8. Arim Guardian of Storm

Standing in the neutral haven of Shathra, I frowned at Ethim il Ruethe, determined to hear the Djinn out before I found my conniving nephew and beat some sense into him. Screwing around with the Sarqua ruler's daughter was not only stupid, but incredibly dangerous. Despite Ethim's fair features, the man was a walking threat. Equal in ferocity to a Storm Lord in a rage, Ethim had Dark powers that easily countered that of a Light Bringer. And Ethim's kind played by no one's rules but their own.

"So Guardian of Storm, we're at an impasse."

"It would seem," I said slowly. Where was Ethim going with this?

"You want to keep Tanselm ‘pure' while we want to return Tanselm to its natural order."

"To the Dark, you mean?"

"No." Ethim looked irritated and began pacing in the small stone keep that provided sanctuary for those needing it. "That's not what I mean. You aren't old enough to remember what Tanselm was like before the Dark Lords turned, when those of Light and Dark coexisted peacefully."

"Oh? Was that before the Djinn drained the lifeforce out of half the Light Bringers in existence or after the Dark Lords converted the unwilling into wraiths and demons?"

Ethim scowled. "The wraiths have always been dangerous. Yes, some were Light Bringer converts, but most were as they are today. And demons aren't a Dark Lord invention." Ethim sniffed. "Really, Arim."

"Really, Ethim," I mocked. "Don't tell me you want to share Tanselm? Not when so many Djinn have gone to such extremes to have it back." I hid the pain of Faustus' death, remembering too easily my sister's grief when her husband fell to Djinn poison.

"You know those aren't my people."

"How do I know? Because I'm supposed to trust on faith?" I looked at him in disbelief. "The reason we've held onto Tanselm for so long is that the Light Bringers have distrusted everyone and everything of Dark and Shadow. We've resisted the Netharat before and will do so again."

Ethim shook his head. "But you've never fought a Dark Lord like Sin Garu. He killed his own kin. Like you, we Djinn have limits against fratricide. Sin Garu rules the wraiths, creatures that should not have enough control to follow a man. You know this. You've seen it with your own eyes. Sin Garu even tempts the Shadren. And should they turn, the Light will surely fade under Dark's creeping taint."

"You admit the Dark is evil."

"In the Dark Lord's hands, yes, but not in and of itself. Foreia is my home, the place I consider most sacred outside Tanselm. Yet, even in my homeworld, some Light is welcome. Without it, there can be no Dark, no Shadow. Think, Arim. Two powerful forces once existed in Tanselm. In the years since, the land's magic has faded."

"Not so."

"It is so." Ethim cursed, running his hands through his hair in agitation. "Are you so biased against us you cannot see the truth in your own magic?"

I said nothing. For years, I'd been struggling to overcome growing weaknesses and disconcerting gaps in my energy that I'd assumed were my own vulnerabilities. If what Ethim said were true, then Tanselm was in more danger than from the Netharat.

It just didn't make sense. Why now, when the kingdom lay vulnerable, did Tanselm show its limitations? The land had always risen to face challenges, standing strong in the face of adversity. Tanselm had always worked with the Light Bringers, yet now, according to Ethim, needed saving from the Light Bringers?

"You make no sense." I shook my head. "Tanselm is strength, as well you know. I realize you had nothing to do with the treacherous Djinn responsible for our kings falling. But like calls to like. I have a hard time believing you Djinn will completely turn on your own, regardless of your opposition to Dark Lord involvement."

"You're a hard-headed fool," Ethim snarled, his eyes bright in the shadows of Shathra's main hall. "Do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you now, right here?"

He snapped his fingers, and a score of Djinn warriors surrounded us.

"Not quite so easy." With a thought, I created a shield so blindingly bright the walls shook.

"Okay, okay," Ethim rumbled, and his warriors disappeared. "No need to kill us both. You've made your point. But I gave you warning on purpose. Had I really been interested in your death, you would have been attacked the minute you entered this place."

I grudgingly accepted the truth.

"You can see how serious I am about this matter. Hell, I, I left my daughter with your nephew, and I love her more than life itself." He grimaced. "You have no idea how hard it's been to know what she and that Light Bringer might be doing."

"Oh?" Cadmus had really stepped in it this time.

"Don't take me for a fool because I appeal to your good sense. Of course, appealing to your good sense does make me seem —"

"As if you lack all intelligence," I finished wryly.

Ethim's eyes narrowed. "Nevertheless, I believe in this cause so strongly that I've allowed my daughter to befriend a Light Bringer. Can you not see my position and understand it?"

I studied Ethim carefully. The Djinn had a point. There was no way in hell one of his kind would ever let his child near a Light Bringer, and especially not a Storm Lord, knowing the two might share a physical union. The Djinn prized their sexuality and considered the sharing of it as more than a gift but a tying bind that would only grow stronger if not kept in check.

"What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Nothing for now. Elliara didn't like the thought of him leaving."

"I noticed." I'd also noticed Cadmus' half-hearted plea to return home. And that worried me.

"It's as she predicted. Our time is coming, and we have to be ready. Cadmus will help pave the way to defeating the evil that threatens us all."

I hadn't known Ellie was a seer. An uneasy feeling roiled in my belly. "Who predicted? Your daughter?"

"A Djinn soothsayer. No one of importance to you. Now, Arim, promise me you won't interfere in your nephew's time in the mundane world."

"Why should I promise that? You're interfering already. And you have ties to that mundane world that keep you there most of the time."

Ethim coughed. "Yes, well, my wife is not as easygoing as most humans. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was part Light Bringer."

"I'd like to meet her sometime." I had an uneasy feeling I'd need to meet her, seeing as how friendly Cadmus and Ellie had become. The Light help me if another Dark female joined the royal family. I thought I might be turning a touch crazy. I had enough to worry about making sure the Dark Lords didn't invade Tanselm, not to mention keeping watch over those untrustworthy Aellei.

Aerolus and his unruly hormones. Why couldn't he have married a nice human like his brothers Darius and Marcus?

As if my thoughts conjured them, I felt a beckoning spell calling me to Tanselm. "This discussion isn't over."

"I agree. There is much more to talk about. We'll get to it when you're ready to hear the truth."

I scoffed. "You can debate Tanselm's weaknesses as much as you want, but don't forget who and what I am." My vision expanded, and I trembled with indescribable power, inexorably bound to Tanselm's riches. "I won't let you destroy her, Ethim. I am charged with protecting Tanselm at all costs. Her people won't suffer annihilation like they once did."

"So be it," Ethim acknowledged the warning. "Your threats are groundless since I'm already on your side. Go if you must but contact me in Foreia when you're ready to talk. I'll be waiting."

I nodded, banking my energy as I sought a portal home.

* * *

LEXA

"Tell me again why I couldn't simply tell him the truth now?" Ethim rubbed the back of his neck in agitation as I took shape from the shadows.

I narrowed my gaze, aware Arim's theatrics had intimidated my Djinn ally. "Leave Arim to me, Ethim. He doesn't have the power to hurt you while I'm here."

"So you say," he muttered.

I kept my mouth closed, used to thinking before I spoke. For years, I'd had to prove myself among my peers and those I should have considered friends. Ethim was more a weapon to be directed than a friend, though.

Of all my acquaintances, only Jonas put me at ease enough to relax in his presence.

"I have been lenient with you, Ethim, because I need the help of your people. You know we work toward the same end."

He sighed and shook his head. "Forgive me, Mistress. I know what you say is true. But I can't help feeling like a traitor to my own flesh."

He referred to Ellie, his daughter, who even now knew more pleasure at a Light Bringer's hands than I ever had. Grinning at the thought of Arim's displeasure when he learned a Djinn would soon join the Royal House, I clapped a hand on Ethim's shoulder, forcing my touch to comfort rather than harm.

"Be at ease, my friend. I would never have advised you to use Ellie in this scheme if I thought Cadmus might harm her. Believe me, everything your daughter has done has been of her own free will. We merely introduced her to another aspect of life she's been trying so hard to ignore."

"I admit I enjoy the fact she's finally recognizing her heritage. Hell, until now, she's only accepted Jonas. My daughter would rather see a hardened warrior than her own father." He sounded hurt, and I well understood his pain.

I shrugged, but I knew Ellie's temperament better than her father did.

Ethim was used to command and thought he could simply order his daughter to love and respect him. Had Ellie's mother not been so stubborn, the poor girl wouldn't be so dead set against her Djinn heritage.

Her connection to Jonas made perfect sense. The Djinn had his own scars to bear and was a warrior through and through. Compassionate though strong, he'd learned much among the short-lived humans.

He treated Ellie with a respect and care her father might have tried had the autocratic Djinn ruler been allowed more time with his daughter.

Ethim glowered, and I suppressed a smile. He and Ellie looked so alike it was uncanny. I understood why Cadmus had fallen for the girl. She had a Dark passion that matched his own, the inner strength of true integrity, and the looks of an otherworldly Djinn.

"Don't worry, Ethim. I've seen happiness in Elliara's future."

He relaxed and made polite small talk before leaving for Foreia. Left standing in the shadows, I felt as alone as I'd ever been. Dark yet not, orphaned with a family who hated me. I had never really fit in, and it was with some envy that I watched the Storm Lords' affai find true love with their princes.

That those women found a future with creatures of Light gave me a perverse sense of pleasure. I, Lexa Van Norsen, a Dark Lord, was helping to shape Tanselm's future.

And if anticipation licked at my core at thoughts of finally meeting Arim face to face in a no-holds battle to the end, so be it. I was honest enough with myself to admit we'd never resolved the past. Until that happened, I had no future.

"Sister dear, where are you?" A dark voice mocked me through space and time. "I'm looking for you, sweet I. I have a message from Balen that really can't wait much longer. Come find me and we'll…talk." Husky laughter trailed in the recesses of the Between, and I shivered.

Sin Garu knew. He knew what I'd done.

If my brother found me, the Next would be a welcome respite from the pain sure to follow.