Gale Season

Chapter Fourteen

Arim worked to escape the whip of Darkness lashed around his throat, his eyes watering with the effort. He’d been fighting Lexa for nearly an hour, getting no closer to defeating her than she was to defeating him. Oddly enough, he sensed she meant to keep him at arm’s length, as if she had more in store than this simple battle.

“What do you really want?” he asked for the fifth time. He saw her eyes flash, a sight that never failed to stir him. At that moment he wasn’t sure who angered him more, himself for still being attracted to the traitorous witch, or her for being so…Dark. She smiled slowly, toying with him again. Annoyed he’d let his irritation with her show, he deliberately grinned at the pain in his neck, disconcerting her before she slipped her mask of hatred firmly back in place. Interested despite himself, he wondered just what lay beneath Lexa’s cold exterior.

Where had the shy, sweet girl he’d once known gone, or had she never really existed at all?

“Hmm, what do I want, you ask?” Her lips curled though her eyes remained flat. “I want you to die like a man, instead of the snivelling Light Bringer I know you to be. What a poor excuse for a mage.” She sneered and shot blue flame from her fingertips, scoring marks across his cheek.

He retaliated with a burst of Light, almost hitting her full in the face had she not dodged at the last minute. A sudden and foreign sense of shame hit him as they fought, an unfamiliar feeling that he was fighting a losing battle against a woman not his enemy. From where the thought had sprung he didn’t know, but a painful spear of Dark through his thigh cleared the notion in a heartbeat.

Ice burned at his legs, middle and arm, and while he struggled to undo the noose at his throat, he waited stiffly for another blast of blue flame to hit him. Surprised she would hesitate to take advantage of his weakness, he glanced at her face only to see her fierce expression now serene, her eyes closed.

Recognizing a vision when he saw it, he hurried out of her clutches and would have turned the tables on her when she vanished without a sound.

Shocked, he instinctively encased himself in a powerful shield and waited. The Lexa he knew had never fled from a fight, and he wondered what she meant to do next. Attack him from behind, draw him into the open searching for a vulnerability he didn’t intend to give? She’d caught the one weakness in his shield earlier, but he’d fixed that problem and—

“You have to see this,” Sava blurted from his right, ducking the ball of Light Arim instinctively threw. “Shadows, man, get a grip. You’ve obviously finished playing with Lexa. You need to see this, and tell me what it means.”

Grabbing Arim by his uninjured arm, Sava flashed them behind a large verum tree.

“Watch,” Sava whispered.

There, in a clearing littered with scarred tables and chairs, two Dark Lords battled viciously. Stunned, Arim could only stare as ‘Sin Garu and B’alen tore into each other.

“This makes no sense. They know we’re here. Why turn on each other when the smart thing would be to exterminate the Light Bringers?”

“I don’t know,” Sava murmured. “But they’ve been at this for some time now. Lidra’s dead,” he said grimly. “And Alandra and Aerolus are missing.”

Arim stared into his eyes, sensing no trickery, only worry for his niece. “You’re sure they’re not anywhere, their…remains not in the trees or over the ground in any way?” he asked in a gritty voice. The thought of Aerolus dead turned him cold, but he had to know.

Sava’s face softened. “No, friend. I swear by my sight they are not here. In fact,” he said, closing his eyes, “I can’t sense Alandra or Aerolus in this plane at all.”

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Arim turned his attention back to the Dark Lords, watching with fascination as they grappled and fought. Nothing was out of bounds as they clawed, fired blue flame, and brought pawns into their battle. Several decapitated and dismembered wraiths and Aellei lay scattered about the clearing, quickly joined by another two scorched Der warriors.

“Come, Brother, let’s end this now,” ‘Sin Garu said, sounding not at all tired.

B’alen, on the other hand, looked to be breathing heavily. “Fuck you, meh fre ak nahl sur.” He flashed his teeth and spat at his brother, the sting of acid landing on ‘Sin Garu’s cheek and making him howl with rage.

“That had to hurt,” Sava muttered.

“Look at his face.”

“No, I meant the ‘nahl sur’ comment. B’alen basically called ‘Sin Garu a creation of incest.”

“Nice.” Arim shook his head. “This is all well and good, Sava, and I can’t say I don’t enjoy watching our enemy take themselves out, but I need to check on Aerolus.”

“Lexa told me everything, you know,” ‘Sin Garu mentioned casually, drawing Arim’s attention. The wily Dark Lord avoided B’alen’s enraged attack to his throat. “Lidra would only have been convincing as Ravyn if you’d not turned her into a blood drinker. Haven’t you learned by now to think ahead, big brother?”

Arim stiffened. Lidra as Ravyn? Alandra hadn’t mentioned that. Imagining Lidra pretending to be his sister made him cringe, but knowing the Aellei might have succeeded had Alandra never made herself known to Aerolus had him rethinking any doubt he might have had about his nephew’s affai.

“Ingenious, really,” Sava said, echoing his thoughts. “If Lidra had succeeded, you would have had a Dark Lord imbedded in Tanselm before you knew what you were dealing with. It’s one thing to distrust the Djinn, but your overqueen? Hmm, why hadn’t I ever thought of that?” he asked lightly.

Arim shook his head, his immediate concern for his sister cooling at Sava’s humour. Lidra was dead now. But Ravyn would need to be told. Bad enough she’d lost her husband to the Next and her sons to a foreign land, she now also needed to worry about internal threats to Tanselm. Wonderful.

Weary, Arim rubbed at his neck. “I’m going back to Tanselm. Let me know what—”

He stopped as ‘Sin Garu suddenly impaled his brother with a spear of blue flame. B’alen gurgled and black liquid ran from his mouth. It appeared the Dark Lord threat had just taken a turn for the better.

“What’s that, Brother?” ‘Sin Garu asked softly. He leaned closer to listen to what B’alen said and narrowed his eyes. “She’ll pay, dearly.” Then, gathering several wraiths still alive and surrounding the fight, he drew a circle in the air. A blazing inferno appeared above him in a circle big enough to fit the small gathering of Netharat.

He gathered B’alen in his arms and vaulted into the maw, his wraiths in trail. The portal closed as quickly as it had opened, and the air settled into stillness.

“Helluva day.” Sava breathed deeply and made a face. “We really need to clean this mess up. Already the stench of rot is clogging my sinuses.”

“Not to mention so much death is unsightly,” Arim said sarcastically. “Glad you have your priorities in order, Sava.”

Sava glared. “I love Alandra, you sheel. But she’s on her own path now, one that takes her from Aelle into a greater Shadow.” He smiled, his eyes dark with threat. “Have no fear, old friend, I intend to visit her often in Tanselm, to make sure she’s treated well, as she deserves.”

“Save it, old friend.” Arim blew out a breath in disgust. “Alandra will be treated like a queen, as you well know. Aerolus would rather die than let anyone, including me, harm his affai. Not that I would,” he said quickly to forestall more fighting. The anger in the depths of Sava’s normally good-humoured gaze began to fade. “Trust me. Alandra will be most welcomed in Tanselm. And knowing my sister, Alandra will soon have a mother again, whether she wants one or not.”

Sava visibly relaxed. “Well, then.” He cleared his throat. “I’d ask you to stay, but you make my people nervous. They only know of the horrors you perpetrate, and not of your giving nature to us of Shadow.”

Arim snorted. “On that note, I’ll leave. Let me know when you’re coming to Tanselm,” he warned lightly. “I’d hate to kill you before greeting you properly.”

Sava nodded, a light in his eyes. “But of course. Must follow society’s dictates. And the next time you show up in my tower, you’d better have several gorgeous women on your arm, or at least a treasure in gold. No offence, but Aerolus isn’t exactly a valuable commodity here.”

Chuckling, Arim nodded. He gripped Sava by the forearm before taking his leave. Teleporting back to Tanselm, he searched for Ravyn to see if Aerolus had returned. He found her with Darius, Marcus and their respective affai in her personal chambers. She glanced up, hope in her eyes, in her wary smile. But seeing him alone caused her face to fall.

“Aerolus is in trouble,” she said, tears falling from her dulled gaze. “You have to find him, Arim. Find him and save him. I can’t lose my son. He’s not ready to see his father again. Not yet, not like this.”

She cried harder, and Tessa and Samantha pulled her close. Darius and Marcus ushered him from their mother’s chamber.

“We’ve searched the kingdoms with spells, a scrying tablet and on foot. We can’t find him, or Alandra.” Marcus spoke stiffly, worry leeching from his voice.

“He’s hurt, bad,” Darius growled, frustration lacing his words. “I’ve never felt so much pain. If we don’t find him soon—”

“There won’t be an Aerolus left to find at all,” Marcus finished softly.

Aerolus couldn’t breathe. He knew he was in Tanselm, and that he lay next to his affai. Peace should have been in his grasp, but a sense of wrongness filled him, and with it, a worry that Alandra still faced grave danger. He wanted to turn to her, to feel her again. But he couldn’t move his hand, couldn’t feel anything at all.

Struggling, he tried to roll to his belly, to reach for her, to use the winds as his aid, but to no avail.

He began slipping, slowly edging closer and closer to the murky warmth of something most unwelcome…

“Not yet.” A husky, familiar voice called him back. He felt cool fingers touch his brow, bringing comfort from the pain of almost losing everything. “You’re needed here, by so many who love you,” she said softly.

Images of Alandra, his mother, his brothers and new sisters flashed through his mind. The scents of iria, of musty, ageless scrolls and withered texts, of a fresh breeze lingering over the magic of Tanselm filled him with joy.

“Come back, sweet,” she whispered and kissed his lips softly. A humbling coolness breathed new life into his tired body, and suddenly, his aches and pains melded into vibrancy, into dire, urgent need for the one woman his heart would ever love.

A soft surge whispered over the wind, and he opened his eyes to find Alandra smiling down at him.

“There you are,” she teased, feathering her touch over his lips. “I’ve missed you.” Her eyes suddenly misted, and she kissed him with desperate elation. “Don’t do that, Aerolus. I don’t like it when you lay so still.”

“Then what would you suggest, affai?”

Seeing his perfect bride, her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembling with love, for him, broke through his calm. A zeal to reaffirm life, to embrace the magic and passion of his love, caused his blood to surge as incredible lust overwhelmed him. Spelling the clothes from their bodies, he lifted Alandra over him and filled her with his heat, stealing her words before they could be spilt.

She moaned and ran her fingers through his hair as he licked and nipped at her full, distended nipples. “You’re so big inside me.”

“Yes, as it should be.” He sucked her nipples hard. “Like warm cherries,” he murmured and drew them deep.

Alandra undulated over him, fucking him with needs and love and hunger. Desire flooded him, and he studied her with his inner eye, blissfully content as he once again saw their auras entwined.

Brilliant Light and fathomless Darkness surged and kissed as Aerolus gripped Alandra’s hips, controlling her movements with a rough hands.

“Oh, love, do it to me, make me come,” she said, parting her thighs wider.

Wanting her more than breath, he grazed her clit and pushed up, mashing her pelvis against his as she rocked over him, slamming down with force while his winds encouraged her ride.

Loving the eroticism of watching them make love, he talked to her, telling her what he saw as he made love to her, stimulating her to new heights as she neared climax.

Wanting to see her explode, he rubbed his thumb over the ripe berry of her clit, harder, teasing. She gasped and moaned his name as she increased her pace, and in moments she clenched around him, praying his name over and over.

Her walls were slick, her pussy unbelievably enticing. He cried out, unable to help the spasms that shook him as he spilled into womanly perfection. As he came, he stared into her glowing eyes and gave her all he had to give. His magic, his seed, his very life was hers as it had ever been.

In a hoarse voice, he confessed, “You bring me hope, life, where before there was only loneliness and duty.”

She smiled and blinked back tears. “Go on,” she said, leaning over him.

Still joined, he hugged her to him and kissed her. “Despite your petite frame, you have the most luscious, milk-white breasts and crimson nipples. Such a smooth, taut stomach for one so small and feminine.”

She raised a brow and he laughed, knowing she wanted more.

“Your body and face are perfect, and I never want you to change even one small fraction of any of it.”

She beamed.

“I love you, Alandra. I’ll never forget what you’ve given me, or what you’ve given up for me.”

“Now that was really good.” She kissed him with tenderness, then more passionately as he began to harden again. “So soon?”

“Not soon enough,” he murmured and moaned as she levered off him.

“How about if we do it this way?” she asked, going down on all fours as she glanced over her shoulder. “It’s much more masterful like this, my prince.”

He grinned. “Trying to control me, hmm? We’ll just see about that.”

Hours later, totally spent, Alandra smiled and stared down at her lover, her mate, and stroked his cheek. His eyes were closed, and though he’d told her he wanted only a moment to recover before they joined his family, he’d fallen asleep.

Rising from his side, she stretched and patted the shadowed grass that even now, despite the bright moonlight, refused to accept the moon’s beams.

“Just lovely.” She sighed. “I’m definitely going to love it here.”

Hearing a trickle of water nearby, she cast a small protective spell around Aerolus, using his power now as easily as she used her own, and walked into the cool stream. She washed away the sweat of long passion and the remaining feel of having nearly died.

“I just wanted to thank you for what you did,” she said quietly, knowing the source of her and Aerolus’ well-being lingered near, for protection more than intrusion. “And I appreciate the privacy you allowed us.”

No one responded, not that she’d expected anything. But with Aerolus’ elemental magic in addition to Tanselm’s incredible core of energy increasing her latent magic, Alandra could feel the added presence and knew instinctively it was not Aerolus, but the person who’d healed her.

“I just want you to know that I owe you my life, and his as well. I won’t forget that, nor will I speak of it, since by your very silence you expect silence in return.”

Alandra started at a small patch of Darkness against the shadow of the forest that suddenly shifted.

True love should never be denied, echoed in her mind.

The Darkness seemed to deepen, if that were possible, before vanishing as if it had never been. Had the Shadow of Tanselm just given her its blessing? Alandra let out the breath she’d been holding, not nervous, but very, very thankful for the chance at happiness she’d been given.

Returning to Aerolus’ side, she hated to disturb him but nudged him awake. “We need to let your family know you’re alright before we get any unexpected visitors.” She glanced wryly at their nudity.

He grinned and spelled them both with clothing.

Seeing the ugly jeans and clingy T-shirt he’d once before given her, she grimaced, then laughed at his challenging expression.

She readied her magic to meet his dare, when the sound of racing footsteps approached.

Aerolus immediately stood and placed her protectively behind him. She thrilled at the act, reaching around to embrace him. “I’m so glad you love me,” she whispered.

“It wouldn’t kill you to return the sentiment every now and then,” he growled from the side of his mouth, then relaxed when he noted his brothers and uncle nearing.

“Thank the Light you two are alive and well.” Darius breathed a sigh of relief and reined in his horse. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you for hours.”

“That’s odd.” Aerolus frowned and drew Alandra next to him. “You should have been able to feel us right here.”

“Yes, we should have,” Marcus said as he stared at them both. His grin widened as he continued to stare, and Alandra knew he noticed the rosy glow of satisfaction on her face. “I knew when I felt that certain spark you were okay. But damn, Brother, you had us severely worried for a while.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did,” Arim said, appearing next to Marcus on foot. “According to Darius and Marcus, you were at death’s very door. What happened?”

He explained what he knew, but Alandra understood there was more to their recovery than arriving in Tanselm. She wanted to share her theories but needed privacy and an audience with her new husband, alone. He would accept the Shadow in their lives, but she wasn’t so sure his family felt the same, not yet. With enough time and effort, though, she knew she could bring them around.

She clutched Aerolus’ hand tight, thanking fate for him in her life. Light or Dark, he was hers to have, hers to keep.

“Alandra?” Aerolus asked, concerned with her tight grip.

“I’ve got some bad news,” she murmured, remembering what Lidra had said a world away.

The party stilled and waited.

“Did you know I’ve got distant Light Bringer in me?”

“I know you just had some in you,” he said under his breath, making her blush at Darius’ loud guffaw.

“Well, then,” Marcus said, his approval making her back stiff. “Welcome to the family, little sister.”

“Oh, so you wouldn’t have welcomed me without that—” she began, before Aerolus cut her off with a kiss.

“Thank the Light he’s learned something about women from us,” Darius remarked. “Now before you two get hot and heavy again, we have to bring you to see Mother. She’s been worried to tears, and she won’t rest until she sees your pretty face again, Aerolus.”

“He wanted to say ‘ugly face,’ but even he’s not that stupid, at least not all the time.” Marcus grinned at Aerolus and Alandra, ignoring the finger Darius gave him. “I tell you, the habits he’s picked up from Samantha are crude, not to mention insulting.” He turned to Darius. “You two are perfect for each other,” he ended, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Funny, but I saw Tessa giving you that same finger just yesterday, Marc.”

Aerolus chuckled, hugging Alandra to him, and she felt warmly content for perhaps the first time in her life. Her new brothers were going to be a handful, a challenge she thrilled to accept. And her new sisters, hmm. She already liked the sound of them.

“Come, Alandra,” Arim said, offering his hand. She looked to Aerolus, who smiled and nodded. “You need never fear my harm again,” Arim said softly. “Your spirit guides our Wind Mage, your heart is his heart. And in your love shines a beauty that will forever be pure.”

“Oh, he’s good,” she said sincerely. “Aerolus, you might want to take notes.”

The others laughed and ribbed their uncle, and as they left to meet Queen Ravyn, Alandra turned to see a shimmer of magic on the air, and a pair of ghostly blue eyes winking out of sight.