12. Ellie

ELLIE

My mother laughed in delight. "Jonas, what a pleasant surprise."

I left the kitchen and stared in surprise at my mother hugging Jonas. The man standing behind him made my pulse skyrocket. There was no mistaking the broad shoulders and smoldering gaze that roamed my body with familiarity.

"Who's your handsome friend?" Mom asked.

Jonas muttered something under his breath but pasted a smile and said, "This is Cadmus Storm, Mandy. Cadmus, Amanda Markham."

Cadmus' lips curled up in a smile, and my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. Get a grip, girl! Remember, keep your distance. I worked hard to appear calm, to tamp down the heat that rose to the surface the longer I stared at him.

He took my mother's hand and kissed the back of it, like some kind of gentleman. "It's truly a pleasure, Mrs. Markham."

My mother gushed, "Please, call me Mandy."

"Mandy. It's obvious where your daughter gets her beauty."

Smooth one, Romeo. I look exactly like my father.

His eyes flew to mine at the unintended mental connection, and his grin widened. "You'll forgive me for saying so, Mandy, but you look more like Ellie's sister than mother."

"Oh, I like this one. So you're a friend of Jonas', hmm?" She followed his glance toward me, and her eyes narrowed. "I don't need to ask if you know my daughter."

"Know her? I?—"

"Cadmus, how nice to see you again." I had no idea what he might say and didn't want to chance it. "Are you two stopping through on your way somewhere?"

"Nope. I just couldn't wait to see you again, honey." His shit-eating grin amused me, though it shouldn't have. Honey? I bit back a groan when he added, "I can't believe you never told your mother about me."

Jonas eyed Cadmus warily, and it was all I could do not to slug the sly Storm Lord for making a fuss in front of my mother.

"How did you two meet?" Amanda asked, her excitement obvious.

So help me, if I had to suffer the I-want-grandchildren speech again because of Cadmus, I'd kick that sexy ass of his all the way to?—

"Foreia."

"What?" I asked out loud.

"What?" my mother repeated, staring from me to Cadmus. "Don't tell me this is the man Alex was telling me about? That sexy devil from Outpour?"

"Mother." I flushed with embarrassment. Could my mother not keep a secret? And what about Alex? What was the use of having a best friend if your best friend told your mother everything? "Alex has a big mouth."

"Yes, she does." Amanda grinned. "So when is she flying back? Where is she now? New York?"

Jonas interrupted with a growl, "Cadmus, we don't have a lot of time." He rubbed his stomach. Odd.

I zeroed in on my cousin, studying him with that part of myself I normally kept in check. Jonas looked a mess. Clouded energy dimmed his normal vibrancy, and blood-red blisters of Dark seared the aura around his midsection.

"What happened?"

"A Nocumat." Cadmus' grin faded. "I'm sorry, Ellie. We have to go. All of us."

Amanda's gaze narrowed. "Did you say Nocumat? Oh hell. You're one of them."

"Mom." Crap. My mother had that tone again.

"Don't ‘Mom' me. Of all the eligible men in this world, you had to fall for an out-worlder?"

"Out-worlder?" Cadmus raised a brow. His eyes widened. "Fall for?"

Jonas scowled. "Out-worlder is what Mandy considers anyone not from this plane. And Ellie —" he turned to me "—if you think we're not going to talk about this, think again." The glance he shot Cadmus spoke volumes.

I felt a disturbance deep within myself, as if I could hear the subtle vibrations of a massive door groaning while it slowly opened. Dim shrieks and a pulse of Darkness echoed within me.

Cadmus cursed. "Shit. Ellie, Mandy, we're leaving. Now."

To my surprise, my mom nodded without a word.

Jonas took a deep breath and released it with a pained groan. "Everyone hold hands."

"Are you well enough to do this?" Cadmus asked with concern.

"I could use a little help." Jonas glanced at me.

"Huh? Me? No. Not until you tell me what's going on. I want to know just how you ended up injured and why you want us to leave."

"Not now, Ellie. Take their hands," Mom ordered. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jonas, take us to Ethim."

Bewildered but sensing their urgency, I lent power to my cousin. I didn't understand what he did, but I recognized the magical pathways he utilized to transport the four of us. A sense of pressure surrounded me for a second. Then I felt as if I were flying.

Freedom, speed, and warmth carried me between worlds, through stars and a multitude of existences before we stopped mid-flight and dropped onto navy-colored grass in an alien landscape.

"Foreia," my mother whispered, reverence and worry in her voice.

This was Foreia? My father's homeworld? The place I'd been forbidden to discuss let alone visit? I could only stare at tall black trees with red leaves, a pinkish sky, blue grass, and some really weird looking bat/birds that hummed as they swooped through the air.

The sky felt overcast despite the bright fuchsia sun. Yet I cast no shadow. It seemed as if the Djinns' Dark nature was mirrored in the very land on which I stood.

I inhaled a sweet, floral essence that revived me, and the air skimmed over my skin with a gentle, welcoming caress. My gaze automatically sought Cadmus, and he nodded with approval.

I heard him in my mind say, This is a part of you, Ellie. Embrace it.

But it's Djinn. My life seemed to be turning upside down, and Cadmus was that one solid rock I could cling to for safety. No matter how hard I chipped at him, he remained immovable. Don't you hate all this Darkness? I asked tartly, wishing I felt as stable.

He chuckled. When the Darkness comes in such a winsome package, I'm drawn to its lure. He fairly purred. And your Darkness, little Djinn, is so hot, so wet and welcoming that even now I long to —

I get the picture. I blushed, hoping my mother was too occupied by the foreign landscape to pay attention to her daughter. Subtly shifting my gaze, I saw my mom focused on Foreia's pink skies. Unfortunately, Jonas studied me and Cadmus with a frown.

Bad enough I was here, in this Dark place full of people who weren't human. We'd landed in the world of the Djinn, a race of men and women to which I supposedly belonged.

As if my thoughts had conjured my father, Ethim suddenly appeared out of thin air. Dressed in clothing similar to Jonas, with dark, leather trousers and a vest baring an eternally strong frame, Ethim looked every inch a leader of warriors. But when his eyes set on my mother, his gaze softened, and he smiled with welcome.

"Ah, Amanda. I've missed you." He opened his arms.

Fully expecting my mother to make a scene before succumbing to my father's charms, I was taken aback by the hug they shared.

"I've missed you, too," my mother mumbled.

Jonas grinned and turned to Cadmus. "Why don't you and Ellie come with me? I'll show you around. You haven't seen this area of Foreia before, I don't think."

As we walked away, I noted Cadmus' tension and heard a hum in his mind. He walked taller, shifting his gaze all around. His hand were open and ready, and he braced as if preparing for attack.

The Djinn killed his father.

The memory horrified me, and I hoped he'd meant what he'd said earlier, that he didn't hate all Djinn. Because I had a feeling being here was like ripping at a healing wound. It made my own worries about Foreia pale in comparison.

The Djinn respected my father and would welcome me. But Cadmus was considered an enemy, a creature of Light among beings of Darkness.

"Why didn't you bring me here before, Jonas?" Cadmus asked.

"You weren't ready before."

"And I am now?" He snorted. "I swear, you Djinn live for subterfuge. You can't say yes or no. Everything with you people is a hanging maybe." He included me with a knowing look.

I bristled. "What does that mean?"

He spoke clearly in my mind. Why did you take off for your mother's this morning? And after what we shared?

"Yes, Cadmus, just what does that mean?" Jonas darted his gaze between us. "I'm not an idiot, you know."

"Could have fooled me," Cadmus muttered, making me want to laugh despite my unease.

"I know there's something between you two. The way you pause between words, the way you look at each other in understanding. It's almost as if…"

My interest perked. "As if what?" Was mind-sharing not a common Djinn trait? I wished I had someone to ask. But sharing my love life with my mother was a definite no-no. Jonas obviously wouldn't approve, and neither would my father — as if I could talk comfortably about something as personal as sex with him.

I could almost hear the wheels in Jonas' mind spinning. He murmured, "No. It couldn't be."

"Couldn't be what?" Cadmus crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe Ellie and I have found true love, and I've come to claim my affai and steal my way back into Tanselm."

For one breathless moment, I thought he might be serious. But when I met the laughter in his eyes, a faint echo of disappointment settled in my belly. That I could feel depressed at all made my angry. Where was that distance I desperately needed?

With all that was unfolding around us, I knew I needed to be strong to survive. More heartache from Cadmus Storm was noton the menu.

Jonas missed the joke too and flashed in truth, his glare and his fiery nature impossible to miss.

"Damn, Jonas." Cadmus chuckled. "I was just kidding."

I smiled, forcing myself to laugh along with him. Jonas' flame grew darker, and I glanced at Cadmus to see what he made of my cousin's reaction. But he was staring at me, a predatory gleam of hunger in his dark brown eyes that he suddenly masked with light-hearted laughter.

But I had seen, and I didn't know what that look meant. I pressed subtly at his mental walls and found them locked tight, his gaze disapproving when he realized I was trying to peek. Flushing, I withdrew, but I couldn't help sneaking another look at his aura.

Taking a second, deeper look, I couldn't understand how Cadmus, a Storm Lord warrior and Light Bringer, could be so full of seething shadows. Tinged with a dim, rosy light, the Darkness growing within him spread in waves reaching out to me.

Intrigued by the intensity of his energy, I closed the distance between us. The itchy need spreading through me continued to grow until he grabbed me by the hand.

Warmth surged between us, a shocking meeting of more than body, but of soul-deep connection. I gasped, watching helplessly as Cadmus leaned down to kiss me, his desire plainly visible despite the growing white glare of his flaming gaze…

"Fuck. Cadmus, back away, now!" Jonas thrust a band of energy between us.

Cadmus jumped back and roared with frustration.

Coming out of what felt like a dream, I watched in horror as Cadmus and Jonas fought, both men suddenly in truth, like Djinn warriors I had heard about from Jonas' many tales of Djinn battle.

They flowed like cinematic art against the alien world around us. Two mystical forms flaming bright, surrounded by shadow against the hazy pink sky and giant, red-leaved trees. Streams of black energy visibly swirled between them before Cadmus' Light blazed between the bands of Dark, streaming into my cousin in a painful rush of fury.

Jonas bellowed in pain, and I finally found my wits. "Cadmus, stop! You're in truth again. Damn it, Earth Lord, listen to me." Nothing I said made an impact, and the ground beneath us trembled.

A Storm Lord, burning in truth, had my cousin in a death grip.

And his anger and energy continued to burn.