by Larissa Ladd
“You know,” Aira said, smiling wryly. “I almost miss the days when at least some of the people with designs on me wanted to marry me.” Aiden chuckled, kissing her hungrily for just a moment before pulling away.
“Well, marrying you sort of went out the window once we bonded,” Aiden told her. His hands trailed down along her body, sending thrills of sensation through her—almost enough to completely dispel the fatigue she felt. Aiden nibbled at her neck carefully, smiling against her skin. “Don’t tell me you’re regretting it already?” Aira smiled, shaking her head.
“No, no. I would definitely be much worse off with anyone other than you.” Aira gave him a playful prod. “Unless, of course, Dylan was available.” Aiden snorted.
“Dylan was just as single as I was. You just don’t feel that way about him—and he doesn’t feel that way about you.” Aira sighed.
“It’s a shame really,” she said, unable to fight down the smile that twitched at her lips. “I mean, it would satisfy the requirement they had for me, and Dylan isn’t nearly as much of a jerk as you can sometimes be.” Aiden made a protesting noise, launching himself up and rolling onto her, pinning her to the bed. Even in the darkness, Aira could sense him looking down at her, the mock-severe expression on his face.
“You like that I’m a jerk sometimes,” he said lowly, his lips bare inches away from her ear. “You like that I’m not afraid of the big bad Regina Sylphaea, and I don’t take any of your shit. You like that I don’t just agree with everything you say.” His hands tickled her ribs and Aira squirmed, trying not to smile. “Admit it, Aira. You love the fact that I keep you in check.” Aira suppressed the ticklish laughter that threatened to burble up from her chest.
“Dylan doesn’t just agree with me either,” she said, just in the interest of being contrary. “He’s also pretty handy at saving my life, you know.” Aiden’s hands slipped between her legs and Aira bit her bottom lip, inhaling sharply through her nose.
“You would have eaten Dylan alive, babe,” Aiden murmured in her ear as he began to stroke her. “You know for a fact that I’m the only person on this planet who is willing to stand up to you the way you want—and the way you need, even if you won’t admit it.” Aira moaned softly, pushing her hips down to meet his touch.
“Stop distracting me,” she said, giving him a playful shove; Aiden pressed against her pleasure center more firmly, stroking and rubbing, driving out all thought of what they had been arguing about.
“Make me,” Aiden replied, and Aira could imagine—even without seeing him clearly—his face swimming above hers, one eyebrow raised in challenge, lips curved in a self-satisfied smile. Aira pretended to pout, even as Aiden’s fingers worked away at her, sending thrills of electric sensation shooting through her body. Aira gripped his shoulders, her body tensing as she struggled to hold onto even the finest thread of thought. She couldn’t let him win.
Aira could feel Aiden’s energy flowing through her, her own energy flowing out of her body and into Aiden at the same time in a feedback loop that was comforting and novel at the same time. She focused as hard as she could on stopping the interchange of energy—knowing that would give Aiden pause. It was difficult; Aiden’s hands on her body, his lips barely inches away from hers, the feeling of his heat sinking into her, were all so tempting—but for reasons that Aira couldn’t fully articulate even to herself, she didn’t want him to keep the advantage over her. She gave him a shove—hard, abrupt, off-center. Aiden’s weight shifted on top of her and when she shoved him again, he tumbled off of her completely, and then off of the bed, even as he grabbed at the sheets to stop his momentum.
Aiden hit the floor with a thump and a curse and Aira buried her face in her pillows, laughing. There was still a current of energy flowing between her and Aiden, enough for her to feel his annoyance at her for the trick she had pulled. The lamp next to her bed switched on and illuminated Aiden, standing next to the end table, looking at her with a mock scowl on his face. “That was just mean,” he said, hands on his hips as he looked down at her. Aira began laughing harder, letting her head fall back among the pillows once more.
“You told me to make you stop,” she told him between bursts of laughter. Aiden tried to hold his disapproving expression but the scowl only made Aira laugh harder, until she was nearly breathless with it, curling in on herself and shaking her head.
“You called me a jerk,” Aiden said, climbing back into the bed with her. “I’ve never shoved you out of the bed.” Aira peeked up at him from the pillows and stuck her tongue out. Aiden’s mock-irritation dissolved and he pulled her into his arms once more. “Fine, fine. I’m a jerk, you’re a goddess, I am nowhere near good enough for you.”
“Shut up,” Aira said, pulling herself up to kiss him on the lips. “I’m a brat, you’re a jerk, and Dylan is a saint.”
“Dylan is not a saint,” Aiden insisted. “Okay, yeah, he’s patient and a good go-between.” Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, burying his face against her neck. “I’m worried about him.”
“Yeah. What do you think about that woman he met?” Aira had been mulling over what Dylan had told them about the earth elemental who had ostensibly attended their wedding to spy on them.
“I’d like to trust his judgment,” Aiden said. “It’s pretty easy to see he doesn’t believe she was capable of participating in the attack. But you and I both have been blindsided, and he’s been lonely.”
“Do you think he’s desperate enough to have fallen for someone who might just be interested in using him to get closer to us?” Aiden considered the question and sighed, shrugging.
“I’d like to think he’s not. But I know he’s lonely. I think we need to find out if this Leigh was involved, and if she was, how much.”
“How are we going to even get started on this?” Aira was irritated that the people responsible for the earthquake and the fire at the hotel housing the air elemental delegation had managed to get away in the chaos that followed the freak event without anyone noticing them. They could be anywhere in the world, just about; and they had no idea who it had been. Only the vaguest of clues were left behind. It was obvious that it was the combined effort of earth and fire elementals—but how many?
“For my money, we need to talk to Oriel Peters,” Aiden said. “She’s been out of the way for a while now but she was involved in the original conspiracy against you—she may have some ideas. She may even have connections with the group still. Her grandfather’s the ruler of fire; he’d make sure her stay in jail was as cushy as possible.” Aira chewed on her lip.
“Is it safe for you to potentially go up against the ruler of your element?” she asked him. Aiden hesitated for just a moment before shrugging.
“The elders have us on the case—along with other bounty hunters. We need to talk to Oriel, and I need to get in touch with Thomas.” Aira had briefly met Thomas—a friend and ‘colleague,’ inasmuch as such existed to Aiden; after she had risen to the rule of her element, and had taken on responsibilities alongside Aiden and Dylan hunting down dangerous elementals, Aiden had taken Thomas up on the offer of grabbing a drink and catching up.
Thomas combined most of the stereotypes that existed about fire elementals—he was blond, blue-eyed, handsome; he was not quite as slim as Aiden but slightly more muscular. Both men had the indefinable presence of their element, a crackling sort of tension that gave the sense that they were just waiting to burst into action like coiled springs. Where Aiden tended to fall on the protective and passionate end of the fire scale, Thomas was almost pure aggression. He had charisma, but Aira knew that if she was forced to spend more than a few hours with the man, the two of them would get into an argument that would potentially cause property damage. His ability to manipulate the element he had been born into was not as strong as Aiden’s, but his personality was fire all over. “So this is her,” he’d said when Aiden had introduced them.
“Her?” Aira had asked, feeling a ripple of dislike
for Thomas’ tone.
“Don’t take offense; I just never thought Aiden would settle with anyone—or if he did it’d be another fire elemental, someone a bit more…” Aira had raised an eyebrow, letting the wind around their outside table rise from a gentle breeze to a gust.
“She’s plenty able to fight, Tom,” Aiden had said with amusement in his voice, giving Aira a glance. She remembered their first meeting well—the fight they had gotten into, little more than a petty squabble, but it had set the tone. She remembered the fireballs Aiden had shot at her, the winds she had directed at him, the predatory birds.
“Everyone knows she’s plenty capable,” Thomas had said, sitting back. “And I’ve never seen you happier. The sex must be great.” Aira had rolled her eyes.
“It’s fabulous,” she had told him, holding his gaze. She didn’t mind discussing her sex life at least in theory—but she wanted to make sure she established where they stood. By the time she and Aiden had gone back to the apartment, Thomas had no illusions on the fact that they were matched partners; neither one of them had brought themselves down in their pairing. They were equals.
Aira shrugged at the idea of contacting Thomas. She knew that he had his ear to the ground more than Aiden was able to do. “If you think he knows something, can’t hurt to ask,” she said. Aiden’s hands began to move over her body again. “What are we going to do if this goes all the way up to the rulers? Aiden, this could be…” she shook her head. “This could be really, really bad. For all of us.”
“We’ll have to investigate,” Aiden told her, bringing her face up to kiss her. “You need to rest to be at top strength.”
“You do too,” she told him firmly. “You can’t expect to continue running at full strength on potions and caffeine. You know if someone comes in, here we’ll both wake up in an instant.” Aiden chuckled.
“Well, maybe we don’t have to both go to sleep just yet,” he said lowly, pulling her on top of him. His hands dropped to her hips and Aira smiled down at him, feeling the low, constant hum of desire running through his body.
“We’ll both sleep better,” she agreed. Aiden shifted her on top of him and Aira began to move, kissing him hungrily and letting her energy flow into him. She was worried indeed—but as long as she was with Aiden, Aira thought, they were able to take all comers.
CHAPTER THREE
DYLAN PEERED INTO THE SILVER bowl full of water, breathing steadily, trying to look into the rippling surface to see something he could use. Aiden was talking to Thomas, and Aira was putting out her own feelers. Dylan felt almost useless; since it was fire and earth elementals who had committed the attack, his own contacts among his element wouldn’t be of much avail. But he thought—he hoped—he might be able to glean a few answers through his scrying bowl. After months of practice, he was beginning to become adept at it—it had come in handy in more than one of their investigations.
Aira had told him that she needed his help in interrogating Oriel Peters; they would all need to be on hand for that moment. But in the meantime, Dylan would do what he could to get as many answers as possible. He tried to focus down on the ephemeral, flickering connection he’d established with Leigh. He had to know what was going on with her—he had to get some answers for his own state of mind. He peered into the bowl of water and focused. Murky, floating figures passed in front of his eyes—as insubstantial as smoke within the depths. Dylan focused down and breathed slowly, trying not to stir the surface of the water. The scrying bowl was not entirely reliable; it didn’t always provide direct information, sometimes giving him nothing but groups of symbols, or an emotional state. His connection with Leigh was tenuous at best; he had felt her energy, especially in their kiss, but they hadn’t mingled sufficiently for him to be able to locate her as easily as he would be able to find Aiden or Aira or his mother.
The murky images in the bowl slowly resolved. Dylan closed his eyes for a moment to get a sense of the emotional state in the scene before his eyes. It was tense—Dylan felt his heart beating faster in reaction to the anxiety he could feel echoing through the water—someone was in pain. Dylan tried to focus in, tried to get a feel for who it was he was connecting with through the bowl. It was difficult to know for sure. There were several people; that impression Dylan had almost immediately. They were arguing. There was a lot of energy flowing—Dylan sorted out the impulses, tried to feel for the types of energy. He opened his eyes and peered into the scrying bowl. “No way out for you, you’re already in this,” Dylan heard through the connection he had established. “You’re coming with us.” Dylan peered more closely into the bowl. He couldn’t make out the figures enough to get a face—even the face of the person the comments were addressed to. He groaned in frustration.
Dylan ran his fingers through the water, clearing the images impatiently. It was no use; he had no idea of where exactly the people were, but he knew that they were involved in the attack. He had felt the vibrations of energy—they were earth and fire elementals. Dylan still couldn’t be sure if it was Leigh they were talking to. What did it mean—if it was Leigh—for them to have told her that there was no way out, that she was already in it?
Dylan left his bedroom and walked into the living room, trying to decide how he could follow up on what little he had been able to see. Where had they been? Where had the people the scrying bowl showed him been having their argument? He closed his eyes and called up the impressions he’d received. They were all tense, that much he knew. He sensed they were working on another attack. But there was no indication of where they were, and Dylan had to wonder if they had somehow managed to find a spell that would make it more difficult to be tracked. It would be a wise precaution, one that he would take if he were on the run.
Aira came downstairs, looking excited.
“How have your investigations gone?”
Aira came to the landing and gestured to the kitchen, silently asking of Dylan wanted anything.
“Get me a beer,” Dylan said, not quite asking. Aira nodded.
“Aiden is still checking around,” she said, going into the kitchen and then coming back out a moment later with two beers. “I’ve got a few things I need to look into more, but this is looking pretty complicated.” Dylan nodded.
“I’ve been trying to track down Leigh,” he admitted. Aira raised an eyebrow, passing him one of the beers before sitting down. “I haven’t been able to get a lock on her, so I don’t know for sure whether—whether or not she’s actually with them.” Dylan licked his lips. “But I did just get something in the bowl a few minutes ago. I think I found some of them, but I can’t track them.” Aira considered a moment before nodding.
“One of the earth elementals who’s actually on our side—inasmuch as we have a side—said that they thought the group might have anti-tracking magic on their side. That makes it harder, but not impossible.” Dylan shrugged.
“I mean, if we can figure out which kind of magic it is, what spell it is exactly, we should be able to get a lock on them and negate the spell.”
“That would certainly help. I don’t know how much help Thomas is going to be able to be. Though he’s supposedly investigating.” Aira sighed and sat back, taking a long pull of her beer. “It seems like everyone in the elemental community is either cheering them on, denying anything happened, or interested in exterminating them.” She chewed her bottom lip, and Dylan was able to see the troubled look in her eyes. “Why do they hate me so much?”
“I think for some of them, you’re nothing more than a figurehead,” Dylan said, contemplating. “There’s been discontent brewing against the elders for a long time. When you were named the ruler of air, the earth elementals got worried. I mean, with Lorene in power and no air ruler, they were pretty safe to expand their influence, gain more wealth and power.” Aira took another long pull of her beer, sighing.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” she said, her voice tinged with frustration. “I’m not coming down any harder on earth elementa
ls than on any other kind.” Dylan shrugged.
“Well,” he said, “your presence among the rulers changes the balance of power. We definitely need to find a good candidate to replace your grandmother. But first things first. What did you find out?”
“Just that they’re evading trackers thus far—no one has any real clue where they are in the world. They could still be in the States, but they could also be in Europe, even South America. It’s unlikely they’d flee to Asia or Africa.”
Dylan had to agree.
“Any other leads?”
Aira smiled slowly.
“I was able to get one of Alex’s family members,” she said slowly. “I have a meeting with her this afternoon, before we go for Oriel. It seems this wrinkle in the plan hasn’t been well-received by others in my element. I’ve been flooded with requests for justice.” She sighed. “For a group of intellectuals, some of my fellow air-aligned people haven’t been thinking things through very well. It seems that there were a few families that were involved in the early stages—interested in the contention for the throne.”
“That makes sense,” Dylan said. “They’d want their own family members to rule the element. Air’s one of the more volatile alignments—more unstable elementals in your branch. You guys are a dangerous group.”
Aira smiled wryly.
“So they got on-board with overthrowing me and now it’s biting them in the ass and they’re all eager to roll over, but no one knows anything.”