by Elle Thorne
“Well, I can answer that,” Marco told him. “Jaron’s the elemental. Circe’s not. She has an elemental in her. But she’s not an elemental. Big difference. She can’t do what he can. Because that’s the way of elementals. They don’t have bodies.”
Linc grunted. “Seems I remember her mentioning something about that. Vaguely. Guess I better make damned sure nothing happens to you while she’s locked inside your head. She and the baby are counting on you.”
“Mhm,” Marco said with a tight smile. “I won’t let anything happen to my sister. Don’t you worry.”
A sound from the fortress tore Symone’s attention back to the conflict between Orimith and Quake.
Except now, there was no conflict. There was a cloud of dark smoke covering the fortress, making everything inside indiscernible.
She grabbed Marco’s arm. “Look.”
He raised his gaze from Circe to where Symone pointed. “What the hell.” Then he paused. “Shit. Jaron’s having a meltdown in my head. Circe’s trying to calm him down.” Marco gripped his head. “Settle down in there. Damn, already.”
Symone found herself happier than ever that she had no elemental of her own to deal with.
“Want me to go check it out, make sure Quake’s okay?” Jenner took a step toward the smoke-filled fortress.
Symone grabbed her brother’s arm. “Absolutely not.”
He gave her a look.
“I will not have you going in there. You do not know how to defend yourself against their brand of magic.”
“I have my own.”
“I said, no,” she hissed. “Do not make me—”
“What would you do, Noni? Go to the Circle? You’ll have your own explaining to do, I believe.”
She clamped her mouth shut, her lips a tight, grim line.
Marco stepped closer to the two of them. “Don’t threaten your sister.”
Jenner glanced at Marco, then at Symone. “What’s this?”
Symone felt her cheeks grow warm. She wanted to rage at Marco, but at the same time, a part of her felt a joy that he’d stood up for her.
“She’s helping Jaron and Alara.” Marco’s words were clipped. “I wouldn’t see her pay for doing the right thing.”
She narrowed her eyes, now completely unsure about why he’d defended her.
“The smoke is dissipating.” Jenner switched the conversation.
Marco stepped closer.
Symone joined him, holding her breath. Inwardly, she prayed for a good outcome to this endeavor. That Quake had prevailed.
Five figures stood in the shadowy smoke.
Symone gasped.
“What the hell?” Jenner whispered.
The smoke dissipated even further, revealing Quake, Alara, Orimith, and another two individuals. A man and a woman. From their attire and their features—so similar to Alara’s—it was evident they were Zimoshi.
“Go,” Quake said to them. “Leave the fortress. Leave. Leave me here with Orimith.”
Orimith did not move.
Symone looked at him closely. There was something wrong with Orimith.
“Do you see that?” she whispered to Marco and Jenner. “His eyes. They are white. All white. No pupils. No nothing.”
Marco tilted his head slightly. She realized he was listening to something in his head.
Then he said, “Circe says it must be something Quake has done.”
Alara and the couple stepped through the open doorway of the dilapidated fortress, approaching them.
Behind the trio, Orimith whimpered, then dropped to his knees. Quake snapped his fingers, and the black smoke returned, enveloping both Quake and Orimith, hiding them from view.
A high-pitched yell pierced the air, coming from within the fortress.
Seconds later, Quake emerged, unscathed. And alone.
* * *
They stood, assembled, all who’d been in the fortress, and those who had been outside: Symone, Marco, Jenner, Circe, Linc, Jaron, Alara, and the two as-yet-unintroduced Zimoshi.
Circe had pulled herself from within Marco with the usual fanfare of doubling over—unfortunately, a sensation that Symone herself was now familiar with—and now stood, fully awake and out of the coma-like state her body had been in when she’d taken Jaron into Marco’s body.
Jaron followed Circe out.
Symone had questions. So many questions. Where had Alara been? Who were these people that were with her? How had they been in Orimith. What did Quake do with him.
No one had spoken on the trek from the fortress to the building next to the amphitheater—the roofless structure composed of stone pillars with stone-carved tables and benches. All had been immersed in the brutality and enormity of the situation, the awe of the wonder they had witnessed.
They sat at a table, each looking from one to the other. Still not a single one uttered a word.
Symone finally gave in. “Welcome back.” She reached out and hugged Alara. “I won’t deny, I was afraid we would not see you again.”
“As was I,” Jaron concurred, his face still bearing a measure of paleness on his face after the ordeal.
“I was worried about you. I could not get out of Orimith, but I could see you refused to go into Marco.”
Jaron dropped his gaze. “It is true.”
“It has ended well. This portion of our journey, anyhow.” Alara squeezed his hand. She turned her gaze to Quake. “You are the one. I recognize you. You visited my mother. You taught her all that she taught me.”
Quake wore a mystical smile. “True. And my father did before me.”
“You are not Zimoshi.” Alara’s tone held no accusation.
“Also, true. I am one of the Denes.”
All remained quiet, transfixed by the conversation between Alara and Quake.
Alara tugged on her sleeve, almost as though she was uncertain. “We called your people the Northern Ones.”
He nodded. “That applies.”
Alara studied him, her eyes going over his features. “Why did your people do that? Travel to our lands?”
Quake ran his fingers through his hair, the ponytail now gone. Somehow between the time he’d set foot in the fortress, and now, his long, light-colored locks had been freed. “Ages ago, one of ours—one of our people—left. He went voyaging. During his expeditions, he met a woman. The short story of it, he stayed and became one of her people. But his father could not handle never seeing his only son. So, he journeyed there, every year. She was a Zimoshi, the one the traveler stayed for. The one for whom he changed allegiances and people. So his father would visit, annually, to teach the Zimoshi our ways, to skill them in the arcane art of element controlling. And to impart to a select few the magic.”
A slow smile came to Alara’s face. “My mother was one of those he taught.”
“As were you. I saw you as a girl. Of course, that was well after the traveler had come to you. Centuries, even.”
“I knew you were familiar to me.” Alara paused, the smile vanishing, replaced by sadness. “Did you never look for us? After. After the Barabin took us prisoner. And then made our people obsolete. ”
“Oh, but we did. We sent scouts. Who knew that you’d been raided? Who knew you’d been taken captive?”
“Did you know the one who came to us? The one who taught us before you? Before your father? The traveler, did you know him?”
“Know him? It was my great-great-grandfather’s only son. His woman had died. He left home in grief. Left his sons behind, who were raised by his family. He was my ancestor. He made a new family with the Zimoshi woman. His father would venture to see him every year. And he’d bring the two boys with him. Then my great-grandfather did that, after he was gone, his son would. And so on. And then they did the same with me. We came every year, even after the Zimoshi vanished, thinking they would return one day. We assumed they had migrated. Then after many years, we stopped making the voyage.”
Symone sat back, then realized she was leanin
g into Marco. She looked up at him to say excuse me, but the expression on his face was as rapt as she felt about the story she’d just heard, and it was obvious he wasn’t bothered.
“That is amazing,” Symone whispered.
“Indeed.”
Alara turned to the new couple who had remained silent and still unintroduced. “Everyone, I want you to meet Chione and Gornin. They are Zimoshi, same as Jaron and I.”
All stated their names and shook hands, hugs, greetings, or acknowledgments with the newcomers.
“What’s your story?” Jenner cut straight to the chase.
Symone was actually glad, because she’d wanted to ask but didn’t want to pry.
Chione, the woman, garbed in garnet-hued plush robes, was first to speak. “Orimith controlled Gornin by keeping me prisoner in a vessel about his neck.”
Symone remembered that vessel. She’d thought it was a vial of some sort. And she recalled the way it had shimmered as if it had a light inside.
Gornin nodded. “If I did not do as he told me, he would kill her.”
Alara took both their hands in each of hers. “I tried to cloak my presence. I did cloak it. But Orimith figured it out.”
Chione’s eyes welled with tears. “You can say it. If I had not asked Gornin if he sensed the presence of another, Orimith would not have been alerted.”
Alara patted Chione’s hand. “You did not know.”
“I made things far more complicated.”
Quake raised a hand. “It’s been resolved.”
A thought occurred to Symone. “Quake, who is Lucia? Marco mentioned she was with Mae and recommended she call you? And you said something about the Black Glade Coven?”
Quake’s expression became guarded. “I do not discuss coven business.”
“Is it your coven?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not affiliated with witches. I am not a member of a coven.”
Symone couldn’t accept that answer. “But—”
Circe touched Symone’s arm. “I could introduce you to Mae. And perhaps you can meet Lucia, if she is there. She is the one who is descended from the Black Glade.”
“So she’s a witch?”
“Not exactly,” Circe’s smile was cryptic. “Let me introduce you two. Perhaps you could visit the Order of Elementals in Denver. As our guest.” Circe glanced at Marco.
Marco looked like a deer caught in the headlight. “Uh, sure. Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Marco glanced between his sister and Symone. What the hell was going on here? And Circe had a very mischievous gleam in her eyes. Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing. She had been in his head after all. The sound of a throat clearing made him look up at Jaron, only to find he had the same look on his face. Damn them both for being in his head and knowing he was attracted to Symone.
If he were being honest with himself, he was more than simply attracted. Way more. He was in deep. But damn it, he was a grown man, he didn’t need his sister to help him get a date.
He clenched his fists under the table, then gained his composure. “Yes, you can try some barbeque while you’re at it.”
Symone gave him a dirty look.
It was Circe’s turn to glance between the two of them.
“Inside joke,” he said tersely.
“What happened to Orimith?” Gornin asked, brow furrowed. “Will he be returning? Is that a possibility?”
“It is not a possibility,” Quake said, his tone final.
There was silence while everyone looked at Quake expectantly.
“I can assure you, he will not be a problem again,” Quake added.
A collective exhale of relief came from the group.
“So, now what,” Jenner asked. “What’s the plan? Seems a lot has happened, but is everything resolved?”
Alara had been smiling, but now her expression grew somber. “As far as I am concerned—as far as my people are concerned—there is one final matter that bears resolution.”
“A home,” Symone stated with a measure of certainty.
“Absolutely,” Alara agreed, a soft sigh following her words.
Symone took in a deep breath, her cheeks puffed out while she considered the delicate nature of the situation she would be creating for herself. She let the air out with a quiet whoosh. “I might have a solution.”
Chapter Thirty
Three Days Later
Jenner had stayed on the island while Cedric had wrapped up their business in the north. But now both brothers were back and had said they wanted to make good on their offer for a vacation for Marco.
He was ready for one. He’d stayed at the villa, avoided Brigitte as best as he could, and been on standby in case Symone needed him.
He’d asked her what she might need him for, and she’d responded that he may need to appear at the meeting of the Circle of Witches.
She’d set all of them up in a wing of the villa. Circe, Linc, Gornin, Chione, Jaron, and Alara. She’d asked them to stick around in case they were needed to testify for the case she was presenting. She’d been on pins and needles, and he hadn’t seen much of her as most of her time had been sequestered in a meeting room.
He could tell it stressed the hell out of Symone. She had dark smudges beneath her eyes, and her hands shook yesterday morning while she was getting coffee. He’d run into her in the kitchen after he’d made a dawn visit to the beach. Truth be told, his panther was killing him, demanding to let loose and burn some energy.
Things were different now that Jaron no longer resided in his body. The separation had become permanent the moment they’d gotten aboveground and out of the mountain’s depths.
Marco was quickly becoming accustomed to not having to share his headspace, but he missed the man who’d been closer than a brother to him. And the knowledge that they would go on to live separate lives left Marco melancholy. He hoped that he would be able to see Jaron, even if it was infrequent.
He stretched out in the chaise lounge on the balcony he shared with Circe and Linc. He relished the sensation of the sun’s rays on his body, and wondered what time it was. Jenner and Cedric said they wanted to go to a club on the other side of the island. They also mentioned a day trip to Trinidad. He wondered if—
All thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door opening. Marco’s panther immediately picked up Circe’s scent, though she remained silent.
“You gonna stay there and admire my physique or do you have something you’d like to say?”
“You’re an ass.” Her voice had a smile in it. “An arrogant ass, at that. Physique. Ha. Like you’re all that?”
He opened one eye to study his favorite sister, then reached out and patted the lounger next to his. “Take a spot. Clearly, you have something on your mind.”
“Maybe.” She sat, then stretched out on the chair herself. “It was interesting being in your head, brother.”
Oh, hell. Here we go. “Yeah? Do tell?”
“When are you going to ask her out?” Circe got straight to the point.
“Wondered when you’d get to that. Surprised you waited as long as you did.”
“You shouldn’t be. I noticed you took special efforts to avoid being alone with me.” She yawned audibly. “This place is a slice of heaven.”
“Sure is.” God, he wished that this signaled a subject change. But he knew better. She was tenacious. Notoriously so. “You like her?”
“What does it matter if I like her? You’re the one that wants to sleep with her.”
“WTF? Circe, what happened to your filter?”
“Oh, so you don’t like her like that.” Now there was a smirk in her tone.
“I didn’t say that my goal was to sleep with her.”
“I noticed you haven’t said it isn’t.”
“Subject change.” He made sure his most formidable tone was in place.
“Ouch. Okay, subject change.” She shifted in her chair, clearly trying to get more comfo
rtable. He popped an eye open. Yep, she was facing him, her expression serious.
Marco adjusted so he could study her face. “What’s on your mind, sis?”
“What’s it like? Being without an elemental? Not sharing your thoughts—everything—anymore?”
“Truthfully?”
She nodded.
“I know this isn’t what you will want to hear. And I don’t know what will happen to the Order of Elementals, but I like it.” Then a thought occurred to him. Albani was Circe’s elemental. And her daughter Rinalli was in Linc’s niece. “How about Albani and Rinalli? Think they’ll want to join Alara and all them? Live outside of a host? You know, just live. Like normal people?”
Circe’s expression turned to sadness. “I will miss her.”
“I guess that’s a yes?”
Circe nodded.
“What about Symone’s solution?” Just speaking Symone’s name out loud made a shudder run through Marco’s body. He wouldn’t acknowledge it out loud, but he had it bad for her.
“The prison island?”
He smiled ruefully. “The former prison island.”
“Yes, former. I stand corrected.” Circe smiled back. “I don’t think Albani is wild about the idea of only being able to access her home via a portal. And not being able to live a somewhat normal life. She’s had what we consider normalcy for a long time.” Circe paused for a while, during which she was clearly communicating with her elemental, then she continued. “She’s excited to have a tangible life with Rinalli. The way that mothers and daughters should interact, not as amorphous beings that have to communicate through others.”
Marco got that. “Understandable.”
“Linc and I are heading out later today. It’s time to get back to Denver. I need to bring Camden and Eden up to speed on everything.”
“Understood. I’ll see you in Denver.”
“When are you coming home?”
