Guardian's Redemption

by Marie Harte

  As they typically did, thoughts of Sava reminded her of Remir. She still didn’t know how she felt about his predicament. Once Sava and he had destroyed the demon ladder and the bridge, Sava had decided Remir’s fate for him.

  “He’d suffered enough for playing a part he had no choice in playing,” Sava told her. “He thought he deserved death, but the Next is not his place, not yet.” The old sparkle in Sava’s eyes returned, and for a brief instant Lexa saw the prankster of old she didn’t want to admit she missed. “So I found him a body.”

  “You what?”

  “Remir is now an official member of Tanselm.”

  She still wondered who the hell he’d found. Every time she passed a stranger in the kingdom, she secretly wondered if he was Remir. The damned sneaky Aellei wouldn’t tell her who he was.

  “Remir needs a clean slate,” Sava had said. “Let’s give it to him.” As much as she wanted to know his identity, she understood that for Remir to truly start over, her not knowing was the best thing for him.

  Lexa would have tripped over a large tree root if one of the trees hadn’t reached out a limb to steady her. “Thanks.”

  The trees whispered their pleasure, and Lexa couldn’t help feeling at home for the first time in her life. She would never be welcome by everyone, but those that counted loved her. Actually loved her. She laughed to herself, pleased with the way she’d kept Arim on tenterhooks for the past few months. No man could fetch her everything she wanted, whenever she wanted it, and not love her. She’d made him travel to Seattle time and time again for pastries that didn’t taste ‘the same’ when he tried to create them using magic. The foot rubs, the back massages, and the incredible, mind-blowing sex that just kept getting better should have put her in a fine mood.

  She rubbed her aching back and entered her home. She would have felt better if Aerolus had agreed to let her teach at University this last month. And if her feet weren’t so swollen and her back hurting like someone had wacked her with a firn stick.

  She sighed and patted her ripe belly. If the little guys weren’t so darned active all the time, she might get a moment’s peace. As she thought it, one of them kicked her below her bellybutton while another jumped on her bladder.

  She’d kept mum about what she thought, but Arim was suspicious. Though she couldn’t determine the sex of her babies, she knew she had more than one in the old oven, perhaps even more than two.

  “Like Light-forsaken acrobats in there,” she mumbled, hugging her belly.

  Any day now and she’d be free from this heavy burden, free to love her young ones as Muri and Esel had once loved her.

  That was the other thing that bothered her. She’d never had closure on her family’s death. Though Giles would look into it when he could, she had little faith the Church would find the records of their investigation into her foster family’s murder. ‘Sin Garu and B’alen hadn’t done it. Perhaps Ini had. Lexa still had the feeling that a Light Bringer or two had been in on it.

  “But not my Light Bringer.” Her own personal Dark Lord.

  She had yet to tell Arim what Ravyn had told her about his family. In time she would, but right now they were working on bettering their connection. As much as Lexa knew Arim loved her, she still had her doubts that they could make their relationship work. It was selfish of her, yes, but she needed at least one of them to be stable. Arim bent over backwards to show her how much he cared, how much he truly loved and trusted her. She needed to see it. Often.

  Later, when Lexa had more confidence in their relationship, she’d tell Arim he’d started out as Dark as Lexa. Such stellar Darkness… She pressed her thighs together just thinking about the lusty sorcerer she’d married. By the Light, he really knew how to set her on fire.

  A sudden wave of heat flashed through her, and Lexa caught herself around the middle again. That type of fire didn’t feel good. In fact, it felt decidedly abnormal. During her pregnancy, Lexa’s temperature had run several degrees cooler than it normally did. A perfectly healthy response for a Dark Lord female, according to a Dark healer Arim had found in Malern. The healer was a surprisingly decent woman who had settled quite comfortably in the northern territory where Jonas was constantly causing a stir.

  Lexa relaxed as the strange heat subsided and wondered what Jonas had done today to irritate one of the Storm Lords. Now the head of the Djinn contingent in Tanselm, he seemed to take pride in annoying the powers that be. She snickered. Darius had a temper she considered impressive, and she’d been hard pressed not to laugh in his face every time Jonas pressed his buttons. Especially since all the affai doted on the Djinn, and well he knew it.

  Another wave of heat struck her hard. Lexa gasped as she leaned against the counter near Arim’s wall of plants. The foliage reached out for her but Lexa waved them away.

  I’m fine, she sent Tanselm. I think. But maybe she ought to call Arim. The familiar aggravation that had plagued her this entire pregnancy returned. Trust the Guardian of Storm to knock her up as big as a house. Lexa had a small frame, but did his babies understand that? No.

  Arim. She tried several times to call him and found her way blocked. “What the hell?”

  Easing into a seat, she rubbed her stomach and winced as a contraction hit. Okay, now she needed help. Lexa managed to stand and hobbled to the plants. She reached out and touched them, and sent her need through the earth to Arim. They’d been working on alternate means of communication, and Lexa loved using Tanselm as a medium. The land was always ecstatic to be included in anything she and Arim did. It was almost embarrassing how much Tanselm fell all over herself to please Lexa.

  Lexa didn’t mention it much, but she knew Arim felt it. Between helping his nephews and restoring the kingdom, he’d found comfort in the aid Tanselm offered.

  She knew he’d be upset she hadn’t remained with Ellie and Samantha today. But honestly, just because the three of them were pregnant, did they have to do everything together? Not that she didn’t treasure her newfound friendships—or the uneasiness she still aroused in most of the Storm Lords—but she was used to being alone and cherished her privacy.

  Which might not have been such a good idea today. Lexa shuffled back towards the plush couch in the large, open room that comprised their main living area. Just as she reached the arm of the couch, the front door slammed open.

  Lexa stared curiously at the most wanted individual in Tanselm. Likenesses of Ordinary Nohjen were posted everywhere and a heavy reward had been offered for information on his whereabouts. Idly, she wondered if she could receive the reward considering she’d married into royalty.

  “You,” Nohjen seethed. He looked very little like his portrait. That man had a keen polish, a muscular build and an air of arrogant competence. This man looked wild. His dark hair was long, greasy and in disarray. Dirt streaked his face. He smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. The long, brown robe he wore was ripped and slashed, and his boots had holes as if he’d stepped through fire.

  And speaking of fire… Another wave of heat rushed through her body, followed by an intense cold-burn—what she knew to precede her delivery. Crap. Trust my babies to follow Storm Lord convention. Seven months to birth instead of the normal ten they should have taken.

  “Could you come back later?” She didn’t have time to deal with Nohjen, and frankly didn’t care to deal with him. Arim and the Storm Lords could handle their Church messes.

  “You know, Muri had a cottage much like this one.”

  Mention of her mother froze her in place. “Excuse me?”

  “The bitch pleaded for your life. As if I’d taint myself touching you.” He scoffed, and confusion made her head pound.

  “You’re saying you killed Muri? My mother?” She stared at the man and pried deeper, aware his thought patterns were anything but normal. “That was over three hundred years ago.” He was a Light Bringer, and they normally averaged a lifespan between one hundred and one hundred fifty years. Unless he was a sorcerer. According
to Light Bringer doctrine, it was illegal for sorcerers to involve themselves in affairs of the Church.

  He raised a fist and she saw beads of Light filter through his fingers until he held a ball of white fire. He tossed the ball from hand to hand, his glare measuring, as if waiting for her to be afraid.

  “Wait a minute.” She waved a hand at him, her internal temperature irritating the hell out of her. Her back chose that moment to scream in agony, and she sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me you killed my family?”

  “Slow, aren’t you?” He lost his grin when she froze the fire in his hands into solid ice. “Bitch.” He stared at her, his gaze both hungry and loathing. “You’ll not suckle such filth on my land, nor taint my world with your Dark breed monsters.”

  “Okay. Now you’re starting to piss me off.” One of the little ones in her belly began fighting with the other, and her insides felt decidedly warlike. “First off, my children will be Dark and Light breed monsters. Secondly, if you had anything to do with my family’s murder, coming here was a very, very foolish thing to do.”

  As she said it, a red haze filled her mind. Control it. Get your answers. Then fry the bastard. Fear never entered the equation, not with centuries of anger waiting inside her. Not to mention her inability to be injured by Light or Dark, now that she carried Arim’s precious cargo. Her pregnancy had made her nearly indestructible with latent, unborn power.

  “Why did you do it?” she squeezed between breaths.

  “Why? Because Tanselm is mine.” Madness riddled his black-eyed stare. “Because Muri and Esel wouldn’t keep their damned mouths shut, always trying to fix the Church when it was far from broken. They brought Darkness into our land, and look what it brought us.”

  “You were there when Arim arrived. You attacked him and pretended it was me.”

  “He would never be the great sorcerer he is today if I hadn’t set him free. Killing them was a pleasure, but helping Tanselm’s greatest sorcerer was my honour.”

  The injustice of it all made the sudden pain invading her pale by comparison. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m a creature of Light. We use whatever tools we must to aid Tanselm in its fight against the Dark.” Nohjen sniffed and threw a web of Light over her, as if Light magic should have some sort of effect. When nothing happened to her, he frowned. “Ini decided she wanted you back. When I told her where to find you, she did me a great service. In return for my information, she not only gave me the power to kill the Light Bringers who raised you but granted me an extended life.”

  Lexa finally felt a measure of peace. She knew the truth, or at least part of it. As she readied to kill the foolish man to avenge her parents, she asked him one final question. “So it was Ini as well. Was she there that day with you, when you killed my parents?”

  “It was hard enough to tolerate your mother. I didn’t want her anywhere near me if I could help it.” He looked offended as he struggled to use another spell on her. When the next jolt of Light settled over her belly like a warm blanket before seeping into her babies, he began to sweat.

  “Okay, that’s it.” Lexa ignored the sudden chills racking her, another sign that her body was preparing to give birth. “I’m not bringing my children into the world in front of you. You sanctimonious, hypocritical fhel-sa vehkun.” She began ranting and could feel the welcome burn of fury behind her eyes as she began to see everything in a perfect blue. Her stare, when it centred on Nohjen, froze him from the inside out, until he was nothing more than a human icicle. Another wave of her hand and the block shattered, the pieces melting into the wooden floor, only to be absorbed by Tanselm’s Dark roots that rose to take the vile Light Bringer away.

  The great triumph Lexa thought she’d feel didn’t come. Muri, Esel and Sercha were dead. Nothing more she did would bring them back. Now that she knew who had been behind it all, she felt whole…until her babes protested their stay with a mighty kick that broke the water holding them tight.

  Arim flew through the door with Aerolus and Marcus hard on his heels. The sight that met him stunned him to immobility. Nohjen was nowhere in sight, but Lexa lay back on the couch panting as she clutched her belly and moaned.

  “Lexa?”

  “Get over here,” she yelled and the temperature in the room cooled considerably.

  Marcus shook his head. “I’m still not sure why I like her, but I do. You’d better do what she says before she nails you to the wall.”

  “Was Nohjen here?” Arim demanded.

  “Here and gone to hell. Now are you going to fetch Arla or not? The babies are coming.”

  He paled and vanished, returning moments later with the Dark Lord healer. She took one look at Lexa and tried to send the men from the room while Arim struggled to remain calm. Hell, he’d dealt with ogres, crafty Aellei and demons. But this slight Dark Lord was turning him inside out. She was having his babies. Here. Now. He wanted to sit down but didn’t think he should get too close to Lexa. She looked like she wanted to maim him.

  “Blue, honey, I love you. What can I—”

  “I know you want to be here, but if you stay, she just might kill you.” Arla said with a grin, her wizened face full of wrinkles. “First birthings are particularly painful.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know, Arla,” Lexa snapped, sweat pouring from her despite the near freezing temperature in the room.

  Before anyone moved, Jonas and Cadmus flashed in with stupid grins on their faces. “We just had a girl. Ravyn Alexandra Storm.” Cadmus glanced at Lexa and had to look twice. “Wow. Helluva day, eh Arim? Good luck, Lexa. All I can say is thank the Light I’m off the hook.”

  Jonas bowed his head. Arim felt him absorb Lexa’s next bout of pain, easing her a bit.

  “Blessings of the Dark upon your line, Dark Mistress.” He raised his head and winked, then turned a sly glance towards Arim. “Don’t be too upset if the kids all look like me.”

  Marcus choked on a laugh as Jonas grabbed Cadmus and teleported them away before Arim could turn him into stone. How hard would the Darkling laugh at that?

  But Lexa cracked a smile, and he forgave the impertinent Djinn.

  “Can I take the pain, Blue?” He braved her wrath and took her hand in his. Her grip startled him into a grin. “Or maybe you can take mine by not breaking my hand.”

  “Funny,” she panted, and he sent her a wave of Light to ease her burden.

  “Stop that.” Arla frowned. “It’s not seemly for a Dark Lord to have help. Let nature take its course. The more it hurts, the stronger the babes will be.”

  “Arla—” Arim scowled. He refused to let Lexa go through this alone.

  “It’s okay, Arim. I wanted to do this without any outside influence.” Because I’m an idiot. He clearly heard her thoughts, though he knew she was unaware of broadcasting them. “If you’d just—”

  “Uncle.” Arim stilled at Darius’s message. “Samantha’s giving birth. Two sons! No wait, here comes another.” Arim relayed the information to the others as Lexa nearly broke his hand. He tried to coax her into deep, measured breathing but she nearly bit his head off so he refrained from commenting.

  “You know,” Aerolus said with a twinkle in his eye. “I had a feeling Darius would be the next overking. Since we, and Cadmus, are now out of the running,” he said to Marcus. “There’s just one arrogant, explosive Storm Lord left.”

  “Wait,” Arim said, holding up a hand.

  “One more! Three boys. We have three perfect little Storm Lords.”

  Arim frowned. Something wasn’t right.

  “They’re coming,” Lexa cried out and gripped hard. No matter what she said, Arim refused to let her take the whole burden. And when he lent her his strength, she didn’t protest.

  “We’ll, uh, wait outside.” Marcus hustled Aerolus out the door in spite of his protests.

  Several hours later, Arim left the cottage to find all four of his nephews waiting. Though all four looked pleased, they also looke
d worried.

  “Arim?” Aerolus ventured forward. “Are Lexa and the babes alright?”

  “Not that we were trying to be nosy, but we didn’t hear anything.” Marcus cleared his throat, concerned.

  “We didn’t have the twins I was expecting.” Arim didn’t understand what any of this meant.

  “I’m so sorry.” Darius came forward, a sombre expression darkening his face, and he grabbed Arim for tight hug. He let go and the others offered their support.

  Arim took a deep breath, trying to muddle through the cloud of joy muddling his thoughts. “We had four girls. Four identical daughters.”

  They all stopped and looked at each other, and then his nephews burst into delighted laughter.

  “What’s so damned funny?” Arim still couldn’t get over this happy, yet nerve-wracking situation.

  “You’re the next overking,” Cadmus said with a chuckle. “Mr. Diplomacy,” he mocked. “Take one step closer and I’ll fry your sorry ass,” he mimicked Arim’s baritone. “Oh, we are in for a world of hurt.”

  “Now wait a minute,” Arim tried, but Darius cut him off.

  “Thank the Light, I was worried when Samantha kept popping them out.”

  “’Popping them out?’” Marcus frowned. “Really, Darius.”

  “But they’re so perfect. I was excited at one, then two, but at three I was getting nervous. Light be praised, she stopped.”

  “You know, this actually makes sense,” Aerolus mused. “There’s no greater balance between us than Arim and Lexa, a Storm Lord and a Dark Lord. And as we all know, Tanselm has always had a more feminine temperament.”

  Cadmus moaned. “Much as I hate to agree with the professor, here, he has a point. Arim, you and Lexa were clearly made for each other, and well, no one else can really handle either of you. Imagine how difficult your kids will be.” They chuckled, though Arim didn’t know if that was exactly something to laugh at.