Tempting Darkness

Darius

My mind was spinning as I held the hellhounds off. One stupid mistake nearly cost her life; I should never have taken her out of the castle grounds without the others. I was most shocked that she could have drained me of my power and portalled out and run, leaving me, but she stayed to protect me. I knew something was off about her, but never in my wildest dreams did I think she was harmony fae and elemental on top of that. Not for one second did I ever entertain that idea; she shouldn't exist. Aleera would be a lethal weapon if appropriately trained.

Why would she keep it from us? We would have protected her. However, it made so much sense now why her parents tried to kill her.

"Aleera, stay with me, love," I called to her as my magic faltered after getting hit with a blast of air. I scanned my surroundings as my flame wall suddenly encased us, and I barely covered her body with mine in time to stop the flames from burning her before reinforcing them again.

Come on, Tobias, where are you? I thought just before I felt his presence getting close. Lycus's presence also felt near as my mark stopped burning. Kalen was not here, and I wondered what they did to subdue him to force him to remain home. I knew that man would walk through fire for her. We all would. Whimpers and shouting could be heard all around, yet the shudder against my shield as they bounced off it told me they would get to her if I dropped it.

"Tobias, behind you!" Lycus called out before I heard him grunt. Panic made me drop the shield to find him fighting with the man from town, the same man that walked out in front of my car. There was a vicious snarl as the hellhounds lunged at us, ripping me back to my surroundings and forcing me to drop the shield. My body covered Aleera's head to shield her, expecting the hellhounds to sink their teeth into her any second, yet my thoughts were interrupted by the fierce sounds of flesh being ripped from bone and a mighty furious roar.

Lycus's giant wolf gripped its neck in his powerful jaws, ripping the hellhound back at the last second and slamming it on the ground before he shook his head, ripping out the beast's throat and spraying himself and me in blood. Looking around, I noticed he and Tobias had taken out the others, and the only person left was the man Tobias was fighting. Fool. Sneaking up on him would have been smarter in case he ran. Tobias plunged his hand through the man's chest, and his entire body became engulfed in flames. His screams drilled into my ears.

"Idiot," I muttered, thinking his puny air magic was no match for a fire user. Tobias ripped his hand out, leaving the man's burning corpse to fall at his feet. The hellhounds put up more of a fight.

Tobias ran over to us. Lycus's big black wolf also came over, sniffing and licking my face. I pushed his head away, lifting my body from Aleera's unconscious one. He sniffed her, licked her cheek, and nudged her before whimpering when she didn't wake. Tobias came over and ran his hand down Lycus's back.

"She will be okay. Let us get her home," Tobias told him, and Lycus whined while I bundled her up in my arms. Blood trickled from her nose, ears, and eyes from using my magic. The amount she used told me she had never harnessed that much at once. Being an elemental, magic should come easy to her unless she hadn't used it. Tobias walked over to the car, and Lycus shifted back to give him a hand as they pushed it back on its wheels. The car banged and bounced as it was turned back upright.

"She has seen better days," Tobias muttered at my ruined car before he pushed it off to the side of the road. Lycus retrieved the stuff from the trunk and our belongings from the vehicle.

"Yep, need another one now," Lycus hummed.

"The car is replaceable. Lives aren't," I told them, and they nodded before Lycus flicked his fingers at it, setting it on fire. Tobias opened a portal, and I groaned as I staggered toward it with Aleera in my arms. Tobias came to take her from me, but I pulled away, unwilling to let her go, and he looked at me questionably.

"She saved my life. She could have run, but she didn't."

"Goes to show how wrong you were about our girl," Tobias chuckled.

"We were all wrong. She is an elemental harmony fae," I told him, and the shock on his face was apparent.

Lycus chuckled. "Yeah, right, there is no harmony left, and what would be the chances of finding a harmony that was also an elemental? Impossible?"

I stared at him, and he looked at Tobias, who nodded to him that I was telling the truth.

"What?" Lycus stuttered.

"Aleera is an elemental harmony fae. She took my magic and protected me while I was out. I woke up to her above me holding them off," I told him.

"F**k!" Lycus cursed, and so did Tobias. This meant the war we were fighting to protect her had more meaning; now, the stakes were higher. If anyone found out about her, she would have an entire world of fae after her. It was bad enough that I was stuck for years, going through tests to recreate the elemental status until I said no more. Not like they could force me when I could melt their insides with a click of my fingers. However, with Aleera, no amount of fear for what she could do would stop the council from coming for her.

Stepping through the portal, I found Kalen shackled by Lycus magic. If looks could kill, we would all be dead for forcing him to remain behind. Tobias flicked his fingers in his direction as we stepped into our room, releasing him from the hold of Lycus's magic. The moment he was released, he stood up and punched Tobias.

"How f*****g dare you!" Kalen snarled at him while Tobias rubbed his jaw before grabbing his throat. Lycus flopped on the bed, and I turned my attention back to Tobias, who pressed his lips against Kalen's.

"I will let that slide, but don't push me, Kalen. It's unsafe for you," Tobias growled before tugging him closer and embracing him. Kalen's eyes went to Aleera in my arms as he tried to escape Tobias, who sighed, releasing him so he could rush over to take her from

me.

He hugged her close, burying his face in her neck and laying her beside Lycus. "You gave her magic?" he asked, and I knew he was assessing her aura when a thought occurred to me.

"You knew she was a harmony fae, didn't you?"

Kalen growled but nodded. "I noticed earlier when one of the phoenixes power-shared to her." He said it so matter-of-factly, like he hadn't kept it from us.

"You didn't think to say something?"

"Not my place to say. I figured she would tell you when she trusted you," Kalen said, leaning down and kissing her before adjusting her on the bed so her head was resting on Lycus's shoulder.

"She needs magic, Darius. She won't run," Kalen said, looking over at me.

"I know. She could have, but she didn't," I told him, lifting my shirt to find a piece of the door trim stabbed into my side. Tobias hissed as I groaned, ripping the piece of metal out before his hand covered the wound as he tried to heal me.

"Save it. I will heal on my own. Save it for Aleera," I groaned, sitting down and holding my hand to the side to stem the bleeding as I waited for it to heal. We all kind of sat around in silence, everyone shocked at what we learned when Ryze flew in the window and shrieked as he landed on the windowsill.