I searched my mind for the last time I’d seen Gideon smile, and couldn’t think of it. Yet, when the waitress brought him a plate for dinner, he graced her with an actual grin. Rena didn’t even thank the woman, just picked up her wooden spoon, poking at the food.
“What did you do all day?” Bosh was quick to ask. “You were gone for ages!”
Though we all knew he wanted to hear the answer from Rena, she didn’t lift her sullen gaze from her plate, and Gideon, ever the well-mannered gentleman, replied instead. “We just now came from seeing a dragon, actually. It was quite an experience.”
Bosh and I exchanged glances.
A man who’d clearly been eavesdropping choked on his food. “Here?” he said, panicking “Is it coming? What do we do?”
Rena waved a tired hand at him, barely looking up. “It was far away, don’t be afraid.” Then in a sharp tone to Gideon, she pointed at the man and said, “That. That is the reaction you’re supposed to have to a dragon.”
“Excuse me,” Gideon’s tone was not quite as polite this time. He set his spoon down with careful precision, whipping the cloth napkin open with a snap that gave away the frustration behind his respectful manners. “I do believe seeing the dragon was your idea.”
That made Rena sit back in a huff, dropping her own spoon into the bowl with a clatter.
The two of them made me wish I’d spent the dinner hour alone, instead of here. An uncomfortable witness to a bizarre fight.
I could tell everyone else in the room felt as uncomfortable as I, yet Bosh seemed completely unfazed. “A dragon,” he breathed. “That’s incredible.”
Rena shrugged, non-committal.
“What was it like?” he asked. “How big was it? Did it breathe fire? Did it fly?”
The barrage of questions seemed to simultaneously annoy Gideon, while Rena’s spirits lifted. “It was faster than anything I’ve ever seen,” she began, describing the meeting, from the moment they spotted it far away in the sky, to the moment it almost incinerated them. “I still can’t believe we’re standing here in front of you,” she finished, shaking her head at Gideon, red hair swishing in disbelief.
Gideon only smiled, stretching out his hand, palm up. “I do believe it’s time for you to hand over the Key.”
“No.” Rena’s lips flattened into a stubborn line. “It wasn’t a full day. You can try again tomorrow.”
“I’m tired of your games,” Gideon barked. “You owe me a Key. How did one of the Mere come to possess the Jinni Key anyway? Is it even the real thing?”
Gideon snapped his fingers and the Key from Rena’s neck appeared in his hand. His blue eyes were dark and stormy.
Rena crossed her arms and lifted her chin, though it trembled with rage. “It is. You’ll see soon enough.”
Gideon only curled his long fingers around it, staring back at her. We waited in the tension; no one wanted to break it.
When Gideon broke their stare, it was only to glance down, startled, at his empty hand. Our heads swiveled to Rena, who tugged on the cord around her neck, lifting the Key into sight just long enough to prove herself before hiding it once more.
“How?” Gideon said dully. “How does a Mere have the Key?”
Rena shrugged, crossing her arms once more. “It was given to the Mere royalty as a peace offering. Right after the feuding ended in the Silent War, during the Treaty of Contempt.”
“I think I would’ve heard rumor of a member of an outside race being given the Key,” Gideon replied with a scowl.
Rena only shrugged.
During their silent standoff, I exchanged glances with Bosh.
“I don’t know the full details,” Rena said, breaking the silence first.
“How did you come to be in possession of it then?” Gideon challenged, leaning forward. His frustration was evident in the darkening of his eyes. “No one can steal the Key. You just proved it to be true now.”
She bit her lip. “I’m actually part of the royal family. And, if we’re being technical, it was given specifically to me.”
“You’re a royal?” Gideon’s surprise echoed my own. He stood without warning. “How dare you?”
I’d be the first to admit Rena’s revelation startled me, but it felt like Gideon was overreacting.
His raised voice brought the entire room to a screeching halt. Every superstitious person who’d ever heard of what a Jinni could do had likely been keeping one eye on Gideon ever since he’d entered the room, and now at the sound of his outrage, they froze. The waitress who’d come for his plate began trembling and the spoon clattered loudly against the plate as she shook.
“You purposefully kept this secret from me? I told you multiple things about the Jinn that could be used against us—this is unforgiveable.”
At this point, we were a show for the entire room, and I wisely shrank back. When Bosh opened his mouth to intervene, I silenced him with a finger to my lips, shaking my head. Not our fight.
Gideon stormed out of the room in a temper. I’d never seen him this upset before. Rena had quite the effect on him. Meanwhile, the poor girl burst into tears and fled the room in the other direction, toward the stairs and the bedroom.
The rest of the room took a deep breath together in the silence they left behind. Slowly the volume began to return to normal, though everyone was understandably still a bit wary of our table, casting a glance between us and the door every now and then.
“That was odd,” Bosh was the first to speak.
“That is why you never upset a Jinni,” the vocal man behind us said in that deep voice of his, shaking his head at the entire spectacle.
Before any of us could answer, a hush fell over the room once more. I turned to face the door. Gideon had returned. He strode toward our table, holding something, which he placed resolutely on top of the wooden table. “Give this back to the girl,” he said. “I want nothing to do with her.” Everyone gaped at him, mouths hanging open.
Bosh picked up the object. “I can give it to her,” he said into the silence as everyone looked on, holding the item to the light. It was a small shell.
Before Gideon could leave, I pushed back from the table to stand, lowering my voice. “Can we talk outside?”
He nodded, spinning on his heel to lead the way. I waited to speak until we were alone under the night sky with only cicadas chirping in the silence. “I’ll find a way to convince Rena to give you the Key, but we need to move forward in saving Arie. These little bargains are wasting time. We will help you get into Jinn, I give you my word. But Arie needs us now. Can I count on you?”
Though his lips thinned, Gideon nodded his agreement. “Of course. Though I do need that Key desperately, there was never a question.”
“Thank you,” I choked out, and meant it. “I know you won’t enter the castle uninvited, but go to Hodafez and keep tabs on Arie, could you? Just to make sure she’s still safe?”
“Of course,” Gideon said again. “It will be a relief to not be here.”
“Speaking of not being here, I also need you to find my men. They should be staying at the Khov Inn. Though they may not all be back yet. Are you able to find them and bring them together?”
“I am.”
“Good. Because I need them ready to go at noon tomorrow. I have a plan.”
Chapter 32
Arie
IT WAS GETTING DARK on my second full day of imprisonment. I’d dozed on and off all day. It was so difficult to sleep when my stomach twisted with worry. But I wasn’t allowed to leave my rooms until King Amir arrived, which Enoch hinted could be as soon as tomorrow since he’d been preparing to come here from the start. I’d spent the entire day in bed, dreading the next day, drifting in and out of wakefulness, and hoping Kadin would appear.
He didn’t.
When I couldn’t sleep any longer, I moved into my sitting room so I didn’t hear the lack of thoughts from the guard posted on my balcony.
Pacing the small, dark room, I stopped
by one wall and knelt to pick up the letter opener I’d thrown at Enoch’s head. It was the only remnant left of my writing desk.
Holding it made me feel more present. It was like a tether to reality. Adrenaline raced through my veins as my body responded to memories returning, which triggered more awareness, until the fog slowly lifted.
A knock sounded on my door and this time Enoch didn’t even bother for me to come open it before he entered, delivering my dinner tray himself. I tucked the letter opener into the pocket of my dress.
“You’re going to meet with Amir tomorrow,” he murmured as he set the tray on the table.
I didn’t sit.
“Please, Queen Arie, you should eat and keep up your strength.” He waved me toward the table. “Forget everything from earlier today. You shouldn’t waste your time worrying over that.”
I sensed his Gift sweeping over me with those last words. I smoothed my face and made my way to the table to sit, but I slipped my hand into my dress pocket as I did, squeezing the letter opener. I felt the reassuring weight of it and the burst of awareness that followed. I didn’t forget.
Lifting the spoon to my mouth, I ate mindlessly. Enoch watched, his expression unreadable. Once I finished, he moved to pick up the tray and leave.
“I want you to go to bed now and get a good night’s sleep,” he said.
After the slightest pause, I obeyed, if only so that he wouldn’t know I’d found a way not to.
ONCE I FELL ASLEEP, time was fluid. I didn’t know how long I’d been waiting in my dreams when I heard a knock on the door and let Kadin in.
This time, as much as I wanted to jump into his arms again, I held back.
He did too, stepping inside, letting me lead.
I closed the door, turning to him, and couldn’t help myself. The words came out as compulsively as if Enoch had told me to say them. “Kadin... I’m scared.”
In a second his arms were around me and he murmured in my hair, “It’s going to be okay.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as tight as I could so the tears wouldn’t escape, but my trembling gave me away. “Do you ever think about where we’d be right now if Amir and Enoch weren’t a problem?” I whispered.
“All the time,” Kadin replied immediately.
I kept my head on his shoulder, but peeked up at his strong chin and the dark stubble there.
“Your father would still be alive. But then, also, we’d never have met.”
I hadn’t considered that.
He cleared his throat and stepped back so he could meet my eyes. “Listen. We need to talk about the plan.”
I made sure the tears weren’t as close to the surface before I took a deep breath and nodded. “If you sneak inside the castle walls, you should use the tunnels and avoid the servants. We can’t trust them since there’s no way to know if Enoch has spoken to them.”
Kadin nodded. “We’ll send Rena in first. His Gifts can’t touch her. She’ll distract him, so he won’t see Gideon approaching from behind.”
His plan depended on so many small factors. It was a lot to trust. But we didn’t have a choice—I didn’t have a choice. “After Gideon takes Enoch down, it should bring me back to myself,” I offered, “and then I should be able to call the guards to remove King Amir from our borders.”
“How can we be sure?”
My lips quirked at the way he tried to make the plan airtight. The familiarity was comforting.
“I have one other way, if I need it.” I reached into my pocket for the letter opener, but in the dream, it wasn’t there. “It should work, but if for some reason it doesn’t, you need to find a way.”
Kadin nodded, taking my hand and squeezing it gently. “I will.”
I didn’t say anything else. The only time my mind was truly clear was in these dreams, and every time I was aware of the depths of the mind control, it made me think of my father. He hadn’t survived it. Though I knew this wasn’t the time or place to dwell on that, something in the back of my mind whispered, What if I don’t either?
“That’s our only plan, so far,” Kadin said, bringing me back to the present. “And I don’t like how bare it is.”
“What if Enoch can’t be overpowered?” I wrapped my arms around myself, struggling to breathe. “We need a backup plan with an escape route, in case all of you have to run.”
“Arie,” Kadin’s voice was soft, gentle. He waited until I finally met his eyes. “We’re not going to abandon you. We’ll find a way.”
“I guess we’ll see,” I mumbled.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” he said, grinning when he saw that caught my attention. “When I’m right, and we’ve successfully removed Enoch and rescued you, you’ll owe me.”
“Owe you, hmm?” I felt my lips curve slightly. I knew he was trying to distract me, and it was working. I opened my mouth to ask what, exactly, he had in mind, when I flickered.
“What’s going on?” Kadin asked, taking my other hand, holding onto me as if he could keep me here.
I gripped his hands as if he was my anchor. “I’m not sure—I think—I might be waking up.”
The flickering happened again and before I could say anything else, he vanished. My eyes fluttered and when I opened them, my room was dark instead of light, and I lay in bed instead of standing.
The guard outside coughed again. As much as I tried to ignore the noise of her shuffling outside on the balcony and the crashing waves, I couldn’t find sleep again. After spending the whole day in bed, I was wide awake.
Chapter 33
Rena
AFTER HELPING KADIN TALK to Arie in his dreams, I lay in bed too frustrated to sleep. I’d watched them together, feeling a surge of jealousy. Where was Gideon? Where was my romantic story? How come Arie and Kadin could find a way to make it work despite everything pulling them apart, while Gideon couldn’t see the perfect match right in front of him?
Tugging on my overdress and taking a blanket from the bed, I waited for one of the men to wake up and ask me where I was going while it was still the middle of the night, but they only snored.
Kadin’s words came back to haunt me from our last real conversation. You’re so selfish.
It hurt. Was it true?
I stood at the door, fingers on the handle, biting my lip. Clearing my throat, I said softly, “I’m going outside to watch the stars if anyone needs me.”
No one replied.
I closed the door softly, tucking the room key in my pocket, shuffling down the stairs in the pitch-black. It should’ve been a comforting reminder of home, but for the first time since I’d arrived in the human world, I didn’t like it. Tonight, the darkness was a reminder of my looming deadline, of all that still needed to fall into place. I found my feet traveling along the path to the hill where I’d sat that morning. With Gideon.
It was impossible not to think of him. I lay back on the grass, comfortable on the warm summer night, staring up at the stars. He was right. I shouldn’t have kept my heritage from him. As daughter of the sea king and queen, I could use his secrets against him, just as he feared. I wouldn’t, though. Never. That’s why I’d given him the shell, as a token of faith.
I sighed, closing my eyes. Those pesky tears came again, tickling my face and falling into my ears. I rolled onto my side, sniffling.
Soft footsteps swished softly through the grass behind me and a second later a hand appeared with a handkerchief for my tears. It was a different handkerchief than the one Gideon had used earlier, a simple white one. He must have dozens.
I took it and Gideon sat down behind me. I appreciated that he didn’t speak and I stayed facing the other direction so he wouldn’t see my puffy eyes and face as I sniffed and wiped away the tears.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered. “I’ve been wanting to apologize.”
He stayed quiet, which I took to mean he’d give me a chance to explain.
“I didn’t want you to know who I was, about my parents, because I wante
d you to get to know me for who I am,” I began.
He cleared his throat, shifting as if uncomfortable.
“Please,” I begged, clutching the handkerchief, too embarrassed to look at him. “Just let me finish.”
Now that the moment of truth was finally here, I felt so ready. “I think I’ve loved you since the day I met you,” I told him. I wished I could see his face in that moment, but in some ways, facing away made it easier to be honest, to tell the whole story. “I swam to the surface so many days since the day we met, trying to find you.” He deserved the whole truth, I reminded myself. “Very few of the Mere really believe in love, but I do. I hope you don’t think I’m silly.”
I waited for his reaction, but instead received one of his characteristic silences. I tried not to sigh. “It’s okay,” I said after a long pause, “you don’t have to say anything.” I wanted him to say something, so badly, but I wouldn’t force it. He would need time to process the idea. He hadn’t had an entire year, like I had.
Still, the hush that came over us was agony.
Finally, after my heart began to grow heavy with dread that maybe he didn’t feel as I did after all, I felt his hand reach out to cover mine where I still clutched the handkerchief. Gently, almost timidly, he turned it over and placed another small item in my palm.
It was the shell I’d given him that morning. He was trusting me enough to respond with faith of his own. My heart swelled.
“Thank you,” I whispered, reaching out to take his hand before he could pull it back, placing the shell back inside. “I want you to keep it. As a way to remember that you can always trust me. Always.” I cupped both my hands around his, closing his fingers over it, so he couldn’t help but take it. When he curled his fingers tighter, I knew he was accepting it, in his own quiet way.
As he slipped his hands out of my grip, I closed my eyes before a tear of joy leaked out, savoring the feeling. I’d been right. Of course, it was too early for him to say the words back, but the gesture meant almost more than words, really.
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