Marie Harte - Aftershocks

Jonas studied her for a moment, making her wish she had more control over her emotions. “You sound awfully panicked, Ellie.”

She took a deep breath and smiled through her teeth. “I’m not panicked. I simply want nothing more to do with the Djinn and your stupid alliances with Storm Lords and Light Bringers.” She noted the chagrin on his face. “Present company excluded, of course.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course. Come on, Ellie, be practical. You can’t ignore who you are.”

“And who am I?” she asked in a hard voice. “I’ve lived my entire life here with my mother. My father has made such rare appearances over the years it’s a wonder I recognise him when he jaunts into town.”

Jonas stared knowingly at her face.

“Okay, so we look alike. I have Mom’s blonde hair, you know,” she said peevishly.

“The bottom line is that part of you is Djinn too. What happens in Tanselm concerns you as well.”

She shook her head. She’d been over this with him, with her father, hell, even with Cadmus.

“Fine.” Jonas blew out a breath. “Be as stubborn as you like. But you’re not done with the Earth Lord yet.” He grabbed her arm and they shimmered through space. Ellie didn’t quite know how he did it, but Jonas enveloped them in a wave of black energy, like moving through the murky warmth of a bath in the dark. Pleasant but cloying, and a bit off-putting to find oneself in another place altogether.

In a heartbeat, she stood in the middle of her small apartment in Queen Anne with Jonas, and they weren’t alone.

Cadmus stared at Ellie Markham, aware of the hunger that once more pulsed through his body. He smiled broadly, more than amused at her shock that quickly turned to anger. Her brilliant blue eyes that he couldn’t seem to forget narrowed, like twin beams of sapphire. Her breasts heaved, making his mouth water and his fingers itch to touch. Hell. Two seconds in her presence and already he wanted to taste her, to take her.

“What the hell is he doing here?” she growled at Jonas.

“Things got a little too…interesting in Foreia.”

“He means I pissed off one too many Djinn,” Cadmus explained, pleased at Ellie’s ferocity. Damn but he’d missed her, more than he’d thought he would.

“So why bring him here?”

She still hadn’t asked him a direct question, but he didn’t mind. He’d have his hands full as soon as she realised he meant to stay with her for the foreseeable future. Though screwing with the Djinn had been entertaining, if not smart, Cadmus knew he’d pushed the Darklings too far. Had Jonas not been present to teleport him out of Foreia into this plane, Cadmus had no doubt he’d be lucky to be alive. Yet his pranks and insults only reinforced how devoted the damned Sarqua Djinn were to their Dark Mistress. Like Jonas, the Djinn he’d spent time with were loyal to Lexa, and just as unforgiving.

Jonas sighed. “I can’t take him to his place.” He frowned at Cadmus.

Good. About time the Dark one felt some of the irritation he’d been causing Cadmus for the past few weeks. “The Netharat is swarming around his house. And as much as he’d like to return to Tanselm, Arim won’t let him back until he’s got an affai .”

Cadmus didn’t bother to stifle a grimace at mention of a bride. Jonas knew how much he detested the thought of marriage, and Cadmus had made his views known to Ellie all too well. His amusement vanished. He’d told her about his brothers and their affai under her Dark influence.

Clearly sensing his irritation, she turned her back on him, as if by not looking at him he might disappear. He forced a chuckle, drawing her reluctant gaze. “Nice try, honey. You don’t have to look at me if you don’t want to. But I’ll be right here for the next few…what, Jonas? Weeks, months?”

Ellie stared, horrified, from him to Jonas and back again. When her eyes met his, he thought he detected a hint of fear and wondered at its source. For the short duration he and Ellie had been together, fear had never been one of their shared emotions. Lust, anger, need, those they knew intimately. His gaze wandered down her womanly curves.

“Look,” she said between clenched teeth, her hands fisted aggressively in what gave him a perverse sense of satisfaction. “I did what was asked of me. I told you, I have a life to return to.”

“Me too, Ellie.” Cadmus sank onto her comfortable leather couch and crossed his arms behind his head, propping his feet up on her coffee table. “But thankfully, time passes much more slowly at home. So I could be here another year and it would only be a month or two in Tanselm, right Jonas?”

He couldn’t help the pleasure he felt out of irritating the male Djinn. It was obvious Jonas didn’t like Cadmus staying with Ellie, and Cadmus had to wonder what Jonas really knew of their involvement. Glancing from Jonas to Ellie, he decided to put it to a test.

“It’s funny you’re so upset with me being here, Ellie.” He gave her a sly grin, noting her sudden alarm. “The last time I was here we seemed to really hit it off.” And he couldn’t wait until they hit it off again.

“ Not one word or I’ll personally invite ‘Sin Garu to flame your ass while you sleep.” Ellie’s words filtered into his mind, and that deep thrill of connection startled him for a moment.

“Ah, Ellie. If you really knew how terrible that sorcerer is, you’d never threaten me. I don’t think you could live with yourself if you hurt any portion of my perfect ass.”

She glared but didn’t reply. Though not telepathic like his brother Darius, Cadmus had been able to share thoughts with Ellie since the first night they’d slept together. Whether it was a Djinn thing or some wacky skill he was just now coming to possess, courtesy of his scarily powerful mother, he didn’t yet know .

Jonas crossed his arms over his chest and fumed at Cadmus. “What exactly does ‘hit it off’ mean?”

Cadmus looked to Ellie. “ I’ll keep quiet if you welcome me properly .”

She gritted her teeth so hard he was surprised she didn’t crack her jaw. Funny how his infamous sense of humour was returning the longer he was in her presence. He knew his brothers had sensed his despair these last weeks. Reunited with Ellie, however, and his bad mood vanished. Needling her was even more fun than irritating Marcus, his arrogant older brother—older by all of two minutes.

“We were friends once,” Ellie explained with a false smile. “I’m sorry for my temper, Cadmus.” She clasped her hands in front of her, to resist from throttling him, he assumed. “It’s been a long day, and I’m going to miss working at Outpour.”

The little liar. He smirked and held back a laugh when her blue eyes fairly sizzled.

“You are?” Jonas didn’t sound convinced. He kept staring from Ellie to Cadmus, as if waiting to see something between them.

“I am. And I really am glad to see you again, Cadmus.” “ You stupid, self-righteous Light Bringer.” “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” “ You’re out of here as soon as I can make it happen.” “And I hope you’ll be comfortable.” “ Bastard.”

He scratched his chest and nodded. “I’m glad we can catch up. Jonas, don’t you have some place to be?”

The Djinn scowled, his expression causing him to physically darken. Cadmus was entranced. Despite having seen the Djinn in truth more times than he could count in the past few weeks, a Djinn’s natural state never failed to instil awe. Jonas’ golden skin glowed brighter and brighter, until all that remained was a mass of energy with the outline of a man’s face. Eclipsing much of his brightness lay an aura, a visible and ever-present black flame, over his entire body. The dark fire licked at the shadows in Ellie’s small apartment.