2. Aerolus

I re-entered my house with a dozen screaming warnings in my head but shoved those concerns aside when I noted Cadmus coming out of my bedroom. My brother's face was pinched, his eyes wounded and dark with anger as he stared blankly ahead.

"Cadmus?"

He arched a shock of energy in my direction, a blast of earth and the power of life and growing things hurled my way.

I mentally called forth a flat wind to shield me and felt the jarring crash of elemental power a split second before it vanished.

Cadmus paled, his eyes like black sinkholes in his face. "I'm so sorry, Aerolus. Damn it." He thrust a shaky hand through his hair and bent over, taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a moment, he glanced up with a half grin. "Hey, don't tell our watchdog about this, okay? Arim's driving me nuts as it is. The last thing I need is him hounding my ass about my lack of control."

I studied my brother. "I won't say anything." I wouldn't have to. "You look terrible."

Over the past week, subtle changes had begun to affect my brother, the least of which was his preference for sleeping until late afternoon.

In tune with the earth, Cadmus normally relished the predawn hours, getting his sleep later in the day before leaving to bartend in the evening. When the sun rose, my brother could often be found outside walking around Green Lake, breathing in the rich scents of earth and pine dotting the nearby exercise trail, and communing with plant life all around.

The Earth Lord, our great mage of rock, root, and earth.

Lately, though, he'd been living like, well, like a Djinn.

I paused, recalling the moment a few weeks ago when my brother had burst into Djinn flame, or as the Djinn referred to it, burst in truth—an unholy white blaze engulfed by a black, powerful aura.

Storm Lords didn't burn true, not even my brother, Darius, who controlled fire. We four identical brothers, the Royal Four, depended upon one another. Yet lately, Cadmus had been shutting everyone out.

Like you've been shutting out your family at the behest of a pesky, erotic Aellei? my conscience prodded, though I felt too out of sorts to be appropriately guilty over my secrets.

The minute I recalled her face, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I still couldn't believe she'd had the nerve to appear in my house last week, disguised as a pixie, no less. Had Arim seen her, he'd have demanded an explanation that would bring doom to the sensual woman with wings.

By the Light, I'd had no idea Aellei could do what she did. What exactly was she? A malevolence manipulating me to turn on my brothers? An insidious part of Sin Garu's dark plot? Or an incredibly sensual woman with absolutely no patience?

I'd promised her I wouldn't tell my brothers or Arim about her help with warding off the Nocumat. But I would have liked their advice on the matter. Unfortunately, with two of my siblings in Tanselm with their new brides and Cadmus looking like the walking wounded, I had to keep my secrets to myself.

"I look terrible? Look in the mirror."

I rolled my eyes. "I apologize for stating the truth."

He snorted.

"But as I said, I promise not to tell Arim anything." I covered my heart in pledge, as I had when we were children.

Cadmus chuckled, his expression lightening.

So it was with no small regret that I pushed for answers I knew would send him crashing again. "My lips are sealed if you tell me what's been bothering you lately. And don't tell me it's nothing. You've never explained how you lit into Djinn fire during our battle with Sin Garu. And you're obviously troubled by something you don't think I can handle."

"It's not that you can't handle it —"

"You don't trust me."

Cadmus shook his head, frustrated. "It's not that, it's just that I —"

"Think I'm a pale substitute for a real sorcerer, when Arim —"

"Stop interrupting me! I can't tell you, because then you'll know how badly I screwed up." Cadmus flushed as the truth poured out. "I made a mistake, a colossal one. Shit. You might as well know." He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "I slept with a woman. Well, with a person I thought was a woman. But I found out she's Djinn. The enemy."

I blinked. "A Djinn, you're sure?"

They looked human enough, as we did. But the Djinn had an altered form, one where they lit up in pure energy, surrounded by a layer of black flame that called on the Dark—their magic.

"I'm sure." Cadmus nodded. "You don't know how hard it's been to resist her, even suspecting she was more than she claimed." He hung his head low. "I was weak, I admit. But damn it, she seduced me. I told her about us, Aerolus. About Samantha and Tessa, about our need to find our supposed affai." Our brides.

Poor Cadmus. I could all but feel his guilt pouring out of him as he clenched his jaw.

Shame filled his gaze as he forced himself to meet my eyes. "I'll never forgive myself for betraying our family."

"Cadmus, you didn't —"

"I betrayed us. By the Light. Don't make me repeat myself." He sounded miserable.

"It wasn't your fault." My brother was nothing if not loyal. "Look, I've been giving our battle with Sin Garu a lot of thought. I don't think the change that came over you was a bad thing." When he turned Djinn for a few shocked moments.

"Huh?"

"I discussed some of this with Arim. I would have talked to you about it already if you hadn't bolted from the room anytime the subject arose." I shot him a look filled with disappointment, pleased when he gave me an insulting hand gesture. I'd much rather deal with a snarky Cadmus than a sad one. "The fact is, you suffered almost no injury from the Nocumat. Unlike Marcus."

"And you," Cadmus grumbled. "Don't think I didn't notice your own weakness in the days following that battle."

"Yes, well, I'm better now. But you're not."

I murmured a spell under my breath and watched my brother glow. He still had a faint illumination that showed the Djinn's aura interwoven with his. Oddly, instead of subduing my brother, the Djinn's power boosted his energy.

As I studied the glow, I could easily distinguish the difference.

"Incredible." I stared in wonder, enthralled by the raw magic.

"What?" Cadmus asked, trying not to sound worried. "What do you see?"

"You're stronger now than you've ever been. I can't believe you don't feel it."

He closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them, frustration lining the brown depths. "I don't feel it."

"Probably because your Djinn doesn't want you to. My guess is you've been under her protection for some time. Her hold on you is strong." That worried me, but I kept my thoughts to myself. If the Djinn had managed to get that close to Cadmus, by rights she could have killed him. But she'd used her powers to protect him. Even enhance him.

Coupled with the other Djinn we'd met, a male who'd worked with Marcus, we were suddenly inundated with Darklings. That Djinn's selfless attack on Sin Garu, combined with the female Djinn's actions, told me we might have allies we hadn't factored.

I came to a sudden decision. "I'm going to need you to keep Arim occupied for a while. I have somewhere to go, somewhere Between."

Cadmus nodded without hesitation. As if unloading his guilt had incurred a debt to repay, he seemed ready to do anything I might ask.

I didn't want to take advantage when he was obviously having trouble. But I had to leave this world, and I knew Arim wouldn't be pleased. I couldn't accomplish what I needed with him — my uncle — breathing down my neck.

And I was loath to put the Aellei, the woman in white, in deliberate danger.

Yet she was much more than that. My affai, my future bride.

My head hurt just thinking about it.

"Good luck, Aerolus." The beginning of a sly smile curled my brother's lips. "If you need me, I'm here. And I, for one, am glad you'll be Arim's target when he finds out you left this plane. I really need to get off his shit list."

"Thanks?"

He laughed, and I returned to my room to pack a few things I might need. As I did, I glanced through my window facing Trudy Warner's house. I wondered what the human woman thought of my exhibition earlier.

I flushed, unable to believe that I, of all people, had been so carried away by lust that I'd masturbated in front of an open window. By the Light, where was my head?

Lost in thoughts of my affai, that's where.

In her alabaster skin, snow-white hair, and voluptuous little frame. My body clenched at thoughts of finally consummating our relationship. I couldn't wait to merge with the woman who would satisfy the ache of loneliness clawing at my heart, an ache I hadn't been aware existed until I'd met her.

My affai. A woman who hailed from Aelle, a place known for its treachery and danger.

And for its path into Shadren lands. Enemy lands.

I sighed at my luck.

A hint of telescope winked between the closed blinds across the way. Apparently, Trudy Warner needed to get laid as badly as I did. Controlling a slight wind, I closed my drapes and gathered a small knapsack of belongings.

I shelved regret that I was leaving Cadmus to deal with Arim, an uneven match if ever there was one. But I had more important problems to tackle. So I teleported into the waiting void between worlds, seeking a tendril of my affai's energy.

Catching hold of what felt like her, I flew on dark shadows of magic to my unknown and unruly future.