Marie Harte - Aftershocks

The Djinn killed his father. The memory made her feel sick, and she hoped he’d meant what he said earlier, that he didn’t hate all Djinn. Because she had a feeling being here was like ripping at a healing wound. It made her own worries about Foreia pale in comparison. These people respected her father and would welcome her. But Cadmus was considered an enemy, a creature of Light among beings of Darkness.

“Why have I never visited here before, Jonas?” Cadmus asked.

“You weren’t ready before.”

“And I am now?” He snorted. “I swear, you Djinn live for subterfuge. You can’t say yes or no. Everything with you people is a hanging maybe.” He included Ellie with a knowing look, and she immediately bristled.

“What does that mean?”

“ Why did you take off for your mother’s this morning? And after what we shared?”

“Yes, Cadmus, just what does that mean?” Jonas added, his gaze darting between Ellie and the Storm Lord. “I’m not an idiot, you know.”

“Could have fooled me,” Cadmus muttered, making Ellie want to laugh despite her unease with his probing question.

“I know there’s something between you two.” Jonas’ eyes narrowed. “The way you pause between words, the way you look at one another in understanding. It’s almost as if…”

Ellie’s interest perked. “As if what?” Was mind-sharing not a common Djinn trait? She wished she had someone to ask, to confide in. But sharing her love life with her mother was a definite no-no. Jonas obviously wouldn’t approve, nor would her father—as if she could talk comfortably about something as personal as sex with him.

She could almost hear the wheels in Jonas’ mind spinning. He murmured, “No. It couldn’t be.”

“Couldn’t be what?” Cadmus asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Maybe Ellie and I have found true love, and I’ve come to claim my affai and steal her away to Tanselm.” He spoke plainly, and for one breathless moment, Ellie thought he might be serious. But when she met the laughter in his eyes, a faint echo of disappointment settled in her belly. That she could feel depressed at all made her angry. Where was that distance she desperately needed? With all that was unfolding around her, she knew she needed to be strong to survive. And more heartache from Cadmus Storm was not on the menu.

Jonas missed the joke too and flashed in truth , his glare and his fiery nature impossible to miss.

“Damn, Jonas.” Cadmus chuckled. “I was just kidding.”

Ellie smiled, forcing herself to laugh along with him. Jonas’ flame grew darker, and she glanced at Cadmus to see what he made of her cousin’s reaction. He, however, was staring at her , a predatory gleam of hunger in his dark brown eyes that he suddenly masked with lighthearted laughter.

But Ellie had seen, and she didn’t know quite what that meant. She pressed subtly at his mental walls and found them locked tight, his gaze disapproving when he realised what she attempted. Flushing, she withdrew, but she couldn’t help sneaking a peek at his aura.

Taking a second, deeper look, she was astonished to find Cadmus, a Storm Lord warrior and Light Bringer, full of seething shadows. Tinged with a dim, rosy light, the Darkness growing within him spread in waves reaching out to her.

Intrigued by the intensity of his energy, she closed the distance between them. The itchy need spreading through her continued to grow until he reached out and grabbed her hand.

Warmth surged between them, a shocking meeting of more than body, but soul-deep emotion. She gasped, watching helplessly as Cadmus leant down to kiss her, his desire plainly visible despite the growing white glare of his flaming gaze…

“Fuck. Cadmus, back away, now!” Jonas thrust a band of energy between them, startling Cadmus into a roar of frustration.

Coming out of what felt like a dream, Ellie watched in horrified amazement as Cadmus and Jonas fought, both men suddenly in truth , like Djinn warriors she’d only imagined from Jonas’ many tales of Djinn battle.

They flowed like cinematic art against the alien world around them. Two mystical forms flaming bright, surrounded by shadow against the hazy pink sky and giant red-leaved trees. Streams of black energy visibly swirled between them before Cadmus’ Light blazed between the bands of Dark, streaming into her cousin in a painful rush of fury.

Jonas bellowed in pain, and Ellie finally found her wits. “Cadmus, stop! You’re in truth again. Damn it, Earth Lord, listen to me!” But nothing she said made an impact, and his power increased as the ground beneath her trembled.

Roots massed and surged from the blue grass. Black strips of bark and wood wrapped around Jonas with ease. The beams of Light mingling with the Dark rays pouring from Cadmus’ fingertips dug into Jonas with painful teeth. She could see her cousin’s aura pulsing with hurt as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pull himself away from Cadmus.

Shocked and growing more alarmed, Ellie could only stare in horrified awe as the easygoing Cadmus bloomed into a monster she had only seen in her nightmares. He seemed invincible, his power amazing in scope, pushing through Light and Dark with a strength she wouldn’t have credited him.

Jonas’ aura began to dim, and she realised it was only a short matter of time before he lost consciousness, or worse, his life. Cadmus couldn’t control the Darkness seething within him. She could almost feel Foreia begging her to help, the need to soothe Cadmus more than compelling, undeniably vital to her very soul.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped between her lover and her cousin, gasping with pain as Cadmus’ Light seared through her body. “Cadmus.” She tried to reach out, but couldn’t find a hold in his fractured mind.

Then suddenly, blessed ease filled the aching burns within her, healing the invisible wounds that bled…magic. Magic. Acknowledging the truth about herself for the first time, she started to settle down, her heart rate slowing as the adrenaline rush pushing her began to crash. But instead of feeling drained, she felt revitalised. Cadmus and she remained joined, their energy had fused together. She could only stare at the world around her, seeing it through eyes laced with Storm Lord power.

A deep groan brought her gaze quickly back to Cadmus. Her energy soothed his, climbing over the Dark bands connecting them until her magic infused itself within him. Like one giant Djinn, their Darkness settled over them like a comforting blanket.

“Ellie? I don’t…” Cadmus shook his head, his entire body flaming, the Light within him trying to burn out the dark flames encasing his body in truth . “I can’t think,” he rasped. “I need, I need so badly.” Again, he paused, as if he knew but didn’t know how to express what he had to have.

But Ellie knew. Conscious of Djinn approaching and that Jonas lay nearby, watching everything before him in shock, she tentatively grabbed Cadmus by the arm and hugged him to her, startled not to feel a burn from his fiery body. He felt hot yet soothing, and so very right.

“Ellie?” he whispered.

“Jonas, we have to go. We’ll be fine. And so will you.” Knowing the others would take care of her cousin, she pulled the information she needed from Cadmus’ mind and teleported them both to an isolated spot deep in a wooded area away from the scene of his battle.

Cadmus had come here often in his first trek to Foreia. He’d found a spot to commune with the land, a place where he felt somewhat at home in the midst of his enemy.

Elllie ignored that reflection, knowing he couldn’t help what he’d thought upon first arriving here. She could only hope he spoke the truth when he’d said he didn’t mind the Djinn now, and that he didn’t hold her heritage against her.