as he shrugged out of his imposed paralysis. “By the Shadows, Lexa, don’t do that.” He glared at her before his face blanked, and he joined her by Arim’s side with alacrity, crouching low. “How is he?” “Weak, stupid and an idiot.” Lexa angrily wiped at unwelcome tears. “Apparently, Nurse Feel Good,” she mimicked, remembering the nickname he’d once given her, “gave me enough juice to restore my energy while depleting his. From what I gather, he’s been experiencing more and more moments of weakness due to Tanselm’s fluctuations in power.” “Yes, but now that you’re back, his energy should be growing.” Sava closed his eyes. Shadow glided from the corners of the room to settle over him. For a minute he sat under folds of grey, until he opened his eyes and the shadows returned to their places in the room. “It’s bad, Lexa. Tanselm is tapped. The land’s in a state of catatonic shock, suffering from some new madness ‘Sin Garu’s created. I don’t understand it, but I know we can’t stop it from here. I think the demons have a hold on the land’s magic, and that they’re building a portal to bridge worlds.” “Oh no.” “Oh, yes. In doing so, they’re draining Tanselm far faster than any Light Bringers ever could. Arim was thready before, but now he’s barely holding on. He gave you too much, and now he’s in the same state you were headed, worse off since he immediately bonded with the land upon his return. He’s too weak to fight the demons the way he is.”

Lexa wanted so badly to kill ‘Sin Garu she could taste it. “Lexa?” Sava’s hair stood on end, reacting to the fringes of static energy surrounding her. It was a comical sight that would have made her laugh had she not been so worried about Arim and Tanselm. “Tone it down.” She gritted her teeth at the strain to rein in her rage and focused instead on Arim. “Yes, Lexa. Tone it down and turn it. Use it to help my brother.” Sava swore and rocked back on his heels. Ravyn once again decided to visit, this time standing next to her deceased body. “Do as I say and we can yet save Arim and the kingdom.” “Nice timing,” Lexa said on a breath as she pulled in the negativity flowing in the room. Jonas, the Storm Lords and their affai remained frozen, though Lexa thought by the avid look in Aerolus’s and Alandra’s gazes that perhaps those two were aware of what transpired around them. “Now what?” “Now you use what’s inside you to heal Arim.” Ravyn knelt next to them. “Gee, great idea.” Lexa stared at Arim’s sister, her frustration growing. She could feel his pulse growing weaker. “How the hell do I do that?” Ravyn shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t even be here.” She glanced over her shoulder, looking for what, Lexa couldn’t have guessed. “But do send my daughters my heartfelt congratulations.” “Congratulations? Dammit, Ravyn, get to the point. I’m kind of pressed for time here.” Lexa didn’t have time to play guessing games with the dead. She had Arim to save before he joined Ravyn next to his body. The overqueen winked. “Give them my sincerest blessings on their pregnancies.” A light hum filled the room, Tanselm’s pleasure radiating through the doom and gloom saturating the Storm Lords. One issue solved, at least, Lexa thought bitterly. A possible new overking could be chosen once one of the affai birthed four identical princes. Great. A happy occasion…right before ‘Sin Garu found out and began annihilating royal affai. “I’ll tell them. Now about Arim—” “Oh, and to you as well, Lexa. My humblest felicitations.” “For what?” The look on Ravyn’s pale, transparent face made Lexa go lightheaded with anxiety. No way. Ravyn couldn’t possibly mean— “On your forthcoming children, of course.”

Chapter Twelve Blindsided, Lexa stuttered, “W-What?” “Lexa, we’re losing him,” Sava urged, pulling her attention. Ravyn stroked her brother’s face. Arim’s skin glowed where she touched it, and then she faded from sight, a sad smile on her face. “Focus on the power that beats within you,” Sava said softly, bringing Lexa’s attention to his face. She wasn’t used to seeing Sava so serious, so ancient, and his intensity helped clear the cobwebs of confusion from her brain. “Call upon your feelings for Arim, that love you dare not mention but can no longer ignore.” Lexa didn’t like admitting to the emotion that made her so vulnerable. It went against everything ingrained in her from the time she’d learned what it truly meant to be a Dark Lord to open up to love. But she couldn’t turn away from Arim, not when he needed her most. As much as she wanted to question what she thought Ravyn had just told her, now was not the time. Taking a deep breath, Lexa once again lost touch with the physical and stared into the Darkness shimmering with Light that was now her core. The demon taint no longer existed. Instead, love, an iridescent rainbow of feeling, throbbed in her soul—Arim’s power so generously shared. Lexa could do no less than pass it back to the man she couldn’t live without. Freely and without hesitation, Lexa inwardly admitted her love, sharing it with his soul so bright it hurt to look at…until she noted the unfathomably Dark speck at its centre. That part of Arim he wanted to deny but couldn’t called to Lexa on a level she clearly understood. Possession, desire, and raw need filtered through her into him, and she allowed the Darkness he’d given her to seep back into his being. Traces of his gift of Light refused to leave her, however, and she instinctively held onto what her mind told her she couldn’t afford to let go. As she shared the moment with Arim, her heart fluttered with the knowledge that she truly loved him as she never would another. Sparks of energy shot through them, tying them together in a way words could never do. In the span of a few seconds, Lexa saw the immense void where Tanselm’s power had been, a boon the land granted Arim that Tanselm would never willingly give ‘Sin Garu. The energy Lexa herself shared wouldn’t sustain Arim forever, but it would do temporarily. They would have to hope it would be enough to rid them of ‘Sin Garu and free Tanselm from the Malinta demons’ touch. Arim’s groan shook her concentration and severed their link. Shouts from behind her told her the spell holding the Storm Lords frozen had vanished. Seeking damage control, she quickly pulled Sava down to her and whispered, “Not one word about Ravyn’s visit.” Sava placed a finger over his lips. He leaned close to whisper back, “Not one word, little mother.” Clenching her jaw, Lexa shot Sava a look to kill, irritated anew at the joyful mirth on his face. Dark Mother, but Ravyn had to be joking. As Lexa

helped Arim sit up, she couldn’t make sense of much. “What happened?” Arim rubbed his temples and stood with Sava’s and her help. “Arim, are you okay?” Marcus and Tessa spoke at the same time. “Damned Dark Lord…” “Jonas, ease up!” A cacophony of voices filled the room, but Lexa had eyes only for Arim. To her relief, he steadied on his own. His energy seemed as strong as it had been before, if a few degrees dimmer than the bright Light it normally was. “Arim, what happened?” Aerolus shot Lexa a wild look, and she knew he had seen Ravyn. Shit. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard everything she’d said. “I was kneeling by your mother,” Arim began in a throaty rasp, “when everything went black. I couldn’t see you anymore,” he said to Lexa, his eyes narrowed. The others glanced from Lexa to Arim and quieted. “What the fuck is going on?” Darius’s groan drew out into a heavy sigh as he glared at Arim. “Mother’s…passed. You’re as white as a sheet, and you’ve brought the Dark squad with you.” He glared at Jonas, Sava and Lexa, and Lexa wished she’d taken the time before to work on Darius and his smart mouth. “Are you okay or what?” Lexa ignored Darius and nudged Arim towards a chair. “Sit down before you fall down.” To her satisfaction, he grunted his displeasure but walked with his usual arrogance to a nearby chair while the others peppered them with questions and angered looks. Once Arim was seated, Lexa turned to address the others. “All of you just shut up for a minute.” She deliberately glared at Darius, pleased when his vocal cords seized under her enchantment. The spell worked to silence the others in the room as well. “Your uncle is feeling the effects of Tanselm’s draining energy.” Not the entire truth, but one that will suffice until I can have a good heart-to-heart with Arim. “’Sin Garu has somehow managed to bridge the demon world to Tanselm. As we speak, the demons are stuffing themselves with Tanselm’s energy.” She released her mute spell, waved away their angry protestations and continued. “I’m going to take care of ‘Sin Garu just as soon as I can locate his whereabouts.” Sava nodded. “I found him. He’s holed up in the between. I can show you where.” “Perfect.” Arim’s menacing growl told the others he was more than fine, but a potentially lethal force. The others grinned with relief that their Guardian of Storm seemed both hale and hearty. “We’ll come too,” Aerolus pledged and took a step forward, only to find Alandra under his arm and once again seething with temper. “Not without me,” the petite woman asserted. “And me,” Tessa added, as if daring Marcus to contradict her. “Actually, none of you will be going,” Lexa delivered before Arim could. Pleased at his frown and the shouts of his nephews and their affai, she waited until the noise lowered again to explain. “Light Bringers are generally foolish, but not foolish enough to take pregnant women into battle. No, your most royal highnesses,” she needled, pleased to see the Storm Lords so irritated. “Your place is here, defending your land and your expecting affai.” Cadmus frowned. “Pregnant women?” Cadmus seemed stuck on the word ‘pregnant’. “Mother of Shadow,” Alandra gasped and faced Aerolus. “That’s why I’ve been so emotional lately. I feel such extremes, and I’m always so tired. I just thought it was the stress of all this.” She sadly glanced at Ravyn before looking away as quickly. But Lexa saw tears of joy in her eyes as she looked into her husband’s face. “We’re going to be parents.” Aerolus blinked down at his wife, his mouth agape. “What?” “Nicely done,” Sava murmured in Lexa’s ear before joining his niece. He gave Alandra a gentle hug. “I’m so happy for you, Alandra. And for you as well, Aerolus.” He glanced around with a smile. “Congratulations to all of you.” “I don’t understand.” Darius looked confused, but Samantha grinned from ear to ear. “Your. Wife. Is. Pregnant.” Jonas spelled out. “You’re right, Sava. Light Bringers are slow.” He gave Ellie a thumbs up. “So long as the baby looks like Ellie, Cadmus, I think you’ll be okay.” As understanding settled among the Storm Lords and their affai, grand happiness mingled with the melancholy still lingering over the group. “I wonder if Ravyn knows.” Arim startled Lexa, who’d been so focused on his nephews she hadn’t heard him rise. He gathered her in his arms and hugged her back to his belly, his chin on top of her head. “I think she’d be pleased.” “She knows. This is just what she wanted,” Aerolus murmured, his gaze resting curiously on Lexa and Arim. Then he turned back to Alandra and

Sava and nodded at something Sava said. Lexa sucked in a breath when Arim rubbed her belly. Had he heard Ravyn? By the Dark, she hoped not. Sava smiled at her with evil intent when she glared at him. “Someday that’ll be us, Blue,” Arim’s low rumble vibrated in her ear.

That someday might very well be today. Butterflies trembled in her stomach at thoughts of mothering. What did Lexa know of parenting? Much of what Muri had taught her lay buried under the pain of her death, and learning about the right way to guide one’s young meant soul searching through the hurt that came with Muri’s memory. Then too, any child of Lexa’s was bound to be confused. A Dark Lord mother and a Light Bringer father? And not just any Light Bringer, but the Guardian of Storm. They’d have to get rid of his Killer of Shadow moniker, especially if the babe was a Darkling…

What the hell am I thinking? Her panic must have resonated through Arim because he tightened his hold on her. “Blue?” Luckily, Darius interrupted the moment. He walked arm in arm with Samantha, next to Marcus and Tessa as they rounded on Arim. The others joined them, and Lexa felt like a bug under a microscope. Everyone crowding, staring… Memories rose, the feeling of being judged and found unworthy present as she recalled another instance when Light Bringers had surrounded her… “What the hell?” Cadmus stared from Lexa to Arim and began to laugh. Aerolus added a chuckle as well. “All that shit you gave us about marrying ‘creatures of Dark’ and you go and take a Dark Lord?” The others began smiling, though Darius and Marcus looked less amused than suspicious. Lexa shook her head. “It’s not—” what you think refused to come because Arim interrupted. “You will treat my chosen with respect, because if you don’t, I’ll let her do whatever the hell she wants to with you.” Ellie elbowed Cadmus in the gut, and he bent over choking. “I, for one, am glad to have Lexa with us. It was only a matter of time.” Alandra nodded, her face a soft, rosy blush, full of happiness where before had been only sorrow. “Me too. Balances out all the Light in this place.” “Don’t look at us,” Tessa said, sharing a glance with Samantha. “We’re just poor xiantopes, women with no power but the stuff ‘their husbands let them use’,” she muttered, her blue eyes sparkling. “And that’s quoting the esteemed Church. You’ll have to blame all the Light on our idiot husbands.” “Tessa,” Marcus said with a sigh, sounding pained. His arms tightened around her as he brought her in for a sound kiss. “I don’t know. I kind of like the idea of Darius changing diapers.” Samantha laughed at the pained look on her husband’s face, but her expression sobered as she caught sight of Ravyn again. “It’s terrible to be happy when Ravyn’s not here with us.” “She is,” Aerolus whispered, looking over their shoulders. As one they all turned to see Queen Ravyn glowing with the afterlife. She smiled and waved, then winked out of sight. “I thought she couldn’t do that,” Lexa murmured, wondering who the hell was making up these rules for the dead. What happened to “don’t tell Arim I was here?” The narrowed glance Arim shot her had her quieting very fast. His hand stilled on her belly, the heat of his Light filling her stomach with a drowsy, pleasant warmth. “We need to talk.” “Yes, we do,” Sava emphasised, staring hard at Lexa. She swallowed, not ready to tell Arim what she suspected couldn’t possibly be true. “Right. We need to focus here. I’m not exactly your—” “—wife, not yet,” Arim corrected, addressing his family along and her with a definite bite in his tone. “We’ll fix that soon enough. In the meantime, we have a whole new set of circumstances to handle. Sava and I will deal with ‘Sin Garu. The rest of you have to protect yourselves and Tanselm. We can’t afford to lose any more Storm Lords. No arguments,” Arim directed at Darius. To Lexa’s astonishment, Darius agreed. “What about the Church?” Jonas asked, his aura decidedly Dark. “No one’s addressed that yet. I told you Remir said the Church—” “Remir?” Lexa welcomed any information about the Djinn she could find. Jonas clenched his jaw. “Dead, torn apart by demons. He mentioned the Church when he warned me about Ravyn’s pending death.” Lexa found herself pitying the departed Djinn and frowned, not liking this sudden welling of emotion for everyone and everything. Bad enough she loved Arim. Did she have to start feeling gladness and sorrow for everyone she knew as well? She glanced at Arim and saw his gaze centred on Jonas.

Arim demanded that Jonas recount what had happened with Remir and swore when Jonas finished. “By the Light, I hope what I’m suspecting is wrong. We can’t afford to trust anyone but ourselves any more. Jonas, you’re in charge of the Djinn, and Alandra, the Aellei are yours. Both of you focus on your people and ferret out any possible traitors. Pray to your Dark you find them before I do.” His eyes blazed, power welling in the inky orbs, and Lexa’s loins tingled. Damn, but he was hot when riled. His nephews nodded with satisfaction. She could see and sense their relief that their uncle was at least back to normal…or so it appeared. Lexa still wasn’t sure what the hell had happened when she’d brought Arim back from the brink of death, or how Sava seemed to know what to do to save him. “If you need me, call out.” Arim tapped his head. “Darius and Aerolus, I’m open to you. But if you can no longer feel me, it’s because I’ve cut myself off.” “Why?” Marcus asked. “Because he’ll be hip deep in battling a Dark Lord,” Aerolus answered. What normally passed for a smile flitted over his lips. “Not the one by his side, but the other one we don’t favour so much.” “You’re not really going up against him by yourselves?” Darius asked. Lexa had wondered how long it would take the most stubborn of them to come to his senses and object. Not that she didn’t agree. If Arim thought he was going to confront ‘Sin Garu with only Sava by his side, he was looking to get his ass handed to him—by her—first and foremost. “No. I’m going up against him my-self.” Arim silenced Lexa’s retort by placing a hand over her mouth. He ignored the ice frosting his fingers and shook his head. “Later. We’ll talk about it and other things later. Give me a minute.” He left her side to confer with his nephews, leaving Jonas and Sava ample time to corner her while the affai shared their joy with one another. “Are you going to tell him?” Sava asked. “Tell who what?” Jonas stared between the two of them, talking in the same hushed voice. Lexa snarled as much as she could while whispering, “Sava, shut up. I’ll deal with this in my own way.” “She needs to tell Arim she’s carrying his children,” he ignored her and explained to Jonas.Children? “Holy shit.” Jonas looked flummoxed, and Lexa hurriedly shushed him. “So what are you having? Little shadows? Will half the kids be Storm Lords and the other half Dark Lords? That’ll be fun.” He pretended to hang from a noose. “How many are you expecting?” “Shut. Up.” Lexa ran her hands through her hair in agitation. She so did not need this right now. “Ravyn was muttering a lot of nonsense. I think the Next addled her brain.” “No.” Sava grinned. “I don’t remember Ravyn saying anything.” Jonas stared from Sava to Lexa and back again, poised for an explanation. Sava answered. “While the rest of you were frozen by our touchy little Dark Lord, Ravyn showed up to congratulate the affai on their pending bundles of joy. She included Lexa as well.” He turned to Lexa. “I distinctly recall she looked at you and mentioned ‘children’.” “But that doesn’t mean I’m pregnant now.” Lexa immediately lowered her voice when Arim’s head jerked up and his startled gaze met hers. She hunched down so Sava blocked Arim’s view. “She could have meant an early congrats for the children I’ll have later. As in, one at a time a few years down the road…if we survive this war, that is.” “Hmm, maybe.” Sava didn’t look convinced. “Still, you should level with Arim. If it were my aeva, I wouldn’t want her anywhere near ‘Sin Garu with a babe in her belly.” “True.” Jonas crossed his arms over his chest. “You have to think of the child.” He glanced at Sava, then grinned back at her. “Sorry, children.” “You two are a royal pain in the ass, you know that?” Lexa snapped. “And not one crack about you being a king, Sava.” The Aellei opened his mouth and closed it without a word, his lips curled. “I don’t feel a life inside me, and I’m powerful enough to know the truth. Bottom line is that if Arim goes up against ‘Sin Garu alone, in the state he’s in, he’ll die.” “State?” Jonas glanced at Arim, who kept looking over at Lexa’s little group while he spoke in a low voice to his nephews. “He’s not at full strength,” Sava explained. “Lexa brought him back from a fate worse than death. The demons have a hold on Tanselm. They’d love nothing more than to take Arim as well. The Light in his soul is especially attractive to demons, and our irritable sorcerer is far from being at full strength. His energy wavers, weakened from his sorrow for Ravyn, as well as his uncertainty about Lexa.” “What?” Since when was Arim ‘uncertain’ about his feelings for her? What did Sava know that she didn’t? “You’ve never told him how you feel about him, have you?” She squirmed, not wanting this conversation, and especially not with Jonas holding onto every last word. “This isn’t the time or place, Sava,” she said coolly, trying to make him back off. Regretfully, her time with Arim seemed to have made her less of a threat, for Sava and Jonas showed no sign of disinterest in the conversation.

“My own Dark Mistress, even for you, that’s cold.” Jonas shook his head in disapproval. “You’re having his babies and you haven’t even told him you love him? What are you waiting for?” “Yes, Lexa. What are you waiting for?” Arim asked in a deceptively quiet voice. Lexa stilled as Arim joined their little group. “Jonas,” she hissed, promising herself she’d make him pay for his loud mouth. “I’ve got to go. Djinn to command, you know how it is.” Jonas winked and vanished. Sava sighed. “I’ll be in the commons with a trencher of much needed food and wine coming up with a plan. Find me when you’re done arguing, or whatever it is you two do together so much lately.” He glanced purposefully between them, muttered something about hard-headed magic-users and sex, and vanished as well. Lexa glanced beyond Arim only to see everyone in the room staring at her. Crap. “What?” she asked, feeling defensive. “Oh please. Just because everyone else in this Light-forsaken room is pregnant doesn’t mean I am.” “You’re pregnant?” Darius asked, his eyes so wide they looked like bright red rubies. “Dark Lord babies, in Tanselm?” Marcus stared down his nose at her, and she wanted to turn him into a royal Popsicle. “I’m not pregnant.” Lexa glared at the lot of them. “I think it’s great.” Alandra smiled, sharing a grin with the other affai—now baby-crazy women who would probably consider even ‘Sin Garu’s child a gift. Lexa didn’t hear anything more because Arim whisked her away in the next heartbeat. Blinking, she found herself in his room, a place she hadn’t visited since she’d escaped several months ago—or by Tanselm time, weeks ago. Without warning, Arim took her in his arms and kissed the breath out of her while pressing a hand to her back and another to her belly, awkwardly caging her. After a minute, he released her mouth and stared down at her, his eyes swirling with colour, his breath raspy. “I can’t tell. Damn me, but I don’t feel anything unusual inside you but my Light.” “Bastard.” Lexa wanted to push him away for his high-handedness, but all the strength in her body seemed to have left her as sexual anticipation made her weak with want. “Would it be so bad, Blue? A belly full of our children?” Arim asked huskily, his hands roaming over her belly and up to cup her breasts. “To see your nipples distended, your breasts rounded and full of milk as you suckle our babes?” She wasn’t sure why, but all his talk of mothering was making her hot. “With your eyes and my temperament, of course. Light Bringers with a core of Dark Lord within them.” She groaned when he laved kisses over the column of her neck and up her throat to her ear. “If you’re not carrying yet, maybe we need to work harder.” He nipped at her earlobe and tongued the sensitive shell of her ear, driving her into instant, all-consuming lust. “Wait,” she rasped, trying to clear her hazing thoughts. “Shouldn’t we be going after a blooddrinking Dark Lord?” “Don’t rush me,” Arim breathed, lifting her into his arms. He carried her to the nearest wall and leaned her against it, grinding his massive erection against her throbbing clit. “I’ve almost got my Dark Lord right where I want her. Now to do away with our clothes.” She wished them gone before he did and shuddered at the feel of their skin pressing tight. His warmth was arousing in itself, but the feel of his hard cock pushing past the slick walls of her sex was enough to bring her to climax. He groaned as he thrust deeper, and then he stilled, impaling Lexa over him. “I love you so much, Blue. You saved me twice now. I think I owe you.” He controlled her movements with his large hands, pulling her almost off him before shoving her back over him, thrusting as deeply as her sex would allow. “Arim.” “Ride me, Blue. Take my Light. Let me come deep inside you.” His palms held her with ease as they came together in pounding thrusts that merged both bodies and minds. Lexa felt so full of him. When he leaned harder against her breasts she cried out at the sensation. “Feels good, baby. So good,” Arim moaned as he surged into her even harder. She gloried in his strength, in the touch of a powerful sorcerer commanding her body into a wanton mass of nerves and feeling. Unbidden, a taste of his Darkness met hers, and she writhed as energy pulsed through her body with every push of his steely-hard cock.

Arim’s scent wafted over her, sure maleness and Light with more than a share of arrogance. So sexy, so demanding, so hers. “Come for me,” he urged, shifting so that his pelvis brushed her clit with more and more pressure. Unable to stop herself, Lexa burst in an orgasm so intense, she felt a blast of cold leave her pores, washing Arim in the process. “Oh, yeah,” he grunted, his body heat absorbing her energy with greedy pulls. He had yet to release, however, and waved a hand on the floor. A thick rug suddenly appeared and he lowered her to it, his erection still pulsing within her. Without stopping, Arim remained joined and bent his head, brushing her nipple with his lips. Lightning curled through her as if Lexa hadn’t just violently come. She arched into his touch and he pushed deeper, touching the heart of her womb. His mouth closed fully over her breast. He sucked as he thrust in and out, his motions unhurried while his lips and teeth brought her swiftly, incredibly, towards climax once more. Arim alternated between breasts, tormenting Lexa into a state of desperation. She pulled at his shoulders and scratched his back. Her ankles hugged his hips and she struggled to pull him into her faster. But he wouldn’t be rushed. His slow, steady pace made her crazed with lust. “Arim, fuck me already. By the Night, you’re driving me insane.” “Good. That’s just how I like you,” he chuckled. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw more than carnal need, but an emotional desire pooling in his gaze, emblazoned in a rainbow of colour. “You’re mine, Blue. Say it.” She couldn’t think to deny him. “I’m yours.” “You love me. Tell me you love me.” That was more difficult, yet the powerful thrusts shaking her foundation eased her restraint, and the band of Light that passed into her—Arim’s overwhelming love—made it impossible to resist. “I love you. I’ve always loved you.” His smile was blinding, and she knew he’d be impossible to deal with after her confession. “You jerk.” His boisterous laugh tapered off when she squeezed him inside her. He groaned and finally quickened his pace. Arim loved her with swift, powerful strokes, his pelvis brushing her clit with agonizing sureness. This time when she came, he was right with her. “Blue,” he shouted as he pumped, his seed jetting into her in bursts of Light and Dark, his love pure as it washed over them both. Lexa could only ride it out with him, astounded at the sudden welling of energy pouring into them from the ground, the air, the energy of life all around them. Arim continued to groan as he spewed, his orgasm so powerful it was magical. “Light and Dark, Blue, but that was incredible,” he panted as he lay over her, his forehead beaded with sweat. Arim kissed her, his tongue sliding between her lips to tease her tongue. “You make me so hard so fast. The thought of you carrying my child…” His eyes flashed with colour. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind.” Lexa smiled, too relaxed to worry about motherhood, loving Arim inside her. She couldn’t help her pleasure at feeling his seed running down her thighs towards her ass. The claiming, his marking, made her feel cherished and accepted. And like that, she wanted him again. “Arim,” she groaned. “How is it I want you again when I’m too weak to lift my head?” He chuckled. “That would be your masterful Light Bringer’s seductive powers, my sweet.” She punched him in the arm and he nuzzled her neck. “Ah, Blue, I don’t want to ever leave you. But it seems I’ll have to.” “Don’t even try it. You don’t know what happened when I brought you back. You aren’t capable of taking ‘Sin Garu down, not without me.” “I won’t risk you.” Arim kissed her cheek. “We both know what he really wants. He wants me to suffer, and the surest way of doing that is to harm you. Maybe if I distract him long enough, Sava can work some Shadow magic and take him out.” “Bullshit. Sava’s great, but he can’t take on a Dark Lord who’s as crazed and powerful as ‘Sin Garu. It’s not just Dark energy he’ll be fighting. It’s demons too.” Though Sava had spent some time in the Pit… What might he know? “What if you’re pregnant, Lexa? Would you risk our children in this fight?” She paused. There was nothing motherly about Lexa. Yet…her hand curled protectively over her stomach. “That’s what I thought.” Arim’s smug tone put her back up. “Now hold on. If I am, by some otherworldly means, pregnant already, after just a few times with you—” “It only takes once, especially with the Guardian of Storm.” He arrogantly arched a brow. “Then my children won’t ever be safe until ‘Sin Garu is dead. The only way to do that is to combine our powers.” She continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her. “Much as it annoys me to admit it, we’re stronger together. Our energy builds off each other instead of attacking and degrading the

other. It’s always been that way.” “I know.” Arim’s cockiness faded. “But I don’t think I can do it. I can’t put you in harm’s way.” “You had no problem battling me a few months ago.” He frowned. “That was different. I thought you were…ah, not quite on our side. Even then I would never have let you come to serious harm. I’m not saying I didn’t want to seriously spank your ass. When we fought ‘Sin Garu, it practically killed me to let him touch you. I was barely in time to save you after you took that demon blast meant for me.” “Which reminds me. What the hell were you thinking to give me so much energy?” She slapped his arm. “What?” “You gave me too much of yourself the last time we were together. I thought I felt something, but I chalked it up to Tanselm welcoming me back. That’s part of why you were fading so fast after you passed out over Ravyn. The stress, Tanselm’s faltering magic, and your generous ‘gift’ nearly did you in.” He looked uncomfortable. “I saw you hurting and wanted to help. Why is that a problem?” Arim’s discomfort faded under a dark scowl. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me the demons ripped away part of your soul? Your soul, Blue. You should have come to me right away for help.” Lexa rolled her eyes. “Please. All you needed was an excuse to have me under your thumb.” “You’re damned right.” Arim tilted his hips and slid deeper inside her, his rising erection a carnal promise for more. “Hell. Much as I want to continue this fight, among other things,” he paused and pulled out, only to thrust harder in. “We’re eventually going to have to find Sava. We need a plan to separate ‘Sin Garu from his wraiths and finish him off for good.” “Yeah,” Lexa breathed, unable to do more than feel Arim’s shaft stoking her to new heights. Tanselm, bless her, echoed the sentiment, sending bursts of ragged power through Arim into Lexa, power the land could ill-afford to lose but power the land gave regardless. And Lexa knew they’d need every bit of it to aid them against their enemy. “We’ll find him. But after, okay?” Arim groaned his assent and moved faster. Their passion again spiralled out of control, as intense as their previous joinings. Hearts and souls mired together, the cautious voice in Lexa’s mind as if it had never been. Unspoken love flowed freely between Light Bringer and Dark Lord, and Lexa knew happiness again. In the aftermath of their climaxes, when Lexa came back into herself, she swore she felt the first stirrings of something foreign in her belly. Something that felt suspiciously like new life.

Chapter Thirteen As they walked through the castle towards the commons for Sava, Arim stared at the back of Lexa’s dark head, his mind a whirl of chaos. His emotions ran the gamut from one end to the other. Grief for his sister’s untimely departure, joy that he finally had Lexa where he wanted her—in love with him—and fear that his happiness might be taken away before it had a chance to take root. Their relationship had taken a drastic turn, and through it all, his little Dark Lord remained tough as nails and twice as sharp. Though he’d had her screaming his name in ecstasy and in love—something he’d dreaded would never happen after so much enmity between them—the cold, emotionless shield that encased so much of her feelings remained intact. The caution that seemed so much a part of her had yet to be exhausted. Arim wanted to slam his head through the wall even as he wanted to press Lexa up against it and fuck her until she cried his name out loud again, showing him, if not telling him, what she felt inside. Several Light Bringers passed them, staring in fear. A few Church brethren glared their hostility, bringing home the very real problems Arim and Lexa were going to have to soon face. Still, Arim couldn’t stop looking at her, feeling the touch of her soft skin under his palm, the spicy taste of her on his tongue, and the exotic scent of Dark and danger she emitted like the sultriest of perfumes. Mother of Light. Had he lost all sense? His sister was gone, another casualty in their war against an evil blooddrinker and Dark Lord, and Arim drowned in love for his enemy’s sister. Rationally he knew he was out of his mind. Emotionally… How could he consign Lexa to the same hatred he felt for her sibling and many of her kind? Lexa was as much a victim of Dark manipulation as Arim’s family. He rubbed his forehead as a familiar headache surfaced. Thoughts of the life he’d lead before coming to Tanselm remained foggy, his one connection to that life now swimming in the Next. Ravyn had died, but Lexa was still alive. She needed him, whether the stubborn witch would admit it or not. She had a lot of issues to deal with, the least of which would be facing her last sibling, a creature more demon than man. And she was surrounded by what she no doubt still considered ‘the enemy’, a Light Bringer populace that would as soon hang her as welcome her. Lexa had suffered much at Light Bringer hands, and the notion made Arim pause. Could he expect her to put the past aside and start afresh? He was more than willing, but she had a clear right to her anger. She’d been blamed for a crime she hadn’t committed and lost a loving family, only to inherit a twisted ‘family’ of emotionally barren Dark individuals like ‘Sin Garu, B’alen and Ini. A true hell in every sense of the word. Arim thanked the Light that at least Ini and B’alen were dead and no doubt writhing in hell. Now he just had to convince ‘Sin Garu to join them. Walking past several Light Bringer sorcerers and one Church brethren Arim definitely needed to talk to, Arim noted the absence of children in the halls—a safety precaution—and couldn’t help wondering if Lexa indeed carried his child. He’d tried but hadn’t detected any signs of life in her womb, though he knew it was too soon to really tell. Even his magic had a hard time seeing through Lexa’s Darkness, and a babe could only have

been conceived hours, or even days, ago. Still, the thought of his child made his heart soar and obliterated much of the sadness still lingering over him. Ravyn had gifted his nephews, and him, with that final good-bye he sensed but couldn’t prove. Word of her sons and daughters expecting a new generation of Light Bringers would please her. Just as soon as Arim took care of an evil Dark Lord bent on world dominion, he’d do his best to add to the royal brood. As the royal uncle, Arim and his powerful Dark Lord wife would do much to heal the land’s hurts…provided they all lived long enough to conceive. Arim snorted, ignored Lexa’s concerned glance, and walked faster towards the commons, where Sava waited. If Lexa really thought he’d allow her to put herself in danger, she wasn’t as smart as he thought her to be. Yes, he’d admit that together their magic was more powerful. But Lexa was still missing a part of her Light-forsaken soul. He seethed just thinking about it. If that weren’t bad enough, the little fool had just healed him at a cost to herself. She’d been weak before he’d given her his energy, and in her bid to return the favour, she’d given him back more than she should have. Which didn’t explain why Arim felt odd bursts of incredible strength mixed with a weakened pulsing of Light. Attributing the strange power spikes to Tanselm’s reedy flow of magic, he began shoring up what he’d need to confront ‘Sin Garu. He made a mental list of the spells he’d need to review, as well as the weapons he planned to take with him. His staff, a Light-edged knife, a quick trip to Tanselm’s healing fountains deep within Morn Mountain—a place few knew about because it was so Dark, and because the land would only allow certain bodies the knowledge. Ravyn and he had visited the well many times. But never with Faustus. And never with his nephews. Though he’d thought it odd, Arim didn’t question Tanselm’s right to share her power. He had his strength by her grace and now needed to use it to the best of his ability to heal the savaged land. ‘Sin Garu had lost whatever right to life he’d had. Killing Light Bringers and Storm Lords was wrong, but it was the threat to Lexa’s life that brought out the Dark feeling in Arim the most. Though Arim felt his sister’s passing with his whole heart, he couldn’t still the fury that grew within him at thoughts of ‘Sin Garu taking Lexa. “Arim? Your eyes are doing that funky rainbow thing,” Lexa murmured and took the lead, tugging him after her. In the short span it took them to reach the eating area, Arim managed to regain control, if by a slim lead. Sava nodded to them warily, his gaze keen on Arim’s as they sat with him and four Light Bringer females crowding the Aellein king’s space. The table was littered with plates of sweets, snacks and goblets of ale surrounded by gracious, helping hands as the women fed Sava from their fingers. “Typical,” Lexa muttered as she huffed and sat across from Sava and next to Arim. She frowned at the besotted females. “He’s busy. Find someone else.” They gasped at Arim’s ‘dreaded Dark Lord’, and Arim shook his head. “Blue, you’re really going to have to learn to use some tact.” “Oh? Why?” She tilted her head in question, the cocky look one she’d perfected over the years. Sava chortled as he drank what smelled like cinarum. “Who the hell gave you that?” Arim wanted to know. The cinarum stores were preciously guarded, the spiced drink one that Ravyn used to pull out for special occasions. Sava shrugged. “One of the women in the kitchens. Does it matter?” He drank again, closing his eyes in bliss, and Arim stifled a grin at Lexa’s clear irritation. “Could we focus on ‘Sin Garu for a minute? I think your belly, and your ego,” she added under her breath, “should hold.” Sava frowned at Lexa, including Arim in his aggravation. “What has you so irritated?” He shot Arim a definite sneer. “You’ve at least slaked your hungers. Let me deal with mine.” “Please.” Lexa rolled her eyes, and Arim didn’t need to look at Sava to sense the annoyance clouding his expression. “We need to hit ‘Sin Garu now while we know where he is.” “What’s the sudden rush?” Sava fingered his goblet, his gaze narrowed between Lexa and Arim. “The Dark Lord has yet to leave his haven in Orfel, and that means his Netharat can’t be too far away. The wraiths and Shadren pop in and out of that place at all hours. Only the Djinn remain conspicuously absent. I figure that’s because even they draw the line at so much blood and gore saturating any one place.” “And you know this how?” Lexa’s suspicion echoed Arim’s thoughts. “I left a spell in place to alert me to ‘Sin Garu’s movements, but I don’t think he cares who knows where he is. ‘Sin Garu’s suddenly very open to anyone who wants a peek. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s waiting for you.” “Then let’s not disappoint.” Rage flared, and Arim fed the fiery anger burning brightly within him. Let that damned Dark blooddrinker try to touch Lexa again. Arim would feed him his head in one bloody lump before he’d see Lexa harmed. “Look, you two, we have to be careful.” Sava’s words dripped with sarcasm. “Arim, you’re supposed to be having a calming effect on Lexa, but it seems as if our bloodthirsty little Dark Lord is affecting you.” He shook his head when Lexa grinned. “With the demon world sapping Tanselm’s strength, you’re both going to have a hard time defeating ‘Sin Garu. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that may help.”

Arim considered his friend. Though he sensed the ultimate battle would be between himself and ‘Sin Garu, he didn’t have the energy he knew he would need to fight through the Netharat and the demons to conquer the Dark Lord. “The demons are going to be a problem.” “You’re telling me,” Lexa murmured. “Which brings up a good point.” Arim knew this would be the hardest part of the planning. Convincing Lexa to remain behind. While he understood that he had lost significant power, Lexa’s healing had levelled them both off. Now neither he nor she was at full strength, but middling somewhere between. “Lexa, you’re going to have to stay here.” She stared at him for a moment, her gaze chilling. Her rebuttal, when it came, was both expected and brutal. “You’re nothing without me, as well you know. You healed me in a moment of irrational sentimentality, and now you’re paying the price. Healing me as you did has degraded your power, something no self-respecting Dark Lord would ever have done. Hell, I’d be surprised if you could take Sava down.” Her blue eyes were pale in her already white face, but the glare she blasted him with had the room lowering in temperature. “Thanks a lot.” Sava shot her a frown and rubbed at his arms. “She’s ill-mannered but speaks true. How are you going to manage ‘Sin Garu at his full strength and then some, courtesy of his demon magic? His blooddrinking has eroded much of his mind already, but the demons have totally turned him from anything you once knew.” “And that’s my point.” Why did Sava have to be such a pain in the ass about this? Having already lost Ravyn, Arim couldn’t stand to lose Lexa too. “You don’t seem to…Lexa? Where the hell are you going?” Right in the middle of their argument she rose from the table and started walking away. “I, ah, I have to use the facilities. All this foolishness is making me ill,” she finished in a clipped tone as she headed for the far wall of the hall. “I’ll be back before you can blink, so don’t even think about leaving me behind.” Hell. She not only looked aggravated, but a glimmer of hurt lurked in her gaze. As if his wanting to keep her safe and away from danger was some kind of rejection. “Lexa, love, you have to understand—” She stopped and turned to glare at him. “No, you have to understand. This is a battle you alone can’t win. Get that through your small, idiotic Light Bringer brain. Because you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.” That said, she stalked away, the heels of her boots sparking blue as a trail of anger followed her from the hall. Arim sighed with frustration and turned to see Sava grinning like a fool. “Ah,” the Aellein king said as he took another draught of cinarum. “How the mighty have fallen. As Jonas likes to say, ain’t love grand?” Lexa couldn’t believe how incredibly stupid Arim was acting. Did he honestly think he could take down ‘Sin Garu? A Dark Lord who had the whole of Tanselm quaking, who had systematically decimated the last generation of Storm Lords and was no doubt working on eradicating the world of another? She marched out of the commons and down a long stone hall, following the bright ball of light that had alerted her to leave the others in the commons, and which could only signify more trouble brewing on the horizon. She followed the light into a small room containing linens, barrels and what looked like boxes of domestic supplies. Closing the door behind her, Lexa stopped, her hands on her hips. “For the record, Ravyn, your brother is a horse’s ass.” The nimbus of light slowly spread until a form began to take shape. Ravyn chuckled. “He takes after my father.” Curious at the mention, Lexa said, “Arim’s never talked about his father or his mother. He’s never publicly claimed you as his sibling either, a fact I always found odd. Why did you two keep your relationship a secret?” “Which, strangely enough, is why I’m here. To tell you a story.” Lexa sighed, wondering why she’d expected actual help from Ravyn, the queen of ‘I can’t tell you’. “The Valens name is an ancient line from a distant world. Arim and I settled here four hundred years ago after we lost the rest of our family.” Ravyn looked sad, her features drawn and washed out even through the pallor of death. “Before we arrived, my family was well-known in Tanselm. I was a young woman on the cusp of maturity, my powers strong with the vitality of youth. Arim was a boy and had barely seen more than six years of a life he’s thankfully forgotten, but for what I’ve told him.” “And why is that?” Ravyn stared at her squarely in the eye. “Because Tanselm made him forget. I raised him and taught him about magic. His strength was always much greater than mine, and Tanselm took him in as if he were her own.” As if sensing Lexa’s confusion, Ravyn shook her head. “I haven’t much time, but it’s vital that you know the truth.” “What truth?” “That Arim and I remained close in private but separate in public to save him from a life I gradually overcame. I was only a ‘Valens’ for a very short time before I married Faustus. Our real name is much, much older, and a hundred times more powerful.” Lexa could feel the hair standing on the

back of her neck. “We were the Van Lens, a powerful family of Dark Lords who lived separate from those in Malern.” Everything in Lexa stopped. “That’s not possible. The Van Lens family died five hundred years ago, cursed by Malern because they betrayed the Dark.” “Cursed by something, I’m sure,” Ravyn said bitterly. “And it was four hundred and six years ago as of yesterday. A day I’ll never forget. When my family made the decision to leave Malern, many turned against us. At that time the Dark Lords were becoming much like they are now, less ‘grey’ and more tuned towards the negative aspect of magic. My parents didn’t like the future they could see coming, so they gradually faded from Dark Lord society and shielded us as best they could.” “How is this possible?” Lexa couldn’t see anything Dark in Ravyn at all, even in death. The woman radiated Light. “You’re no more Dark than I am a Church prelate.” Ravyn flashed a smile. “Unlike the Dark Lords as we know them—you—today, hundreds of years ago there were a faction of us who stood on a fine line between Light and Dark. Our energies were much more alike, powerful yet driven to one side or the other of the spectrum. Once we left Malern, we settled in Quille among the Djinns’ forefathers, before they moved their kind into Foreia. We lived in peace until something terrible happened. A spell gone wrong, a curse visited upon us by our enemies, by Malern…we never knew how it started, only how it ended.” Lexa stared, fascinated, as the truth of Ravyn’s words sunk in. “So Arim is a Dark Lord?” Which would explain the Darkness always there beneath his skin, but not how he absorbed and revelled in Light. “No. He’s a Light Bringer. As am I.” Ravyn floated through the air to land on top of a barrel, her legs crossed in a ladylike pose beneath her shimmery white gown. “Our life changed drastically one fateful day, much like yours did. You can’t imagine how troubled I was at what happened to your family, Lexa. Not only because of what you suffered, but because of how alike your situation was to mine. “Like you, I was gone from my home for most of the day. By the Light, I don’t even remember why I thought tending imps and rath cats was more important than celebrating my youngest brother’s birth rite, but I needed to feel useful. I helped my older brother, Ralton, tend his chores. We planned to enjoy Arim’s celebration later in the evening. During the day I sensed something not right, a nagging foreboding I should have heeded. Instead I tried to reason it away as I haughtily showed Ralton that I was just as powerful a sorceress as he was a sorcerer. “But that nagging wrongness found Ralton as well and drew us back earlier than we’d thought, though much too late. When we arrived at the homestead, we found everyone slaughtered but Arim and my father—a good, decent man who normally would have given his soul to save any member of our family. Yet that day he stood with one hand around Arim’s throat, his mouth covered in blood, his form and frame almost demonic.” “He had killed our mother, my older sisters and my younger brothers. The only ones left were Arim, Ralton and myself. Father turned on us when we entered. Ralton made the mistake of trying to protect me and Arim by drawing Father’s attention.” Tears rolled down Ravyn’s soft cheeks. “Father was too far gone to block Ralton’s magic, but he was physically overwhelming all the same. He and Ralton killed each other while Arim and I watched.” Lexa felt sick. “Arim watched it?” And he’d found Lexa covered in the blood of her family years ago. It was a wonder he hadn’t snapped back then. “Yes, he witnessed everything. I took him and fled, not knowing where to go. We had no one left but each other. For a while it seemed like I was going to lose him too. He wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t talk or sleep for weeks. I had barely enough magic to keep him and myself alive. Word spread that the Van Lens family had turned into demons, infected with a madness like no other. We were to be killed on sight. No one knew what many of the children looked like since we’d left Malern and lived isolated for so long. “I was older than Arim and knew the possibility of discovery existed. That’s why I decided to keep our identities separate, pretending to be Arim’s guardian and nurse should anyone ever question me. There were a few Dark Lords who might have known me, but we’d been living in Quille when Arim was born, so I figured he’d be safe if I could find a way to help him.” “What happened?” Lexa was having a hard time wrapping her brain around such tragedy. “I wandered through the between with my sick little brother in tow, praying to the Dark, the Light and Shadow, to anything that could help. And I ran into Faustus Storm. He brought me to Tanselm, gave me sanctuary, and like that, the land accepted us. Arim healed, but he changed. He lost all memory of life before Tanselm, and I was in no hurry to tell him the whole truth. He knows that our father turned mad and slaughtered much of our family. But not that we were once Dark Lords. What good would it have done, anyway? The Darkness that had once been his life turned into Light. Tanselm did the same to me. And while that change occurred, Faustus charmed his way into my heart and into my life.” “Did he know? Faustus, I mean.” “I told him the truth and he still asked me to marry him. He claimed he’d found his affai seconds after spying me and accepted Arim without hesitation. That’s when I knew he was mine.” The glowing love in her gaze clearly showed her affection for her husband. “I’m sorry this seems longwinded, but you needed to know about Arim’s history if he’s to have a future.” “Why can’t you just tell me what I need to know? Or better yet, tell him.” As Ravyn opened her mouth, Lexa answered for her. “Wait, I know. You can’t.” “You’re quick.” “But I don’t understand why you’re telling me this now. Arim’s fought ‘Sin Garu before and nearly won. If not for his unasked-for generosity in trying to

heal me, he could probably win in a battle between the two.” “That’s where you’re wrong.” Another form appeared behind Ravyn, his hands on her shoulders as brilliantly transparent as the rest of him. “Hell, Faustus Storm. What is this? A Next convention?” More dead people. Lexa’s skin was crawling with the pinpricks of Faustus’s Light. He must have noticed her discomfort because he dimmed his illumination. “Ravyn is playing by ‘the rules’, but no one else seems to be. I’ll tell you what you need to know.” “Thank the Dark.” “Faustus,” Ravyn started, only to stare in astonishment when he held his hand over her mouth. “She can be chatty.” Faustus shrugged, and Lexa could see the charm in his deep grey eyes that looked so much like Aerolus’s. “Bottom line. If Arim fights ‘Sin Garu alone, he’s lost, as are all of you. You, Lexa, have to fight with him, all of you and all of him, if you want to win. Help him accept the Darkness in his nature. And don’t turn down Sava’s help, even if he is an irritating Aellei.” Faustus grunted when Ravyn elbowed him. “Sava?” Lexa repeated. “Yes. Sava. The same king who spent years in the Pit, in hell. He’ll help you with the demons. My sons can help Tanselm withstand a major assault, but it’s going to be up to you and Arim to see an end to this once and for all.” Ravyn glared over her shoulder at her husband. “I cannot believe you did that! You’re going to get us both—” “What? Killed?” Faustus snorted. “This needs to end. ‘Sin Garu has been playing with fire by meddling with the demon world. That’s strictly forbidden, and if he keeps tampering with what he has no business knowing, he’s going to ruin the Balance.” “Balance?” Lexa had a vague impression of oppressive silence all around her and realised Faustus and Ravyn were no longer focused on her. “It’s time.” Ravyn nodded. “Blessings and good fortune, Lexa. The Light grant you strength.” “And the Dark grant you love,” Faustus finished. “Help us save the future.” He gazed at her stomach and his eyes narrowed with worry. “And yours as well.” In the blink of an eye, they vanished. It was then Lexa recognised a subtle odour permeating the small chamber that grew stronger as she neared the door. Swearing under her breath, she threw it open and raced into the hallway. “Damn.” The smell of death and demon madness filled the passageway. To her dismay, ‘Sin Garu and a corridor full of Netharat waited with unnatural stillness. They occupied the entire eastern portion of the hall, leaving her only avenue of escape back towards the commons. Back towards Arim in his weakened state. “Ah, sister mine, there you are. Ready to finally play out the hand fate dealt us?” ‘Sin Garu licked his bloodless lips, and she cringed. Though it had been a while since she’d last seen ‘Sin Garu, she’d left him a weakened Dark Lord, but a Dark Lord nonetheless. In the time since, what might have been his human side had departed for a demonic possession clear to anyone with sight. ‘Sin Garu’s limbs had lengthened to an off-proportioned length. The white of his skin was now streaked with black and red. His eyes blazed with the inhuman lusts of the demons, their green haze particularly malevolent as they stared hungrily at her. Sensing those onerous beasts inside her hated sibling, Lexa allowed the true rage of Darkness free from the cage she normally controlled deep within her. “Then let’s play the ‘hand we’ve been dealt’.” Lexa showed not the slightest hint of fear and arched her left eyebrow the way Arim did, a move that always annoyed her with its presumed arrogance. It had the same effect on ‘Sin Garu, and she smirked, pleased to wipe the smug smile off his hellish face. “Ante up, asshole. Get ready to fold…hard.”

Chapter Fourteen Jonas started as he felt something disturb the air around them. He stood behind Cadmus and Ellie in the northern kingdom as the Earth Lord addressed the masses in the expansive grounds outside the keep. Djinn, Light Bringer warriors and sorcerers surrounded the gathering, not chancing anyone’s safety. Jonas himself had argued against holding such an open forum, but Cadmus wanted it done, and the sooner the better. As Cadmus finished his pretty speech about everyone getting along, Jonas and Alor continued to telepathically exchange ideas about the best way to provide instant cover for the royal couple. Jonas kept an easy mental contact with his Djinn brothers as well, just waiting for a damned Church brethren to say or do anything out of the ordinary. Far be it from the Church to let anything good come of unification. Jonas was honest enough to admit he wanted to annihilate the Church for what they’d done to Ravyn and for their part in allying with ‘Sin Garu. Remir’s saddened face haunted him, and Jonas couldn’t help feeling his own guilt. Had he been a better friend, less involved with himself and his needs, perhaps he would have noticed Remir’s problems. Maybe then he could have severed the ties binding his best friend to ‘Sin Garu. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, to then have to watch as the demons literally ripped him to shreds…

Jonas cleared his throat and forced himself to remain in human form, when the Darkness within demanded angry freedom, to burn in truth.

Jonas, something’s not right. The enemy, I can almost feel them on top of us. Alor’s warning shook him to full attention. “Dammit.” Jonas stopped fighting his instinct and flashed in truth, starting a murmur in the crowd and setting off the rest of the Djinn, who followed suit. “Cadmus, disperse the crowd. The enemy’s coming and soon.” Cadmus didn’t question him. He raised his arms for silence. “The enemy draws near. Take yourselves into the protection centres our sorcerers have prepared and—” “And we see how easily our leaders follow the Dark.” A distinguished looking Churchman stepped forward at the front of the crowd, his gaze contemptuous as he sneered his dislike. “The enemy is no closer to us than the Djinn surrounding us even now. Cadmus intends to divert your attention from the mess the Storm Lords have made in Tanselm.” Many in the crowd frowned, but Jonas noticed that a few nodded in agreement. Just what they didn’t need right now. A civil war to confuse the brewing battle teaming to bring them all to their knees. “I don’t think you heard my husband,” Ellie said in a voice that echoed with Dark power. She stepped forward, her long blonde hair flowing like a wave of light behind her as she pointed at the churchman. “For a man devoted to Tanselm and its people, you speak more like an enemy. Ordinary Nohjen, you do your people no good by stirring unrest. Argue all you want after the enemy is destroyed.” Ellie looked out over the crowd. Jonas felt such pride, that the young girl he’d helped guide had grown into a powerful princess, soon to be a queen. Since Ellie had embraced her Dark heritage, giving it as much credence as her xiantope half, she’d blossomed, encouraging her husband’s power with a meeting of hearts and minds. Those in the northern territory seemed taken with her, despite the protestations of the Church. “Pitiful creature,” Nohjen spat, stunning everyone to silence. No one had spoken with such deliberate scorn towards any of the affai, for they’d brought life back into Tanselm. “Your death is one we should cherish most of all.” “Enough.” Cadmus seethed. The land around them pulsed with energy. The trees ringing the area groaned as vines and roots ripped from the ground and snaked around the crowd. “Allow us, Cadmus.” Jonas sent his men directions, but Nohjen vanished. “I didn’t know your churchmen were sorcerers.” How else could he teleport? “They aren’t.” Cadmus swore under his breath and focused again on his people. “This time I’m not asking. I’m telling you. Get yourselves to safety. Ellie’s right. If you want to argue politics, by all means. We’ll do so after the Netharat has been destroyed. Now take your families and find safety. You warriors and sorcerers, prepare for battle.” To Jonas’ relief, the crowd began to disburse. Djinn and Light Bringers moved as one to defend the people, and Jonas could only thank fate that they’d heeded the warnings when they had. Not two seconds later a loud boom sounded above them. Grey and black clouds covered the afternoon sky as a large, fiery portal opened up, the doorway though which the enemy poured. “Cadmus, Ellie, back to the keep. Now.” Jonas didn’t give the stubborn pair time to argue. He whisked them with him to the war room, where several sorcerers and Light Bringer warriors waited. As soon as they stepped foot on the floor, Cadmus rounded on him, a hand to Jonas’ throat. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” “Cadmus, let him go,” Ellie demanded, pulling at her husband’s arm. Jonas didn’t care. He burned brighter, and Cadmus swore. “You’re not Dark enough to handle my truth.” Jonas would have rubbed Cadmus’s nose in his triumph, but worry weighed him down. “A Netharat attack here means something.” One of the sorcerers spoke up. “Word has reached us that attacks have sprouted up in all the territories. Everyone has engaged.” “Great. Armageddon at its finest.” Jonas prayed Lexa and Arim were well. “Cadmus, I’ll be right back.” He didn’t wait for permission but moved through the between in haste for Foreia. He sought and found Ethim, his ruler, sitting with his wife under a large firn tree, the scent of scythia sweet and full around them. “Jonas?” Ethim stood with a smile on his face, a smile that faded as he noted Jonas’ state. “The attack’s begun. I don’t know that they’ll hit Foreia too, but you need to be ready.” “Ellie?” Mandy, Ethim’s wife, stood, her lips pinched with worry. “Is she alright?” “I left her with Cadmus, a bunch of sorcerers and steady Djinn for protection. She’ll be fine.” Or I’ll die trying to save her. “I have to get back.” “Jonas, take care of her.” Ethim took him by the hand and gripped it tight. “And take my reserves with you.” “All of them? But what about you?”

“I’ll protect Amanda and the others. We have less to defend so we’ll need less of our warriors here. Take the bulk with you. Protect my daughter.” Jonas heard the mental command Ethim sent, and suddenly two hundred Djinn waited for his command. Grinning with appreciation, irreverent to the end, Jonas slapped Ethim on the back. “Well met, Ethim. Give me a minute to see where we’re needed most.” Jonas returned to Cadmus and flashed back in minutes. “Sarqua Djinn, follow me into purpose. The battle’s at hand.” He yelled the Djinn war cry, met a roar of approval from his battle brothers, and teleported back to Tanselm, into the beginning of the end.

**** Arim frowned. “You’d think she’d know she can’t run away from our problems.” Sava sighed. “Lexa doesn’t run away, Arim. She’s gone to use the facilities. Trust me. Even on death’s door, that Dark Lord would rather die than give in to defeat.” Sava recounted what he’d seen of Lexa’s memories in Seattle, from her time in the demon stronghold. “Good Light, how did she survive?” Arim couldn’t imagine such horror, or that his love had been subjected to it because she’d been trying to save him. “She used that part of herself filled with Light. The love she still had, even after all the recriminations and hurt, for you.” “That love is why I refuse to take her into a situation where she’ll be most vulnerable. I can’t afford to lose her. Especially not now.” Not after Ravyn. Sava drank more cinarum. “I understand. I truly do. But I don’t see how you’re going to avoid it. Even with the small bit of demon magic I managed to procure, you’ll only be able to destroy a handful of the demons guarding ‘Sin Garu, not the ones inside him. Normally I’d give you the benefit of the doubt against the Netharat. But Arim, I can feel your weakness. It’s tied to Tanselm. You won’t survive a direct confrontation with a Dark Lord of ‘Sin Garu’s power.” “I’m not a total weakling, Sava.” Arim glared at the Aellei. “Just because Tanselm is weak doesn’t mean I am as well. Granted, I’m not the strongest I’ve ever been, but I have weapons at my disposal as well…” He paused as something tickled the periphery of his senses. A Dark shadow slid by the doorway through which Lexa had vanished. Dread washed over him. He swiftly stood and left Sava talking to himself. “Arim? What is with you people walking away in the middle of a conversation?” Arim increased his pace, feeling the sense of wrongness growing. He’d just made it to the doorway when Lexa crashed into him and knocked him several feet back on his ass. Shrieks filled the air, inhuman laughter mingled with rage, as the Netharat began filling the commons. The Light Bringers remaining in the area tried to flee, the smarter ones falling quickly behind the few sorcerers and Sava striking back. Arim noted everything as he clung tightly to Lexa, his mind processing as his magic enveloped the two of them in a powerful shield while he did his best to strike back at the encroaching Netharat. As before, his and Lexa’s shared touch strengthened them both and gave Arim a sense that he was more powerful than even a room full of evil Darkness. “What happened?” he asked Lexa as they both stood, their bodies still touching side by side. Lexa refused to stand behind him, a fact that irritated and gladdened him. As much as he wanted to keep her safe, he admired the strong backbone that would not allow Lexa to be anything less than his equal. “I happened.” The Netharat parted for ‘Sin Garu, a walking Dark Lord demon made flesh. “Looks like crap, doesn’t he?” Lexa said with a grin. “He doesn’t like it when you give him the old arrogant eyebrow. Try it and see.” Why was she smiling? Had she hit her head and he hadn’t noticed? Arim scowled. “Great.” She laughed. “Just like that.” “I’m going to carve you up piece by piece, but not before I show you all you’ve lost,” ‘Sin Garu promised, his focus on Arim. Several wraiths fell upon a poor woman not lucky enough to evade them. “Bring her to me,” the Dark Lord commanded as he advanced on them. The wraiths dragged the woman to ‘Sin Garu, who enfolded her in his arms, the limbs so long they reached around her and behind his back. “Would you spare this poor Light Bringer so much pain? Give in and I’ll let her go.” The wraiths beside him cried out with grating laughter. The woman moaned, bloodied arms and bruises already marring her skin. “Fuck off.” Lexa pushed a blast of fire at one of the wraiths, killing it easily. Arim took care of the other, yet ‘Sin Garu only smiled. “We know you’re going to kill her no matter what we do. Nothing but death awaits us at your hands.” “So clever all the time,” her sibling mocked. He stared at them as he opened his mouth. What looked like dozens upon dozens of sharp, white teeth moved inside his mouth as if living entities. His lips stretched over the woman’s neck, allowing for a bigger bite. A drop of saliva touched her skin and it smoked. His victim screamed out in terror, but ‘Sin Garu’s strength held her in check. Arim wanted nothing more than to kill ‘Sin Garu, but with the woman positioned as a shield, not to mention ‘Sin Garu’s own demonic protection, he could do nothing but watch with Lexa. Lexa grabbed his hand and held tight, apparently not at all easy with the idea of the woman’s death. ‘Sin Garu lost his smile when he noted their

clasped hands, and he growled and bit into the woman’s neck. Blood spurted as the Dark Lord ravaged her flesh. He didn’t so much suck her blood as he chewed her up like a meal. Demon lights glowed in ‘Sin Garu’s eyes as he watched them watching him kill the woman, who started to blacken as Dark poison filled her. “You’ll pay for that.” Arim could feel his own Darkness coming to the fore. “And for so much more,” Lexa added, squeezing his hand tight. She shot a burst of blue flame at the woman, killing her instantly. “Now her pain is no longer yours.” ‘Sin Garu drank more, tearing out chunks of the woman’s flesh. He tossed her body to the side and several wraiths hovered over it, looking to ‘Sin Garu with their blank, white stares. “Take her. She’s yours.” The wraiths descended, ripping the woman apart. Beyond them, Arim knew the kingdom was under siege. He could see Sava battling several wraiths and two Nocumat, and was glad the Aellei was here to control those Shadren monsters, as only Sava could. Other warriors and sorcerers battled with the Netharat just in this room. Arim could only imagine the battle spreading throughout the western territory. Reaching out with a small part of his mind, Arim made contact with his nephews and learned that the entirety of Tanselm was under attack. Arim reacted, launching a blast of Light that should have killed ‘Sin Garu outright. The speed and intensity of the attack were on his side, but the demons protecting ‘Sin Garu allowed him to wave the blast aside, which took out several Netharat instead. Lexa fired with blue flame that did little to ‘Sin Garu but burn some of his hair. To Arim’s surprise, the Dark Lord cursed and retaliated as if they’d done him major harm. “And I thought Sava had vanity issues,” Lexa murmured before ‘Sin Garu struck back. Joined as they were through combined magic holding their shield, Arim and Lexa experienced the same sensations. The sheer violence of the blow hit them both hard, since Arim had no way of protecting Lexa from it. Their defence held fast, even against the cold fire attacks launched by several surrounding wraiths…until a subtle fluctuation in Tanselm’s energy allowed for a thinning in the shield. Deliberately pushing most of his energy over Lexa, Arim wasn’t surprised to soon feel a sharp, brutal blow and a consequent loss of energy. Despite the pain, he didn’t turn away from their enemy. He kept his eyes glued to ‘Sin Garu, but it wasn’t long before Arim felt wetness sliding down his side. “Lexa? Are you alright?” She looked angry but intact, thank the Light. Arim fed her a little more power, pleased when she made no move to reject his help. “I’m fine.” Her eyes widened when they landed on his wound. “Dammit. You’re not.” She turned back to ‘Sin Garu, her blue eyes sparking with rage. “You’re going to pay for that.” “As are you, sister. I’ve waited a long time for this. Much longer than I wanted, certainly. But now there’s nothing stopping us from being together.” His tone changed to one of cajoling, raising Arim’s hackles. “Why not join us?” Us, Arim noted, not me. The demons had truly taken ‘Sin Garu over. “Become one with us and the power is limitless.” Demons echoed in whispers around them. “A life for a life, in this world or the Next.” As several demons coalesced into black shadows around ‘Sin Garu, Arim noticed that even the wraiths backed away from their master and his new ‘friends’. Apparently, even the Netharat recognised that the demon world didn’t belong outside its own realm. The transparent demons seemed to grow more and more opaque as ‘Sin Garu’s minions killed the Light around them. Arim wondered how long it would take them to fully integrate into Tanselm’s plane, and what would happen once they did. Lexa tugged Arim’s attention by moving farther from him, weakening their shield. He wanted to call her back, but the sharp look she shot him told him she deliberately increased their distance. The fool woman was probably trying to protect him by making herself more a target. As if that was a possibility. “’Us’, not ‘me’?” She sneered at ‘Sin Garu. “Two’s a crowd, ‘Sin. But hundreds of demons and you? Way too many. Face it. You were never as good as Arim, and you’re still way less of a magic user. You had to resort to demons to equal the playing field. Even now you’ve yet to really hurt him.” Arim scowled at her. Had she missed the part where he was bleeding? “Lexa, don’t push too far too fast,” he warned. Yes, they needed ‘Sin Garu out of control, but not until they had him where they wanted him. Right now, bleeding behind a shield more flimsy than a sheet of paper was not where Arim wanted to be. If only they’d had time to plan this out. Correction. They’d had time. But Arim had used it seducing Lexa instead of readying them for the worst. This situation was partly his fault, because he couldn’t keep his Light-forsaken dick in his pants. The damned Darkness inside of him that wanted Lexa with an obsession bordering on madness would be the death of them. Arim shook his head, disgusted with his lack of discipline. ‘Sin Garu’s eyes blazed red, his hands turned into flaming balls of green fire, and his body shook with undisguised rage as he cursed them to the Pit, to hell, and to eternal suffering at his hands. As he aimed a blast squarely at Lexa, Arim leapt to intercept it, wondering if their luck had indeed run out. Sava looked over in time to see ‘Sin Garu on a tear as he tried to knock down Lexa with demonic flame. She seemed prepared to take it, but

Arim’s reflexes weren’t as off as his turbulent magic, and he shot between them to absorb the attack. She snarled something even as she jumped over Arim and crouched low. She protected him, her aura a bright blue as she lent her lover her energy and her defence. At the same time, she changed the force of her blast and aimed at the demons around ‘Sin Garu, who writhed in pain and began to diminish in power, their natures growing transparent again. Arim groaned and rose unsteadily to his feet, a dark bruise on his forehead and blood dripping down his side a testament to his sacrifice. A sacrifice which was going to be unalterably fatal if the three of them didn’t figure out a way to solve this power problem. Hell, even Sava could feel the fading threads of Tanselm’s energy as she tried to aid her champion. He grimaced as he noted how fat and full several newly arrived demons appeared. The damned things had to be feeding off the land, making Tanselm weaker as they used the land’s energy to bridge the gap between planes. Sava couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a demon outside of Mount Malinta and didn’t plan on looking at them any longer than he had to. The sight of the nasty fiends reminded him all too vividly of his time in the Pit, a nightmare that still revisited if he had too much to drink and too much on his mind before sleeping. Sharp talons sliced through his thigh and Sava cursed as he pulled himself together. Dwelling on what-ifs and a horrible past weren’t helping. He had to figure out a way to assist Arim and Lexa with ‘Sin Garu. The sooner they killed him, the sooner the Netharat, at least, would crumble. Though together the Netharat were strong, they worked best under ‘Sin Garu’s control. Without him, they would scatter, their inability to focus and follow orders a definite plus. The wraiths would flail, the Nocumat Sava would control, and the Djinn would begin fighting among themselves for power. But how to take out ‘Sin Garu without Light Bringer magic? Sava toyed with the problem as he destroyed three more wraiths and settled his attention on a naughty Nocumat. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Oxcen’s friend, Berju. Your time in the Light is over. Even the Shadows won’t save you now, my disloyal subject.” To those of the Light and Dark, the Nocumat were feared, fierce creatures. Composed of a red, gelatinous substance that made them versatile in fighting and almost impossible to kill, the Nocumat fed on everything they touched. They slowly consumed their prey over weeks or months, depending upon how often they fed. And they feared little…except for their king. Sava. He and other Shadow Dwellers with power, like his niece Alandra, could control the beasts, which were actually quite intelligent and thoughtful under the right circumstances. That intelligence made Berju’s perfidy hard to bear, considering Sava and Berju’s mother were good friends. But Sava couldn’t allow the Shadren to join with the Dark. He ascribed to certain rules, and trying to conquer worlds and subjugate others under Dark Lord leadership didn’t factor. Not wanting to but knowing he had to, Sava readied to destroy his kindred. Raising his hands, Sava ignored Berju’s weeping pleas that only he could hear. In seconds, the spell he invoked turned Berju into mist, and then into nothingness. Another Nocumat witnessed the destruction of his brother and vanished in a silent screech of anguish. Angry at the worthless loss of life, Sava slapped his hands together and strode through fallen bodies and brawlers towards Arim and Lexa. The enemy’s attack had been so sudden and so involved he hadn’t the chance to wonder how the rest of kingdom fared, if anyone else had fallen victim to the Netharat. As he walked, he noticed that the Light Bringers who joined the fight in the commons had done fairly well. Most of the Netharat in the room were now engaged in combat. Sorcerers and warriors took on the wraiths and Djinn foolish enough to continue the struggle. Sava heartily left them to it. “All over the kingdom,” one panting sorcerer said to Sava as he passed. “Massive front to invade the land. Was told to tell you or them.” He nodded at Arim and Lexa, who were engaged with ‘Sin Garu. Sava nodded grimly. So the Dark Lord thought to take everything at once. Keep Arim occupied while his demons crossed the gap into this reality while ‘Sin Garu’s minions crept over the land, decimating as many Light Bringers as he possibly could. With the demons draining Tanselm, he very well might succeed. Already, it looked as if he’d done Arim some major damage. Though on his feet with Lexa by his side, the Guardian of Storm looked ready to keel over. Sava knew that demon blast hurt worse than anything anyone could conceive. Lexa knew, too, and the anger on her face said she worried more than she liked. She’d experienced similar pain when she’d taken that blast meant for Arim. She’d suffered in a coma for nearly three months after it. That Arim was even standing meant Tanselm wasn’t totally gone…yet. Knowing time was of the essence and with a thought of what might turn the tide of this war, Sava joined them, only to face off against a nightmare from his past. “Why Sava. I’ve missed you.” A dark voice poured from ‘Sin Garu’s lips. Sava had to force himself not to flinch. Shit. Of all the demons that had to be possessing ‘Sin Garu, why did it have to be this one? “Well, hello Ghal. What’s it been? Nine hundred, a thousand years?” Ghal laughed through ‘Sin Garu’s lips, and Lexa and Arim tightened the distance separating them, strengthening their shield. “Too long, my Shadow. I’ve missed you.” Sava swallowed his distaste and smiled. “Wish I could say the same. But you know, you bring up a good point. We should visit more.” Pulling a small pouch out of the air from the pocket of Shadow Sava kept by his side, he handed it to Arim. Quickly linking through their shield to pull Arim close, he whispered into his ear, “I think we have a shot at this. You keep ‘Sin Garu occupied. Hold this close and the demons can’t touch you. At least not until they wear down the charm.”

Arim whispered back, “You have to protect Lexa.” Damn. The Light Bringer’s voice was thin, his breathing raspy. Sava could feel the taint of demon poison spreading through Arim’s body. “Hold tight. I’m going to try to severe the demons’ link to Tanselm. That’ll give you the power you need to end this.” Arim nodded, his gaze dark and glazed with pain. Yet his aura remained bright, his iron will an impenetrable thing Sava was glad to have at their backs. “Take Lexa away from this. Free her soul.” Sava started, having forgotten that important fact. “Dammit, you two. Stop whispering and let me in on whatever you’re doing,” Lexa said with a grunt as she decimated two more demons. “Yes, share,” Ghal demanded. “My dear girl, how are you doing that to my kind? Your brother is right; you are a treasure. One we want to keep.” He smiled, and the sharp, roving teeth in that mouth freaked Sava the hell out. “Okay. Playtime’s over.” Sava latched onto Lexa’s hand. “We’ll be right back.” Leaning close to Lexa, he murmured, “Trust me,” and took them through the between and straight into hell.

Chapter Fifteen Lexa fought Sava’s surprising strength as they abandoned Arim to fight ‘Sin Garu and those demons alone. Cursing and struggling, she knew a fear she’d felt only once before in her life. Arim was alone. Without her, he’d fall as surely as her Light Bringer family had died. Bloodied at the hands of evil. When they settled down into a dark room filled with the stench of death, she ripped herself from Sava and readied herself to return but found herself unable. “Not yet, Lexa. We’re here for a reason.” “What did you do?” Black fear fed the rage growing like a disease inside her. Lexa fed the powerful emotion, growing stronger as she watched Sava with an unblinking stare. Worry made her stronger, and she couldn’t stop the panic. Seeing Arim lunge between her and that demon blast was pain all over again. She could feel the bite of demon flame from her previous altercation with ‘Sin Garu and now knew her lover felt it. A wound he wouldn’t have felt if he hadn’t been so hell-bent on saving her. Why the hell had he done that? The stupid, foolish, loving idiot. If he died before she returned to him, she was going to follow him into the Next and berate him for the rest of his life after death. “Look, Lexa. We’re never going to defeat ‘Sin Garu with all those demons, not when they’re feeding on Tanselm’s energy. We have to stop them in order to save Tanselm.” What Sava said made sense, but she still socked him in the gut, pleased when he doubled over in pain. “Fine. But you didn’t have to drag me here to do it. Someone needs to save Arim from himself, that overprotective lout.” Nerves jumbled, and the thought that even as they argued he might be dying killed her inside. “Do your thing while I go back.” “Not yet.” Sava coughed and grabbed her fist. “I left Arim some protection, but we have to make this fast.” Relief flooded her that Arim would still be there when she returned to kick his Light Bringer ass. “Fine. Let’s hurry though.” Lexa took two steps into darkness and stopped. “Where are we?” “In Orfel. This is where ‘Sin Garu planted the foundation for the demon bridge. I was going to just destroy it, with your help of course. Then Arim reminded me we can’t, not yet.” “Why not?” Lexa glanced around. Her vision immediately adjusted to filter the slim bands of light from the clinging Darkness of the place. The Dark Lord in her revelled in the negative energy around her, even as the woman within forced herself not to gag at the reality of decay holding fast to the air she breathed. She saw nothing more than black and grey rock on the floors and ceiling. There were a few visible walls, but for the most part the Darkness of the space bled out into the vague empty/fullness of the between. She narrowed her gaze. “There.” She pointed, glad she’d come with Sava, a Shadow dweller who could see as well as she could in the Dark. Arim would have been as blind as a bat. “I know. I’ve been here before.” “What are you talking about?” “While you and Arim were getting reacquainted in Seattle, having tons and tons of sex, I was traipsing around the between looking for ‘Sin Garu. I found him here, in Orfel, surrounded by eviscerated bodies. The stench in the next room, if you can call it that, is overpowering. And the sight… Let’s just say this rivals some of the nightmares I’ve had for sheer brutality.” “Great.” Lexa didn’t want to see what he was talking about, but they had to find and destroy that demon bridge to free Tanselm, so the land might lend Arim some much needed energy. “Let’s go.” She took a few steps before he stopped her again. “Dammit, Sava, we don’t have time for this.” “Make time.” His implacable tone made her pause. “We can’t destroy the bridge until you use it to get your soul back. Because once you’re in, you’ll

definitely need a way out. With so many of the demons up here powering ‘Sin Garu, there will be less in Mount Malinta for you to deal with. Just hurry up.” Lexa stared at him in astonishment. How could she have forgotten about that part of her that was missing? “My soul.” “Yes.” Sava swore under his breath and pulled her towards the narrowed corridor. “Arim will have my head if we return without it, not that I could blame him. We need to move. I’ll distract the enemy here while you use the bridge. And Lexa, I don’t have to tell you that time is as much our enemy as the demons.” He looked worried, and Lexa’s heart raced with trepidation. He was right. This would be her best shot at finding that part of her soul. But what about Arim? “Lexa, now. Arim wants this and you need this. I told you I left him some protection, but it won’t hold forever. You have to hurry up so we can get back to him.” Much as she still wanted to crush Sava on the spot for tearing her from Arim, she knew this plan would in fact help her Light Bringer. That didn’t mean she had to like it. She followed Sava through the corridors of this Dark retreat, uncaring about what or who might hear her. At this point, the demons would have to be both blind and deaf not to realise that their sanctuary had been breached. Lexa’s and Sava’s arrival had been extremely loud. “I can handle the Netharat. It’s that demon flame that throws me.” She suppressed a violent shiver, clearly recalling the last time that venomous green blaze had eaten at her flesh and spirit…as it was now doing to Arim. “Leave the demons to me.” Sava murmured under his breath and clutched a small black satchel in his hands, a satchel she hadn’t seen before. He opened it and removed what looked like a small black rock from a pouch that promptly disappeared. He closed his eyes and swallowed the small stone. For a moment, silence surrounded them. Sava opened his eyes. Their colour had shifted from a warm brown to a cold, hard black. He nodded at her to walk with him, and they moved swiftly towards a hazy spot that looked like a doorway. It appeared as though the archway led to another room, but Lexa couldn’t see through the sudden density before them. Once they breached what felt like an icy wind, demonic shrieks filled the air and echoed in the cavernous room now lit with an eerie, green glow. The narrow passage ended a few feet in front of them, where the greenish light was brighter. Lexa glanced at Sava to see what he made of it all. What lurked in his gaze froze her in fear. Lexa’s friend, a man she’d known nearly her entire life, abruptly took on an appearance rivalling that of the altered Dark Lord they’d just left. The Shadow in the Aellein king drained into a monstrosity far worse than Dark wraiths or evil Shadren. “Use the ladder to get to the bridge,” Sava commanded in a horrifying amalgamation of pitches, echoes and gendered voices. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her after him. She instinctively sought to shield herself, burning him with a Dark Lord’s blue flame before she could stop herself. The cold should have taken his hand clean off, snapping it into a solid block of ice to shatter into pieces. The energy in Sava, the many souls pushing at one another for control, turned his pale, perfect skin a sickly green that began to blister and burn with something much worse than blue flame. Lexa forced herself to focus, to remember that Sava did what he had to in order to help them defeat ‘Sin Garu. He wasn’t setting her up to fail and hadn’t separated her from her lover to kill them both, but to save the future for them all. That in mind, she swallowed around the lump of fear in her throat—a fear she moulded into a useable anger—and broke from Sava’s grip, flying right into the maw of the demon stronghold. Though the demons reigned in Mount Malinta on her homeworld of Malern, in order to affect Tanselm the way they had, they would have had to move closer. Orfel, situated in the between, was an ingenious hideaway. A crossroads for those moving from magic to the mundane, or from Light to Dark, Orfel provided the perfect sanctuary for a Dark Lord bent on domination…or a demon world wanting to control life itself. Standing at the edge of the cavernous room, Lexa absorbed the familiar laughter and cries of delight from the glowing beasts lurching in the hideaway. Bloody bodies covered the floor. Many of the demons continued to feed on human entrails, disregarding her presence. They showed no preference for the Light as they devoured their allies—wraiths, Nocumat and the occasional Djinn as well. Evil and pain saturated the Darkness of the place until Lexa felt so full of bad energy she wanted to vomit. Darkness was a source of power, but this…this malignance corrupted everything it touched. If the stench of death and rot weren’t enough to sour her stomach and soul, the sight of the demon’s bridge did the trick. To her right, a writhing, living ladder nearly twelve feet wide rose from the floor several stories, into a glowing greenish-blue ball of energy hanging from the ceiling like a demonic disco ball. Lexa wanted to laugh hysterically at the analogy, but couldn’t see anything that could describe the unnatural sight better. Nearly three times her size, the ball of light flickered as it rotated, illuminating everything not pitch black with a hazardous, sickly green glow. Demons feasting on flesh, writhing with ecstasy as they raped the living both sexually and spiritually, lay over one another by the hundreds. Small of stature, most demons were no more than three or four feet in height, their wiry bodies always hungry, always thirsting as if to fill up that emptiness that made them so disagreeable. But it was the sight of so many innocents that made Lexa bleed inside. The Netharat she could handle being tormented. To her shock, Lexa saw several Light Bringers and fallen Djinn, Ethim’s men who had fallen in previous battles, now weaved helplessly into the

living ladder as the demons feasted on their eternal suffering. And there, towards that bright ball of light, Remir screamed in agony as the demons continued feeding off him, their long, sharp teeth filled with his energy that would bleed for as long as they let his soul survive. Though demons relished an appeasement to their hungers, they craved despair even more. They would allow Remir to hold onto his life long enough to drive him insane with pain. Lexa glanced at Sava, wishing all this was just an illusion. She watched in horror as he began chanting in demonic tongues, laughing and sneering in a manner depicting his familiarity with the creatures in this hell. He shoved her hard, away from him and onto the ladder as he leapt straight up into the air, shooting into the greenish-blue ball of light with so much force that he nearly caused the living steps to fold in on themselves. Hurrying to disentangle herself from the filth under her, Lexa ignored the sucking sounds and slippery, giving tissue under her hands as she fought to regain her feet. “We’ve been waiting.” She recognised the demon closest to her and forced herself not to shudder. The creature stared at her as it licked its lips. “Come to fulfil the bargain?” “No.” She couldn’t help noticing what the creature was eating, and with a furious wave of her hand, ended the life of a fallen Sarqua Djinn. The demon cried out in anger, having been robbed of its meal, but soon turned to another dying soul pleading for Lexa’s help, a broken wraith. As the demon began sucking on the wraith’s bones, Lexa forced herself not to feel what was under her hands and feet as she climbed higher. None of the demons in the ladder seemed to care about her, and she moved as fast as her limbs would carry her. When she reached Remir, however, she couldn’t stop herself from freeing him. Tears streamed down his ethereal face but he made no sound. The golden tint of his form showed her that he wasn’t beyond saving, not yet. Remembrances of how much he’d once helped her urged her to return the favour. “I’ll come back to free you once I’ve retrieved what’s mine,” she said in a low voice. “That’s the way to the bridge?”She pointed towards the light where Sava had disappeared. Remir nodded and motioned her to follow him. “Remir?”

This way, he mouthed, his ability to speak apparently gone She didn’t want to go with the Darkling who had collaborated with ‘Sin Garu, but knowing what she did of her brother, she could well believe the Djinn had been ensorcelled. The Remir she remembered had been loyal to a fault, in love with her—a woman who had, at the time, no love to give anyone. Pity filled her, and she angrily blamed Arim again for allowing her to feel when numbness right now would have been most welcome. Not having anywhere else to go but up, Lexa followed Remir into the ball of light and found herself flying with him through a different kind of between into Mount Malinta. Once in the demon world, they stopped on a craggy black rock and looked down into hell. “I’m so sorry,” Remir spoke in husky voice. “I was powerless to refuse the Dark Lord. And now I pay the price.” Lexa stared at him, wishing she could have predicted his future and thus saved him from his downfall. “I should have protected you.” “You couldn’t have.” Remir’s once dark brown eyes were now a shimmery blue-green and full of regret. “I joined ‘Sin Garu thinking he was you. I could never deny you anything.” Lexa remembered a time back in Foreia when she’d been trying to mass the Djinn and deal with unruly Storm Lords. She’d seen her own image in a treetop—whom she now knew to be ‘Sin Garu impersonating her. But she hadn’t been sure it was Remir she’d seen with her likeness. She could only imagine the horrors the poor Djinn had suffered, and all because he’d loved her. “I know where they keep your soul, Dark Mistress. Let me help you retrieve it. Here, in this plane, I’ve the strength to aid you as I couldn’t do in life. Allow me this gift.” Lexa blinked back angry tears and nodded, not knowing what to say. She followed him, flying in a weightless body no more substantial than air. Here, in the demon plane, energy existed in thought, not physical presence. She could only hope she’d soon escape back through the bridge. The last time she’d left, only hatred for the place and a love for Arim had given her the strength to leave. After the toll her energy had taken, she didn’t think she had the power to do so again under her own steam. Perhaps with her soul intact… Remir led her to a section of Mount Malinta guarded by three towering demons. These three were red and tall, shaped like men but with horns protruding from various parts of their bodies. The very differences in their size and colour alerted her that they guarded demonic treasures—souls. Crouched behind slabs of sharp rock, she and Remir watched the demons pacing below in the dark crater surrounding the green bars of sickly light. “It’s in there, with the other souls they’ve stolen.” The intensity with which Remir stared made her wonder.

“Do they have a piece of you as well?” “Yes. A large piece,” he said with a scowl before smoothing his expression. “I’ll divert them while you hurry in and take back what’s yours. You’ll have to be quick—” Sava’s sudden appearance by the demons startled Lexa and Remir into silence. That Sava didn’t look well was a gross understatement. The once pristine Aellei was covered in Dark matter, his hair tangled and matted, his skin blistered and oozing. But his eyes scared Lexa the most. The Sava she knew didn’t exist in that gaze. He approached the red demons without glancing up, yet she knew he was aware of her presence. “Lord Sava?” Remir whispered, a frown on his face. “What’s he doing here?” “Come brothers. It’s been a while, and I want to play.” Sava winked at the demons and flicked a finger at one of them. The creature blew up, energy exploding into a tightly confined field, a blast of filth hanging suspended over the other two demons. “What have you done?” one of them cried out. “I’m hungry, Feor.” Sava grinned, his teeth alarmingly like ‘Sin Garu’s. He opened his mouth and inhaled the suspended energy in one long drag, as if sucking through a straw. Feor snarled and left his post to the other demon. “You’ll pay for that, white one.” “Feor,” the other demon started. “Come, Vrak. This one needs a reminder about life in the Pit.” Feor tilted his head. “Sava, you’ve changed. Why, are those Monitors inside your eyes?” Feor chortled with glee. “Possessed are you?”

Sava, possessed? Dammit. Does he expect me to save myself at his expense? He’s as dim-witted as Arim. Lexa fumed as she compared the two males, neither of which came out favourably. She glanced at Remir and realised she was surrounded by people who sacrificed themselves for her. And she didn’t like it one bit. “Come on,” she snarled at Remir as soon as Vrak joined Feor out of sight. They quickly floated down the rocky slope and stared at the barred cage. Not sure how to open it, Lexa reached for the nearest bar, only to have Remir grab her hand. “It hurts. Let me.”

Fine. You do it. Then I’ll save your ass too. No more sacrifices for me. Lexa was feeling less and less worthy of so much forfeit. She didn’t like being in anyone’s debt. Especially not when she already felt horrible that she hadn’t been there when Remir needed her most. He grunted with pain as he closed his hands around a large bar of green light. His expression one of agony, he pulled with all his strength, allowing her a slim expanse to slip through. She didn’t wait but moved inside the bars. Her lost energy called to her, and she reached out to her soul, smiling when it flew to her. She joined it with a simple touch. Shocks of blue energy flared, and she finally felt like the powerful Dark Lord she’d been bred to be. Short on time, she focused on the other reason for her presence in the cage. Closing her eyes, she mentally sought the essence that was Remir. Commanding the essence to come, she opened her eyes to see Remir’s energy balled up in Dark bands. Muttering Dark magic, she pulled the bands with her to the exit, and not without some difficulty. “I can’t hold much longer,” Remir rasped. She hurried to the entrance and slid outside but couldn’t pull his energy with her. The soul couldn’t leave the confines of the demon prison. Grabbing the fiery door with one hand, she shoved one of Remir’s arms inside the cage only long enough to watch as his soul settled over his spirit. The Djinn lit up from the inside out. He pulled his arm back and she let go just as the door to the cage slammed with a powerful bang. Energy scattered up the slopes around the crater like fingers of green lightning. Remir, however, no longer held a golden tint. His eyes returned to their natural brown. Now he was Dark, his aura pulsing with a white, clean light, much like the aura he possessed when he burned in truth. “Thank you,” he said softly, his love shining like a beacon. “Now go before they return.” She could hear inhuman shrieks mingling with Sava’s cruel laughter. “I’m not leaving without Sava.” She made up her mind. “Or you. Come on.” Not giving Remir a chance to argue, she raced through the air, at long last exhilarated by her rightful Dark power. Lexa was completely whole, though she knew she couldn’t possibly be as strong as she felt. Once they rounded a large boulder they found Sava. The sight that met them froze them in her tracks. Sava had expanded to five times his normal size, much like Arim had done when he encountered the Church brethren in Tanselm. Unfortunately, Sava also looked five times as demonic as he had. Vrak and Feor were crying out as he smothered them under his massive feet. Sava chuckled, his smile wide when he met Lexa’s stare. “Finally. Took you long enough.” He glanced at Remir and frowned. “You can’t leave. Your bargain was met.”

“It wasn’t his bargain to make.” Lexa wasn’t talking to Sava anymore, but to one of those Monitors, or whatever the hell they were, that possessed her friend. “Then whose was it?” “’Sin Garu’s. You want him? Come with me.” Sava considered her for a moment. He straightened and stared down at the red demons a moment before stomping hard on their heads, crushing their horned skulls and smashing them into oblivion. Blood and brain matter spattered the stone floor. Lexa knew she’d had enough gore to last a lifetime. She barely managed to keep herself from throwing up. Even Remir turned away in disgust. Sava moved like lightning and had a hold of her arm and Remir’s before she cold blink. “Ah, Sava?” “Sava’s not here anymore.” The Monitors laughed and held tighter when Lexa struggled in their grip. Sava squeezed her hand and increased in speed, shooting back up towards the bridge through which they’d travelled. “I can’t leave,” Remir yelled as the air whipped by them at breath-stealing velocity. Sava’s skin writhed as if he underwent an internal battle. “You can if the bargain’s not met.” His voice sounded like Sava’s again, but Lexa couldn’t be sure. Then she didn’t much care as they entered that odd between. They landed in Orfel, and it remained as it had before they’d left. The demons were at work in the gloomy green cavern, ingesting and molesting anything that lived. “Go to Arim. Remir and I will take care of the bridge and its horrific ladder.” Sava’s booming voice drew the attention of the demons. Remir swore. “But Remir—” “I’ll be fine,” Remir said and tugged her away. His spirit was strong, but his form wouldn’t last outside of the demon plane. He needed to join the Next, if he could find it. Lexa had no idea how to guide him there. Unless Ravyn and Faustus could help… “Go, Lexa. I’ll help Remir.” Sava laughed and crushed several demons in one mighty fist. “Unless you’d rather stay and play with me?” The Monitors returned, echoing his sentiment. Lexa didn’t need to be told twice. “Sava, you join me in Tanselm soon or I’m coming back for you. And if you Monitors do a thing to harm Sava or Remir, you’ll deal with me.” Unfortunately, they didn’t take her threat seriously, for Sava erupted into laughter while the demons on the ladder began tumbling, shrieking in fear and anger as Sava destroyed them. Much as Lexa wanted to stay to help, worry for Arim consumed her. She hadn’t allowed herself to think of him while down in Mount Malinta, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The Dark willing, he was alive and kicking. Something tickled her belly and she rubbed it, frowning. Then fear shook her when her connection to Arim that had always hummed beneath the surface seemed to fade away.

Chapter Sixteen Arim did his best to breathe, hoping against hope that Lexa had at least retrieved what she needed to make herself whole. He could no longer see out of his right eye, and his stomach boasted more holes than a wooden flute. Groaning, he didn’t have to feign weakness as he struggled to stand. He and ‘Sin Garu had taken their fight from the commons out of the castle onto Tanselm’s dying grasses. The land shuddered as every blow from the demon-infested Dark Lord struck him, and thus her, deep into her core. It was as if Tanselm had invested the last of her energy in Arim, her chosen Guardian of Storm, and were he to die, he’d take her with him. So not only to save Lexa, but the land as well, he’d forced himself to stay conscious and breathe, when every cell he possessed wanted to lay down and die. The demon poison burned and ached, and made him want things he shouldn’t. It ate at the Light fuelling him and force-fed his Darkness, making Arim both weaker and stronger because of it. A contradiction that was keeping him alive, if barely. All around him Light Bringers battled the Netharat. Here, in the western territory, it seemed the Light might actually prevail…if Arim could fucking kill one pain in the ass Dark Lord. ‘Sin Garu screeched a warning at the wraith that shadowed his every move and angled to cover Arim’s weaker side, leaving the wraith free to attack Arim’s less damaged flank. He wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. He probably wouldn’t live through this, and he wanted badly to see Lexa again, to at least know he’d helped to save her now, as he hadn’t been able to back then. Tired of watching ‘Sin Garu control this particular fight, Arim called on the Darkness seething within him and tangled a stray beam of Light in his power. He focused on ‘Sin Garu’s lackey, the bloodless Sirral, and sliced the wraith in two. ‘Sin Garu hissed his displeasure and reached out with one clawed hand at Arim’s face as he raced towards him.

“Arim! Mother of Light,” he heard Darius exclaim. Dimly aware of Samantha and several Light Bringer sorcerers gathering close, Arim held up a hand to shield them from his personal battle as he braced for impact. Caging himself and ‘Sin Garu together, Arim would allow no one but himself to fall at the Dark Lord’s hands. His nephew would have to protect the others from the small number of Netharat still living. But if Darius was near enough to this outlying portion of Tanselm’s western forest, the battle was likely almost over. This skirmish…not nearly so. ‘Sin Garu had suffered some damage to his body, but the damned demons holding him together seemed to absorb most of his injuries. Even with several severed fingers and a broken knee, ‘Sin Garu moved as if he felt no pain. The two slammed together and Arim felt as if he’d been hit by a brick wall. He managed to avert his eyes from the talons stretching close, needing his precious sight to survive a while longer. ‘Sin Garu raked his neck instead. Arim cursed at the blaze of pain racking his aching body. “ Get. Off.” He allowed the last bit of his Light to pour through his wounds, cauterising them to stop the bleeding, as well as to score deep furrows in ‘Sin Garu’s rotting flesh. The Dark Lord screamed, cursing Arim, his progeny and his ancestors to every imaginable concept of damnation. “You’re weak, as you’ve always been,” Arim said hoarsely. “Weak and pitiful.” Not smart, but the insult shot straight at ‘Sin Garu’s major vulnerability. His pride. The Dark Lord pushed Arim away, and he fell hard on the ground. Tanselm’s magic had dulled enough that her earth did nothing to help him as he landed flat on his back. “Weak? Me? I’ve brought the Storm Lords and your precious Tanselm to its knees. You are nothing. A Light Bringer with no more power than that of your flailing world. You have nothing. My demons are feasting on Lexa even now. She’ll feed them forever.” ‘Sin Garu laughed, and his inner demons laughed with him. The sound made Arim’s eyes tear with the pain of such shrillness. He could only be glad he’d shielded everyone else from such torment. As he lay looking up at his enemy, a picture of Lexa came to him. Her soft blue eyes both loving and welcoming, her arms spread wide in welcome, eagerly awaiting their embrace… His vision darkened as untold pleasure beckoned him close. If only he could hear her one last time, the sultry timber of a woman in love… “You die on me and I’ll bring you back from the Next just to kill you again.” Lexa’s cold voice rang with fury. Arim managed to open one eye in time to see her, from inside his shield, blast ‘Sin Garu away from him and into the opposite confine of the bubble —at least sixty hand spans away. Unable to move, he chuckled and blinked up at her as she knelt over him. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re whole again.” Her tears hit his cheeks as she raged. “I leave you by yourself for a few minutes and you nearly die. What is wrong with you?” She ripped open his already torn overtunic and placed her hands flat on his chest. “Lexa…not…safe.” “Shut up.” The venomous look she shot ‘Sin Garu made Arim glad she wasn’t as angry at him. She waved a hand at ‘Sin Garu and Arim watched in astonishment as the Dark Lord froze like a statue. “There. Now I can focus.” The cold of her palms numbed the pain. Arim sighed as the sweet relief of oblivion neared. Then heat coursed through their contact, and he squirmed as tingles of energy hit him like angry, stinging bees. “Ouch. That hurts, dammit.” In one fell swoop, Arim felt life flow back into him. The earth beneath him swelled with power and began sharing it through the matted blades of grass and dark earth replete with new vitality. Lexa’s power smacked of Darkness, but it fed the Darkness in his soul and attracted even more of Tanselm’s Light. “Finally. Sava broke the demon bridge.” Lexa smiled with reassurance and love. Arim, however, felt more than just her love. He was overwhelmed with Tanselm’s excited power, and with the bursts of joy surging in Lexa’s womb. It was that energy that brought back his focus. He stared incredulously at the proof of what he’d suspected before. “Lexa?” There was much he wanted to know, but Arim feared for Lexa’s safety so near ‘Sin Garu. Though her power seemed to have quadrupled, ‘Sin Garu was no mere Dark Lord, but a host of demonic forces that wanted more than anything to conquer this world of Light. Arim sat up with Lexa’s help. They watched as ‘Sin Garu tried to break through the paralysis holding him still, a paralysis that shouldn’t have worked considering the demons bolstering the Dark Lord’s reserves. It was then Arim noticed that the shield surrounding him had faltered, because the Royal Four and their affai, a host of other Light Bringers, Jonas, Djinn warriors and Aellei now surrounded the area where the shield had been. Which also explained how Lexa had been able to join him. “You did it, Arim. You broke the drain on Tanselm’s energy.” Aerolus grinned, the wind whipping around him with the force of a small tornado. “I didn’t do it. She did.” Arim nodded at Lexa, not at all happy everyone seemed to have disregarded ‘Sin Garu’s presence. The damned battle was far from over, so why was everyone smiling? And why the hell were his nephews here and not fighting in their respective territories?

Sava suddenly appeared next to Jonas with a body draped over his shoulder, startling the Djinn into a battle crouch. When Jonas saw Sava, he grinned and raised a hand, as if to clasp Sava’s. After a moment, he faltered, then backed away and erected a shield of Dark between them. “Demons,” Jonas hissed, which had everyone defensive and readying to attack Sava. “Wait.” Lexa left Arim’s side and approached Sava. “I have the one you’re looking for.” She glanced over her shoulder at ‘Sin Garu. Sava considered her, then shifted his stare to the frozen Dark Lord. “What’s stopping me from having both of you?” He grinned, showcasing a mouth awfully similar to ‘Sin Garu’s. Arim preceded his words as he teleported between Lexa and Sava. “I won’t allow it.” He didn’t need to be told that Sava wasn’t himself. He could smell demon on the Aellein’s skin, like a musky, Dark cologne. “Arim, it’s okay—” Lexa tried but he cut her off. “It’s not okay.” His soft voice should have warned her to tread warily. She didn’t seem to understand the chaos of his emotions. He’d been one breath away from death and then she’d reappeared to save him. Arim might have lost her in that demon hell. He might have died, separating them until she joined him in the Next. But now she was here, and she put herself in deliberate danger confronting a possessed Aellei. That hazard was not only to herself, but also to the precious bundle she carried in her belly. Arim turned to Sava and spoke to the demons invading his body. “Remove yourselves from the Aellei. He’s your host no longer. Take the rotting Dark Lord. The evil in his soul is one that can feed you for an eternity.” Sava dumped the body over his shoulder to the ground and walked to ‘Sin Garu, studying him intently. Arim allowed himself a brief glance at the ground and swore when he saw the unmoving frame of Brother Giles, his lone informant in the Church of Illumination. The young man had a bad case of hero worship, and Arim had used it to learn what he could about the Church. Too little, too late, apparently. Seeming to sense Arim’s concern, Lexa looked from him to Giles and knelt by the young man’s side. She placed a hand on his forehead and nodded. Moments later, Giles groaned. “I’ll take the Dark Lord,” Sava declared in a horrific cacophony of sound, causing everyone around them to cringe. “Him and the white one.”

White one? “No.” Lexa stood, and again Arim put himself between her and their present danger. “Sava’s not yours to keep.” “He’s not,” Alandra said from the periphery, stepping forward. Aerolus and the other Storm Lords stepped forward as well, their elemental energy throbbing with vigour. Tanselm seemed to feed off their emotions for the land shuddered with power. “Finally.” Arim made use of the magic that had once been his to manipulate at will. He hadn’t felt such pure power in hundreds of years…not since Lexa had left his life. Staring at Sava, he focused on looking into the male, seeking the forces he needed to deal with. A true Light Bringer might not have been able to mark the demons in Sava, but Arim tapped the Dark centre of his being. Using the Light that was Tanselm, he easily saw the bevy of demons fighting for supremacy in Sava’s body. Recalling his own bout with a possession spell, Arim began chanting, pleased when Aerolus, a powerful, if novice, Wind Mage, joined him. And then Alandra lent her considerable magic. It didn’t take long for the demons in Sava to release him from their hold. A large black cloud with green threads poured from Sava’s mouth, and he dropped to the ground in a heap. The cloud hovered and began to disperse in the violet twilight of Tanselm’s sky. When it drew near ‘Sin Garu, Arim knew he had to close the deal. He stepped away from the others and absorbed the energy around him. He called on Tanselm, on the Storm Lords, on his love for Lexa, and with a beam of pure light stared into the decaying body of ‘Sin Garu. The paralysis broke from the Dark Lord long enough to showcase his terror. While ‘Sin Garu shrieked with horror, the noxious demon cloud screamed as well, a sound that shook the area in a violent tremble of earth before the cloud simply disappeared in Arim’s Light. “No. Not like this. Don’t do this to me. Not to meeee…” ‘Sin Garu looked suddenly like a Djinn burning in truth, but without the black flame surrounding his body. One giant mass of blazing Light in the form of a man clawed at itself in a fire so pure even Arim had to turn away. Power suffused every pore in Arim’s body, and the extreme rush made him giddy. “Mother of Dark,” Lexa exclaimed with the others as ‘Sin Garu exploded in a shower of sparks and golden dust that floated away on a warm breath of wind. Sudden silence fell over the gathering, and it took a moment for it to sink in. ‘Sin Garu was dead. The threat over Tanselm for so many years had been vanquished. Faustus, Ravyn and the deceased Storm Lords had been avenged. The Netharat, or what remained of them, would be rounded up and dealt with. The future they’d all prayed would come to pass finally lay in reach for all of them, Light and Dark alike. Lexa was the first to move. She tended to Sava while several others looked after Brother Giles. After laying hands on Sava, Lexa nodded to Alandra and several nearby Aellei, who took him in their midst. “He’ll need rest, but he seems fine, physically at least.” She glanced back up at Arim and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Arim felt not himself, as if he was floating just outside of his body. He was suddenly ravenous, needing to fill the void slowly eating away at him. A backlash of energy was all he could think. “You’re glowing, and the Light’s starting to hurt.” He tried to contain it, but the Dark pushing inside him bellowed for more. To feel the pain he craved but could never understand. Lexa saw it. He reached out a hand, unable to control his desire, “Come with me.” The voice was not his own, yet it was. The pitch seethed with need, a Dark echo lined with Light. “Arim?” Darius looked concerned, as did the rest of his nephews. “Is it more demons?” Cadmus asked with Ellie wormed under his shoulder. “I don’t think so,” Aerolus said, studying Arim. “But—” The hunger began to hurt. Arim tried to content himself with the Light Tanselm provided, but he couldn’t ignore his craving for something more. His confusing ache grew clearer as his gaze met and snared Lexa’s. The need, the want. It was all for her, for the tempting Dark Lord who teased with every breath she took. Her full lips parted, her round breasts rose and fell, and the sultry scent of desire clung to her, a scent he wanted to absorb into his very being. “Mine. Now.” He pulled her to him with bands of Light that threaded through her Darkness. She squirmed but froze when she felt his erection growing against her, and the contact of her slight frame against his made him want to howl with lust. If he didn’t find them some privacy, now, he feared he’d take her regardless of their audience. “Not a demon, unless you account lust as demonic influence,” Aerolus murmured in an amused voice. Unable to wait a moment more, Arim teleported with Lexa into the one place he’d never shared with anyone. Deep within Morn Mountain, in one of the Darkest places in Tanselm, sat a world none of the others knew about, not even Ravyn. She had taken him to a place in the shallower section of the mountain, an area of healing baths and mineral deposits full of gems and stones that accentuated his magic. But here, in this place, Arim had created a private domain where he alone soothed those instances of savage Darkness that raged inside him. In a cavern he had fashioned to suit as a private retreat, Arim arrived with Lexa tight in his arms. The spacious area was lit by candlelight spelled to illuminate whenever he entered. A large bed stood in once corner of the comfortably temperate space. There was a dining area, a place where he worked on his magic, and another to surround himself with Tanselm’s abundance that flourished in the Dark, vibrant flowers and bushes that had use only for the Arim’s powerful presence. It was the massive bed in which Arim was interested, a hedonistic confection littered with silken pillows and a firm yet luxurious mattress—one he’d never shared with another. He appeared right next to it. Standing together with the woman he loved in his Dark, easy resting place, Arim shook with the violent need to release inside her. He squeezed her tighter. The things he fantasised about with this woman. His life, his love, his children… It was the last thought that prompted him to temper his waxing aggression. “Arim, I can barely breathe—” He stole her protest with a kiss, greedily devouring her Darkness with his carnality. He’d never desired so much. The power within him writhed and seethed, wanting all she had to give him. To his surprise, Lexa met him lust for lust. She nipped at his mouth and pulled at his clothing while rubbing up against him like a cat in heat. “Yes, yes. More,” he panted as he yanked her clothes from her body. Too far gone to concentrate on a spell, he simply ripped until nothing stood between them. “I need you so damned much.” “Yes,” she whispered and sucked hard on his neck. He growled and pressed harder against her belly, feeling his cock slide over her skin as it glided through the moisture seeping from his tip. Dark’s Mother, but he was so close to coming. “Do it now,” she urged and lay back on the bed, her eyes glittering like diamonds. Arim wanted to but couldn’t, not like this. It was more than the physical, though he couldn’t identify what exactly he wanted. Giving himself over to instinct, he flipped Lexa onto her belly and nudged her thighs wide. Like a plaything for my own enjoyment. Mine. The thought made him even harder, and he couldn’t help himself as he knelt between her thighs. Her scent was so sweet, her ass so firm and pale. “Arim?” “Stay down,” he commanded, his voice both gruff and filled with power. She shivered, but not with fear. He could see her excitement as her pussy glistened, dew sliding over her folds. Arim spread her thighs uncomfortably wide and leaned close, kneading her ass with large, hungry hands. Tilting her pelvis up, he saw what he’d been looking for. The smooth, wet pussy that was his.

He stared at the pink flesh beckoning him closer and licked her with a long, smooth stroke. More than satisfied with her moan of delight, he still knew it wasn’t nearly enough. He had to consume every part of her. Closing on the hard little nub that felt so good between his lips, Arim began eating her in earnest. He licked and sucked, drunk on her taste. Barely aware of her first climax, he pressed on, needing to swallow her cream and the Dark that passed through her sex like honey. “Blue,” he rumbled, unable to form coherent thought apart from her body. Her clit was like a tiny cherry, hard yet bursting with flavour. She tasted like ambrosia, a heady mixture of Light and Dark, of Lexa… She was his, and he needed to hear her say it. “You’re mine. Say it.” She groaned and clutched at the bed, her skin so cool in contrast to her heated sex. The differences excited him unbearably. Arim quickly rose and lifted her waist, angling her for better ease into her tight, hot pussy. Poised at her entrance, he felt sweat beading on his forehead, his craving to possess her riding him hard. “Say it, Blue. You’re mine.” He pressed slowly inside her, inch by inch, seizing what belonged to him and him alone. “Please, Arim. I need all of you.” She squirmed, trying to shove back onto him, but he held her fast. “Say it.” He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to take what she needed to give. “I’m yours,” she cried and he plunged deep, no other thought but satisfaction blazing in his brain. He fucked her without mercy, thrusting in and out, so hard he thought he’d explode several times over. Yet the desire compounded like a madness, and he was helpless to stop himself from pushing as deep into her as he could go. “Arim! Night and Stars.” She moaned and screamed as another orgasm shook her. The feel of her tight walls sucking him in opened the floodgates on his Darkness coiling to be let loose. He spurted, the beginning of a mind-blowing orgasm escaping before he could contain it. But this was no ordinary sex, and after he emptied between her thighs he roared and pulled out of her, only to push inside her ass, his cock still hard, still needy. He brought her hips firmly against his and shoved through the tightness of her anus, knowing he gave her as much pain as pleasure. He was covered in her cum and his, but the roughness of his intrusion could by no means be smooth. His little Dark Lord, however, shook from the force of her pleasure. “It burns. Oh more, please,” she said in a hoarse voice. That quickly, his body built towards another inferno. A few thrusts more and he was too close to turn back. Arim shackled their energy as he rode her, taking what he wanted and giving her everything he had. Love poured from him in waves as he crested another unbelievably high peak into climax. Raw ecstasy blinded him, and he was frozen in the moment as he shot inside her, his cum filling her ass and dribbling down her pussy and thighs. Yet still the orgasm wasn’t enough. He pulled out and found himself still hard, still hungry. Lexa turned over, her body awash of his seed and her cream. The scent made him dizzy with lust, and the Darkness of the mountain increased the hunger. “What have you done to me?” she breathed, the sparkle in her eyes enchanting. The blue in her eyes had never been warmer. The love shining from their depths threw his heart into a rhythm of unbearable feeling. “Light, what you do to me.” He groaned and closed his hand around his throbbing cock. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m so Dark and you’re the only thing I can see, can want.” He made no sense, but he spoke from the heart, the words pouring out of him. “I love you so much. I can’t contain it.” And he couldn’t. He could feel the emotion bleeding out of him into her, his Light and Dark a tangle of contrasts and compliments waiting to find its equal. Lexa’s eyes welled with tears that she angrily wiped away. Arim knew he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life. “I love you too. And if you ever do anything so stupid as to take on a sorcerer and demon without me, or sacrifice your damned soul, I’ll… I’ll…” A tear fell over her cheek and the sheer Dark glory of her love pushed him over the edge. He kissed her hard, bruising her lips in his need to dominate. Her raspy breathing told him she liked it, and more, that she welcomed it. He fisted his hands in her hair and pulled her away from him. “Come to me.” He watched her crawl to him, and his cock ached to feel her mouth around him. He waved a hand to cleanse them of the mess covering them both and waited for her to look up into his face. “Arim?” “My love,” he corrected and brought her mouth to the tip of his cock. “My love,” she whispered in a throaty voice.

Arim stared at her beautiful lips, wanting nothing more than to slide past them into love. “Suckle me. Take me down your throat.” He couldn’t contain the thrill, knowing he possessed the dangerous creature who could kill as easily as she could heal. The woman behind the ice blue eyes was warm and passionate, but she met his Dark needs more than he could have dreamed. His love for her spilled into the room, making the Darkness within glow with a bright blue light. “I love you so much,” he rasped as he watched her wet her lips with her tongue. “I need to fill all of you. I want to fuck that mouth, Blue, until you’re brimming with my cum.” She took him balls deep, her lips warm around him as he nested in the heat of her mouth. He clenched his hands in her long, black hair and held on as she took him to the gates of the Next with the light rake of her teeth and the swirling of her tongue. She ran her hands up and down his thighs, cupping his balls that hardened into needy stones. “Mmm,” she moaned around him, her lips sucking and stirring a thirst he was more than ready to fulfil. Her hands crept around his hips, and she pushed him further down her throat. Then she spread his cheeks and shoved a finger hard into his ass. The pressure made him roar his pleasure and he increased the tempo of his thrusts, nearly there. She began fucking his ass with her finger and the combined stimulation was too much to bear. He shouted her name as he shot down her throat. His body trembled in the aftermath of so much stimulation. When he finally withdrew, he found himself unsteady and pulled her to her knees, only to topple back onto the bed with her. As a deep peace settled over them, Arim drew Lexa deeper into the curve of his body, watching her sleepy eyes as she stared back at him—eyes for once not guarded or cautious about revealing her feelings. “You can’t take it back, you know.” She frowned. “I won’t.” “I love you. You love me. And we’re going to be a family sooner than you think.” She palmed her belly, her eyes glued to his when he placed his larger hand over hers. “Is this what you wanted?” “Yes,” he said softly, completely open to her. “The question is, is this what you wanted? A man who loves you without reservation, a family to love and cherish.” He prayed she would take his words to heart. “No matter what.” She chewed her lower lip, that delicious piece of flesh he wanted to kiss and caress until he came inside her again. “I’m still a Dark Lord.” Her expression changed, to one he couldn’t read at all. “Lexa?” “Does it matter what I am? Or what you are?” “No. I can honestly say it doesn’t. Lexa, if you aren’t happy here, we’ll leave.” They both paused when Tanselm literally groaned in protest. “Not that I want to go, but your happiness comes before anything now. My nephews can manage Tanselm. Our enemy is dead.” “The enemy that you know of. The way you Light Bringers act, I’m sure you’ll have more,” she muttered. He grinned. “Probably. But we’ll soon have another overking to take care of all that. The affai are pregnant. The future is unfolding as we speak.” He rubbed his hand over hers again, wanting to feel the life inside her under his palm. “I’ll do anything for you, Blue. Just name it.” She stared at him, her gaze full of wonder. “You really mean that, don’t you?” “I do.” Lexa cupped his cheek and smiled. “Don’t think I won’t hold you to that. Hmm. You won’t have to call me Dark Mistress…all the time.” She laughed when he tickled her and then sighed into his embrace. “Just promise you won’t leave me again.” He kissed the top of her head, his throat understandably tight, his voice gruff when he answered, “I’ll never leave you again, Blue. I promise.”

Chapter Seventeen Seven months later Only a few months back in Tanselm and Lexa was already wishing they hadn’t returned. A spike of energy under her feet and a glance at the rilk trees shifting to block the midday sun from hitting her had her revising her thoughts. She wished they hadn’t returned so soon. The aftermath of the war with ‘Sin Garu hadn’t been pretty. The Light Bringers still had yet to fully accept her, but Lexa knew the process would take time. Most of the sorcerers and Light Bringer warriors seemed to respect her. Apparently, word had gotten out about her part in ‘Sin Garu’s and the demons’ demise—thank you Jonas and Sava—and many in Tanselm treated her with reverence.

Brother Giles, in fact, tripped over his feet every time he looked in her direction. The stalwart young Churchman had apprised them of Ordinary Nohjen’s responsibility in the death of Ravyn and several other loyal Light Bringers they hadn’t known about, as well as his partnership with ‘Sin Garu to rid Tanselm of all things Dark. Unfortunately, Nohjen had escaped. But Lexa knew he would soon be brought to justice. Arim himself had overseen a thorough cleansing of the Church of Illumination. With Brother Giles’ help, the tide was turning in favour of accepting the Djinn and Aellei, now very much a part of Tanselm’s culture. Lexa waddled clumsily through the woods towards the roomy cottage she and Arim shared on the fringes of the western keep. Though she would have preferred that they live in Morn Mountain, she recognised the need for him to see and be seen by Tanselm’s people. Despite the fact that the great Guardian of Storm tried to stay behind the scenes as he guided his nephews in the running of the land, many still looked to him when any grand decision needed to be made. If only the new overking would show himself. Of the four pregnant affai, only Tessa and Alandra had given birth. Tessa delivered a healthy set of twins, one boy and one girl. There had been much excitement until she stopped pushing. Marcus however, looked extremely relieved, and so much in love with his wife that Lexa forgave him for his occasional arrogance. Aerolus and Alandra produced a healthy baby boy, one with bright white hair and sparkling grey eyes. That one would definitely be a handful, she thought with a smirk. Sava had been beside himself with pride, so much so she might have thought he’d been the father. Lexa’s smile dimmed at thoughts of her friend. He’d recovered well enough from his possession, but the carefree demeanour she’d come to expect in Sava was often mixed with a sobriety she didn’t care for. Too often Sava seemed to stare at nothing, lost in nightmares or worries he wouldn’t say. He was currently taking care of matters in Aelle, stifling more rebellions and dealing with pesky Aellei plotting mischief, though he continued to visit on and off, thoroughly pleased with his nephew. As they typically did, thoughts of Sava reminded her of Remir. She still didn’t know how she felt about his predicament. Once Sava and he had destroyed the demon ladder and the bridge, Sava had decided Remir’s fate for him. “He’d suffered enough for playing a part he had no choice in playing,” Sava told her. “He thought he deserved death, but the Next is not his place, not yet.” The old sparkle in Sava’s eyes returned, and for a brief instant Lexa saw the prankster of old she didn’t want to admit she missed. “So I found him a body.” “You what?” “Remir is now an official member of Tanselm.” She still wondered who the hell he’d found. Every time she passed a stranger in the kingdom, she secretly wondered if he was Remir. The damned sneaky Aellei wouldn’t tell her who he was. “Remir needs a clean slate,” Sava had said. “Let’s give it to him.” As much as she wanted to know his identity, she understood that for Remir to truly start over, her not knowing was the best thing for him. Lexa would have tripped over a large tree root if one of the trees hadn’t reached out a limb to steady her. “Thanks.” The trees whispered their pleasure, and Lexa couldn’t help feeling at home for the first time in her life. She would never be welcome by everyone, but those that counted loved her. Actually loved her. She laughed to herself, pleased with the way she’d kept Arim on tenterhooks for the past few months. No man could fetch her everything she wanted, whenever she wanted it, and not love her. She’d made him travel to Seattle time and time again for pastries that didn’t taste ‘the same’ when he tried to create them using magic. The foot rubs, the back massages, and the incredible, mind-blowing sex that just kept getting better should have put her in a fine mood. She rubbed her aching back and entered her home. She would have felt better if Aerolus had agreed to let her teach at University this last month. And if her feet weren’t so swollen and her back hurting like someone had wacked her with a firn stick. She sighed and patted her ripe belly. If the little guys weren’t so darned active all the time, she might get a moment’s peace. As she thought it, one of them kicked her below her bellybutton while another jumped on her bladder. She’d kept mum about what she thought, but Arim was suspicious. Though she couldn’t determine the sex of her babies, she knew she had more than one in the old oven, perhaps even more than two. “Like Light-forsaken acrobats in there,” she mumbled, hugging her belly. Any day now and she’d be free from this heavy burden, free to love her young ones as Muri and Esel had once loved her. That was the other thing that bothered her. She’d never had closure on her family’s death. Though Giles would look into it when he could, she had little faith the Church would find the records of their investigation into her foster family’s murder. ‘Sin Garu and B’alen hadn’t done it. Perhaps Ini had. Lexa still had the feeling that a Light Bringer or two had been in on it. “But not my Light Bringer.” Her own personal Dark Lord. She had yet to tell Arim what Ravyn had told her about his family. In time she would, but right now they were working on bettering their connection. As much as Lexa knew Arim loved her, she still had her doubts that they could make their relationship work. It was selfish of her, yes, but she needed at least one of them to be stable. Arim bent over backwards to show her how much he cared, how much he truly loved and trusted her. She

needed to see it. Often. Later, when Lexa had more confidence in their relationship, she’d tell Arim he’d started out as Dark as Lexa. Such stellar Darkness… She pressed her thighs together just thinking about the lusty sorcerer she’d married. By the Light, he really knew how to set her on fire. A sudden wave of heat flashed through her, and Lexa caught herself around the middle again. That type of fire didn’t feel good. In fact, it felt decidedly abnormal. During her pregnancy, Lexa’s temperature had run several degrees cooler than it normally did. A perfectly healthy response for a Dark Lord female, according to a Dark healer Arim had found in Malern. The healer was a surprisingly decent woman who had settled quite comfortably in the northern territory where Jonas was constantly causing a stir. Lexa relaxed as the strange heat subsided and wondered what Jonas had done today to irritate one of the Storm Lords. Now the head of the Djinn contingent in Tanselm, he seemed to take pride in annoying the powers that be. She snickered. Darius had a temper she considered impressive, and she’d been hard pressed not to laugh in his face every time Jonas pressed his buttons. Especially since all the affai doted on the Djinn, and well he knew it. Another wave of heat struck her hard. Lexa gasped as she leaned against the counter near Arim’s wall of plants. The foliage reached out for her but Lexa waved them away.

I’m fine, she sent Tanselm. I think. But maybe she ought to call Arim. The familiar aggravation that had plagued her this entire pregnancy returned. Trust the Guardian of Storm to knock her up as big as a house. Lexa had a small frame, but did his babies understand that? No. Arim. She tried several times to call him and found her way blocked. “What the hell?” Easing into a seat, she rubbed her stomach and winced as a contraction hit. Okay, now she needed help. Lexa managed to stand and hobbled to the plants. She reached out and touched them, and sent her need through the earth to Arim. They’d been working on alternate means of communication, and Lexa loved using Tanselm as a medium. The land was always ecstatic to be included in anything she and Arim did. It was almost embarrassing how much Tanselm fell all over herself to please Lexa. Lexa didn’t mention it much, but she knew Arim felt it. Between helping his nephews and restoring the kingdom, he’d found comfort in the aid Tanselm offered. She knew he’d be upset she hadn’t remained with Ellie and Samantha today. But honestly, just because the three of them were pregnant, did they have to do everything together? Not that she didn’t treasure her newfound friendships—or the uneasiness she still aroused in most of the Storm Lords—but she was used to being alone and cherished her privacy.

Which might not have been such a good idea today. Lexa shuffled back towards the plush couch in the large, open room that comprised their main living area. Just as she reached the arm of the couch, the front door slammed open. Lexa stared curiously at the most wanted individual in Tanselm. Likenesses of Ordinary Nohjen were posted everywhere and a heavy reward had been offered for information on his whereabouts. Idly, she wondered if she could receive the reward considering she’d married into royalty. “You,” Nohjen seethed. He looked very little like his portrait. That man had a keen polish, a muscular build and an air of arrogant competence. This man looked wild. His dark hair was long, greasy and in disarray. Dirt streaked his face. He smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. The long, brown robe he wore was ripped and slashed, and his boots had holes as if he’d stepped through fire. And speaking of fire… Another wave of heat rushed through her body, followed by an intense cold-burn—what she knew to precede her delivery.

Crap. Trust my babies to follow Storm Lord convention. Seven months to birth instead of the normal ten they should have taken. “Could you come back later?” She didn’t have time to deal with Nohjen, and frankly didn’t care to deal with him. Arim and the Storm Lords could handle their Church messes. “You know, Muri had a cottage much like this one.” Mention of her mother froze her in place. “Excuse me?” “The bitch pleaded for your life. As if I’d taint myself touching you.” He scoffed, and confusion made her head pound. “You’re saying you killed Muri? My mother?” She stared at the man and pried deeper, aware his thought patterns were anything but normal. “That was over three hundred years ago.” He was a Light Bringer, and they normally averaged a lifespan between one hundred and one hundred fifty years. Unless he was a sorcerer. According to Light Bringer doctrine, it was illegal for sorcerers to involve themselves in affairs of the Church. He raised a fist and she saw beads of Light filter through his fingers until he held a ball of white fire. He tossed the ball from hand to hand, his glare measuring, as if waiting for her to be afraid. “Wait a minute.” She waved a hand at him, her internal temperature irritating the hell out of her. Her back chose that moment to scream in agony, and she sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me you killed my family?” “Slow, aren’t you?” He lost his grin when she froze the fire in his hands into solid ice. “Bitch.” He stared at her, his gaze both hungry and loathing. “You’ll not suckle such filth on my land, nor taint my world with your Dark breed monsters.” “Okay. Now you’re starting to piss me off.” One of the little ones in her belly began fighting with the other, and her insides felt decidedly warlike. “First off, my children will be Dark and Light breed monsters. Secondly, if you had anything to do with my family’s murder, coming here was a very,

very foolish thing to do.” As she said it, a red haze filled her mind. Control it. Get your answers. Then fry the bastard. Fear never entered the equation, not with centuries of anger waiting inside her. Not to mention her inability to be injured by Light or Dark, now that she carried Arim’s precious cargo. Her pregnancy had made her nearly indestructible with latent, unborn power. “Why did you do it?” she squeezed between breaths. “Why? Because Tanselm is mine.” Madness riddled his black-eyed stare. “Because Muri and Esel wouldn’t keep their damned mouths shut, always trying to fix the Church when it was far from broken. They brought Darkness into our land, and look what it brought us.” “You were there when Arim arrived. You attacked him and pretended it was me.” “He would never be the great sorcerer he is today if I hadn’t set him free. Killing them was a pleasure, but helping Tanselm’s greatest sorcerer was my honour.” The injustice of it all made the sudden pain invading her pale by comparison. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “I’m a creature of Light. We use whatever tools we must to aid Tanselm in its fight against the Dark.” Nohjen sniffed and threw a web of Light over her, as if Light magic should have some sort of effect. When nothing happened to her, he frowned. “Ini decided she wanted you back. When I told her where to find you, she did me a great service. In return for my information, she not only gave me the power to kill the Light Bringers who raised you but granted me an extended life.” Lexa finally felt a measure of peace. She knew the truth, or at least part of it. As she readied to kill the foolish man to avenge her parents, she asked him one final question. “So it was Ini as well. Was she there that day with you, when you killed my parents?” “It was hard enough to tolerate your mother. I didn’t want her anywhere near me if I could help it.” He looked offended as he struggled to use another spell on her. When the next jolt of Light settled over her belly like a warm blanket before seeping into her babies, he began to sweat. “Okay, that’s it.” Lexa ignored the sudden chills racking her, another sign that her body was preparing to give birth. “I’m not bringing my children into the world in front of you. You sanctimonious, hypocritical fhel-sa vehkun.” She began ranting and could feel the welcome burn of fury behind her eyes as she began to see everything in a perfect blue. Her stare, when it centred on Nohjen, froze him from the inside out, until he was nothing more than a human icicle. Another wave of her hand and the block shattered, the pieces melting into the wooden floor, only to be absorbed by Tanselm’s Dark roots that rose to take the vile Light Bringer away. The great triumph Lexa thought she’d feel didn’t come. Muri, Esel and Sercha were dead. Nothing more she did would bring them back. Now that she knew who had been behind it all, she felt whole…until her babes protested their stay with a mighty kick that broke the water holding them tight. Arim flew through the door with Aerolus and Marcus hard on his heels. The sight that met him stunned him to immobility. Nohjen was nowhere in sight, but Lexa lay back on the couch panting as she clutched her belly and moaned. “Lexa?” “Get over here,” she yelled and the temperature in the room cooled considerably. Marcus shook his head. “I’m still not sure why I like her, but I do. You’d better do what she says before she nails you to the wall.” “Was Nohjen here?” Arim demanded. “Here and gone to hell. Now are you going to fetch Arla or not? The babies are coming.” He paled and vanished, returning moments later with the Dark Lord healer. She took one look at Lexa and tried to send the men from the room while Arim struggled to remain calm. Hell, he’d dealt with ogres, crafty Aellei and demons. But this slight Dark Lord was turning him inside out. She was having his babies. Here. Now. He wanted to sit down but didn’t think he should get too close to Lexa. She looked like she wanted to maim him. “Blue, honey, I love you. What can I—” “I know you want to be here, but if you stay, she just might kill you.” Arla said with a grin, her wizened face full of wrinkles. “First birthings are particularly painful.” “Tell me something I don’t know, Arla,” Lexa snapped, sweat pouring from her despite the near freezing temperature in the room. Before anyone moved, Jonas and Cadmus flashed in with stupid grins on their faces. “We just had a girl. Ravyn Alexandra Storm.” Cadmus glanced at Lexa and had to look twice. “Wow. Helluva day, eh Arim? Good luck, Lexa. All I can say is thank the Light I’m off the hook.” Jonas bowed his head. Arim felt him absorb Lexa’s next bout of pain, easing her a bit. “Blessings of the Dark upon your line, Dark Mistress.” He raised his head and winked, then turned a sly glance towards Arim. “Don’t be too upset if the kids all look like me.” Marcus choked on a laugh as Jonas grabbed Cadmus and teleported them away before Arim could turn him into stone. How hard would the Darkling laugh at that? But Lexa cracked a smile, and he forgave the impertinent Djinn.

“Can I take the pain, Blue?” He braved her wrath and took her hand in his. Her grip startled him into a grin. “Or maybe you can take mine by not breaking my hand.” “Funny,” she panted, and he sent her a wave of Light to ease her burden. “Stop that.” Arla frowned. “It’s not seemly for a Dark Lord to have help. Let nature take its course. The more it hurts, the stronger the babes will be.” “Arla—” Arim scowled. He refused to let Lexa go through this alone. “It’s okay, Arim. I wanted to do this without any outside influence.” Because I’m an idiot. He clearly heard her thoughts, though he knew she was unaware of broadcasting them. “If you’d just—” “Uncle.” Arim stilled at Darius’s message. “ Samantha’s giving birth. Two sons! No wait, here comes another. ” Arim relayed the information to the others as Lexa nearly broke his hand. He tried to coax her into deep, measured breathing but she nearly bit his head off so he refrained from commenting. “You know,” Aerolus said with a twinkle in his eye. “I had a feeling Darius would be the next overking. Since we, and Cadmus, are now out of the running,” he said to Marcus. “There’s just one arrogant, explosive Storm Lord left.” “Wait,” Arim said, holding up a hand. “One more! Three boys. We have three perfect little Storm Lords.” Arim frowned. Something wasn’t right. “They’re coming,” Lexa cried out and gripped hard. No matter what she said, Arim refused to let her take the whole burden. And when he lent her his strength, she didn’t protest. “We’ll, uh, wait outside.” Marcus hustled Aerolus out the door in spite of his protests. Several hours later, Arim left the cottage to find all four of his nephews waiting. Though all four looked pleased, they also looked worried. “Arim?” Aerolus ventured forward. “Are Lexa and the babes alright?” “Not that we were trying to be nosy, but we didn’t hear anything.” Marcus cleared his throat, concerned. “We didn’t have the twins I was expecting.” Arim didn’t understand what any of this meant. “I’m so sorry.” Darius came forward, a sombre expression darkening his face, and he grabbed Arim for tight hug. He let go and the others offered their support. Arim took a deep breath, trying to muddle through the cloud of joy muddling his thoughts. “We had four girls. Four identical daughters.” They all stopped and looked at each other, and then his nephews burst into delighted laughter. “What’s so damned funny?” Arim still couldn’t get over this happy, yet nerve-wracking situation. “You’re the next overking,” Cadmus said with a chuckle. “Mr. Diplomacy,” he mocked. “Take one step closer and I’ll fry your sorry ass,” he mimicked Arim’s baritone. “Oh, we are in for a world of hurt.” “Now wait a minute,” Arim tried, but Darius cut him off. “Thank the Light, I was worried when Samantha kept popping them out.” “’Popping them out?’” Marcus frowned. “Really, Darius.” “But they’re so perfect. I was excited at one, then two, but at three I was getting nervous. Light be praised, she stopped.” “You know, this actually makes sense,” Aerolus mused. “There’s no greater balance between us than Arim and Lexa, a Storm Lord and a Dark Lord. And as we all know, Tanselm has always had a more feminine temperament.” Cadmus moaned. “Much as I hate to agree with the professor, here, he has a point. Arim, you and Lexa were clearly made for each other, and well, no one else can really handle either of you. Imagine how difficult your kids will be.” They chuckled, though Arim didn’t know if that was exactly something to laugh at. Marcus nodded, a wide smile on his face. “We each deal with the headache of running a territory, and big bad uncle Arim gets the entire kingdom. Sounds good to me.” Arim groaned. “I don’t think Lexa’s going to be very happy about this.” She already had issues being so much in the public eye. He knew it would take both patience and understanding until she finally put the past behind her. Though annihilating Nohjen was a good start. He shook his head, grinning at his scary wife. “Look at it this way.” Cadmus chuckled. “Four girls with both Storm Lord and Dark Lord magic won’t take crap from anyone, ever. Especially with you for a father and Lexa for a mother. Hell, they’ll probably have their own affai eating from the palms of their hands when the time comes.”

“Just like us.” Darius gave Arim a smug smile that Arim wanted to wipe off his face. Arim shuddered at thoughts of dating and boys for his daughters. His daughters. By the Light. He was a father. To four beautiful, perfectly adorable baby girls. And he had the most wonderful— “Arim,” Lexa mentally yelled for him. —if not biddable, goddess of a wife. Happiness welled inside him. He only wished Ravyn were here to share it with him. He turned to his nephews, awed at how they’d matured, at how their lives had been changed by the experiences shaping their lives, by the women they’d bonded with. “I know your mother would be so very, very proud of you all. I’m glad to finally call you family.” Once ‘Sin Garu had been destroyed and the land somewhat put back to rights, they’d held a general announcement. Arim was officially recognised as the Storm Lords’ uncle. The only explanation the people had been given for the deception had to do with security, yet Arim knew there was a part of his life that would always remain a mystery to him, now that Ravyn was gone. He didn’t much mind so long as he had his family and Tanselm to protect. His nephews beamed. Arim felt their love and Tanselm’s like a warm blanket. “But if any of you ever joke about my daughters dating again, I’ll let Lexa loose on your sorry hides.” There were many apologies and promises to visit and bring the children together. When Arim rejoined his wife, he felt butterflies of love flittering over him. She lay on their large bed looking at their daughters clustered around her. Arla was nowhere to be seen. “You really are the Guardian of Storm,” she murmured as he leaned down to kiss her. He gently lay next to her, careful not to upset his girls on the other side of her. “What I am is yours. Forever.” Tears glistened in her heart-stopping gaze. “Don’t you forget it.” He laughed softly, so very pleased with the treasures in his life. “That’s my Blue. Stubborn to the end.” About the Author

Marie Harte is an avid reader who loves all things paranormal and futuristic. Reading romances since she was twelve, she fell in love with the warmth of first passion and knew writing was her calling. Twenty-four years later, the Marine Corps, a foray through Information Technology, a husband and four kids, and her dream has finally come true. Marie lives in Georgia with her family and loves hearing from readers.

Email: [email protected] Marie Harte loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com .

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