Chapter 10

Allard

Well, that was… unexpected. I eyed the young man seated at the conference table. He emanated a sense of power and confidence that was magnetic.

I had known that Kat—no, Elex, damn it! I was still trying to get used to using his real name—had had a twin a brother who had died while trying to escape. I had never heard a whisper that he might have actually survived, and I wondered if even Cyrius knew. In all the discussions I'd had with him, he had never mentioned that one of his sons might have escaped the normal fate of a Mageia in Alexandria.

For all that they looked so similar, the young man wearing the expensively tailored suit couldn't have been any more different from my former charge. Elex didn't have a bit of spare flesh on his body. His eyes were haunted, haggard even, from enduring life in the Alexandrian Legion.

Erix was… well, softer wasn't the right word, exactly, but he obviously hadn't experienced the same degree of physical hardship his brother had. Elex carried a small scar over his right eye from the damned Calling, where Erix's skin was smooth. Other than that scar their faces were almost exact mirror images; Erix's hair was white where Elex's was black, and vice versa. Only their eyes were the same.

He definitely weighed a good deal more than his twin, not having been half starved for most of his life, and all of it looked like muscle under that suit. A flash of what he might look like without that suit had my mouth watering and I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of the image. What the hell was wrong with me? I was at least nine or ten years older than he was. Far too old for him.

The young War Leader was obviously strong, but in a subtly different way from his brother. I could sense the power radiating from him even from this distance.

I had discovered at an early age that, unlike most Elusians, I could sense Mageian power when it was being used. I had kept the discovery to myself, and it had helped save my life more than once in the field.

I observed Elex for several moments, and it felt like I could see the thoughts flashing through his head, faster than lightning, calculating, considering and coming to conclusions.

I saw the moment he realized his brother and Hel were Bonded and sensed a moment of… regret in his gaze. Was that why he had summoned Hel? To see if the Soma might be a match for him, to unlock his Tesseris Mage potential? The look passed so quickly I questioned my memory.

"Follow me," he said, leading us to a large office overlooking Nymphaeum.

"So, I believe congratulations are in order," Erix said after seating himself at his desk, steepling his fingers on his desk as he stared at his brother in a move I found eerily reminiscent of his father.

"What do you mean?" Elex asked warily.

"When one Bonds with a Soma in Illyria, it's generally a time of celebration," he said, nodding toward Helios.

"How did you—" Elex began before his brother waved him off.

"Seems obvious," he said. "You showing up as a Tesseris Mage, Helios with the healing abilities. Two plus two, brother."

I watched the siblings size each other up. Elex glanced at Hel then at Erix.

"You brought him back here to see if he could Bond with you," he said, realization dawning.

Erix nodded. While his face remained mostly impassive, I saw a slight tightening of his jaw muscles. The young man was angrier than he was trying to let show.

"You can't have him," Elex growled, moving to stand in front of his Bonded.

I saw a pleased flush spread over Hel's cheeks at the proprietary way Elex claimed him. I knew their binding had come as a surprise to both of them, and Hel wasn't one-hundred-percent confident in his partner's attachment. The fact he had staked his claim in front of his brother had to help calm some of his uncertainty.

Erix just raised an eyebrow at his brother and shrugged.

"I'm not trying to take him away from you, little brother. I've been in Illyria long enough to understand the consequences of a Bond. It's just…frustrating. I have seen the power that could be unlocked in these," he held his hands out in front of him. "I could do so much more for Illyria as a Tesseris Mageia."

"The Touchpoints were your idea, as I recall," Helios said.

Erix nodded.

"Completely selfish act on my part, and I was one of the first participants in an attempt to find a match. I've brushed hands with thousands of Somas, and nary a tingle."

The room was quiet for a few moments.

"So what's your play here?" Elex asked. "You're the fuckin' War Leader? How the hell did that happen?"

"The journey from Alexandria to Illyria is a very long story," Erix replied. "And, as Beatrice said, I do have a very busy day. Perhaps we can—"

Erix's words were cut off by the sound of a loud explosion. The ground shook beneath us, the lights flickering and the sounds of glass shattering was loud and sharp. I watched in fascination as the shattered glass of the office windows hit an invisible shield of Air that surrounded all of us, even, I noted to my amusement, Beatrice. I glanced at Elex, whose eyes were glowing with power. That boy deserved my respect and admiration. I wasn't so sure about his brother, yet.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded, pushing to my feet and headed to the window to try to get a look. Hel beat me to it.

"The Administrative wing," Hel said softly, Erix and Elex moving to flank him as he looked out of the window.

The center of the destruction was easy to see from our vantage point. The epicenter about a mile or two from our current location. Smoke rose from the destroyed area. It didn't look like there was any major fire, but obviously some type of explosion had occurred.

The sounds of emergency sirens were already starting to sound and vehicles with flashing lights were headed toward the area.

"Fuck," Elex swore as he ran for the door, his face a mask of fear, rings of power circling his arms. "Luke."