“Do you think Darius has been drinking?” Cadmus grinned, his eyes on the doorway through which his brother had recently left.
“If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I wouldn’t believe it.” Marcus shook his head. “Darius actually apologised to a woman for being too high-handed? He did do that, didn’t he? I’m not dreaming?”
Aerolus barely managed to stifle a chuckle. He’d been hoping something like this might happen. Finally. Darius had found someone to penetrate the shield encasing his heart. Affection, maybe even love, was there in the way Darius looked at Samantha, in the way he said her name.
“What do you think, Aerolus?” Both Cadmus and Marcus stared at him, waiting for an answer.
“I think Darius has finally met his match.”
“Hot damn.” Cadmus shot to his feet and threw his fists in the air. “I can almost feel the black earth of Tanselm running through my fingers. I can almost smell the sweet aroma of leraffes in bloom as the onset of spring beckons me home.”
Marcus rolled his eyes as Cadmus continued to wax poetic, but Aerolus could see the excitement the word ‘Tanselm’ instilled in his shining blue gaze.
“You might not want to get too happy just yet,” Aerolus cautioned, not wanting to douse hope but a realist nonetheless. “Whether Darius succeeds with this woman or not is no sure path back home.”
“He’s right.” Arim’s quiet voice surprised them. He stepped from the far wall of the room as if separating from the very paint and plaster, a misty haze of man that coalesced into flesh and blood. “There’s been a disturbance between the planes, a darkness pocketing the realms where there should only be waiting space.”
His black eyes glimmered into blue, then purple, turning a rainbow of colours, all blazing with a rage Aerolus had only seen once in all the time he’d known Arim. “I need to see Darius right now.”
Sudden fear for Darius scored Aerolus’ heart.
“But he just went upstairs with Samantha.” Marcus frowned, not liking Arim’s tone either.
“Where?” Arim snarled the word, worry evident in his eyes, and startled, Marcus directed him to Darius’ bedroom.
In a flash Arim disappeared. Shaken, Aerolus teleported into Darius’ room. He stared in horror as his brother and Samantha lay in an unholy blaze, black and blue flames singing their bodies and souls as they lay helpless under the Wraith’s Kiss.
His eyes fixed on the flaming bed, he hadn’t yet noticed Arim until chanting sounded from the other side of the room. The sorcerer shoved his hand through the blaze just as Marcus and Cadmus burst through the door.
“By the Light’s holy fire.” Cadmus paled as they helplessly watched Arim battle the Wraith’s Kiss, a cursed spell originated in the darkest realm. They’d all seen it before used all too readily and with great success by the Netharat.
Grimacing, Arim closed his fist around the Knowing Crystal. Gradually, the blaze transferred from Samantha and Darius into him. Arim’s skin turned a mottled blue-black, the smell of charred flesh filling the air. Then suddenly, the unnatural fire ceased.
Arim stood, chalk-white but otherwise unharmed. After a few calming breaths, his colour slowly returned, and he bent low to place one hand on Darius’ unmoving chest.
Aerolus heard a small whoosh and exhaled a sigh of relief when Darius took a deep breath. His brother’s eyes opened, blood red with fury.
“What the hell was that?” he asked in a croak, shaking as he sat up with Arim’s help. He quickly looked to Samantha, relaxing a fraction when he saw her even breathing.
“You have found your affai. There can be no question now.” Arim nodded towards Samantha, who lay still under their regard.
“No question?” Darius stood on unsteady feet. “I almost died in that bed.”
“Not a pretty sight.” Cadmus cringed. “Not at all.”
“I thought the Knowing Crystal was supposed to show you your affai, not burn her to a crisp,” Marcus drawled, as if he hadn’t just witnessed his brother’s flamedance with death.
Arim said nothing, simply stared until Marcus looked away after a mumbled apology.
“What are you doing here anyway, Arim?” Darius glared at the sorcerer. “Seems the only time you bother to show up anymore is to tell us to wait and be patient.” He snorted. “Not that I’m complaining about your timing, but I’m sure you’re not here to bring us home.”
Arim took a hard look at the four men waiting impatiently for him to explain. Aerolus thought he looked tired, a slight darkening under his eyes barely perceptible.
Taking a soft breath before speaking, Arim remained locked in place, his face devoid of any expression. But his eyes, his eyes blazed hotter than any fire Darius could conjure or control.
“’Sin Garu has infiltrated the Royal House. Until the breach is found and eliminated, everything is held in the balance. You must remain vigilant in your guard, and you must remain here.”
Marcus, Cadmus and Darius spoke at the same time, their voices perfect echoes of frustration, anger and disbelief.
“The Royal House?”
“Mother! Is she safe? Does she know?”
“What are you waiting for? Send us back before everything is destroyed!”
Arim crossed his arms and shook his head, but Aerolus could feel the strain burdening him.
“We can help you,” Aerolus added in the sudden quiet.
Arim’s ink black gaze swept the room, lingering on Aerolus with a disturbing intensity before finding Marcus. “You need to hone your skills, and soon. Parlour tricks— moving glasses, pulling out a chair, and fetching a newspaper with your mind are one thing, fighting wraiths is another.” He turned to Cadmus. “You should be using your visions to counter future troubles, not questioning everything you believe you see. Open your mind and use your visions, Cadmus, before they begin to use you.
“And Darius,” he stopped to take a deep breath. “The most stubborn of the Royal Four. How appropriate then that you have found the first of the royal affai. You did not want to wed, yet here she is.” Arim strode to Samantha’s side of the bed and grazed her cheek with his hand. “A tender flower that can withstand any storm. Do not underestimate her power.” He narrowed his eyes. “And watch your temper around her. I’ve no wish to put out any more flames.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Darius stared down at Samantha with disbelief. “Are you telling me she did this? She cast a spell on me? A Netharat spell?”
“No. The Knowing Crystal had been tampered with. Someone had enspelled it with the Wraith’s Kiss. It worked on your magic, and because Samantha is your affai, it worked on her as well.”
“Because she and Darius share his magic,” Aerolus said softly, understanding.
Arim nodded. “The woman is of this world, yet she’s capable of withstanding elemental magic. Theoretically, she could learn to use fire, even to control the Wraith’s Kiss with proper training.” Arim turned to Aerolus. “You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you, Wind Mage?” he said softly, pausing as if in debate with himself. His eyes blazed. “Come with me.”
Aerolus vanished with Arim, back to Tanselm or wherever Arim spent his time. Darius didn’t know what to say or do, and his brothers looked similarly stunned. The room smelled of burnt wool, and the air remained uncomfortably warm, even to Darius. He was about to ask Marcus and Cadmus what exactly they had seen when Samantha blinked her eyes open.
Instead of the mysterious green gaze he expected, her eyes burned a bright, curious crimson.