22. Alandra

"Attack?" I didn't understand until I glanced behind him at the swirling mass of magazines and throw pillows decking the living room.

I blushed and glanced at Aerolus.

He tried to bite back a smile, but I saw it as he took back control. The air settled everything gently back to its place.

"Nice, Alandra." The idiot sounded proud.

"Shut up." I blushed.

He grinned. "I think you made your point."

"How the hell…?" Darius stared.

"You're kidding me." Marcus gaped at me, then looked at Arim, who nodded. "And you complained about Tessa. At least she's human."

"Excuse me?" I had a tough time thinking past the magic of wind surging through my body.

Aerolus shook his head.

Arim chuckled, which startled the rest of us. "You know, Aerolus, I seem to recall you saying something about not making the same mistakes as your brothers. That you were smarter. Yet you still have not claimed your affai."

"Is this really the time to be bringing that up?" Did I need to hear about Mrs. Wind Mage just now? I was still spitting mad over their obvious prejudice against my kind. It was like a huge slap in the face that Aerolus and I would never be a real couple.

He might not mind those not of the Light, but his family didn't share his sentiments.

Darius laughed. "This is priceless. After all that tripe you spouted to me, to Marcus, and you're afraid of a little spitfire who —"

"That's enough." Aerolus ripped the words from his brother's mouth with a stern wind. "I'm warning you that now is not the time." He glanced at me, and his eyes softened. "We've sidetracked, purie." His apology soothed my pique.

At least he had a sense of propriety. I felt slightly better that maybe he didn't enjoy hearing about an affai either, that maybe he wanted our time to last as long as it could. As I did.

"You know, I've watched you two flounder to get home for some time," I directed at Darius and Marcus. "And just when Cadmus finally has a chance to return, you'd —"

"What are you saying?" Arim asked with an intensity that surprised me.

"I'm saying that Ellie is trying to help Cadmus return home to expose the Djinn threat there. But in order to get to Tanselm in one piece, he's going to need power, a lot of power."

"A Djinn can't cross our protective shields." Arim looked down his nose at me. Typical arrogant sorcerer. "Surely, he knows that."

"Yes," I said slowly. Was I the only one able to read between the lines? Maybe if they distrusted the Djinn less, they'd be able to appreciate Ellie's cunning. "But Cadmus isn't Djinn. Despite the sheen of Djinn flame, he's a Light Bringer at heart. And Ellie's not exactly a Djinn, either."

Darius frowned. "You just said she was."

"Now I'm confused." Marcus rubbed his eyes, and I wanted to grin at the headache I was causing.

"She said, ‘Not exactly,' which for an Aellei means pay attention," Aerolus drawled. "My guess is that Ellie is part Djinn and part something else."

"At least one of you has the brains to go with the looks," I muttered, pleased to see identical scowls on Darius' and Marcus' faces.

"Even so, she won't be able to penetrate the shields," Arim said, more thoughtful than assured.

"Sure she will." I explained, "Ellie and Cadmus are sharing energies, at least for now. The Djinn have had someone in Tanselm, on the inside, for quite some time. They've been tampering with Tanselm's protective spells. How do you think Sin Garu breached the shield in the first place?

"The only question is, does your Djinn traitor know where Ellie's true allegiance lies? And if so, what do you think they'll do about it when they find out?"

"We have to let Cadmus know the truth." Arim started pacing.

"He already knows." I recalled my last conversation with the frustrated Ellie. "He may be infuriating, but he's quick to have answers. Besides, from what Ellie told me, she's been trying to delay his return home for a while."

"Why?" Arim snapped.

"Because weeks ago, she sensed something not right with her father's contact there. I think she already knows to be wary of your traitor. Ellie wants the Storm Lords to keep leadership over the land, and she's been tasked with keeping Cadmus in one piece by a rebel band of Djinn." I turned to Aerolus' uncle. "You see, Arim, not all the Djinn want the Dark Lords in power over Tanselm. Sin Garu will not only kill as many Light Bringers as he can, but all those who oppose his rule."

"Yeah, if the asshole's even still alive." Darius ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Oh, he's alive," Arim said with assurance. "The question is, where is he, and how do we handle this new Dark Lord threat?"

I glanced at Aerolus, uneasy at his scrutiny. I dimly recalled I had something important to tell him, but his stare shook the vital worry from my mind.

"I have some thoughts about where we should go."

Everyone turned to Aerolus, who kept his gaze on me as he said, "I say we take Alandra back to Aelle and get the answers from those who know." Before I could refuse, he latched onto my arm. "Meet me back here in three hours," he told his family. "There's something we need to do before then."

He teleported with me out of the kitchen before anyone could speak, me included. When next I could catch my breath, I found myself in the most beautiful Shadow I'd ever seen in my life.

Rich with vibrant color and magic, the gray cloak of shade fell from a mountain of rock so full of energy I had to blink to make sure it was real.

Aerolus gave me a gentle smile and brought my hand to the smooth surface of stone.

"Welcome to Tanselm, Alandra."