1. Ellie

Two months ago on Earth

Living in Seattle for the past twenty-eight years had not prepared me for what my father had asked me to do. Not having seen the man for over a year — no phone calls, no letters and not even a parting good-bye — should have warned me he was up to no good.

But when he suddenly appeared out of the blue a few months ago, I'd been all bright-eyed optimism, sure I could still turn him around.

"I am such an idiot." I prepared another round of Screaming Orgasms for the male college students ogling me over the bar.

Hell on Earth couldn't have come at a worse time. Just as I was six credits from earning my master's degree and an amazing teaching position at the university, good old Ethim had reappeared. An armful of flowers for Mom, a nice dinner out on the town at my favorite restaurant, charm and concern, an emotional epiphany of love and regret that he'd been away for so long…

And here I stood on a Saturday night, poured into tight jeans and a bright-blue tank top to combat the heat in this godforsaken bar.

I wanted to kick myself for falling into Ethim's plans so easily. Any other guy I'd be kicking in the teeth, but for good old Dad, I'd practically become a doormat. I wished I had a stronger backbone.

But damn it all, I still ached to make my father happy, to make him proud. And for that, I had to watch pretty-man Darius —

"Ellie?"

— Storm. I blinked up into dark, murky eyes and a face that would stop any woman in her tracks. Okay, so he had a face made for pleasure and a body made for sin. For some odd reason, he just didn't do it for me.

"Darius, what can I do for you?"

He frowned and looked around. "You haven't seen Gerry's new hire, have you?"

"New hire?" I nodded to one of the waitresses to pick up a tray of drinks and wiped down the bar in front of me.

"You know, that assessor, Samantha something or other?"

I stared at him, aware of his casual interest that was all too telling. For the past four months, I'd studied and reported back to me father every last detail of Prince Darius Storm's comings and goings from the bar. He'd been interested in a few women from time to time, but he'd never acted so obviously disinterested. Hmm.

"Oh yeah, Samantha Brooks. Dirty-blonde hair, green eyes, lot of attitude?"

He grinned, and I wondered again why I felt nothing for a man so obviously my type.

Shrugging, I shook my head. "I haven't seen her yet tonight, but I can let her know you're looking for her if —"

"No, no, don't bother." He glanced over his shoulder at Mike yelling for him. "The women over there are practically climbing over the bar." He looked at my section and grinned. "I see you have a similar problem."

Several nearby men glared at Darius while trying to catch my attention.

I sighed. "Want to trade?"

He spotted a nearby guy sporting too much chest hair and a knowing grin aimed my way and shook his head. "Hell no. I'll talk to you later."

I watched him return to his crew and made a mental note.

Hours later, after a pleasant discussion with Darius' Samantha, I watched her leave the bar, at my request, to venture into the basement for some much-needed house ale.

Not a minute later, Darius followed her, deliberately remaining a few steps behind. Almost half an hour passed before both parties emerged — Samantha with a dazed look on her face, and Darius with a deeply introspective expression.

I decided I'd played as far into this game as I wanted. This was exactly the information my father had been seeking when he'd assigned me this task. And now that I'd witnessed the results he was so eager to hear, I had no intention of carrying my charade any further.

* * *

Seattle, Present Day

Three months after I began working at Outpour, I gave Gerry my final notice, less than pleased I'd been forced to continue working at the bar through the spring. It would take forever to get back into the academic groove.

My own fault, really. I was honest enough to admit "forced" meant "trying to gain Ethim's approval."

As much as I distanced myself from that otherworldly part of my makeup, I knew how important the Storm brothers were to Dad. The way he acted, life as we knew it would fall to pieces if I didn't report every move Cadmus made.

A small hand on my arm shook my thoughts, and I smiled down at my soon-to-be ex-boss.

Gerry looked like he was on the verge of tears as he stood to say his good-byes. My father should take lessons from this man. "We'll miss you here, Ellie. You were more than just an employee."

I smiled and hugged him, letting out a startled breath at the tight squeeze he gave me. With a warm nod, I pocketed my last paycheck and exited the back office into the alley behind the bar.

Since it was still daylight, I had no worries about being molested in the sour unloading zone, though the hand that yanked me into the shadows startled me all the same.

"What exactly happened between you and the Earth Lord?"

I let out a breath and tugged my arm free. "Jonas, you scared the piss out of me."

"Oh, did I?" my cousin asked pleasantly. "Well, ever since Darius married Samantha and took off for Tanselm, you've been acting peculiar around his brother."

I hoped the shadows hid my sudden pallor. Cadmus, one of Darius' identical quadruplet brothers, was the one sticking point in life I couldn't, for the life of me, wrap my mind around.

I had enough trouble dealing with memories of the man. I sure as hell didn't need Jonas interfering where he had no business. "That's a moot point now, isn't it, Jonas? Considering Cadmus is in Foreia and far away from me."

"Not necessarily," he hedged.

Alarmed, I quickly scanned our immediate surroundings, only to find them empty. "I told you I was finished. I wanted out a long time ago. Now that Ethim has the information he needs, there's no longer any reason for me to be involved."

Jonas studied me. "You sound awfully panicked, Ellie."

Damn. I had a terrible poker face. I forced a smile. "I'm not panicked. I simply want nothing more to do with the Djinn and your stupid alliances with Storm Lords and Light Bringers." Seeing his chagrin, I added, "Present company excluded, of course."

He rolled his eyes. "Be practical, Ellie. You can't ignore who you are."

"And who am I?" I asked in a hard voice. "I've lived my entire life here with my mother. My father has made such rare appearances over the years it's a wonder I recognize him when he jaunts into town."

Jonas just stared at me.

I blushed. "Okay, so we look alike. I have Mom's blonde hair, you know."

"The bottom line is that part of you is Djinn too. What happens in Tanselm concerns you as well."

I shook my head. I'd been over this with him, with my father, hell, even with Cadmus.

"Fine." Jonas huffed. "Be as stubborn as you like. But you're not done with the Earth Lord yet." He grabbed my arm, and we shimmered through space.

I didn't know how he did it, but Jonas enveloped us in a wave of black energy, like moving through the murky warmth of a bath at night. Pleasant but cloying, and a bit off-putting to find oneself in another place altogether.

In a heartbeat, I stood in the middle of my small apartment in Queen Anne with Jonas.

And we weren't alone.