11. Alandra

I stared down at Aerolus' face, which even in slumber, appeared sharp, ready for battle. I stroked his cheek, feeling safe to show such affection since he couldn't see. I'd absorbed a massive amount of his energy while we made love and had been drifting, riding high on odd dreams.

I guess I'd worked my Wind Mage so hard he'd passed out. I had to laugh, the thought of wearing out my new lover amusing.

My grin faded as I stared at him. Only hours after we'd reveled in each other, I wanted him again. I trailed a hand over his stubbled cheek and marveled at his beauty. What a sensual creature. I couldn't help a sigh as I stared at the rest of his muscular, firm body.

All mine.

I chuckled and clapped my hand over my mouth, still muzzy with pleasure. Having sex in his room hadn't been the smartest move for an Aellei determined to avoid other Light Bringers. Especially the dangerous Arim. But Aerolus had dragged me here, and I did need to watch over him.

Closely.

I petted my Storm Lord, fiercely attracted to his banked power and sensuality. He moaned in sleep and curled toward me, stirring an unusual affection, one that felt much deeper than anything playful I typically shared with bed partners.

"Too much power," I slurred, knowing I was not in my right mind but helpless to prevent another laugh. I need some water. Or chocolate, that might help. I fell off the bed onto my butt, my less than graceful fall making me laugh even harder.

Grabbing the first piece of clothing I saw, I threw on an overly large T-shirt and stumbled to the door.

"Alandra?" Aerolus murmured.

"Just grabbing a glass of water, Aerolus le Aelle," I teased, imagining him all too easily by my side in Aelle.

Shadows, but he was so incredibly beautiful. The shadows loved his frame, caressing the golden skin and firm muscle earned from a lifetime of service to his land. The light knew just where to touch him, where to leave so that darkness could keep him.

Blinking at the sudden overlay of his magical aura over his physical body, I noted the slight curl of Shadow, my Shadow, that now clung to him like a second skin.

Pleased and dizzy with warmth, I ignored my inner caution and hummed as I closed the door behind me. I skipped down the stairs, feeling free for once.

I felt so unencumbered by all the problems I'd faced since I'd first overheard Queen Lidra's plot against Tanselm. Loving with Aerolus left me absolved of worry and guilt, of the nagging sensation that doom lay just over the horizon.

I basked in the elemental energy that filled the empty spaces within me. Right now, as the sun rose to signal a new day, the world seemed brighter, the air sweeter, and sound richer than even that heard in Aelle.

I grinned at the comparisons and entered the kitchen, seeking something to drink. Before Aerolus had cast a protective spell over the house, I'd been a regular visitor. I knew the layout of the grand home like the back of my hand… though from the perspective of a pixie.

Reminded of that part of myself I was forbidden to reveal when offworld, I closed my eyes and tried to focus. A mistake.

I tripped, my balance definitely off. Once I'd finished laughing, I grew angry at my lack of coordination. Happy. Mad. Confused? All definite signs I teetered on the verge of inebriation.

And that should concern me. Maybe.

"Crap. I'm toasted. Might as well enjoy myself."

Knowing I probably looked like an idiot, I relaxed the hold on my magic, enjoying a sense of freedom as I allowed my wings to unfurl. Ah. So good. A mystical presence, my wings were the purest part of my magic that could manifest physically.

I flexed my shoulders, glanced back, and knew the pleasure of two fine, down-like wings that shimmered as if covered with glitter. They spanned from a few inches above my head to mid-calf. My wings were especially lovely, having been likened to angel down and butterfly silk by even the haughtiest of royal Aellei.

I flapped my wings and rose off the floor. The rapid movement stirred the air, fanning the unrefined magic lying about the house in forgotten corners like small piles of treasure. As my wings moved, the magic gravitated to me, increasing the beauty and joy in my newfound liberty.

I twirled around. Unbidden came the thought that I'd chosen the right Storm Lord to watch. Aerolus controlled the winds, and he had an obvious talent for stirring trouble as well. A talent my rule-abiding Wind Mage would no doubt deny.

Smiling, I toyed with my dimensions, shrinking to the size of a sprite then growing back into my normal frame. Shadow's Mark, but I hadn't felt so carefree in years! Visions of Aerolus naked and in bed lifted me higher, making me long to repeat our time in bed.

"Aerolus Storm." I lusted after him and shrank to the size of a walnut. "I could really grow to love —"

"What will it take to convince you creatures to leave well enough alone?" a gritty voice rumbled before smacking me into the refrigerator door with enough force to snap the magic in my left wing.

I cried out and fell, the attack stimulating my reserve to fight. Instinctively growing to normal size and losing the wings, I turned and glared at my attacker, rage at his intrusion ridding me of the fear I should have felt.

"Well, well. If it isn't Arim the mighty."

Clarity returned as I floundered under his silent assault. Bombarded by Light spells that bewildered and stung, I turned around and did my best to dodge an attack I couldn't see or anticipate.

I hurt. Badly. I tried flexing my magic and grew dizzy, the pain unbearable. That he had literally clipped my freedom enraged me, and I felt an astonishing urge to do the Guardian of Storm physical harm.

How typical of a Light Bringer to taint the simple pleasures in life. Glaring, I threw my hands in his direction, to douse him with Shadow, when a blast of wind suddenly shot at him, the fury of air growing until the kitchen filled with several mini-tornadoes.

Arim smashed into the ceiling, three walls and the floor twice before he could shield himself.

I couldn't lie — his bloodied lip made me laugh.

But the way he looked at me, through his lashes, with his dark hair mussed, reminded me of Aerolus. As quickly as my anger flared, it faded.

Though I liked to play games, I didn't like causing undue harm. Arim had instigated trouble, certainly. But from his perspective, I was the intruder. No doubt I'd feel the same were our positions reversed.

But maybe I shouldn't have laughed.

I could see his magic, and red pulses of rage burned in Arim's aura. He wasn't playing around. The sorcerer meant to destroy me. What had I been thinking to knock him around, and with wind, no less?

I had no idea where that had come from. I was no warrior. Truth be told, I leaned toward scholarly with a penchant for mischief.

"You'll die for that," Arim warned.

Hurriedly constructing a shield of Shadow, I jerked under a massive beam of Light.

Arim struck me over and over with too much magic to absorb. His anger, his Light, overpowered me. My shield was cracking, and I couldn't concentrate past my fear to figure out what to do.

I understood, too late, just whom I had dared attack: Arim the Light Bringer, Killer of Shadow.

Arim raised his arm and spread his fingers as he gathered the latent magic around him. His eyes had turned from black to myriad colors pulsing where his eyes should be.

So totally foreign from anything I'd ever seen that fear became my world as I stared into the face of my death.

"What's going on in here?"

I spun around to see Aerolus. Arim turned as well, his eyes still doing that funky kaleidoscope thing. Not sure if he was fully in control of himself, I instinctively darted between him and Aerolus, the impulse to protect my lover greater than my need to protect myself.

In that instant, Arim attacked.

I screamed, barely able to think as ice burned a hole in my chest and spread to my limbs, freezing any attempt to flee, to plead, to even care anymore. My bones stretched, and my flesh shriveled, the cold drying me from the inside out.

Cracks fissured the skin around my eyes and mouth, the pain of so many tiny cuts added to the agony of the beams of Light spearing through me.

Yet amid all the pain and the fear, thoughts of losing Aerolus tortured me more than the knowledge I was dying.