Chapter 11

Aiden sat on the balcony above the courtyard and watched Skander play with her children. The young man was chasing the boys around the fountain as her daughter sat with one of her cousins coloring. She never would have thought that a month ago that young man would be thriving in their environment.

A month ago he was simply under attack by someone wanting to take his father out. Now he also had people Max Taylor had hired coming after him because she had lost her temper. Last week Wyatt had thwarted an attack on the kid when they were out shopping at the local fresh market. No one was hurt but three hit men were captured and hauled back to the palace.

When they were interrogated, the Court had found out Max had hired them while she had been in jail. That fact had set Aiden's teeth on edge. No one had ever had the audacity to go after someone under her protection so blatantly.

She was supposed to be listening to Cole as he sounded off about his contacts overseas. They all, except Keldin, had decided to meet on the balcony of the eastern building. Instead she was contemplating killing the infernal woman herself. This was Keldin's life Max was dealing with and Aiden would kill to keep him from hurting again. Even if it was the woman he had been destined to be with as mates.

Everyone jumped when she slammed her hand on the table and shoved back from it with a curse. Sliding up to the railing she leaned against it and looked down. This woman was going to mess with her mind until she figured out something to keep her away from Keldin.

"Gah!" she groaned then dropped her head to her folded arms.

"What is it?" Cole asked. Everyone had gone quiet when she had slammed her hand down. They knew better than to question her too soon.

"I know how she's been doing it."

"Who?" Andy asked. Everyone had been concerned about other things but with their Queen's outburst, all attention was on her.

"Max. I know how she's been sending messages to the other hit men who have been coming after Skander. She's been using her bond with Keldin to find the kid and have someone where he's located. Keldin always knows where he is and Max is able to feed upon that."

Clint was the first to understand. "Wyatt, please go to Max's cell and break the bond between her and Keldin. That's the only way either Keldin or Skander will get any rest."

Wyatt bit his lip then nodded. "All right but I won't be able to work tomorrow. I'll need to take the time to recuperate."

The King nodded. "That's fine. We'll only call you if it's an absolute emergency."

"Before you go," Aiden said as her brother began to move, "everyone needs to get their respective departments ready for a fight. Before all this is done, I have a feeling Max is going to show us her worst and it will come at a high price. I don't want to be caught off guard when that happens."

"You got it."

Cole looked around the table at the other five as his brother moved into the house. "I guess we can call this meeting off for the time being. Aiden, we'll send in our paperwork for you to look over at your leisure."

Aiden nodded but didn't look over at her family and friends as they left her. She heard five sets of feet moving from the balcony. Only one was unaccounted for retreating. Instead, it came her way. Two strong arms pulled her securely to a well-defined chest.

"Don't beat yourself up because you didn't see it until now," Clint said into her ear. "It's the fact that you found the missing piece before it was too late."

"What if it is too late?" she asked. "What if all this was a ploy to get me to force my hand?"

"If anyone is that crazy, then you need to force your hand." He felt her stiffen in his arms and silently cursed himself for saying something stupid. "What I meant to say is you have to do what's best for your people even if someone gets hurt or killed. Breaking the bond between Keldin and Max is the only way to save all three of them." She shuddered and he knew she was fighting the tears she had refused to let fall the night she realized it was Max hurting Keldin. "Aiden…"

She shoved away from the balcony and out of his arms. "Don't, Clint. Just…don't. I need time to sort this out on my own."

Clint watched her venture back in to the house and head undoubtedly to the dojo off the pool house, her sanctuary. He looked back to his children, nieces and nephews, and Skander. If that kid knew how much sleep Clint's wife had lost thinking of ways to keep him safe, he would literally say thank you every time he saw her. Sighing, he walked back into the building to finish work he had started.

***

Keldin was asleep with Skander when a sudden earsplitting pain shot through his body. He shot up in bed, startling his partner nearly to death. He rolled to the floor and doubled over as he tried to ease the pain. He reached for the earth that had always healed him when he needed it to but the pain was so strong and forceful he wasn't able to reach it. Besides, the marble floor was making it impossible for him to feel the rich soil beneath him.

Skander sat beside him in complete shock. There was nothing he could do to help Keldin and it was evident on his face. He was afraid to ask what he could do. Finally from his fetal position, Keldin lifted his head and looked him dead in the eye.

"Call Aiden and Deuce," he gasped out as his body tightened in pain.

The younger man did as he was asked and within minutes the room held two more people. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on Aiden's skin as she came in, as if she had been working out. Skander wondered why the Queen was working out so late at night. Deuce looked as if he had just gotten caught during dinner but he wiped his mouth as he knelt over the head of Sector 7.

"Hey, Boss, tell me what I need to do," he said softly.

"Soil," Keldin barely gasped out as a third wave of pain sliced through him. He curled in on himself more than anyone thought possible.

"He needs the healing properties of his power. He can't reach the earth through the marble floor," Aiden said. She knelt beside her friend and forced him to look at her. "Kels, I need you to open yourself up to me. I can't use your power if I can't reach it."

Keldin looked at his friend, probably his best friend, and reached out his hand as far as he could. She met him the rest of the way and power shot through the room, circling around the two of them. The marble floor shuddered and shook before separating and allowing dark soil to seep up.

Smelling of fresh mowed grass, Aiden allowed Deuce to move his captain before she swiped her arm over the area. The rest of the marble moved and Deuce was able to put Keldin in it then sink his hands into the dark dirt. His power flared as he pushed his healing power into the soil to speed up Keldin's healing.

Skander looked at Aiden as she sank to the floor utterly exhausted. He guessed working out before using her own power had been a little rough on her.

"What's happening to him?" he asked quietly as he turned his attention to Keldin.

Aiden was silent a moment he thought she wasn't going to answer him. "He's suffering a bond-breaking."

"What?" Skander looked at her, fear registering on his face. "It's not mine is it?"

"No, you would feel it if it were. It's the bond he had with Max that's breaking." As she said it, Aiden felt and saw color creeping into her vision. The downside of being a Spirit Wielder was needling its way into everyone's bodies. Keldin suddenly turned pink all over.

"Why are you doing this to him?"

Aiden looked over at the young man at her side. He was blue with sadness for his suffering partner. "When you were attacked the other day it was because Max had hired hit men to take you out. It took me a little bit but I finally figured out how she did it. It's the bond that led her to you and it was through him. If anything happened to you, Keldin would blame himself. So I made a decision to put a stop to it."

"Aiden," Deuce groused from where he was sitting with his hands buried in dark, rich soil. Skander gasped audibly at the grumpiness in the other man's voice and the way he addressed his superior. "Rein in your power. I'm having enough trouble containing my healing to the earth while holding yours at bay. If you want somewhere for that energy to go, shove your hands into the soil and boost the healing."

Aiden ignored his annoyed tone because her power was flying rampant around the room. That was the trouble with Spirit Wielders. Sometimes the power became too much and a person couldn't contain it alone. She finally walked forward and shoved her hand in the dark soil. Both Keldin and Deuce felt the sudden boost in their powers as their Queen used hers.

Keldin's body convulsed one last time an hour later as the powers of his Queen, best friend, and his own merged to heal him. There was a huge swelling of energy before a loud pop. Deuce literally keeled over as Aiden slumped back. It was up to Skander to pull Keldin from the floor. When the younger man did, he immediately pulled him into his arms. It made him feel wanted. He looked at Aiden then. His Queen was very pale so he reached up to the bedside table and pushed a button.

"Yeah," Clint's tired voice said into the tense silence. He'd been dozing because his wife wasn't in the bed with him.

"Aiden's in my room. You need to come get her," he replied.

Clint sighed. "I'll be there shortly.'

Keldin sighed then slumped against Skander, completely drained from the whole ordeal. His body hummed with the refreshing feel of the soil and his friends' help. He could feel the healing properties of the soil mend everything that had been broken on the inside when the bond was destroyed.

A few moments later the door opened as Clint and Cole came in. Cole shook his head at his sister as he walked over to Deuce and helped the other man to his feet then out the door. Clint walked over to his wife and knelt before her. She looked up at him with tired eyes that glowed the same silver color Skander had seen Keldin's glow the first night they met.

"You didn't eat tonight, did you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't."

Clint held out his hand and she took it silently. He wrapped her arms around his neck, tucked his arms under her bottom as she wrapped her legs around his waist, and headed towards the door. He paused for a moment before he disappeared out it, his wife's head tucked in his neck.

"We'll fix the floor tomorrow after everyone rests. Skander, get him into bed. He's going to need it as he heals." He shut the door on his way out.

Skander didn't say a word as he helped Keldin to his feet then to the bed. Keldin winced with every move he made but he was finally settled after a few moments of adjusting. Skander hesitated a few moments more before finally climbing back in beside him. When he did, he adjusted himself to where Keldin was laying on him instead of the other way around.

They didn't say a word as the impact of what had happened hit them full force. It only meant that they knew Aiden was right. She had found the trace to the person who had been trying to hurt them. That meant they had to be careful of what they did as a couple and singularly because they could be traced by people.

Tired of fighting pain, Keldin passed out, leaving Skander awake and aware should anything happen. He wondered if he should stay with him even if the bond was strong with them. But as the older man whimpered in his sleep, he knew he couldn't leave him.