He'd come for me.
Aktor appeared at our sides, eyes blazing gold.
"No, Miss Eden," he whispered. "Not Aeras. Not any other branch that I can determine either."
Nico walked out of the room, Sonya on his tail. She wrapped her cardigan around my shoulders, it was long, down to my knees, leaving her in jeans and a t-shirt, and giving me at least something of a cover.
Where would I be without my friend?
"Best we find out," Nico announced. "Whoever he is, he's not hiding his power."
Theo pushed me behind him, still fully naked and not giving a damn. Sonya cowered half behind me, half in the kitchen still. Dora moved out to flank Aktor, with Nico at his other shoulder, as the butler approached the door.
Just before they made it, Nico branched off into a room at the side, and Isadora did the same opposite him. Hidden, but probably not missed. Aktor glanced back at Theo, waited for his nod, and then opened the door.
"Alchemist!" Theo hissed upon seeing the man.
And all hell broke loose.
Chapter Eight
I Wasn't Fooled
"I come in peace," the man got out before he was blasted back by a wall of flames.
It was still raining, I noted, and with wide eyes I watched as that rain turn into a sheet of water, a wall of liquid that met the flames head on and held them back.
"I come in peace," the man shouted again from the other side of that wall of flames and sheet of water.
"Casey," Theo urged. "Vines."
Oh. Right. I stepped out onto the marble of the entranceway, still under the portico and called Earth. It took a little urging as the man was still on the driveway; he hadn't been pushed back far enough to reach the manicured lawn. But with a shudder and a heave the gravel shifted and dirt was exposed, followed by surging roots and branches as they shot up and wound around the man's legs.
Little mini tornadoes began to turn the gravel and loose leaves into whirligigs all over the driveway tearing along towards the man, and in a move that looked too precise to be real, severed the vines climbing up his legs at the roots. He jumped back and frantically untangled the rest, still maintaining that wall of water as protection against the roaring Fire.
The flames surged as all four Pyrkagia put their combined will behind the command. It was obvious they would break through the water wall before too much longer, but suddenly the wall became a funnel, tearing through the flames and heading straight for us. For a second I couldn't figure out what he was doing, and neither could the others, who had made the wall of Fire reunite and surge forward towards where we all assumed the man still stood on the other side.
"Blow the water away, Casey!" Theo yelled.
Freaking hell, did he think I had a handle on all of this already?
Sweat beaded my brow as I clenched my fists and closed my eyes concentrating with all my might. To use the lightning, I just had to visualise where I wanted to go. Maybe that wasn't necessary, but it worked for me. So I'd stick with visualisation techniques to command Air for now. I pictured a strong wind cutting through the space between the wall of Fire as it kept crackling evermore forward across the driveway to the grass and the five of us - Sonya was hiding, that girl had good sense. I aimed for the tunnel of water as it swirled and churned before us, moving like an inexorable monster closer and closer. The wind cut through the liquid, making arcs of spray spread out in a circle, some of it landing on us, the rest damping the wall of Fire.
Standing, this side of that diminished wall of Fire, not even wet, was the man. Dressed in jeans and a Movie World t-shirt, scuffed boots and loose hands at his sides. Blond dishevelled hair was the only indication that he'd been in the centre of a tornado of water. Pale blue eyes connected with mine and I swayed.
"I will kill you, if you step an inch closer," Theo announced.
The man ignored him, his eyes all for me. Theo noticed, flicking a concerned gaze my way and noting the paleness of my skin, I should think.
"Casey?" he said, moving to catch me before I toppled. "What have you done?" Theo demanded of the man.
"Scared the crap out of her," he replied in a broad Kiwi accent. "Hey, sis," he added, making everyone still. "Long time, no see."
"Oh, this can't be good," Nico muttered as Sonya ventured out of the front door.
"Mark?" she asked.
"Hey, now there's a surprise. Marin, looking good," my brother said with an appreciative nod of his head.
His eyes flicked over the Pyrkagia, landing on Theo holding me flush to his side.
"Do you greet all your guests in the buff?" he asked, eyeing Theo's naked butt and thigh as he had managed to turn himself side on, by wrapping his body around me. At least there was some modesty to be had, even if he was now wearing me like an apron.
Silence met the question and I don't think it was because no one wanted to answer. Tension hung in the air, chilling the raindrops that continued to fall on us, but somehow missed my brother completely.
Oh, freaking hell. My brother. Marcus. An Alchemist.
"Can I come in?" he asked, when no one started talking. "I did say, I come in peace, didn't I? Because I'm not sure that message got through."
His eyes came back to my stunned face.
"Gramps sent me. Guess we could have phoned first to warn you, but things are getting out of hand."
I slowly looked up at Theo, who was looking down at me with that implacable Athanatos mask on his face. Closed off. Hard.
"He is your brother?" he asked quietly, the undertone of every word sounded accusatory.
I nodded my head.
"He is an Alchemist?" he added, my eyes flicked to Mark where he stood unconcerned facing off against an irate looking Isadora, a wary Nico and placid faced Aktor which belied his ready stance.
"I guess so," I whispered back.
"You're telling me you didn't know?" Theo asked, but I think the question was rhetorical.
"I had no idea, he's meant to be living in Australia on the Gold Coast," I answered anyway.
"And you had no idea he was like your grandfather?"
Oh and there was the doubt.
I pushed out of his embrace leaving him exposed, although to look at him you wouldn't know it. He was as unconscious of his naked state as the rain was of where it fell.
"This is my brother Mark," I announced to the waiting crowd. Unnecessarily. "I'd like to talk to him in private," I added. "If we can't do that inside, I'll do it out here. But I'd like you all to go back in the house."
"You don't get to order us around," Isadora snapped.
"Look at you, princess," Mark drawled. "All claws. Meowrr!"
She glared at him. He just winked back.
Oh, God. This was not going well.
I ran a hand over my face, feeling tired all over again.
"Look," Mark said, when still no one moved. "Do you want to know what's going on or not?"
Still nothing but angry stares and doubtful scowls.
"OK, how 'bout this?" he tried. "I know who has been bought out in Pyrkagia."
Heat filled the air, setting the raindrops to sizzling.
"Yeah, thought you would," Mark muttered.
Theo made a low rumbling growling sound in the back of his throat. "You can come inside," he relented. "You will not see Casey on your own," he added, imperiously. "And if you so much as flash white or ice blue in those eyes, I will take your head."
The threat wasn't idle. Theo had been a leader of the Scout Guard, those Pyrkagia charged with keeping their kind in place. Policeman, Judge, Jury and Executioner all rolled up in one.
He'd threatened to take my head once, too. I hoped Mark could see the truth in Theo's words now. I may not have had any idea of what was happening, or whether I could trust my evidently lying brother, but he was my sibling. Until I knew one way or the other that he was on my side I'd try to keep his head right where it was.
"Deal," Mark agreed.
Theo turned his golden tinge
d eyes to me, then ordered, "Go get dressed." I raised my eyebrows, opened my mouth to argue back, when he said, "Or he leaves."
I'd forgotten just how high-handed Theo could be. In my grief and loss I'd only remembered the good times. The loving times. The hot and sexy times. But there had also been an awful lot of overbearing, dictatorial and lordly behaviour.
"You go get dressed," I offered, crossing my arms over my chest and cocking my hip.
In the background Mark lit up a cigarette and casually blew smoke up into the air. How was he keeping the rain off him?
"Nico, Isadora," Theo called, not taking his angry stare off me. "Guard the Alchemist."
"The front parlour would be best," Aktor suggested.
"So be it," Theo growled, stalking the two steps needed to reach me, gripping my upper arm and then unceremoniously hauling me back up the front steps, over the marble entranceway and through the doors.
I struggled the entire way.
"What is your problem!" I yelled, landing a whack to his hard arm, then diverting my attention to his equally hard torso.
"At the moment, let me see," he said conversationally, not releasing his grip at all. We started mounting the stairs. "My Thisavros not only has an Alchemist grandfather, but it runs in her family, and her brother who wields Water and Air has invaded my home. How's that for starters?"
"I'm not your Thisavros!" I growled back, kicking him in the shin and only hurting my bare toe, I should think.
"Oraia, I may not remember, but trust me, with the way my body responds, there's no doubt at all."
What?
I stomped on his foot instead of asking that question.
"Cut it out!" he growled low, hauling me to a stop on the landing, and pulling me flush against his chest. "You're like an annoying buzzing little bee."
"Up yours!"
"Casey!"
"What?" Still punching and kicking here. Still not letting me go.
"You're a fucking Ekmetalleftis. Use your Stoicheio."
Oh.
Fire flared from my hands and I thrust them at his chest.
"Wrong choice, darling," he purred. "If you want me compliant use Earth or Air; Fire just turns me on."
"Oh! I hate you!"
"No you don't," he whispered into my ear, his arms bands of heated steel wrapped around my body, his chest a molten lava flow of bliss against mine. "Oraia," he moaned into my hair.
I stilled.
Remember me. Please, just. Please.
Theo let out a long sigh. Both our Pyrkagia dissipating.
"You really didn't know about him, did you?" he whispered, still holding me close, but no longer fanning the flames.
"You really doubt me at every turn," I countered.
"Cassandra," he said with meaning. "I want to remember, but I..."
"Don't," I finished for him. "Believe me, I know."
I pushed against his chest and miraculously he let me go. The chill that wrapped around me felt too quick. I should have still felt a memory of his heated touch, but like our history in his mind, it was gone.
"Gramps said he was sending someone to help me," I offered, staring at the floor and not at the man still tearing my heart apart. "I guess he chose Mark." My shoulders drooped on a heavy sigh.
There was no point reiterating what I'd already said. I didn't have the energy to do things twice.
Turning, I walked into the bedroom we shared and realised my mistake. My clothes weren't in here, but back in the destroyed room. Wow, my life really had become bizarre if sentences like that seemed normal. I spun around and slammed into Theo, bouncing backwards with a yelp.
"A little space, please?" I snapped.
"Never," he whispered, reaching up and tucking a wet strand of my hair behind my ear.
I closed my eyes and breathed through the emotions. So confusing and so messed up and so unfair.
"I need to get clothes," I ground out into the strained silence.
"Wear some of mine," Theo shot back moving away. My eyelids flicked up and I watched him go into the walk-in wardrobe. For some reason I couldn't open my mouth to argue the point. I just stood there, swaying slightly, feeling numb, but hurting at the same time.
How was that even possible?
He came back out with a pair of sweat pants and a large t-shirt.
"I'll be swamped," I managed, as he slipped into the bathroom and then returned with a towel.
"Doesn't matter," he murmured, unwrapping Sonya's sodden cardigan and beginning to gently wipe me down and dry me off.
"But..." I started.
"Don't argue."
I stood still as he made sure every inch of me was dry, including my hair and inside each ear. Then he ran his fingers through my blonde strands, untangling each knot with concentrated effort. Finally he held out the men's sweats for me to get into.
"No underwear," I remarked.
"No underwear," he repeated softly.
I stepped into one trouser leg and then the other, then he pulled the pants up to my waist and cinched them tight with the drawstring. He immediately crouched down and rolled up each leg, so my feet could actually poke out at the bottoms. Coming to full height again he snagged the t-shirt; it was a soft grey, the material well worn.
"Lift up your arms," he murmured and I complied. With focused attention he pulled the t-shirt over my head and then stepped back to see the final look. A small smile curved the corners of his lips.
"Why are you doing this?" I whispered. It felt like whispering was the right thing to do.
His eyes slowly came up to mine, from where he'd been soaking in every inch of my "swamped" body.
"Mine," he simply said. "You are mine."
"Not anymore," I replied past a lump the size of an orange in my throat.
He shook his head. "Oraia," he said. "I may not remember, but I do know one thing to be the truth."
When he didn't go on I was forced to ask in a croak, "What?"
"Once a Thisavros always a Thisavros. No one can take it away. Not a scientist. Not an Alchemist. Not even my fucking father. Do you understand?"
"But he has." My lips had formed the words, but no sound had come out.
Theo read them anyway.
"No, sweet Casey Eden. He has not. And the moment I get back inside you I will prove it."
Heat flared through my body, sending tingles to my fingertips and warmth to pool between my thighs. My lips parted but only a gasp came out. Theo reached up and ran his thumb over my bottom lip slowly, his face soft and enthralled, but still not the Theo I'd known.
Oh, he was falling for me. I had no doubt now. He even foolishly thought he could stimulate the Thisavros connection by doing the deed. But he didn't realise, I wasn't fooled. Pyrkagia are sexual beings, they feed off lust and passion and desire and heat. This was his innate self talking; a man attracted to a woman simply because she fed a part of him.
I could love him back. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't already. But I would always pine for the old Theo. For the real Theo. For the Theo who knew every inch of me inside and out.
For the Theo who remembered me.
The Earth sighed in agreement.
I watched achingly as he dried himself off and dressed in dark trousers and a crisply laundered shirt. The dark colours making his Greek heritage stand out, making him look so handsome that my heart hurt. He ran a hand through his hair, effecting a Nico style without conscious thought. Then he walked over to where I'd been standing numbly, where he'd left me after he'd dressed me in his clothes, and looked down at my face. Tilting it up to his with a finger under my chin.
"Are you ready?" he asked, and I realised that I was nowhere near ready to face what my brother was.
"They both lied to me," I said, voicing the thought that had been dogging me since Mark had arrived. "My own family."
Theo didn't say anything, whether that was because he still doubted me or not, I don't know.
"Let's get this over with," I said, turnin
g away and walking toward the door.
Theo followed silently behind me, lost in his own thoughts, as I coasted down the stairs like a ghost, not making a sound. I could hear Aktor and Sonya in the kitchen, the butler taking it upon himself to keep my best friend away from the danger and entertained.
Maybe I would have to add him back on my friend list.
No conversation came from the front parlour, and the closer I got the more nervous I became. Just before I reached the threshold I sucked in a deep breath of air, and at that exact moment Theo's hand slipped into mine. I turned to look up at him as he lifted the back of it to his lips to offer a kiss. It was meant to reassure, all it did was remind me of him doing that same move to Isadora in the limousine back in Auckland.
I tried to keep that memory from reflecting on my face. I clearly failed when he began to frown.
Thinking it would be best to just get this over with, I pushed forward into the front room.
Nico was sitting back on the couch, relaxed pose and an amused look on his face, as he watched across the room to where Isadora and my brother were. My eyes followed his and landed on the couple up against the wall, between two floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto a still wet and windy Wellington day.
"Isadora!" Theo exploded as I finally comprehended what it was I could see.
Mark had his lids half closed, his mouth parted on a sigh, as his chest rose and fell rapidly. Isadora held him immobile by a fist to his blond hair and her boobs pressed into his torso, a thigh was between his legs.
His hips were rocking.
Her eyes were blazing gold.
"Holy freaking hell," I muttered and then promptly covered my face as Mark let out an erotic moan.
"Hotness," he somehow managed to drawl, "if I knew you fancied me that much, I would have put up more of a fight."
Isadora thrust his head back against the wall with an infuriated growl, as Theo stormed over towards them. As soon as she sensed Theo's approach she let Mark go, not even waiting to watch him slump down the side of the wall in an undignified heap, but turning to face the oncoming threat.
Then, as her well fed Pyrkagia redirected to Theo, I realised she wasn't facing what she thought was a threat. She was facing what she really wanted.
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