25. Ellie

I stared in astonishment, waiting to see just what the hell Alex — or should I say, Lexa — meant by that remark. I still couldn't believe my best friend of nearly ten years, Alexandra Novak, was in fact Lexa Van Norsen, a Dark Lord.

Hell, I might as well have been told my best friend was Satan's daughter. No doubt the Light Bringers thought of her as such.

I snuck a glance at Cadmus and saw him watching Lexa with an inscrutable look. What did he see when he looked at her? Unfamiliar jealousy reared its ugly head, and I had to remind herself that I knew Alex — Lexa.

You're giving me a headache, I sent the woman the waspish thought, wondering if Lexa could read it.

Sorry, Ellie. But you never opened up to me about the Djinn either, so maybe we're even? Lexa sounded hopeful, and I sighed. Of course my friend had telepathy, could freeze men in their tracks, and ate creatures like the Netharat for breakfast. For a woman reared in the ordinary, I found my life spiraling into the unknown awfully fast.

My mother was now completely in my father's camp, so that tie to the mundane world had vanished. My fiancé was a Light Bringer, a royal prince from another world, and my best friend happened to be a Dark Lord, a supposedly evil mage trying to destroy anything in her path.

Well, at least my dad and I had smoothed over many of the bumps in our relationship. Ours would probably never be an easy one, but at least my father now understood me better. The guilt pouring off him hadn't hurt either. Nice to know I wasn't the only one feeling terrible for our unhappy past.

Now if Ethim would only acknowledge Cadmus' role in my future.

What do you mean Cadmus and I were made for each other? I thought as hard as I could at Alex. Alex and I were friends. We could talk. "Lexa" confused the hell out of me.

In Seattle, the Alex I knew worked as a retail buyer, travelling coast-to-coast purchasing the latest trends for ritzy department stores. A terrific cover if one had to be out of pocket for any length of time. But that Alex I had known seemed so different, so much more open, so normal.

Alex Novak had long black hair, green eyes, and a tan I envied. Slim and as tall as I was, we'd bonded over our similar heights. A chance meeting in a coffee shop had produced a decade of friendship. Although, come to think of it, perhaps the friendship hadn't been a coincidence.

Not at all, Lexa said in my mind. I had my reasons for meeting you, Ellie. But our friendship has been one of the only things in my life worth keeping. Believe that if you will nothing else.

Fine. I heaved a mental sigh, unable to withstand the pain in my best friend's voice. But you've got so much explaining to do it's not funny. Just try not to piss off Arim to the point where he slices you in half.

I'll do my best, came the dry but relieved reply.

"We're waiting," Arim said, his voice low, silky, and threatening enough to make me wish I were standing closer to Cadmus.

As if he'd sensed my distress, Cadmus glanced at me and quickly sent waves of reassurance. Deep-rooted warmth stole through me, remembrances of our time in the gazebo sparking fresh heat. He winked and turned back to Lexa, waiting with Arim for my explanation.

Lexa glared at the imposing sorcerer awaiting me reply. "I'm surprised you haven't sensed this before now. But then, you're so stubborn you'd resist the truth if it bit you on the ass."

Cadmus coughed to smother a laugh, and Arim's huge fists clenched. Lexa was either very brave or had a death wish.

She sighed. "In all the centuries since the Dark Tribes split and were thrown from Tanselm, Storm Lord monarchies have ruled over the land. For the most part, you Light Bringers brought peace and prosperity to Tanselm."

"For the most part?" Arim crossed his arms over his chest.

"Tanselm, like many other worlds with such magic, needs balance to flourish. Just as the Darkness in the Dark Lords' hands all those years ago hurt the land, the Light you people throw on everything you touch has begun to scar your precious world."

Arim frowned. "You're lying."

"You know I'm not. You've felt it. I've felt it myself."

"Oh?"

"From time to time over the years, I've visited, Arim. Keep your enemies close, right?"

His lips thinned, but he said nothing. I found the interplay between Alex — no, Lexa — and Arim as fascinating as their words. I could see the way Arim studied her. I sensed they had a history that went far deeper than that of mere enemies. Lexa, for her part, acted so blithely uncaring and hostile that I was surprised Arim couldn't tell how much she still cared for him.

Glancing subtly around me, I noted all eyes focused on Arim and Lexa. I opened my senses. The Light around Arim and the Dark around Lexa seemed complete opposites, and complete complements. The bands of energy surrounding each of them seemed to reach out and lick at the other, testing, probing, almost…inviting?

I agree. Cadmus mentally caressed me. But pay attention, love. Lexa's about to tell us why we're perfect for each other. I don't want you or your father to miss this.

Very funny. Containing a smirk, I focused on Lexa again.

"Tanselm has been steadily weakening. The Light is beginning to burn her out, and she needs Darkness to balance her magic. Thus the most recent batch of royals."

"Excuse me?" Cadmus asked.

"That's right, Earth Lord. You and your brothers were born with Tanselm's blessings. Of the half dozen Royal Four monarchs before you, yours is the most balanced of the bunch."

Cadmus' mouth tightened. "So what? I'm the Dark one to even out my brothers?"

"That's bullshit." Arim glared. "Cut the crap, Lexa. For once in your pitiful life, tell the truth."

"I am." Ice coated her words. "If you'd shut up and listen, I'll more than explain. I'll show you." She stepped forward and drew a circle in the air. I watched, entranced, as four small boys looking very much like younger versions of Cadmus appeared. "These are the identical quadruplet princes of King Faustus and Queen Ravyn. Each prince was born with the powers of the elements, and each rooted himself to the Light and Dark of existence through Tanselm's grace."

Lexa turned to Cadmus. "Tanselm particularly liked you, Cadmus. That's why she gifted you with the abilities of an Earth Lord. You, more than your brothers, feel what Tanselm feels. You're in tune with the earth and its pleasures and pains. As such, you have more Darkness within you than your hotheaded brother, the Prince of Fire."

"What?" Cadmus stared at her in confusion.

I felt the same.

"Well? Haven't you flashed in truth, not once, but several times?"

Arim stared at him, and Cadmus swore under his breath. "I have, but Jonas explained that was due to Ellie's influence."

"Jonas was wrong." Lexa shot Jonas a look that had him throwing up his hands.

"I told him what I thought he wanted to hear. So sue me."

"What Jonas should have told you is that you're the darkest of your brothers, Cadmus. Yes, you're a Light Bringer and Storm Lord in every sense of the word, but Tanselm needs more from you than that. The land needs a savior."

"This is too much." Arim shook his head in disbelief. "You're going to tell me I've been blind to the fact that my nephew is a Darkling? Try another one. I've kept you Dark Lords away from Tanselm for centuries. You don't think I'd recognize a threat from within, and that close to me?"

"Hello, I'm right here," Cadmus muttered.

I couldn't help feeling for him, but at the same time, I was overjoyed. I welcomed anything that gave me and Cadmus more in common. I liked the idea of my Storm Lord being Dark, and it wasn't as if the thought was a stretch.

Though he liked to joke and have fun, Cadmus had a streak of mischief in him that went beyond Light and surface pleasures. Earthy and deep, he reveled in his sensuality, and his anger at times stirred my Darkness, tempting it to rise.

"Cadmus isn't a threat to you, Arim," Lexa explained patiently. I thought her more than tolerant, considering how mule-headed Arim was acting.

Thank you, Lexa sent me. I'm always the bad guy, but see how irritating Light Bringers can be? All holier-than-thou and full of themselves.

I smiled and quickly glanced down when Arim's gaze shot to me. His eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, Lexa distracted him.

"Darius is mostly Light, and Cadmus mostly Dark. Marcus and Aerolus are Shadowy, hence Aerolus' bonding to an Aellei, a creature of Shadow. Alandra, by the way, has done more for his magic than you can ever understand."

"I know." Arim rubbed his chin as he studied her.

Surprised Cadmus' uncle would agree with anything Lexa said, I could only watch and wait.

"Did you hear that, affai? We're more evenly matched than I'd thought." Cadmus snuck an evil grin at my father that made my mother chuckle.

"I thought Jonas was a pain in the ass," Ethim grumbled.

"Hey." Jonas clutched his heart. "I'm wounded. And after all I've done to help you."

Ethim nodded at Lexa. "Help her, you mean."

"I serve the Djinn." Jonas bowed regally, but I caught the smirk he shot my father. When he winked at me, I laughed.

My father was right. Jonas was as much a pain as Cadmus promised to be.

Thanks for the comparison, Cadmus growled in my thoughts.

"All of this has been most enlightening," Arim interrupted. "But what does it all mean? Are you telling me Cadmus is doomed to become a Djinn, now? Will he be bursting in truth at will, or just at random?"

"You are so patronizing." Lexa sighed. "No, Cadmus is not doomed to become a Djinn."

"‘Honored' would have been a better word," Jonas added.

Lexa continued, "He may burst in truth from time to time, but only when Ellie becomes threatened or his life is at stake. And before you think to condemn that trait, know that his Darkness has saved his life on more than one occasion. Ellie enhances that part of him, but the magic was in Cadmus to begin with. In fighting a Dark Lord, he'll need that to survive."

"To survive what, exactly?" Arim's expression teetered from frustration to anger. Yet every now and again, I swore I saw something more when he looked at Lexa. Something that looked strangely like confusion.

"To survive what I've seen coming," Cadmus spoke up. To me he said, I'll tell you about it later.

I shook my head. "You'll explain it now."

"Tell me, Cadmus. Or would you rather I look for it myself, like I did earlier?" Arim threatened.

I watched my lover blanch and promised myself to give Arim a good talking-to. It was obvious the man ran amuck. Too much power corrupted his authority. Arim, the Killer of Shadow, needed some serious limits.

"Amen." Lexa blew out a breath.

Cadmus grudgingly explained, "In my vision, Sin Garu is in Tanselm. He'll have those wraintu with him, those things that have the Nocumat inside them. Lexa's there, and you too, Arim. And then the wraintu throw me into the mix, all bloodied and battered. But you're tied up and can't help at all," he directed to Arim. "And then Ellie's there, but there's something different about her."

I wondered when Cadmus had thought to tell me about this vision. I'd known of his precognition but thought he'd been unable to see anything since Darius had left for Tanselm months ago. Apparently, my Storm Lord liked to keep secrets. Secrets that involved him bleeding while I watched with Sin Garu in attendance.

Arim yanked Cadmus to him with winds of power. "You might have mentioned this possibility to me before now. As it is, we've got Netharatand rumors of Sin Garu flying around the northern kingdom every other day. We need to prepare."

"Wait." Lexa held up a hand. "The part about Ellie being involved should concern you more than it seems to. In each attack Sin Garu has made on the Storm Lords, they all involved Storm Lord affai. Yet in this vision Cadmus had, the Dark Lord attacks Cadmus? What is different about Ellie, about this situation?"

I thought it telling that Lexa never referred to Sin Garu as her brother. Then again, if I had a brother like him, I doubted I'd want to claim any ties either.

"Cadmus? Any thoughts?" Arim asked.

Cadmus shook his head, and I wanted to lay into him for not confiding in me. Oh, just wait until I had him alone again.

He flashed me a wary glance. "Ah, no, not anything helpful. But I can't stop thinking about what I saw in Ellie's eyes before the vision ends. It's your eyes looking out, Arim. It sounds crazy, but I got the impression you were somehow inside her, if that makes any sense."

Arim stared from Cadmus to me then glanced at Lexa. Finally, he spoke, as if coming to a decision. "This is something we need to tell your brothers. Cadmus, the time has come to return home. But you won't be going alone. Ellie, you need to come with us."

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"Well, I'm not," Ethim said. "I'm still not convinced my daughter is an affai to a Light Bringer. I'll be damned if I'll let her go into enemy territory by herself."

Cadmus sighed. "Ethim, really —"

"Good point." Arim's agreement caught me by surprise. "Jonas can accompany her. In fact, I'll come back for him myself after I verify a few things at home. Will that work?"

Ethim considered him. "Yes, I think so."

"Don't ask me or anything," Jonas muttered. "Sometimes, I wonder that I'm not really a lapdog dreaming I'm a man."

"You're a dog, all right." I grinned, relieved I wouldn't be going into Tanselm alone. Cadmus would, of course, be with me. But when he left to do his princely duty, I didn't want to be alone at the mercy of a people who'd been taught I was the enemy.

"If that's settled, then." Arim looked ready to leave but froze when Lexa took a step in his direction. "Yes?" he asked with disdain.

"I'm crushed you're not extending me an invitation too, Arim." Lexa pouted, and I saw Arim focus on her lips before glaring. Oh, Lexa was really good at pulling his chain.

"You'll be there soon enough, I imagine. When you bring your beloved brother through a dimensional portal. Don't worry, Blue. I'll meet with you privately, after I've shored our defenses. Look for my signal in Shathra."

Lexa looked like she wanted to say something. Instead, she nodded and stepped back.

Arim glanced at us. "Ellie, Cadmus, take my hands."

Cadmus and I drew close to Arim and reached out. The instant I put my hand in the sorcerer's, I knew I'd made a mistake. My mind went blank.

And the world turned black.