The incubus remained silent for so long I wondered if he even would answer.
Finally, he tugged his chin and sighed. “There’s so much you don’t know about me, glowstick. Come to think of it, I’m not sure if there’s a soul on earth who truly knows who I am or the secrets I carry.”
“So help me understand you.” Despite my misgivings about any romantic involvement with this soulful creature who exuded power and sex as confidently as he walked, I couldn’t help being drawn to him. “You want me to want you, you say you’re coming for me, that you’ll make me yours.” My cheeks heated. “You know that isn’t going to happen if you don’t let me in.”
“Is that so? Am I wearing you down already?” His head tipped, mischief flitting across his face. “I must admit, I thought you’d be a tougher nut to crack.”
I scuffed the sole of my Chucks on the royal blue carpet. “I’d hardly call this cracking.”
“How about a trade?”
I wanted to scrub at my face but I had actually applied cosmetics for once, and doubted I’d have time to fix them before Rose called us down. Come to think of the pixie, she was taking a long time scouring the situation. I frowned and peered down again.
Since we weren’t ready to announce our fey presence to the world, Rose had shifted back into her human guise. The unshaven half of her head was still heavy with tiny braids and her dark skin nearly matched the straps of leather armor criss-crossing her back. Her hand hovered over the whip hooked around her hips.
“A trade?”
“Quid pro quo. Tit for tat. An exchange.”
“You wanted an excuse to say tit.”
“Maybe.” Ryder’s breath warmed the shell of my ear and he gripped my waist. “So? Your answer?”
I met his gaze in the reflection. “One truth for another, they must be of equal value. None of that ‘you spill your guts and I tell you my favorite color is orange’ nonsense.”
“So she has played the game, after all!” He smacked a loud kiss to the side of my head and withdrew triumphantly. “And for the record, my favorite color wouldn’t be something so dull as orange. Perhaps tangerine or sherbet, but hardly orange.”
My head bodyguard swiveled to the plane. Rose traced a large circle on her flattened palm followed by several taps at the cardinal directions. A few more complex gestures followed.
“Rose says it’s clear, but to be on guard,” I called out to the boys. Joseph shoved his glasses up his nose. He’d changed into a thin, green hooded sweatshirt that set off the warm gold in his hazel eyes. “The nero are here, but she thinks something is off. I think believe leader is waiting for us to come out first.”
I flicked my braid over my shoulder and sucked in a large gulp of air. “Here goes nothing.”
Joseph strode forward to take his spot at my side but hesitated when Ryder stepped between us, a finger lifted apologetically.
“I get bored easily, too easily,” the incubus told me. “I distribute investments and collect businesses because it amuses me. Name a trade and I’ve got my fingers in at least several connected pies. Money is of little interest to me, and perhaps that’s why I’ve got so much of it.” He slipped something in my pocket. Its weight settled against my hip. “Despite all that, I’ve never considered myself to be a particularly charitable man until I met you, until you wrapped me up in this harebrained scheme of yours. And I’d gladly let it all burn to the ground if it helped you get what you want.”
Ryder squeezed my arm, nudged Joseph into place, and fell back alongside Finn who muttered something to him. Ryder offered him a silken smile, sliding his hands in his black slacks as if he hadn’t scattered truths at my feet like glittery beads.
I forced my thoughts to come together when I exchanged a look with the God of Air.
“Let’s go,” he said with some amusement.
Shoulders thrown back, spine elongated, face set in hard lines, I felt prepared for anything as I stepped on the platform leading to the runway. At the foot of the stairs gathered a dozen or so beings I didn’t recognize. The pixies remained around the periphery in strategic locations. At my side, Joseph restrained the wind that would have otherwise tugged at our clothing and hair.
Once our feet were firmly on the ground, I acknowledged the delegation with a small nod but kept my hands folded. I could taste the potency of the nero’s power, the tang of it clung like allspice to my tongue. The fey themselves were spectacular, garbed in flowing clothing of bright colors with small chips of jade centered on their foreheads. The women wore flowing dresses paired with gladiator sandals strapped up to their knees. The men donned loose pants and shirts that opened in a deep vee to the middle of their chests, revealing dark tendrils of tattoos snaking across their coppery skin. A dozen matching bronze eyes hungrily drank us in.
A woman in a dress of deep violet and a silver hoop through her septum stepped forward, her movements nimble. She bent in a slight bow, though she kept her eyes fixed on my face.
“We appreciate you coming all this way to meet with us, Gods of Water and Air.” Her thick accent was decadent. “We understand you’ve had quite the journey already. We’re honored you chose to meet with us.”
“The appreciation is all ours,” I replied, “for not only being so willing to meet with us on short notice, but also discuss the possibility of assisting us in the search for the God of Earth.”
Her lips flattened. “Of course. We swear allegiance to the Lost City, and we’re all too eager to see our God returned to his rightful spot.”
My gaze swept over the other nero. Despite her claim, not one of them boasted the broad calligraphy sweeps of a three-peaked mountain brand on their necks—a classic, magical symbol of true allegiance. I didn’t dare look at Finn and the cresting wave on his throat. Something else about what she’d said struck me wrong, but when I tried to puzzle it out, the nero shifted, parting in two, even lines. The woman, too, stepped aside.
If they hadn’t moved, I might not have noticed the man who’d slipped in among their welcoming brigade. Even now, I had a difficult time remembering if he’d been there to begin with. He didn’t so much as glance at the nero as he walked up the line, hands hanging casually at his side. Hair a few shades lighter than an oil slick framed a decidedly ordinary face, with its wisp of a nose, smooth copper skin, and oval eyes. Up close, he had about three inches on me. His lips were pressed in a thin, white line as he surveyed Joseph, his jaw set in soft lines that hinted at boredom.
The most remarkable thing about him was how incredibly unremarkable he was.
Whoever he was, he wasn’t a nero. Where they bristled with the heat of sand and sun, I wasn’t getting a magical signature from him whatsoever.
“You must be exhausted after such a long trip,” the man said, his voice as bland as the rest of him. He still hadn’t so much as looked at me. “Forgive me for the delay in escort. If you’d follow me, we’ll be on our way.”
Ryder’s frown intensified and Finn swished his knuckles together once before he locked his hands tight. Since Joseph seemed disinclined to speak, given he was busy trying to crack the puzzle that was this newcomer, I bravely stepped up. “Where exactly are we going?”
“Temple de Sable.” The Temple of Sand. The French flowed off his tongue like wine. He glanced at the pixies who’d drawn closer. “My house, per se. An oasis in the desert.”
“And you would be…”
He briefly glanced at the sky. “Phenex.” He blinked and finally met my eyes. The immense punch of power he’d concealed crashed into and through me. My head buzzed as my twin bands of fire and water roared forward. No, he wasn’t a nero. He was something more. Something much, much more. “Phenex Allard.”
I know you. Kaleal’s ghostly voice was a surprise. So was her strength when she surged forward, nudging me so we shared my eyes. I flinched at the raw hunger in her tone, realizing how incredibly lonely it must have been for her, trapped all this time.
I know you, she repeated.
Phenex’s lips parted, his bland disinterest flickering into shock before he shored it up. But I’d caught it, the razor’s edge of intelligence lurking beneath the surface, the hint of something dangerous prowling beneath his skin.
He offered his hand, steady as a surgeon. “And you, Zara Ramone of the Water Temple, require no introduction.”
I reached for it at the same time Ryder jerked in my periphery.
“No!” My head rang at the sharp syllable, unsure if I’d heard it out loud or in my head, because Kaleal wrenched control of my body away, stopping the movement before our palms brushed. A corner of Phenex’s eye twitched, that wicked cunning he’d so cleverly masked rising to the top like crème as he stared intently, his chest barely moving.
“Forgive me,” I heard myself say. Over Phenex’s shoulder, the nero shifted. Hell, even my own friends seemed shocked. “I’m recovering from an illness and wouldn’t want to pass it along.”
Kaleal released me back into my own skin, the reverse of a snake shedding its scales.
“Of course.” He blinked. “Your concern for my health is commendable, though I assure you I can’t remember the last time I fell ill.” He lifted the hand he still had yet to pull back, the one that looked as normal and boring as my own, and twitched his middle and index fingers. The engines of a handful of jeeps behind him fired up.
He seemed to shake himself loose and scanned our small pack of players. “If you’d please accept my offer of transportation, we’ll have you at Temple de Sable in no time at all.” Phenex spun on his heel, making for the vehicle at the head of the line, the nero followed without comment.
Numbly, I gestured at my friends, feeling trapped in both the situation and my own skin. Joseph clung to my side like saran wrap, his hand grazing the small of my back as he increased the pressure of the air around me until I could breathe again.
Two thoughts circled my head in a loop:
What was Phenex and who was he to Kaleal?
Chapter 11
If Phenex considered his place a house, my imagination faltered at his definition of a castle.
It started with the towering, wrought iron gates that swung wide to grant the jeeps access to a winding road of crushed quartz. I hadn’t expected to find a forest in the desert, but inside the black bars rose trees carved of rich onyx and gold-veined marble. The road snaked for half a mile before opening to a wide lawn with thick, blue-green grass.
“Is that a peacock?” Rose asked, pointing at the cluster of opulent birds. “Seriously?”
“That’s what caught your attention?” Ryder asked as we passed through a pair of gates with knife-bladed suns etched on their surfaces. Men in gold uniforms peered down on us from the top of the limestone walls, spears close at hand. “And not, oh, I don’t know, the palace?”
I pressed against the window. Gold-red walls towered hundreds of feet in the air. In strategic places, towers were capped with white domes and twisting spires. Dozens of deep-set windows cut into the stone glittered in the mid-afternoon light. The grounds were as expansive as they were vibrant, teeming with flowers and short trees I didn’t recognize. A fountain in the shape of a pelican spilled an endless stream of water from its mouth into a pool. Fine sand covered the multitude of paths crisscrossing the lawn.
Finn whistled through his teeth as we slipped from the vehicle. Ryder—unfazed by the hour-long drive that ended here on the outskirts of Cairo—gazed up at the monstrosity with thinly-veiled hostility. The pixies didn’t waste any time fanning out around us, hands resting on their weapons as they scanned for danger.
“I forget how magnificent it is until I see it through an outsider’s eyes,” Phenex said.
“Forgive me, but I don’t see how that’s remotely possible.” I glanced at the man who’d sidled up as my I eagerly devoured the sight of Temple de Sable. “I believe you know exactly how this looks.”
His mouth twitched, but he didn’t turn to the trio of balconies hung with vines to which I pointed. Instead, his attention fixed on the band around my wrist.
“I may have had a hand in the finishing touches,” he conceded.
“If your intent was to dazzle, I’d say you pulled it off.”
“Certainly.” He raised his voice, calling out to Finn who was rummaging through the vehicles. “You can leave your bags, someone will take care of those.” The kelpie scoffed and waved off one of the nero who approached while slipping the strap of a maroon backpack over his shoulder. Joseph stood from where he crouched beside the pool, examining a large, green hunter beetle as it scaled a thick blade of grass.
“Bast here will help you to your rooms.” Phenex gestured to the woman in purple who’d greeted us at the airport. Her head lowered in acknowledgement, face pointed flat at her feet. “She will help you in any way you require during your stay. All you must do is ask.”
“I’d like to survey the grounds with a member of your security,” Rose piped up. “My girls and I would like to get a lay of the land.”
“As thorough as you are beautiful,” Phenex said. Rose frowned and stroked her whip, but didn’t unwind it as Phenex slipped a hand into his pocket, emerging with a cell phone so thin I wondered how it didn’t bend. He continued in that neutral, unaffected way as he tapped a few buttons on the screen. “There are a few rules I ask you to respect. First, don’t leave the grounds without permission. Please understand, this is for your safety. The nero tend to shoot first and ask questions later. The property backs up to a river that feeds the Nile, so we do get the occasional intruder.”
I kept one ear tuned in to what he was saying but focused more on how he said it.
At the airport, he’d come across as bland, nondescript. His clothing was made of quality fabrics, but nothing about them was particularly memorable or fashionable. He limited his hand gestures, but the ones he did make were elegant and poised. His Middle Eastern accent came out strongest with his vowels, but he spoke cleanly and clearly, without room for misinterpretation. Even the way he stood was authoritative while not stiff or standoffish.
Everything about him was carefully crafted. Too well crafted.
Kaleal, are you there? I mentally asked, probing the back of my mind for the wisps of the being I’d come to recognize. You’ve been quiet since the airport.
Nothing.
Annoyance simmered and I rolled my neck before I did something foolish, like tear through my mind, pulling it apart in search of her.
“…you must be exhausted, so please take a few hours to get situated before supper. We’ll discuss your situation and how I can be of assistance.” Phenex gave a short nod. However, when I took a step to join my friends, his arm shot out, blocking me.
My hands came up. “What—?”
“Except for you, Water God.” He dropped his arm, a sly smile touching his lips. “You and I have other matters to address.”
Though my heart thundered, I slipped right into fight-mode. In training, Rose favored sneak attacks, and I’d come to expect them. I darted backward, the familiar grips of my icy daggers formed in my palms and I crossed the translucent blades with a clang. I’d styled them after another dagger, one strapped to my thigh if worse came to worse.
In my periphery, Joseph surged forward, unleashing his favored arrows of air at the creature standing tall and straight before me. Phenex didn’t so much as flinch when they exploded in bright pops of yellow against an invisible barrier. My insides clenched and I lowered my center of gravity while simultaneously reaching for more water to play with.
My eyes narrowed when I hit the invisible barrier that had deflected my friend.
“I see you’ve discovered the true extent of my reach,” Phenex said. He remained as calm and steady as if we stood in the center of a ballroom, glasses of champagne in hand. “I imagine you’re having a difficult time tapping into that wonderful water magic of yours. I’m told it’s profoundly difficult when there isn’t a source within reach.”
It was true. He’d som
ehow cut me off from the pool, and there wasn’t enough moisture in the air to fill an eyedropper. Red strands of fire magic seared my palms, but without a spark or a flame or anything within a few hundred feet, it, too, was useless.
“What are you?” I hissed through my teeth.
“That’s a very good question.” He lifted a hand. White sand swirled in a ball before his chest. Behind him, a shaggy, black horse dripping with kelp and gore reared back and struck the invisible barrier. The sound of Finn’s backward hooves didn’t permeate the thickness of the bulb. “You first.”
“Me first what?” Icy sweat trickled down my neck as I adjusted my grip. What was Phenex waiting for?
“Who are you?” The ball in his hand grew bigger, the sand swirling faster.
“You know who I am.” I edged first to my left, then the right, gauging the distance. “You said I needed no introduction.”
“And I, as I so rarely am anymore, was incorrect.” He straightened, hunger apparent on his face. “You said you knew me. I want to know how.”
My skin pebbled and a rush of vertigo threatened to knock my feet out from under me. No way in stars had Kaleal said that out loud. No way. My back hit the curved wall of his barricade. I used it to steady myself, blinking back black waves of surprise and confusion.
“What if I told you I don’t know how I know you.” I shoved my magic outward as I moved again, searching for a crack, a weakness, anything to give me the upper hand.
The ball of sand rained to the ground. “I’d say you’re either lying, which would be a pity because I resent liars, or you’re growing more curious by the moment. If it’s the latter, then color me intrigued.”
Sand crunched under my shoes and before I could recover from my mistake, the ground collapsed beneath me. My shriek was buried in the cocoon created by the sandy path I’d unwittingly crossed, and it squeezed me impossibly tighter. I gasped, agony rippling through me as my bones compressed, threatening to break a hundred different ways.
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