A Deadly Duet: Spellsinger: Book 6 Read online

  And lost it.

  I fell into the ocean with an impressive splash. As the cool water closed over my head, I felt Darcraxis with me. His hands ran over my body; stilling my thrashing. I let myself float within the ocean's grasp—within Darc's grasp—and felt him surround me completely. His lips were on mine, and his arms cradled me.

  If you want to learn to be a goddess, ask a god, Darcraxis spoke in my mind. This witch will not be able to fully reveal your power to you.

  I'm doing just fine.

  Are you? He sounded amused. Then how are you breathing?

  I opened my eyes in surprise and saw a thin layer of air around my nose. The water glittered as oxygen was pulled from it; separated and purified for me to breathe.

  Are you doing that? I asked.

  I am helping you do that.

  A massive splashing drew my attention, and I looked toward the shallows to see several pairs of male legs heading in my direction. I must have been underwater too long.

  All you have to do is call my name, Darc reminded me, and then he was gone.

  The air disappeared from around my face, and I surged up to the surface just in time to be “rescued” by my consorts. They helped me ashore, and then we all stood on the sand; our wet clothes gushing water down our bodies.

  “You had us worried,” Gage said. “Why were you underwater so long?”

  “I was speaking to Darcraxis,” I said.

  Honesty; an interesting choice, Kyanite mused. I might have gone another route.

  I'm not lying to them, I snapped.

  “What?” Torin growled.

  “The water,” Declan said as he nodded. “It's his element. Now that he's free, he can access it.”

  “It was used against him before,” I whispered in revelation. “Water and Earth to hide him.”

  “Elaria, what did Darcraxis say to you?” Banning asked.

  “He said that if I wanted to learn to be a goddess, I should ask a god,” I said.

  “He has a point,” Nigel said. “My magic is the same element as hers but, at its heart, it's different. I can only teach Elaria what I've learned, and what I've learned is limited by my witch abilities.”

  “As is my knowledge,” my father added.

  “You two think she should go to Darcraxis for help?” Gage asked in surprise. “The guy we're trying to keep her away from?”

  “Why not?” Nigel asked. “Isn't it better to keep him close? Leaving Darcraxis to his own devices may be dangerous. We know that Elaria has an influence over him; I think it would be wise to see how far she can sway him.”

  “You think I can change a god?” I asked with a lifted brow.

  “Illuminate him,” Nigel corrected. “You are the Goddess of Light after all. Show the God of Darkness what you've learned from being a part of the physical world—a part of a family. He's only had you.”

  “He had his children,” I argued. “That's a family.”

  “Children born of magic,” my mother said. “It's not the same, Elaria. Faenestra didn't carry his child inside her body. Darcraxis didn't watch the babe grow within his wife or help her through the struggle of its birth.”

  “He never held his daughter in his arms and touched a fingertip to her soft cheek,” my father added as he laid a hand against my face. “Your mother's right; it's different. Darcraxis can't possibly feel what I do; the love that a flesh-and-bone father bears his child.”

  “Physical life has tangible rewards,” Nigel added. “While Darcraxis teaches you to control your magic, you'll have a chance to teach him about how rewarding life in a real body can be.”

  “Hold on; we need to talk about this,” Torin said. “What's our goal here; to add him to our family? To make him Elaria's fifth consort?”

  “Isn't that preferable to him destroying our family?” My mother asked.

  “If you can't beat him, join him,” my father added.

  My consorts exchanged grim looks.

  “It doesn't matter,” I said. “He'll never go for it. Darcraxis refuses to share. He's a god; sharing is not his thing.”

  “Nor was it mine,” Torin pointed out. “But you have a way of changing things, little bird; even the things that a man believes are steadfast.”

  I frowned as I looked out to sea. The water shushed across the sand and, for a second, I thought I heard Darcraxis whispering to me. Having him join us would be the perfect solution, but I had little hope of convincing him. Still, if there was the slightest chance...

  “Darcraxis,” I called to him.

  The air before me darkened, and everyone took a step back. The darkness sucked into itself and solidified into the shape of a man. Darc's eyes were closed, and his face was lifted to the sun when his features came into focus. He inhaled deeply and then opened his stunning, sparkling eyes to the sky before he turned his stare toward us.

  “Fuck me!” Torin cursed.

  “It's like Torin 2.0!” Cerberus exclaimed.

  “I told you that he looks like you,” Gage huffed at Torin.

  “No”—Darcraxis smirked—“he looks like me. Why do you think that is, Onyx King?”

  “You son of a bitch,” Torin growled as he stepped forward. “Our love has nothing to do with you.”

  “I'm no woman's son,” Darc said smugly as he went toward Torin eagerly. “But you are a child of mine; at least, partially. Shall I give you a lesson in respecting your parents?”

  “Stop!” I slid between them and put my hands on their chests. “This won't accomplish anything but my pain and anger.”

  Both of the men grimaced as they moved away from each other. The similarities were uncanny, but Darc's face was sharper—every inch of it was perfection, his body was slightly bigger than Torin's and his eyes glittered with the magic of a god. As much as Darcraxis appealed to me, Torin's flaws were what made him special. I realized then that I didn't love them for their similarities but for their differences; Darcraxis for his perfection and Torin for his lack of it.

  “The last thing I want is to cause you pain,” Darc said softly before he kissed my cheek. “I'm sorry for my behavior, and I'm glad that you called me.”

  “I need your help,” I said. “Nigel thinks that if I don't get control over my air magic, I could hurt people.”

  “Nigel is correct.” Darc nodded to Nigel, and he nodded back. “Now that your soul is complete, your magic is waking up.”

  “Complete?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

  “Elaria, your soul was severed,” Darc said gently. “In order to place you within a human body, the Shining Ones had to remove your magic. They used an enchanted dagger to slice your soul in two; one piece to go into a human fetus and the other to go into the orb.”

  “The orb?” I gaped at him.

  “I told you that it wasn't me who Kukulcan felt inside you; that it was your essence emerging,” Darcraxis said with a frown. “You were drawn to the orb because it held the other half of your soul. It followed you and then guided you because it was you. And there has always been, and always will be, a part of me inside of you. So, when you had the orb in your hands and your magic within your grasp, you were finally able to communicate with me. You remembered that you were the key to releasing me, and when you set me free, you freed yourself as well.”

  “The orb,” I whispered. “When it unlocked your prison, it burst apart and something flew into me. That was my soul?”

  “Half of it; the half that held your magic. They used it to imprison me,” Darc confirmed. “I'm sorry; I thought you remembered. I would have told you sooner if I had known.”

  “But if it was my soul inside the orb, then when Danyon spoke of the orb containing evil he meant...”

  “You,” Darc said gently. “They believed you to be the greater evil.”

  “What?” I whispered. “Why?”

  “You are the Fire and the Storm, my love,” Darc said. “You have always been more... aggressive than I. When our children rebelled against us, you reacted fir
st and struck out at them. I joined you, of course, but you were perceived as more violent. That's why I was imprisoned and you were...”

  “Torn apart,” I finished.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Now, you are whole, and I am glad of it. But your magic was not meant for a body composed of blood and bones. This form is stronger than a human one, but it's still not enough to hold the magic of a goddess. Your powers will grow in strength until they reach the limits of your carbon-based body. Then—if you do not control them—they will burst free.”

  “You didn't think to mention this before?” I growled.

  “I assumed that you'd feel the changes and come to me when you were ready,” he said. “Besides, as much as I admire this body, it's replaceable. If your magic destroys it, your soul will simply revert back to what it was—a free entity. You will become a goddess again; able to choose another shape.”

  “I like this shape,” I snapped.

  “That's fucking slimy, dude.” Cerberus crossed his arms and glared at Darc. “You know she doesn't want that.”

  “I was giving Elaria time to come to terms with who she is,” Darc said. “She will want it; it is the ultimate form of immortality. Right now, she is limited by this shell.”

  “Can we start again properly before this fight breaks out?” My mother asked. “Elaria, introduce us.”

  “Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Darcraxis, this is my mother, Kalliope, and my father, Robert; the makers of this shell.”

  Darcraxis gave me a beleaguered look for my “shell” comment as he went to my mother and took her hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Kalliope,” he said and then kissed her cheek. “Thank you for looking after my wife.”

  “Um, you're welcome,” my mother stuttered as she stared into Darc's mesmerizing eyes.

  “She's our daughter,” Dad said firmly. “You don't have to thank us.”

  “Just the same.” Darc shook my father's hand. “She was my wife first, and then she was taken from me. If Kalliope were taken from you and someone else saw to her safety until you could reach her, wouldn't you be grateful?”

  My father smirked. “You're a smooth talker.”

  “I created several languages.” Darc shrugged. “It would be embarrassing if I wasn't eloquent.”

  My father laughed. “Indeed.” Then he waved a hand toward Nigel. “This is my best friend, Nigel Windthrope.”

  “An honor, I'm sure,” Nigel said as he extended his hand.

  “You did well with Elaria's air magic,” Darc noted as they shook.

  “Thank you,” Nigel said. “But I'm glad you're taking over; I've come to the extent of my teaching abilities.”

  “Seriously?” Cerberus asked. “We're doing this?”

  “Is there something you'd like to say to me, Hound of Hades?” Darcraxis asked calmly.

  “Cerberus,” I said in a warning tone.

  “No, El.” Cerberus bared his teeth. “I'm not going to stand here and pretend that this fucker didn't abduct you and do who knows what to you on some other planet while everyone you loved was out of their damn minds with worry.”

  “I called my wife to me so that she could free me from a prison I'd been in for thousands of years,” Darcraxis said calmly. “Have you ever been imprisoned, Cerberus?”

  Cerberus frowned and began to look nervous. “No, but I was chained once.”

  “You were?” I asked in surprise. “By who?”

  “Hades,” Cer said. “It wasn't fun.”

  “I watched as my wife's soul was torn in half. They cast part of her through the Veil and trapped the rest in an orb,” Darc's eyes shadowed with pain as he spoke. “Then they set my soul in volcanic glass and used my wife's magic to ward my prison. I had never felt helpless before, but I did then, and I continued to feel so until I finally found a way to lure Elaria to me. Now, do you truly think that was an abduction? That I accosted Elaria in some way? Do you think that I would hurt my own wife after waiting so long to be with her again?”

  Everyone went quiet.

  “I don't owe any of you explanations,” Darc went on in a deadly tone, “but I give them freely because Elaria cares for you, and contrary to your accusations, I don't want to cause her pain; not in any way.”

  “I know what it feels like to be without Elaria,” Banning said. “Our separation wasn't as long as yours, but it was long enough for me to understand how you can reach a point where you would do anything to have her back; anything short of hurting her.”

  Darcraxis nodded regally to Banning.

  “Oh, fine,” Cerberus huffed and held out his hand to Darc. “But if you do hurt her or her family, I will find a way to put you back in that glass, Fairy God.”

  “Understood, Hound,” Darcraxis said with a grin.

  “I'm Banning Dalca,” Ban held out his hand to Darc.

  “The Blooder Prince.” Darc nodded as they shook.

  “And this is Declan, Gage, and Torin,” I said as I indicated the other men.

  “How are things between all of you now that the chicken spell is gone?” Darc asked after he shook their hands.

  Gage started to growl while the other men narrowed their eyes at Darc.

  “It's—it was—the Rooster Spell,” I corrected Darc. “And why would you go and ruin the peace by asking that?”

  “I couldn't help myself.” Darcraxis sighed. “It's not easy for me to be polite to men who have slept with my wife.”

  “She's not yours anymore,” Torin said.

  “The fuck she isn't,” Darc snarled back. “She didn't leave me; she was taken! You're the one who gave her up; don't think that I didn't see that.”

  “Enough!” I shouted. “This was obviously a bad idea. I should have met with Darc alone.”

  “You're not going anywhere alone with him, Elaria,” Torin declared.

  I narrowed my eyes at Torin.

  “Let's all take a breath,” Declan said reasonably before I could verbally smack Torin. “Can we please remember that we all love Elaria? We need to put our egos aside, gentlemen. If she doesn't get her magic under control, it will threaten more than our relationship with her; the Elaria we know will die.”

  The men went silent and then grudgingly agreed to be nice. But Torin and Darc exchanged glances that clearly set a time limit on their civility.

  “It would be easier to teach you without an audience,” Darc noted. “Perhaps I could take you back to Ildathach?”

  “No,” Torin said.

  “I think everyone would be more comfortable if we did this here,” I said to Darc.

  “Distractions could be dangerous,” Darcraxis said grimly. “We will need to delve into your subconscious, and if you aren't focused, your magic could lash out. You could kill someone, Elaria.”

  “Why don't we go back to the house?” My mother suggested. “You two can have the beach to yourselves and join us when you're done.”

  “That's acceptable,” Darc said. “So long as the beach remains calm.”

  “We don't have a lot of large wildlife on the island, and the sea mammals won't bother you,” my father pointed out.

  “I don't like this,” Torin said softly as he took my hand.

  “I'll be fine,” I assured him. “Why would Darc bring me back only to run off with me now?”

  “That's not my only concern,” Torin admitted. “You said that he messed with your mind.”

  “But not my free will,” I reminded Torin. “Even when I didn't remember you, I could still feel you with me.”

  “I hid you from her thoughts temporarily so that she could remember me without bias,” Darc said with annoyance. “I didn't intend to permanently alter her mind; I would never do that to her. I don't believe it's even possible; Elaria's memories are embedded in her soul, and her soul is as powerful as mine.”

  Torin looked from me to Darc and back; his jaw clenching. “All right,” he gave in. “But if you're not back in an hour, I'm coming here to fetch you.”

  “An hour is har
dly long enough—” Darc started to say.

  “It's enough to start,” Torin interrupted him.

  “Fine,” Darc growled. “If you're going to limit us, Elaria will need daily lessons.”

  Torin nodded and stomped off toward the house.

  “It was lovely to meet you,” my mother said to Darcraxis.

  “And you, Kalliope,” Darc said with a smile.

  “Lovely to meet you?” Cerberus huffed at Mom as they all walked away. “Really?”

  “He's a nice man,” my mother said defensively. “And he loves my daughter; I see nothing wrong with that.”

  “You called Torin a pervert for months, but you think the God of Darkness is nice?” Cerberus asked my mom.

  “And handsome,” my mother added.

  “Kalliope!” My father growled.

  “What? I can look.”

  I sighed deeply.

  “Your mother is a lovely woman with refined taste,” Darc noted.

  Chapter Twelve

  Darcraxis sat on the sand cross-legged and held a hand out to me. “Join me.”

  I started to sit on the sand next to him, but he took my hand and pulled me onto his lap.

  “Darc,” I started to protest, even though it felt normal and right to be there.

  “I need to touch you to help you,” he said. “The more contact I have, the better. Just relax, Elaria. I need you to trust me for this to work.”

  “Okay,” I whispered and settled against him.

  “Lay your arms over the top of mine,” he instructed as he laid his arms flat on his thighs. “And close your eyes.”

  It seemed harmless enough so I did as he said. Darc spread his fingers so that I could interlock mine with his, and then he took a deep breath; pushing his chest into my back. I closed my eyes as I felt his energy seep into me through every point of contact between us. He wasn't pushing or urging my magic to come forth, just taking a look around.

  “Your powers are growing far greater than I expected,” he whispered. “And much faster. You chose well when you entered this body; it's strong and adaptable.”

  I didn't say anything; there didn't seem to be a response required. But I inhaled sharply as I felt his magic solidify inside me; the stability of his Earth giving me strength that I didn't know I needed. My work with my father and Nigel had drained me physically, but now, I felt refreshed. Cool waves of water magic lapped through me; adding a fluidity to my limbs that relaxed me. And then Darkness consumed me.