“They were definitely not happy when Aiden and I got together,” Aira said, and Dylan could hear her smiling. “Two strong elementals, each in the full flush of our power, and our energies combine to become pure electricity.”
“I can definitely see why they’d be worried.” Leigh shook her head. “Air, fire, electricity—it’s no wonder my cousin and his ilk are going after you indirectly. There’d be no chance going up against the two of you together.”
“And now, assuming you stay with us, Leigh, we’ll have earthquakes and landslides on our side,” Aiden glanced quickly over his shoulder.
Dylan felt a deep-down relief that both his brother and his sister-in-law seemed to have come around to the idea of Leigh joining their “merry band.” But he knew that it wouldn’t be easy—even with Leigh’s abilities, tied to her elemental alignment, they would have to fight to get all of the elementals involved into custody. And Dylan knew that the cockier members of the group wouldn’t be content to stick with only attacking relatively helpless air and water elementals. They would eventually make their move on Aiden or Aira, try and get the “royal couple” separated. Divide and conquer was a time-honored tradition of war; it would only make sense to try it in this case as well. Dylan mulled over the possibilities. As long as Aiden and Aira were together, there were very few people who could target them—no one would be able to get past the guard of either elemental to get the other.
“We have to all stay together,” Dylan said firmly. “The four of us, combined, are impervious to anything that the group can throw at us. Leigh can protect against earth-based attacks, as can I, Aira and Aiden can protect against any fire or air attacks, and I can keep us safe from any water-based attacks— even if none of my people seem to be involved in this stupid mess.”
“I agree,” Aira said from the front passenger seat. “Between the four of us, we have all comers at a disadvantage. We have to make sure we don’t get separated.”
“That’s the first thing they’ll try, then,” Leigh pointed out. “The minute they’re confident enough to come after you and Aiden, they’re going to try and separate us somehow.”
“So we do everything together,” Dylan smiled at the slightly chirpy sound of Aira’s too-chipper voice. “At this point, you might as well stay in Dylan’s room; his bed is more comfortable than the couch.”
“You just want them to bond fully,” Aiden said, freeing one hand from the steering wheel to tousle Aira’s hair in a proprietary, comfortable gesture that Dylan almost envied. He didn’t quite know Leigh well enough yet to know what she would enjoy, what she would appreciate; he gave her hand a squeeze.
“Well, it would solve a lot of problems, but I can’t make them bond any more than someone could have forced you and I to bond.”
“Technically they did.”
“Technically they made me bond with someone. I could have theoretically bonded with Dylan if we had any actual chemistry between us.”
Dylan rolled his eyes. “We have fabulous chemistry, and I don’t bother you nearly as much as Aiden does. You’re a very lucky woman, Leigh; I could have ended up as one half of the royal couple and all you would have been able to choose from would be Aiden.”
“No thanks,” Leigh said, laughing. “I’m pretty sure we’d drive each other completely insane.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Because Aira doesn’t drive me out of my mind on a regular basis.”
Aira reached over and prodded Aiden in the ribs; Dylan laughed as his brother narrowly avoided a swerve, correcting his steering at the last moment.
“How in the world is it my fault that you are the most annoying man on the face of the planet?”
Dylan sat back in his seat, casting amused glances at Leigh as his brother and his sister-in-law descended into bickering that was heated and yet not quite acrimonious. He had watched them arguing like this ever since he and Aiden had come into Aira’s life; but Leigh was obviously much more confused by the fact that two people could persistently and stubbornly argue without coming to a resolution and yet be passionate lovers, caring for each other.
“If either of us took a side,” Dylan murmured in her ear, “There’s about a fifty-fifty chance that we’d be shouted down by both of them.”
“How do they have the energy for anything when they’re arguing so much?” Leigh shook her head. “It looks exhausting.”
“They have a lot of excess energy,” Dylan said. They’ve been doing this since long before they ever even considered becoming mates. You should have seen them before they started having sex.”
“You know we can hear you,” Aira broke the thread of her argument to inform Dylan and Leigh alike. “And the reason we bicker is because Aiden won’t admit that he is stupid. Cute, sexy, and pretty effective when it comes to certain physical things, but stupid.”
“I am not stupid!” And the two of them were off once more, playfully and passionately arguing while Dylan basked in the restful energy flowing through him from Leigh.
CHAPTER FIVE
“OKAY,” AIRA SAID, REACHING THE bottom of the staircase. “We have some leads.” Dylan watched as Aiden came down behind her, looking serious—the way he associated with his older brother preparing mentally for a coming challenge.
“What’s the story?” Dylan asked, reaching into the fridge and extracting a couple of beers. Leigh was seated at the kitchen bar, already nursing a beer; he handed one each off to his brother and sister-in-law as they settled themselves, looking grim.
“So at the safe house back in Nevada, we captured Aelwyd, Bridget, Tenchi, and Jared, along with their underlings. The more recent attacks, at least from what we’ve been able to find out, were masterminded by Seraphina, Aidan, Annaliese, and Hestia. Someone else grabbed Dharithri.” Aiden took a sip of his beer. “We know where Aidan and Hestia are—it’s finding Seraphina and Annaliese that will be the issue.”
“From what I was able to find out, Hestia has a bunch of people under her,” Leigh said. “Not sure what Aidan’s status is.”
“Aidan’s grabbed some fire-aligned followers; most of them aren’t all that strong, but together they can be pretty major in terms of nuisance.” Aiden’s lips twisted and Dylan saw the flicker of uncertainty on his older brother’s features. “Seraphina… well, we’ll deal with her when we get that far.”
“I still think she’s going to try and bust Oriel out,” Aira said. “It makes too much sense not to do.”
“Would she even be able to do that?” Dylan glanced at Aira in surprise. “I mean, you can talk your way in, but it’s not like just anyone can.” Aira pressed her lips together firmly.
“There are still some idiots among my element who think they can make things right by overthrowing me. They want someone else to be the ruler of the element.” Aira took a long drink of her beer. “I kind of want them to spend as long a time as possible in the cells if we can catch them.”
“So what’s our plan of attack?” Leigh asked, spinning the base of her beer on the countertop.
“They’re hiding out in the mountains. We have some backup from a few bounty hunters I’ve been able to get in touch with, but this is mostly us.” Aiden picked at the label on his bottle and Dylan could feel the anxiety radiating from his older brother. “It’s not a big compound, but two of the most important members of the organization are in it. Neither Aidan nor Hestia is going to go down easily. I expect they’ll be much more prepared than the first group.”
“I know Hestia pretty well,” Leigh said. Dylan raised an eyebrow; she hadn’t mentioned that to him. “She almost joined my family—then backed off of the last moment.”
“You hadn’t mentioned that,” Aira said, glancing at Dylan. Dylan shrugged. He wondered—not for the first time—if he really knew what he was getting into with the woman he had partially bonded with. Maybe Aira had had a point in her comment about how short a time he had known her. It was hard to imagine that it had only been about two weeks—less than a month— and that he had invest
ed himself in her so fully.
“It wasn’t relevant until I was free to start asking questions,” Leigh pointed out. “I’m not friends with her or anything—I didn’t even really want her to marry my brother. But I know her pretty well after all that mess. She’s unstable.”
“Well,” Dylan said wryly, “deciding to attack a bunch of people to overthrow an elemental ruler would point to that.”
Leigh shook her head. “No, seriously unstable. She was her parents’ pet growing up, so they never taught her any discipline. She doesn’t know how to manage her energy properly.”
“That gives her a vested interest in keeping Earth as the prime focus of power in the council,” Aiden said, taking another pull of his beer. “With Maralah calling all the shots, she keeps under the radar, maybe doesn’t go on trial.”
“Overshot that one, didn’t she?” Aira smiled wryly. Dylan chuckled.
“So she’s going to be a difficult opponent, but nothing we aren’t used to.” Dylan considered the situation. He and Aiden had tracked unstable elementals before—and so had Aira, once she had gained her title.
“It’s more the people she has under her that are going to be the problem,” Leigh said. She bit her bottom lip. “My brother tells me she’s got powerful backing—money, resources. Aidan’s the stronger elemental, but without Hestia he’s dead in the water—no one wants to work with him.” “Aidan’s always been kind of an asshole,” Aiden agreed. “I’d be more concerned if he’d gone through with his family’s proposal to mate him to Seraphina, but Connor came out against it. I think he wanted Aidan for Oriel, though they can’t stand each other.”
“Oriel’s into Seraphina, isn’t she?” Aira smiled slightly. “They kind of fit in a weird way.”
“Yeah, they’re—frenemies, I guess you’d say. Oriel always had the power, Seraphina the ambition.”
“So how are we going after Hestia and Aidan, then?” Dylan asked. It was the central question they were all dancing around—the one that he couldn’t quite feel at ease about until he got a straight answer from his brother or his new sister.
“We’re going to need Leigh to find Hestia; Aidan will be with her. From there …” Aiden shrugged. “Like before, only more so.” Dylan looked at Aira.
“We’ll get to see Leigh in action; even if she can’t contribute much more than tracking help, I can’t imagine a better scenario,” Aira said.
Leigh smiled and Dylan found himself smiling with her. He didn’t know her very well yet—but he had felt her energy. She had more to her than just tracking, he knew. He may not have an exact idea of what she could do—but Dylan was certain that she could do something rather spectacular.
“I’ll need some things,” Leigh said, glancing at Dylan. Dylan raised an eyebrow, silently asking. He had fallen into the role of supplier—of someone who got everything they needed. It was simply too risky for Aira to go out on her own and Aiden was useless when it came to finding things. “I’ll need good salt, jade, and oak branches.”
“I’ll need to be upstairs when this happens, then,” Aira said, smiling ruefully.
Dylan nodded. “And as soon as we’re done with the materials we’ll get them out of the living room.”
Aira hesitated a moment. Her great strength came with a price—she was more susceptible to the draining properties of earth-aligned materials than someone with a smaller degree of power. Being around earth magic could weaken her for hours.
“I can take Leigh with me to the shops to get what we need; be better than guessing at what works best,” Dylan offered.
“How much do we trust her?” Aiden asked, glancing apologetically at Dylan. Dylan knew his brother and sister-in-law had reason to be cautious; he could only hope that as more time passed—without Leigh betraying them—that they’d come to accept Leigh, that they’d learn to trust her as he did. But then, he thought, he wasn’t even entirely sure of why he trusted the auburn-haired elemental.
“I trust her enough not to use the opportunity to escape,” Aira said after a moment’s deliberation. “Amazing how quickly you figure someone out when everything goes to shit, isn’t it?” Aira gave him a smile and Dylan echoed it, reaching out to brush his fingertips against Leigh’s hand.
“We can keep working on intelligence while they’re out,” Aiden said. Dylan felt his brother’s gaze on him and met it. “I’ll check in if you’re out a bit long for comfort.” Aiden looked at Leigh. “And don’t go thinking that you can overpower my brother, either—Dylan’s stronger than he looks, even if his head is turned.”
Dylan groaned. “I don’t need you to stand up for me, Aiden,” he told his brother; there were moments when he was acutely aware of the fact that Aiden was older—and never any moments when he delighted in that fact.
“Let ‘em go. They need some bonding time.” Aira rose from her seat and Dylan felt the pulse of intense energy between his brother and the woman Aiden had taken as a mate—and as a wife. He knew exactly what the two of them would be doing the entire time that he and Leigh were away; Dylan smiled to himself. It would be good for the world when they finally had the opportunity to be by themselves fully, to solidify their bond and celebrate their marriage, to fully satisfy themselves. Dylan was looking forward to the chance to spend some time outside of their intense ambience.
“I’ll check in,” Aiden said, glancing sharply at both Leigh and Dylan before he turned to follow Aira back upstairs.
“You know,” Leigh said as they walked through the aisles of a health food store, seeking some of the components she would need to track the elementals they sought, “I hadn’t really formed an opinion of Aira before the wedding; or even at the reception.”
“Makes you an ideal spy, I suppose,” Dylan said with a little smile.
“I’m still not sure I entirely understand her relationship with Aiden. I mean, I can see it works for them. Obviously they’re very happy together … but it all seems so …”
Dylan chuckled. “Fraught? There’s a lot of tension. I think—I think they both thrive on it. The constant challenge. The need to be better, to be more.”
“Is she the only person who can keep Aiden in line?” The prospect seemed to amuse Leigh, and Dylan considered the question.
“One of very few people. Mom … she’s a water elemental, like me. She could quell him, but not convince him to give up his will.”
“And Aira?” Dylan shrugged.
“Aira … She’s a match for anything he wants to throw at her. He can’t shout her down, he can’t intimidate her, he can’t coerce her. I think we both know she’s more intellectual—that’s in keeping with her elemental alignment—but he’s stronger physically, and he’s got a survival instinct that’s gotten us out of a lot of scrapes.”
“What about you?” Leigh stopped him at a bulk display of different grains, running her fingers over the bin labels until she came to one she wanted. “What do you bring to the team?”
“I’m less volatile. I’m … calmer. I make the peace when things get out of hand. I help them settle.”
“Not much room for a fourth then, is there?” “You’ve seen them,” Dylan said, laughing. “They need way more grounding than I can provide.”
Leigh smiled. “Do you really want me working with you? I mean … I know there’s … we’ve partly bonded. I wasn’t exactly planning that and I don’t think you were, either.”
Dylan pressed his lips together as he thought before answering.
“A while before Aiden and Aira got married, my mom told me that I would find a mate,” he said slowly. “She’s great at reading the scrying bowl—way better than I am. She told me that I’d find someone, that I was on the point of it, but that there would be obstacles.” Dylan shrugged. “A war seems like a pretty big obstacle to me.”
“My parents won’t be entirely pleased that I didn’t let them … negotiate, or try and make the most advantageous alliance possible.” Leigh twisted her lips into a wry grin. “But I think they’v
e always known I would go my own way. I’m more independent than my brothers and sisters.”
“Makes even more sense that they used you as a spy. Why exactly was that, by the way?”
Leigh shrugged, tying off the bag of grain she had scooped and adding it to the basket.
“They wanted someone they could trust, who hadn’t already come to any conclusions about Aiden and Aira. Some of my siblings are excellent earth-aligned beings, but they aren’t exactly sharp. Before my cousins abducted me, my parents would have almost killed me rather than let me ally with you three.”
“Why’d they abduct you?” Dylan still wasn’t sure he was entirely clear on that detail. He had heard her explanation—that she had been informing the authorities of their world about the attack—but it still didn’t entirely make sense.
Leigh sighed. “Well, partly it was to get me out of the way; I was a peripheral witness. I’d known who was involved. Partly it was because they wanted me on their side. As I said, not always the sharpest, us earth-aligned folks.”
“You seem plenty sharp,” Dylan told her with a grin.
Leigh smiled slowly, the expression lighting up her brilliant green eyes.
“I had to separate myself from my siblings some way, didn’t I? So I studied lore, and I spent a lot of time with my grandmother—she was a water elemental, very much a supporter of Aira’s grandmother. She taught me to think critically, and well,” Leigh shrugged. “Here I am.”
“Here you are,” Dylan echoed. “Stuck in an enormous mess with your family at odds with itself.”
“Happens all the time in earth families,” Leigh said. “We play nice at reunions, but everyone’s always comparing wealth, prestige, things like that. Everyone wants to know who has the most money, who’s marrying the best. It’s exhausting in its own way.”
“Sometimes,” Dylan admitted as they turned towards the cash registers. “Sometimes I find myself wishing I had what Aiden has—not Aira specifically.” He glanced at Leigh to make sure he hadn’t offended her; she still smiled complacently. “But that level of passion, devotion.”
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