Gale Season

Chapter One

Three weeks later

A little to the left, no, stop, don’t move. Okay, two more steps, ah,…there. Now, slowly, one button at a time. Yes, yes, that’s right.

Alandra, magically disguised as plain, middle-aged Trudy Warner, stared through the telescope carefully positioned in the corner of the bedroom, obscured from view by shuttered blinds and a large, potted fern should the male under scrutiny decide to give her window a second glance. She felt ridiculous having the fern near with closed blinds, but she knew better than to underestimate a Storm Lord.

“Oh yeah, baby,” she uttered on breath and a prayer. “I love that chest.”

Helplessly fascinated and growing steadily more aroused, she watched her tall, strapping neighbour lose his shirt as he readied, she assumed, for a bath—the light in his adjoining bathroom was on, and steam fogged the bathroom mirror.

She swallowed around a dry throat, wishing for a glass of water, but refused to leave the sight of Aerolus Storm stripping down to nothing.

Long fingers reached for the snap of his jeans, his hands graceful and sure as they unzipped the denim, allowing a brief thatch of dark hair to appear.

Mother of all that was holy.

She stopped breathing, anticipation making her almost dizzy. Come on, Aerolus. Drop them, already. I’m dying here!

Jeans slid slowly to his knees before he kicked them off, giving her an uninhibited view of sizzling male perfection. Golden skin rippled as he moved under the sunlight streaming through his room, casting beautiful shadows of a warrior in his prime. A sprinkling of dark, silky hair covered his upper chest, tapering over a taut abdomen packed with clearly delineated muscle. The hair trailed lightly down his belly to frame a thick, mouth-wateringly large shaft that whispered yours the longer she stared at it.

Shadows, how she wanted to touch that part of him.

She swallowed loudly, her heart hammering like a ringing alarm clock that refused to turn off. Trying to rein in her boiling needs, she took a deep breath, then released. Repeating the process several more times, she finally admitted she was hopelessly in lust with the god-like image before her.

Aerolus was so beautiful, so very desirable, and so utterly slow.

Her hands gripped the base of the telescope as she watched him stretch and rub his chest, a motion she could have been performing had the stubborn man answered her summons.

Instead, Aerolus Storm, both warrior and sorcerer, Storm Lord and Wind Mage, acted as if he had nothing to fear, as if she hadn’t rescued both him and his brothers from sure death just a few short weeks ago.

She huffed, perturbed that apparently she’d been so easy to forget, all the while her eyes remained glued to the naked mage rotating his neck and shoulders, which only emphasised the abundant physical strength he possessed in spades.

Aerolus appealed to her on more than a visual level, regrettably making her attraction all that harder to shake. The man’s extraordinary grasp of sorcery, especially considering he was really just a novice, and his potential for power thrilled the heart of her that pulsed with magic.

She itched to be near him, to stroke his warm skin and feel the energy that coursed in his blood. Scowling, she cursed the day Aerolus had sealed his house from all but the Light Bringers. Now, as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t simply phase into his home. Despite her pixie-like size when observing, she couldn’t pass the spelled shield he’d erected around the house. Even in the guise of an ant, she’d be expelled from the premises.

Thus her masquerade as Trudy Warner, the nosy neighbour.

Aerolus finished his stretch, capturing her attention once more. He did the oddest thing. Staring down at his shaft, he grasped it in a firm hand, then began rubbing it and closed his eyes. The action seemed at first clinical, but then his face changed, became charged with a raw intensity that caused an instant throbbing between her legs.

His fingers stretched his flesh, pulling almost viciously as his breathing quickened. Sweat beaded on her brow, and she licked her dry lips, wishing he were here with her, thrusting not into his hand, but inside her with that massive cock. Into her body and out of her system, ending this annoying craving she had for his touch.

His biceps clenched, and his forearm strained. She could see his nipples standing erect, as much from arousal as from the breeze that lifted his hair. Her breath caught as she saw his elemental nature freeing itself from its usual constriction.

Wind whipped at the sheets on his bed, at the papers lying atop his dresser, at the curtains framing his window, interrupting her scrutiny as dark fabric swirled against the panes. Glimpses of Aerolus showed him building towards climax, his neck muscles prominent, straining as he gritted his teeth and pumped faster.

Then suddenly the curtains dropped, the wind ceased, and Aerolus turned his head, blinking directly at the hidden telescope, at her. He should have been embarrassed. Shadows knew she would have been. But Aerolus stood uninhibited, still gripping his cock, his face an almost expressionless mask, unless one knew where to look.

She did. And the slight tightening around his eyes showed a muted frown. He released himself—a damned waste, in her opinion—and took a step towards the window, his eyes glowing with unfettered anger.

With a curse she flew back, knowing he couldn’t possibly have seen her, yet he had. She felt both annoyed and embarrassed to be caught peeping and sank heavily onto the bed. Well, really, it wasn’t as if he was around to cure her of this insatiable desire.

She shook her head, muttering under her breath and returned to the telescope. “Damn.” He’d disappeared, and the bathroom door had closed.

Alandra toyed with the idea of marching over there and asking for a cup of sugar, an egg, anything just to get inside that house again, a step closer to the man who, for reasons unknown, filled her every waking thought. Her growing obsession with Aerolus was irritating, alarming, and disturbingly arousing.

The last she’d seen, only Aerolus, his brother Cadmus, and that unpredictable sorcerer of Tanselm, Arim, were in residence. None of them would recognise her in this guise.

But did she want to take the chance she might be wrong?

Walking to the dresser mirror, she stared at the likeness of Dr. Trudy Warner, a nice, if boring, forty-nine year old woman currently on sabbatical in Europe. House-sitting for Professor Warner had been a no-brainer, a fortuitous circumstance she’d been hoping for when she’d first begun observing Aerolus a year ago.

To Trudy, she’d looked like an eager, naïve college student needing some extra cash. But to the Storm Lords, she remained Trudy Warner, an average neighbour who never attracted attention, the same dull professor day in and day out.

The month she’d been here had been hell, but so worth it if only to see Aerolus naked. Her lips quirked. This job had definite perks. And a killer downside. With the source of her attraction so close, it should have been easy to fulfil her needs.

Unfortunately, Aerolus felt no compunction about ignoring both her and the dire situation encroaching steadily nearer.

The doorbell rang, halting her indignation, and she hurriedly adjusted her attitude and mindset to match Trudy’s. As she slowly trudged down the steps, Alandra focused on recalling Trudy’s monotonous voice. Appearances were easy to assume, but voices and mannerisms took skill and practice—both of which she was working to improve.

She reached the front door and drew in a deep breath. She exhaled evenly as she opened the door with a pleasant if dim smile on her face. “Yes? Marcus, isn’t it?”

Aerolus frowned, his silver eyes glinting with suspicion. Oh, yes, he’d definitely noticed her watching him. “Actually, I’m his brother, Aerolus. We’ve never met.”

Thank the shadows. Now, how to play this to her advantage… If Arim weren’t in residence, she would have knocked on Aerolus’ door and demanded his cooperation weeks ago. But with the formidable Light Bringer at the house, maybe even spying on Aerolus as they spoke, she didn’t want to chance being recognised. Who knew what repercussions she’d suffer at his hands? And if word got back to the Aellei of what she’d been doing before she was ready to face them, she’d be better off dead.

Aerolus stared down at her curiously, and she realised she’d been staring as she thought. She flushed and tried to act intimidated, as Trudy would have.

“I’m so sorry, please, come in.” She stepped back and waited until he entered before locking the door behind him.

An idea firmed in her mind, one she’d been toying with for weeks in the event she was caught. Lies and deception worked so much better when a hint of truth worked into the mix.

“I know why you’re here,” she said in a strangled whisper, peering through her front window nervously before turning back to him.

“Excuse me?” His deep voice sent shivers through her that she worked hard to suppress. Why this happened only around him she had no idea. He was just a man, albeit the best looking one she’d ever seen.

“It’s that woman,” she whispered dramatically, pleased when he actually frowned. “I’ve seen her hanging around your house the past few days. I had a feeling I should have told you sooner.”

“A woman.”

She nodded.

His eyes narrowed. “Describe her.”

“She has white hair, stands a few inches shorter than me, and I guess you could say she’s quite pretty.” Gorgeous, really. As soon as she thought it, she wanted to smack herself in the head. Vanity at a time like this?

The Aellei wanted her dead, Arim would transform her into a spotted lizard if he knew she interfered with one of his precious Royal Four, and by now, Oxcen had told everyone the queen had ordered him away from a Storm Lord, the same queen who’d been in council for the past few weeks. One guess as to who had the gall to impersonate Her Royal Bitchiness and they’d be inscribing ’gorgeous‘ on Alandra’s burial marker.

Oh, what the hell? She might be on death’s door, but at least let her be pretty. “Yes, she was especially attractive and just lovely in white.” Alandra frowned. “She had the most intriguing eyes.”

“Violet eyes, a sensual, lustrous lavender,” he muttered, his words complimentary though his manner was anything but.

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t mention a woman stalking my house because…?”

Alandra blushed and looked down. “You and Marcus are grown men. It would have been silly to presume a woman who looked like that wasn’t invited to your home.”

“Then why the telescope?” he asked wryly, still not believing her story.

“Because she started acting strange.” Alandra licked her lips. “I know it sounds crazy, but she seemed to shimmer, to almost fade in and out. Must have been a trick of the light, I know. But then, I thought I saw her inside your room the other day, and again just now.”

She didn’t explain why her telescope was fixed on his room, or why she’d been watching. Hopefully, he’d be too concerned with an invading Aellei to focus on her voyeurism.

He rubbed a hand over his stubbled, clenched jaw. “Damn, she has no patience,” he said softly, then stared unblinkingly into her eyes. “I appreciate your thoroughness.” His gaze darkened most threateningly. “I’ll keep an eye out for her, and any other trespassers invading my privacy.”

She blinked, deliberately looking guilty. Irritated, was he? About time. Maybe now he’d move his tight, sexy, sorry ass between planes for that overdue visit he owed her.

“Er, sorry for any misunderstandings. But if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.”

He left with a grumbled thanks, leaving Alandra in a quandary. Should she stay and continue to observe, though inconspicuously this time, or should she phase between planes? She could tell she’d irritated him with mention of ’the woman in white’, but had she lit a big enough fire to head him in her direction?

Bored with being Trudy, she decided to venture back into the shadows when a knock at the door sounded. Most likely Aerolus with more questions. Damn, just when she thought she’d convinced him to seek her out.

She opened the door with a polite smile and froze.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I had a few questions of my own about my nephew’s visitor.” Arim, Tanselm’s legendary sorcerer and Killer of Shadow, stood on her doorstep with black, burning eyes that saw too much, looking every inch the dangerous Light Bringer she’d been warned to avoid since the day she could walk.

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

“Cadmus?” he asked softly, startled when his brother arched a shock of energy in his direction. Mentally calling forth a flat wind to shield him, he felt the jarring crash of elemental power a split second before it vanished.

Cadmus paled noticeably, his eyes like black sinkholes in his face. “Shit. 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.”

Aerolus nodded and studied his brother. “You look terrible,” he said, stating the obvious. Over the past week, subtle changes had begun to affect his brother, the least of which was his preference for sleeping until late afternoon.

In tune with the earth, an Earth Lord at his core, Cadmus normally relished the predawn hours, getting his sleep later in the day before leaving to bartend at Outpour in the evening. When the sun rose, his brother could often be found outside walking around GreenLake and breathing in the rich scents of earth and pine dotting the exercise trail.

Lately, however, he’d been living almost like, well, like a Djinn. Aerolus paused, recalling the moment a few weeks ago when his 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 Darius, who controlled fire. And the Royal Four depended upon one another, yet lately Cadmus had been shutting everyone, including Aerolus, out of his life.

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

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

By the Light, he’d had no idea the Aellei could do what she did. What the hell was she? A malevolence manipulating him to turn on his brothers, an insidious part of ‘Sin Garu’s dark plot, or an incredibly sensual woman with absolutely no patience?

Much as he’d promised her he wouldn’t tell his brothers or Arim about her aid in warding off the Nocumat, he would have liked his brothers’ advice on the matter. But with two of his siblings in Tanselm with their affai and Cadmus looking like the walking wounded, he kept his secrets to himself.

Focusing again on his brother, he covered his heart as he had when they were children and pledged, “I promise not to tell Arim a thing.”

Cadmus chuckled, lightening Aerolus’ heavy heart. So it was with no small regret that he pushed for answers he knew would send his brother crashing again. “My lips are sealed, if you tell me what’s been bothering you lately. And don’t tell me it’s nothing,” he added in a clipped tone, one that had his brother blinking in surprise.

“You’ve never explained how you lit into Djinn fire, 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.”

“No.” 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—”

“Dammit! 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, a person I thought was a woman, and found out she’s Djinn. The enemy.”

Aerolus blinked. “A Djinn, you’re sure?”

His brother 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. “But I was weak, I admit. And dammit, she seduced me. I found myself telling her about us, about Samantha and Tessa, about our need to find our supposed affai.” He clenched his jaw tight, shame filling his gaze as he forced himself to meet Aerolus’ eyes. “I’ll never forgive myself for betraying our family.”

“What?”

“I said I betrayed us. By the Light, Aerolus. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Cadmus spat, disgust with himself audible.

“I’m shocked, give me a minute.” Aerolus pondered his brother’s words, trying to fit the pieces of this growing puzzle together. “I’ve been giving our battle with ‘Sin Garu a lot of thought. And I don’t think the change that came over you was a bad thing.”

“Huh?”

“I discussed some of this with Arim, and would have with you if you hadn’t bolted from the room anytime the subject arose.” A disapproving look at Cadmus had his brother scowling. “The fact is, you suffered almost no injury from the Nocumat. Unlike Marcus.”

“And you,” Cadmus grumbled, his gaze knowing. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your exhaustion and weakness the days following that battle.” He huffed. “Why do you think I hung around you, as upset as I was? To protect you. I could easily have sulked in my room that week, avoiding Arim in the process.”

Aerolus had wondered about that, but the Aellei’s interference with the Nocumat and Arim’s continued presence had proved inescapable distractions.

“Yes, well, I’m better now. But you’re not.”

He murmured under his breath and watched as his brother began to glow—a faint illumination that showed the Djinn’s aura interwoven with Cadmus’. Yet instead of dimming his brother, the Djinn’s power, while visibly subduing Cadmus’ aura, boosted his energy. As Aerolus studied the glow, he easily distinguished the difference.

“Incredible.” He stared in wonder, enthralled with the raw magic.

“What?” Cadmus asked gruffly, trying not to sound worried. “What do you see?”

“You’re stronger now than you’ve ever been, Cadmus. I can’t believe you don’t feel it.”

Startled, his brother 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 quite some time. Her hold on you is fairly strong.” That worried him, but Aerolus kept his thoughts to himself. If the Djinn had managed to get that close to Cadmus, by rights she could have killed him. But instead she had used her powers to protect him? Even enhance him?

Coupled with the male Djinn’s selfless attack on ‘Sin Garu, the female Djinn’s actions spoke of another force at play in the Storm Lords’ fight against ‘Sin Garu and the Netharat.

“Cadmus,” he said, coming to a 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, unquestioningly accepting. As if unloading his internal guilt to Aerolus had incurred a debt to repay, he seemed ready to do anything Aerolus might ask.

Not wanting to take advantage, Aerolus nevertheless had to leave this world, and Arim would not be pleased. But Aerolus couldn’t accomplish what he needed with his uncle breathing down his neck. And he was loath to put the Aellei—my affai, he forced himself to admit—in deliberate danger.

“Good luck, Aerolus,” Cadmus said softly, the beginning of a sly smile curling his lips, making him look like the charming, carefree Cadmus of old. “If you need me, I’m here. And I, for one, am glad you’ll be the target Arim turns to when you come back. Frankly, I’m tired of being on his irritate-the-hell-out-of list.”

Shaking his head, Aerolus returned to his room to pack a few things he thought he might need. As he did, he glanced through his window facing Trudy Warner’s house. He wondered what she’d thought of his exhibition earlier.

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

Lost in thoughts of his affai, in her alabaster skin, snow-white hair and voluptuous little frame. His body clenched at thoughts of entering her heat, of merging with the woman who would satisfy the ache of loneliness clawing at his heart, an ache he hadn’t been aware existed until he’d met her.

His affai, a woman who hailed from Aelle, a place known for its treachery and danger, and for its path into Shadren lands.

He sighed, then frowned at the hint of telescope he could see winking between closed blinds. Hell, Trudy Warner needed to get laid as badly as he did. With a small wind, he closed his drapes and gathered a small knapsack of belongings.

Shelving a brief moment of regret that he was leaving Cadmus to deal with Arim, an uneven match if ever there was one, he teleported into the waiting void between worlds, seeking a tendril of his affai’s energy.

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