I jumped back past the barrier, carrying him onto the island with me. I half expected him to fight back despite the weapon buried in his gut, but he didn’t. He just stared at me as the color drained from his face. He never even saw Vince’s stone-covered hand smash into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

  I let him fall to the ground and dismissed my glaive, then dropped to my knees beside him. I couldn’t let him die. He’d shown up alone. Either a sacrifice or a spy. Lodron would find out.

  I pressed my hands against his stomach and forced a healing pulse into his wound.

  “What are you doing?” Vince asked.

  “Lodron won’t be able to question him if he dies,” I replied, biting back the pain assaulting me as I healed him. “I expected him to dodge my blade, but he didn’t.”

  “He assumed we’d be stuck watching him dissolve the barrier,” Blaire said.

  “Possibly,” I agreed.

  “How did you get through it?” she pressed.

  I glanced up at her and shrugged. I honestly hadn’t thought about not having Dusha with me before I ran through it. Maybe it wasn’t the spirit elemental.

  Magic rippled across my skin, and I jumped to my feet, leaving the man mostly healed. I should’ve realized it would be our warriors showing up. Over one hundred of them swarmed the beach. Lodron stomped towards us, kicking up sand as he went.

  “Are there more?” he asked, his eyes scanning the ocean behind me.

  “I don’t think so,” I replied, swaying as my adrenaline faded. I’d expected a fight. We all had.

  “How did he get on our side of the barrier?”

  “I brought him over. I assumed you would want to chat with him.” I looked down at the still unconscious man at my feet. “Vince knocked him out, but he won’t stay that way.”

  Lodron stepped into my space, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. Was he mad? Sure looked like it.

  “You can jump through the barrier?” he whispered.

  I swallowed hard and nodded.

  “We need to talk.”

  “You know where I live.”

  He didn’t smile at my attempt at levity, instead turning his back and barking orders at two of the warriors to take our prisoner to the interrogation cell.

  “That seemed really weird,” Blaire said, her eyes scanning the beach behind me. “Shouldn’t there be more of them?”

  “I thought the same thing,” I replied, half listening to Lodron as he instructed the warriors to do a sweep of the barrier. “I’m going outside the shield to make sure nothing’s there.”

  “We’ll go with you.” Vince stepped up to my side, and Blaire joined them.

  “Are your elementals still attached to you?” I asked.

  They nodded, and I reached for their elbows. I wasn’t sure if they could break through the barrier or if it was just me, because of my connection to Dusha.

  “Let’s see if you can go through by yourselves,” I whispered, stealing a glance at Lodron. “Maybe after the warriors leave. I don’t think Lodron’s happy about it.”

  The captain approached us as the last group of warriors disappeared down the beach. “Can all of you ignore the barrier?” he asked as if reading my mind.

  “We’re about to find out,” I said.

  Vince and Blaire gave each other a meaningful look. One second, they were right next to me, and a moment later, they were twenty feet away on the other side of the protective dome.

  “How long have you known?” Lodron growled.

  I spun around and poked him in the chest. “Keep your grumpy ass to yourself,” I hissed. “I just realized it when Dusha took me from the castle to the Elemental Council earlier today. You should’ve realized it when he took Ronquil.”

  He grabbed my hand and wrenched it behind my back, slamming my body into his. My beast purred at the promise of violence.

  “I’m not dealing with this very well, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he said under his breath. “I have this unreasonable urge to protect you when you clearly don’t need my protection.”

  I let my anger ebb away. “I don’t need your protection, but I do need your friendship and trust.” I used my free hand to poke him in the chest again. “We’ll talk about it tonight when no one else is watching.”

  He released me and took a step back, but his eyes never left my face.

  We need to go, Niyol’s panicked voice erased all my concerns for Lodron.

  What’s wrong?

  There are three more. One at each cardinal point. North, east, and west.

  I spun around to face Vince and Blaire on the outside of the barrier.

  Did you get that? Vince? Blaire?

  Yes! they answered in unison.

  Movement from Lodron caught my eye, and I stepped back. I couldn’t take him with me. If he got hit with the black magic these guys threw around, he wouldn’t recover. He didn’t have four elementals scrubbing his soul. It had taken some serious scrubbing for my elementals to purge the darkness from me after the first fight with the dark fae a few weeks ago. Our warriors might be able to shake off a normal spell, but not the shit from these sorcerers—warlocks—dark mages—whatever the hell they were.

  “AJ, what’s happening?” Lodron asked.

  I stood there for two more seconds, burning his look of fear into my memory. We’d need to talk about that too. Lodron couldn’t be distracted by me anymore than I could be distracted by him. If there were any chance of a relationship between us, we’d have to accept that both of us were warriors with a duty to our people. I couldn’t question his commitment to his king and wouldn’t allow him to question my loyalty to the Dionadair.

  I jumped past the barrier, joining my team.

  “We have to split up,” I said in a rush. “These guys are here to bring down the shield. If they succeed, the rest of the warriors will be right behind.”

  “I got north,” Blaire said, determination pulling her lips into a thin line.

  “I got west,” Vince said, focusing his concern on Blaire.

  “We can do this,” I said. “Five against one, remember?”

  They both looked at me and nodded. As soon as they disappeared, I turned back to Lodron. His hands pressed against the invisible barrier. Oh, he was pissed.

  There are three more trying to tear down the shield, I said quickly.

  His fist pounded the barrier, and I didn’t need to hear him to see the anger in his silent scream. AJ! Take me with you!

  Get your warriors ready just in case we fail! I yelled back.

  His jaw clenched several times, but he stepped away from the wall separating us. I knew I needed to go, but his raw emotion kept my feet grounded. The perfect example of why I couldn’t have a man in my life. He made me hesitate when I shouldn’t.

  The beach and Lodron suddenly disappeared. I yelped in surprise as I landed several feet away from my next victim. Thankfully, he was just as startled by my arrival as I was. I sent a silent thank you to my elementals for snapping me out of my stupid.

  My weapon flared to life, and I lunged for the sorcerer. A black shield materialized in front of the dark fae, and my blade slammed into it. I stumbled with the impact, pain darting up my arms.

  “Shit!” I cried, rolling to the side to avoid a blast of magic. Sand scorched the bare skin on my hands and neck, but I ignored it. My opponent was already poised for another spell. I drew on Niyol’s strength and hammered the sorcerer with a gust of wind, immediately followed by a wave of fire.

  He fell back on his ass. He wasn’t fast enough to block the wind, but my fire cascaded around his quickly erected shield. I cursed again but didn’t relent. He was down and needed to stay that way.

  Large claws of sand erupted from the beach beneath the sorcerer. He cried out as they dug into his body and pulled him under. Waves of shadow burst from the sand, snaking across the ground, blindly looking for me. I skipped back out of reach.

  “Danae! Will that kill him?”

  “Yes,” she rumbled.

  Relief flooded me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I needed to help my team, but which one?

  “Blaire has hers under control,” Göksu said.

  My world disappeared again, and my elemental dropped me at the edge of the water a moment later, soaking my boots. I almost yelled at him until I saw Vince take a direct hit in the chest. Dark shadows swirled over his body and threw him into the ocean. I couldn’t tell if the magic penetrated his armor or not.

  Without thinking, I flung a handful of glass daggers at the sorcerer splashing through the tide to get to Vince. I didn’t wait to see what kind of damage they did. Power swelled in my core as my glaive flared to life in my hand. I pointed it at the dark fae as he swirled around to face me.

  His black magic snaked around his arms and shot towards me. He recovered way quicker than his counterpart. My fiery stream of magic collided with his shadows, the impact throwing us both to the ground.

  “Damn,” I mumbled, rolling over and pushing myself to my feet.

  The sorcerer moaned, and I called on the same clawed fingers to bury him beneath the island. He fought like a tiger against their iron grip, but he couldn’t win against the power of the earth.

  I turned my attention to Vince. Shallow waves washed over his body, but he didn’t move. Was his chest rising? I couldn’t tell.

  I rushed to his side, placing my fingers against his neck. His pulse beat strong. Maybe too strong. I pulled back his eyelid and gasped. Shadows swallowed the whites of his eyes.

  “Dusha!” I screamed.

  His elementals are fighting it, Göksu said.

  A slow, sliding movement in my gut preceded my elementals detaching from my magical core. Their colors swirled around me as they took their humanoid forms.

  “Can you help?” I asked, my eyes dancing between my four elementals.

  They circled Vince, then kneeled at his side and placed their hands on his chest.

  “Vince!” Blaire ran towards us, collapsing in the sand and gently lifting her friend’s head into her lap. “Is he okay?” Tears rolled down her cheeks and disappeared into the sand.

  “I think so,” I replied, hoping it was true. “He took a pretty hard hit, but he’s not alone.”

  Her tear-filled eyes met mine, and she gasped. “AJ, you need to see a healer.”

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew my own opponent had hit me with his magic. The side of my face and neck burned. I just hoped I hadn’t lost any hair.

  “It’s fine,” I said. “Your sorcerer is dead?”

  She pulled her gaze from the side of my face and nodded.

  “And are you okay?” I asked.

  “I think so. I’m really good at shields, so he couldn’t hit me.” She brushed the sand from Vince’s cheek. “My water elemental pulled him into the ocean and drowned him.”

  “I left mine buried in the sand.” I flicked my eyes to the spot where the last dark fae disappeared. “Vince’s got the same grave.”

  “Good.”

  My elementals suddenly disappeared, and swirling colors erupted from Vince’s chest. He gasped and his eyes fluttered, but he didn’t wake up.

  “Is he good?” I asked, knowing the elementals were still with us.

  “Yes. He needs sleep.” I recognized Vince’s earth elemental’s voice even though he didn’t show himself.

  “I’ll take him home.” Blaire gripped his shoulders, and they both disappeared.

  I rolled back onto my butt, letting the ocean eddy around me.

  Are they gone? Lodron asked.

  I looked up to find the captain and a large group of warriors standing on the other side of the barrier. Coral stood next to Lodron, her hands pressed against the protective shield.

  Yes, I replied, not moving from my spot.

  Why is Göksu not healing you?

  I reached up and touched the side of my face, wincing with the contact. It felt like gooey sandpaper and probably looked the same.

  That’s a really good question, Captain.

  He glared at me and turned to Coral. Her eyes narrowed, and her hands slid from the barrier. Whatever he said clearly made her mad. I ignored them and focused on getting my ass back to my room and my really nice bathtub.

  It took all of two seconds to realize I couldn’t make the jump. I hadn’t even used that much magic, but no matter how hard I tried, I had nothing left.

  “Göksu, can you fix this for me?”

  “Let’s just get you home and cleaned up,” he replied. I peeled my eyes open. When had I closed them? “Ronquil’s water elemental will heal you.”

  I almost asked him why he couldn’t do it, but I knew. Purging the darkness from Vince had exhausted all of them.

  Göksu shook his head, then scooped me up and took me home.

  Chapter 11

  I once again found myself at the dining table in my apartment. Lodron’s parents’ dining table. Ronquil and Lodron sat across from me this time. Coral took the seat on my right, and Ronquil’s water elemental filled the space on my left.

  “The spell is draining your strength,” the elemental said in a soft, feminine voice. Her fingers trailed my skin, leaving behind a warm, soothing sensation.

  “That explains why I’m so tired,” I mumbled. “Can you stop it?”

  “Yes. Relax and I’ll take care of it.”

  The sensation deepened, and I sighed with relief. I really loved the elementals.

  “Did they damage the barrier?” I asked, cutting my eyes at Coral.

  “They weakened it,” she replied. “With enough time, they could’ve taken it down.”

  “Well shit. That’s not good.” My eyes rolled back as another wave of healing washed down my neck. “That’s really good. The healing part, I mean,” I clarified.

  The elemental laughed softly. “Release your armor so I can make sure it’s all gone.”

  I mentally whispered the spell to release my armor, and she pulled the now supple fabric off my left shoulder.

  “I think they were testing our defenses,” Lodron said from across the table. “But they also revealed their lack of knowledge about the Dionadair.”

  I glanced at him, tilting my head to the side so the elemental could heal my neck and shoulder. “They didn’t think we could get to them without opening the barrier. The guy we captured was too shocked to react when I stabbed him.”

  “You shouldn’t have been able to go through it,” Coral muttered.

  “Yeah, well, I’m glad we could,” I retorted. “Otherwise you would’ve had to open the shield and risk letting them in.”

  She huffed. “I know. It just makes us feel vulnerable in a way we shouldn’t.”

  “Imagine how the vampires feel,” I snapped. “They depended on the shield to protect them.”

  “Don’t,” Ronquil warned. “We had no idea our magic could be negated so easily.”

  I sighed. He was right, but everything about the vampires’ defeat still hurt.

  “Sorry. We should probably reinforce the mages’ protective barrier as well. And anyone else who might have one.” I bit my lip. “Or we should get their Dionadair up to speed really quick.”

  “Or both,” Coral said.

  “Yeah, probably both.” I gave her an apologetic smile, which she returned. She did everything she could to protect Braden’s estate. It wasn’t her fault it didn’t work. We had so much to learn about Neobitch’s dark army.

  “Try not to get hit next time,” the elemental said, draping my armor back over my shoulder. “Recruiting the Dionadair should be your first priority. We need time to acclimate to our hosts. Time we may not have.” She stood, and her gaze shifted towards Ronquil. “Don’t waste energy on something that others are more suited for.”

  She fell into a puddle on the floor that quickly disappeared, just like Göksu.

  “Do we know if these dark fae can still communicate telepathically?” I asked, pulling my eyes from the floor. “Should we assume that Sabina knows everything that happened?”

  “We should assume she knows,” Lodron replied.

  “I really hope she’s done for the night,” I muttered. “Would she plan another attack right away? Will she be pissed about losing four of her guys?”

  “We have no way of knowing,” the captain responded. “If she’s just testing us, we’re probably okay for the night. Our patrols will alert us to any danger, unless your elementals beat them to it.” He shrugged. “I suggest we get some sleep. We’ll make plans for the other magical families tomorrow.”

  A jaw-breaking yawn escaped my lips. “Sleep sounds good.” I rose from my chair, tugging my loose armor together, and turned to Ronquil. It would be a huge relief to have his input with decisions. Flying by the seat of my pants had worked so far, but I had a feeling things were about to get way too complicated. We needed a strategy. “Thank you, Ron.”

  He smiled and shook his head. “See you in the morning.”

  He and Coral disappeared, leaving me with Lodron. I knew he wanted to talk, but I was so tired.

  “I’m going to bed,” I said. “If you want to talk, you can join me.”

  He laughed, and a wide grin spread across his face. “It’s called ‘talking’ now?”

  I realized what I said and rolled my eyes at him. “You know what I meant, pervert.” I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my own lips. It was good to see him flirting after his threat on the beach.

  “Yes, I do. Don’t fall asleep before I get there.” He stepped away from the table and headed to the door connecting our apartments.

  “Then you better hurry up,” I teased as he disappeared.

  A quick shower and clean pajamas went a long way to making me feel better. Lodron was already taking up his half of my bed when I emerged from the bathroom. Seeing him lying flat on his back with his hands tucked beneath his head, wearing nothing more than those loose pants he called PJs, stirred my little beast.

  Not tonight, girl.

  I slid beneath the blankets and pulled them up to my chin, purposefully staying on my side of the bed.

  “I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier,” Lodron mumbled. “I’m not good at being on the sidelines.”

 

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