The minute Cadmus’ finger touched her shoulder, the very second his power hit hers, he froze. The Dark Mistress, Lexa Van Nostren, ‘Sin Garu’s sister and traitor to his cause, froze as well. Together, they stood like statues, locked in a war of wills, a soft blue nimbus of light blanketing them. Then Lexa took a deep breath and pulled away, leaving Cadmus in a frozen haze.
“Very good work, Jonas.” She turned to him, her grin sincere and dangerously alluring. “He’s filled with a Darkness that complements his Light. I believe this Storm Lord will solve all your problems.”
Jonas brightened, his aura black with joy. “Truly, Lexa? This one would see the Djinn welcomed back to Tanselm?”
“The Sarqua Djinn, yes,” she corrected softly, and he nodded. “Those who fight alongside ‘Sin Garu are too tainted to appreciate Tanselm’s grace.”
Jonas bowed his head in deference. “Unfortunate, but true.” He looked up, willing her to read the sincerity in his soul. “But we won’t make those same mistakes. We may live in the Darkness of existence, but our hearts are pure.”
She nodded. “Light and Dark are sides of the same coin. It has ever been about balance. In time, all will see what you and I know.”
“And Cadmus?”
Her grin would have looked quite menacing had Jonas not understood and supported its cause. “He’s one of us already. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Chapter One
Two months ago on Earth
Living in Seattle for the past twenty-eight years had definitely not prepared Ellie Markham for what her father had asked her to do. Not having seen the man for over a year—no phone calls, no letters and not even a parting good-bye—should have warned her he was up to no good. But when he suddenly appeared out of the blue a few months ago, she’d been all bright-eyed optimism, sure she could still turn him around.
“I am such an idiot,” she murmured as she prepared another round of Screaming Orgasms for the male college students ogling her over the bar.
Hell on Earth couldn’t have come at a worse time. Just as she’d been six credits from earning her Masters degree and an amazing teaching position at the university, good old Ethim had reappeared. An armful of flowers for Mom, a nice dinner out on the town at Ellie’s favourite restaurant, charm and concern, an emotional epiphany of love and regret that he’d been away for so long…
And here she stood on a Saturday night, poured into tight jeans and a bright blue tank top to combat the heat in this godforsaken bar. She wanted to kick herself for falling into Ethim’s plans so easily. Any other guy she’d be kicking in the teeth, but for good old Dad, she’d practically become a doormat. She wished she had a stronger backbone. But dammit, she still ached to make her father happy, to make him proud. And for that, she had to watch pretty-man Darius—
“Ellie?”
—Storm. She blinked up into dark, murky eyes and a face that would stop any woman in her tracks. Okay, so he had a face made for pleasure and a body made for sin. For some odd reason, he just didn’t do it for her. She wondered again where the hell her libido had gone.
“Darius, what can I do for you?”
He frowned and looked around. “You haven’t seen Gerry’s new hire, have you?”
“New hire?” She nodded to one of the waitresses to pick up a tray of drinks and wiped down the bar in front of her.
“You know, that assessor, Samantha something or other?”
She stared at him, aware of his casual interest that was all too telling. For the past four months, she’d studied and reported back to her father every last detail of Prince Darius Storm’s comings and goings from the bar. He’d been interested in a few women from time to time, but he’d never acted so obviously disinterested. Hmm.
“Oh yeah, Samantha Brooks. Dirty-blonde hair, green eyes, lot of attitude?”
He grinned, and she wondered again why she felt nothing for a man so obviously her type.
Shrugging, she shook her head. “I haven’t seen her yet tonight, but I can let her know you’re looking for her if—”
“No, no, don’t bother.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mike yelling for him. “The women over there are practically climbing over the damned bar.” He looked at her section and grinned. “I see you have a similar problem.” Several nearby men glared at Darius while trying to catch her attention.
She sighed. “Want to trade?”
He noted a close-by greasy male sporting too much chest hair and shook his head. “Hell no. I’ll talk to you later.”
She watched him return to his crew and made a mental note.
Hours later, after a pleasant discussion with Darius’ Samantha, she watched Samantha leave the bar, at Ellie’s request, to venture into the basement for some much-needed house ale. Not a minute later, Darius darted to follow the woman, deliberately remaining a few steps behind. Almost half an hour passed before both parties emerged—Samantha with a dazed and almost hunted look on her face, and Darius with a deeply introspective expression.
Smiling, Ellie decided she’d played as far into this game as she wanted. This was exactly the information her father had been seeking when he’d assigned her this task. And now that she’d witnessed the results he was so eager to hear, she had no intention of carrying her charade any further.
Seattle, Present Day
Three months after she began working at Outpour, Ellie gave Gerry her final notice, less than pleased she’d been forced to continue working at the bar through the spring. It would take forever to get back into the academic groove. Her own fault, really. She was honest enough with herself to admit ‘forced’ meant ‘trying to gain Ethim’s approval’. Much as she distanced herself from that otherworldly part of her makeup, she knew how important the Storm brothers were to her father. Hell, the way he acted, life as she knew it would fall to pieces if she didn’t report every move Cadmus made.
A small hand on her arm shook her thoughts, and she smiled down at her soon-to-be ex-boss.
Gerry looked like he was on the verge of tears as he stood to say his good-byes. My father could take lessons from this man. “We’ll miss you here, Ellie. You were more than just an employee.”
She smiled and hugged him, letting out a startled breath at the tight squeeze he gave her. Nodding warmly, she pocketed her last paycheque and exited the back office into the alley behind the bar.
Since it was still daylight, she had no worries about being molested in the sour unloading zone, though the hand that yanked her back into the shadows startled a small gasp out of her all the same.
“What exactly happened between you and the Earth Lord?”
She let out a breath and tugged her arm from the large hand grabbing her. “Jonas, you scared the piss out of me.”
“Oh, did I?” her cousin asked pleasantly. “Well, ever since Darius married his affai and took off for Tanselm, you’ve been acting peculiar around his brother.”
She hoped the shadows of the alley hid the sudden pallor of her face. Cadmus, one of Darius’ brothers, one of his identical quadruplet brothers, was the one sticking point in her life she couldn’t, for the life of her, wrap her mind around. She had enough trouble dealing with his haunting memories. She sure as hell didn’t need Jonas interfering where he had no business.
“That’s a moot point now, isn’t it, Jonas? Considering Cadmus is in Foreia and far away from me.”
“Not necessarily,” he hedged.