22. Jonas

Chapter 22

Jonas

A Charming Djinn

I helplessly stared at the chaos in the castle around me, not sure what to do. I was having a hard time standing, my battle with the Netharat having taken its toll. Grief at Remir's betrayal ate at me, as did the guilt that I hadn't seen the truth and helped my friend sooner.

The knowledge that Ellie might still need my aid had me struggling to teleport to her side. I closed my eyes and locked in on the feel of her Dark energy. In more time than it normally took to move through the Between, I found her.

I stayed in the shadows as I watched the somber group before me, wondering how the Djinn in the northlands fared. During our 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 I stood in the western kingdom's central keep, I watched the Storm Lords and their affai circle around the dead body of Queen Ravyn, overqueen of Tanselm no more. Ellie stood protected in Cadmus' strong arms. Relief filled me 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. I knew it was up to me to explain what I knew to the Storm Lords. I had to make them believe the underlying danger to them all. But I 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 me, and I cursed under my breath when I realized I was bleeding, even though I remained in shadow form. A small pool of blood steadily spread out on the floor, drawing the attention of Darius. The Prince of Fire raised a hand filled with orange flame, and I quickly showed myself before I suffered an attack I might not recover from.

"I didn't mean to intrude," I said hoarsely as I drew apart from my shadow on the wall and coalesced into a man's form. "If it could wait, I wouldn't have bothered."

A frown replaced the anger on Darius' face. He, Aerolus, and the others soon surrounded me.

"What happened?" Aerolus asked quietly, the Dark, decadent aura of grief clinging to him like the finest of perfumes.

"You look like shit," Darius growled, his eyes wet.

"They attacked us in the north. I tried to send Alor to warn you —" I slumped and would have fallen to my knees if Darius hadn't caught me.

"Sit down, Jonas." Aerolus turned. "Ellie, he needs you."

She kneeled beside me. The look on her face tore me in half.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie. That bastard has been one step ahead of us all along." Rage burned, that my best friend had been a pawn of an enemy Dark Lord for so long and I hadn't known. I'd sensed something amiss in Remir, had even conferred with Lexa about him a few times, but I'd never been able to solidify Remir's guilt.

Until today. Until it was too late.

"It's not your fault, Jonas. They would have killed more than just Ravyn if she hadn't sacrificed her life to save Samantha and Tessa." Ellie wiped her eyes and rested her hands on my shoulders, tensing only slightly when Cadmus added his strength by placing a hand on her arm. She pushed Dark energy through me, and I 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 my battle with those ice wraiths. Blessed Night, but I truly hated the wraiths. My pain eased as Ellie poured her energy into me. Cadmus's touch aided greatly, his tie to Tanselm intensifying my healing.

In no time, I felt like myself, and I hastened to warn them against what I feared was soon coming. "One of my men was compromised and barely warned 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." I shook my head, aware the kingdoms were in serious trouble if I couldn't get the Storm Lords to listen to me. Would they trust my 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," I agreed. "With Darklings and Shadow Dwellers blamed for all this, the Light Bringers will turn on their new neighbors. Strife and discord will grow. The potential unity and strength we need to defeat Sin Garu and the Netharat will disappear. And we'll lose."

"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 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, I stood, not knowing how best to answer. I wanted to tell them I was sure it was the Church at fault, that the Sarqua Djinn were innocent. But what if I'd missed another Darkling like Remir, one enspelled by Sin Garu? For that matter, I 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 my gut told me 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, sounding tired. He glanced at his mother, his body tense, his aura bleak. "But I don't think we can afford to trust in supposition any longer."

"Then what do you propose to do?"

"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 agreed, though he appeared unhappy with the decision. "I sense what Jonas says may be true, yet keeping Darklings and Shadren here will only aggravate the Light Bringers' distrust in our leaders. Already there's talk of removing the Storm Lords from power. While I'd gratefully leave the throne to anyone more capable of defending us, there aren't any. Without us here to marshal our people, the magic in Tanselm will fall to Sin Garu."

Marcus was trying to do what he thought 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 it. They're extremely bigoted. 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, "I can't stand the Congregation of Idiots, but I agree with Marcus."

"But it's possible that —" The Storm Lords and their affai argued amongst themselves. To my surprise, all the affai bonded against the Church. But the Royal Four weren't so sure.

Terrific. This was getting us nowhere. Though they tried, no one in the room apart from me was thinking with a clear head. Losing Queen Ravyn had deeply affected them all, especially Tanselm. I could feel the land grieving, her magic surging in fits and starts, no doubt screwing with the Storm Lords' ability to reason. Even their affai seemed affected, Alandra more than the others as she wept inconsolably while raging against the Church's narrow-minded zealots.

Hastening to divert the pain in the room, I 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, 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 Arim, anyway?" Darius growled while trying to soothe his affai.

"He must know," Aerolus said. "The minute Mother fell, we all felt it." He rubbed his chest, and I felt the ache as if it were my own. Involuntarily, my Darkness latched onto his pain, consuming the seething intensity.

Aerolus gasped. "Jonas, whatever you're doing is helping, so keep doing it. I'm able to think more clearly with you both near me," he said, to include Ellie.

Cadmus hugged Ellie. "I felt as if I would die when I saw Mother, but Ellie's Darkness saps much of the pain of our 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. And Mother wouldn't want us to anyway, not now. You remember what Arim told us? We must preserve Tanselm, not just for our good, but for the balance of worlds everywhere. If Sin Garu takes our world, others with less magic will be next." He held Samantha's hand and added, "To include the mundane planes, like Earth."

Tessa and Samantha looked at one another, their faces drawn.

Alandra burst out into a new flood of tears so unexpectedly that everyone was taken aback.

"Purie, what —" Aerolus tried to console her, but Alandra glowed, her aura changing from one of Shadow to one of Darkness impossibly fast.