“Cadmus, I need to tell you something.”
“Anything, Ellie. I’m yours.” He meant that wholeheartedly.
“It’s hard for me to say. You see, I think I—”
He froze as a familiar spread of Darkness enveloped them.
“Hell. Not now.” Cadmus threw up a protective shield around them both and pushed Ellie behind him.
Within moments, he felt oppressive sorcery sucking at his energy.
“Ellie, focus on your father and teleport to him right now.” He gritted his teeth and transferred what power he could still control into Ellie’s shield. Damn, Lexa aggravated the hell out of him. He’d just had utter bliss with Ellie. And now the memory of it would be tainted by Jonas’ Dark Mistress.
“I’m not leaving you,” Ellie refused.
Fuck. He didn’t want her anywhere near Lexa Van Nostren. At least Ethim would protect Ellie from harm. He’d overheard the man mumble something to a few of his men the last time Cadmus had been in Foreia. But how to get Ellie out of here? The stubborn woman would no doubt rather be killed trying to make a point.
“Fine.” An idea sparked. “Teleport out of here and bring help back with you. Find your father. Don’t let us both get trapped here. Quickly, before she arrives.”
Ellie frowned. “She? But who—”
“Ellie, go. I can’t hold your shield much longer.”
Finally noticing the strain on his face, she paled and backed up a step. “Okay. But I’ll be right back.”
He nodded, relieved when she shimmered away. Her father wouldn’t let her return. Likely Lexa had a score to settle. He’d blasted Jonas, her favourite lackey, almost to pieces. Not to mention he’d just tainted Ellie, a daughter of Darkness, with the carnal delights of a boorish Light Bringer. No sense in trying to bullshit his way out of this one.
“Ah, the Earth Lord finally learns to accept responsibility. How noble. At least one of you dreadful Light Bringers has a shred of redemption.” Lexa glimmered into form in front of him, her ice-blue eyes predatory as they studied him. She wore a body-hugging dark-purple tunic over black leather pants and knee-high black boots. Her garb blended into the darkening horizon of Foreia’s sky. If not for her almost white skin, he would have thought her a shadow within the trees.
He rolled his eyes, knowing it would piss her off. “The queen of laughter and light, Lexa Van Nostren. What a surprise.”
“We never finished our last lesson.” She ignored his taunt, and he strove to try harder. She was almost as much fun to rile as Marcus. “It would do you well to shield your thoughts the way I taught you. Likening me to your brother is no way to get on my good side. I do believe our next lesson might leave scars.” She smiled, her teeth white, her grin feral.
Masking the dread bottoming out in his stomach, he clenched his will tight and grudgingly called on that odd Darkness within him to shield his thoughts, strengthening his resolve with bands of Light.
“Impressive.” She circled around him.
He forced himself not to turn with her. “What now?”
What happened next shocked the hell out of him. She’d never before touched him. But as quick as lightning, she reached out and laid a hand on his cheek. Pain, the likes of which he’d never before felt, reached into him and grabbed a hold. Ice speared through his body into his very soul.
“Don’t ever, ever forget who is in charge, here, Cadmus. Despite your reason for being, the rules are, and ever have been, mine. Do you understand?”
His first instinct was to argue, to fight against her control. But that wouldn’t save Ellie, or Tanselm. He could feel Lexa pulling the life from his body. He could submit and fight another day, or hang onto his pride and die for no good reason. Reluctantly, he nodded.
The pain disappeared, and he sank to his knees.
“Good. Now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way, why don’t you tell me about Ethim’s daughter, your lovely affai?”
Fear magnified the weakness inside him, turning him inside out. By the Light’s fucking blaze. How did she know what he’d just acknowledged to himself?
His eyes narrowed. He’d pledged to himself to protect Ellie from danger. If he had to die to ensure her safety, so be it. “You even think about screwing with Ellie, and I’ll kill you.” Rage gave him strength, and he stood on shaky legs, preparing to do her real harm.
“You would certainly try, I’m sure.” She laughed, the charming sound making him blink in confusion. For someone so Dark, so seemingly evil, Lexa could at turns be extremely enticing. Right now she resembled an innocent young woman, lovely in face and form. Though she was almost petite, her body curved in all the right places. Long black hair accented the paleness of her skin, and her startlingly light-blue eyes enthralled with a glance. Such a sweet mouth…
Ellie suddenly came to mind, clearing his erotic daze. Lexa gave him a sly grin. The witch knew he’d suddenly desired her. She’d tried to turn him from his affai. Fucking Dark Lords. Drawing a deep breath, he forced himself to smile, his inner shields tight.
“Damn, Lexa, if I’d known how hard up you are for a man, I’d have brought my uncle with me.”
It was subtle, but she flinched. He’d only guessed before that she and Arim had been involved, but now knew he’d been right. She quickly masked her distress, and he actually felt a hint of remorse for having wounded her. How strange was that?
“Very good, Cadmus. Like Arim, you have an instinctive ability to pierce an opponent’s weakest point.”
Surprised to hear her admit any vulnerability, Cadmus realised his small victory stung more than it should. His interactions with Lexa had always cast her in the role of the villain, a strong and crafty opponent not to be trusted. But as she stood so still before him, he saw in her a woman who’d been hurt in the past.
Images flashed, of Lexa and Arim laughing and holding hands, of their shared kiss and deep well of love. Flickers of innocence, of the timeless bond of young love before age tore innocence apart. And then a woman’s body, covered in blood, her throat slashed, her entrails covering a stone floor. More bodies, these of a man, and worse, a young child, denied the joys life would have provided. Lexa’s horror, Arim’s anger. Harsh words and heart-rendering pain…years passing…
“You never really knew me.” Lexa’s eyes flashed. “And you never will.”
She pierced Arim’s shoulder with a bolt of blue flame as they battled against Tanselm’s dark, starry sky. Atop the northern castle’s eastern wall, Lexa danced and flowed with the wind, her Dark energy seething as she trapped Arim in a binding so tight his very essence began to blend with the night.
Arim’s eyes rolled back in his head, and for a moment, Cadmus feared him dead. Then, in the next breath, ‘Sin Garu appeared wreathed in smiles, his teeth canine-sharp, his white-blond hair waving in the brewing storm.
“Sister mine, perhaps I was wrong about you.”
Lexa merely stared at her brother, her features in shadow as the clouds suddenly covered the moon. “You’re late.”
“Ah, but I brought along some entertainment.”
He tugged on a rope, and suddenly, three wraiths appeared, creatures similar to the ones Cadmus and Jonas had battled in Ellie’s apartment. The creatures held something between them.
“Arim, wake up. I’d like you to watch as the Dark swallows what you prize most dear.”