I took a seat and locked gazes with my sister. “Well, this is nice. Something to break the tedium of hunting missing Dark Lords.”
Her lips curled, and she chuckled, ignoring the sudden bursts of heat and cold, of vines appearing out of nowhere in the room, and wind blowing wildly around the brothers. Jonas burst in truth, taking on the common form of the Djinn. White energy in the form of a man was surrounded by Dark flame all around the outline of his body.
He crackled as he leaned closer to Marcus, who shot a blast of icy water his way. Jonas easily diverted the water with Dark magic, drenching the burning vine curled around Darius’s feet.
“Boys will be boys.” Ravyn smiled.
I couldn’t help laughing with her, the tension in me easing at the familiar scene of my nephews bickering. They normally teased one another, Cadmus being the worst offender. With all that had been happening lately, I knew they needed to let off some steam.
Had I thought for one minute any of them meant what they’d said, I would have smashed their heads together. But I caught the feelings they were unaware of projecting, the underlying entertainment they found in taunting one another.
To my surprise, Jonas fit in as if he’d been born into the family. The Djinn, like Cadmus, had an uncanny knack for being both amusing and irritating at the same time. And like Cadmus, he had Marcus in fits.
After several moments of chaos, Ravyn nodded to me. I immediately quelled all the magic in the room, Light and Dark.
Jonas gaped like a fish out of water as he found himself in human skin again, his Dark energy caught by flesh and bone. “Damn, didn’t know you could do that.”
“Remember that the next time you’re pestering me about Tanselm’s precious need for balance,” I muttered.
“Boys, I take it you’re feeling better now?” Ravyn asked. “All out of your systems?”
Her sons nodded, their faces full of chagrin.
Jonas laughed. “By the Dark, that was fun. How about another round?”
Darius snorted, and Marcus snickered. Cadmus slapped him on the back, their fight over as if it had never existed.
Aerolus stood, a slight smile on his face. Still the most serious of his siblings. “Sorry, Mother. Tension’s been building throughout the land, and I know we all feel it. Believe it or not, I think Marcus has the right of it. We can’t introduce more Dark into the land without figuring out what’s wrong within the kingdoms. There’s more than just Tanselm’s magic at stake, but the welfare of our people. Alandra and I have discussed it, and we think the Church of Illumination is behind this subtler discord.”
Ravyn sighed. “I’ve had similar reports, but I hadn’t wanted to believe it. Bad enough we’re fighting a Dark Lord and the Netharat. We really don’t need any infighting to worsen our situation.”
“How bad is it?” I stared at my sister, suddenly more worried about her than Tanselm. Now that I opened my senses to truly see her, Ravyn looked more than tired. She appeared drained, her magic much weaker than my own. Of the two of us, despite being more than a hundred years younger, I was magically stronger.
Ravyn had always possessed the ability to take me down a peg. Now she looked as if a stiff wind would knock her over, the same way she’d appeared just after learning of her husband’s tragic death.
Had Tanselm weakened for her, too? Or was this some new threat taking aim at someone I loved?
Chapter 4
Arim
Ravyn stated, “Reports of attacks on Djinn and Aellei have been coming in. It’s not just the northern and eastern kingdoms with problems. In Marcus’s territory to the south, the rilk forest has begun dying, the trees decaying from within. Our healers and sorcerers are baffled. Here in the west, the Church has been stirring unrest in the marketplace. Questions about the royal affai and —” Ravyn stared into my eyes — “your loyalty has been challenged.”
“My loyalty?” I didn’t understand.
Darius was happy to explain it to me. “Those dickhead — sorry Mother, but you know it’s true — Church brethren are implying that since you helped Lexa to heal, you’ve fallen under Dark enchantment.”
I could feel the heat behind my eyes, anger building. “What?”
“Yeah. Apparently, doing the decent thing and not killing a vulnerable, unprotected female now goes against everything we stand for. I don’t get it either.” And I don’t think our walls are safe anymore, Darius projected to me, using the telepathy he’d inherited from Ravyn. Mother’s still recovering from Sin Garu’s attack and doesn’t hear the things I can. There are those among the Light Bringers that seek to overturn Storm Lord leadership.
I frowned. We’ll speak about this later. Say nothing to your mother. She doesn’t look as if she can handle any more stress.
Darius discreetly nodded. He shot Ravyn a concerned glance and turned back to Marcus to agree with his brother’s latest tangent about instilling a curfew at night, to better protect the people from Netharat invaders.
While my nephews came up with a game plan to better secure the people, I tried to see past my sister’s inner shields. How injured was she? Like Lexa, Ravyn had fallen during an attack by Sin Garu. For weeks, she’d lain unconscious, her energy perilously low. None of the Light Bringer sorcerers had been able to help her.
Until Lexa had restored my sister’s power.
