by A. Star
“I’m not a damn child,” I said, dipping my head back to wet my short locks. “I don’t need help taking a bath.”
“In Shrinelyn, royals and females of honor do not have to demean themselves with such a task. We have servants to do it for them.” He reached for one of the jeweled bottles arranged beside the tub.
“And what about you?”
Irving moved toward me. “I have always bathed alone. Edwin, on the other hand, bathes with many of his female servants.”
I grinned. “Yeah, he looks like the type.”
“And what type is that?” Irving moved behind me and began massaging whatever was in the bottle into my hair.
“You know,” I said, as my eyes fluttered closed. “The innocent, charming type. But behind closed doors, he’s a freak who likes to have orgies in his bathtub.”
Irving laughed. “A prince has needs and that is what his females are there for.”
I laughed too. “Well, if his new wife is any sort of real woman, she will put an end to all of it.”
“Only if the rumors are true. Khan females are said to be as fiery and demanding as Amir females.”
“Poor Edwin then. If she’s anything like Ada, I doubt he’ll live through the honeymoon.” We laughed.
Back in his chamber after our bath, I laid on the bed as I watched Irving dress. “Your name isn’t really Irving, is it?”
He chuckled. “Of course not.”
“What’s your real name then?”
Irving shook his head. “My true name is sacred and you can never know it.” There was nothing apologetic about his statement either. His true name was not something he wanted to share with me and I could tell he never would. Whatever was sacred about his name, the same could probably be said about Edwin and Ada. Those weren’t their real names either. I figured it had something to do with being royal, though whatever it was, it didn’t apply to the Sultan because he had willingly given me his name.
“Besides,” he said. “It would probably be much too hard for you to pronounce or even remember. Royal Djinn are given nine names at birth.”
“Nine?”
He nodded once, then turned to face me with his arms outstretched. “How do I look?”
I sighed and rolled into a sitting position. “You’re absolutely stunning, Irving. You know that.”
Stunning hardly described the Djinn in front of me. Irving had ditched his usual leather ensemble for more princely attire. Instead of a duster, he had on a black and red dominion vest and black leather pants with red stitching. Two brass sabers hung from a belt around his waist. His boots were unusual as they appeared to be made out of some kind of dyed animal hide and had brass plating running up the back of each one. Around each of his delectable biceps was a brass band etched with what I assumed were characters from the Djinn language. His black hair hung loose and free, his eyes twinkled violet and magical, and just…damn this Djinn! His sexiness just had no limits!
Aashirya returned to help me dress, and I had to admit I was pretty excited about it. I’d already picked through the garments and drooled over every piece. Djinn fashion was the best. When Aashirya was done with me, I wore a beaded corset under a fitted leather jacket with a high collar and tuxedo tails. My black leggings were super tight with lace adorning the sides from hip to ankle putting a flash of skin on display. Short black boots with stiletto heels covered my feet and I could have squealed with how freaking cute they were.
I smelled divine from all the oils Irving had used on me during our bath, and whatever he had washed my hair with caused it to curl up into a crazy cute style as it dried. On top of my curls sat a tiny top hat with a short black veil that I could maneuver into any style I wanted. I adored my new look, the hat most of all, and made certain Irving knew that the only way they were getting any of the clothes back was if they were taking them off my mutilated corpse. He just laughed and said the clothes were mine to keep forever.
Edwin and Ada were already seated when we arrived at the dining chamber. The second we entered, Nagi flew over to greet us. She landed on Irving’s arm, chirped her greeting, then flitted over to my shoulder. She chirped at me and I smiled.
“Morning, Nagi. What’s for breakfast?”
“Everything your heart could possibly desire, Glory,” Edwin responded with a sweep of his arm over the array of dishes on the round table in front of him. Edwin and Ada were perched on giant multi-colored baroque pillows since the table sat so low to the ground. Six barefoot servants in very plain clothing stood against the golden walls of the glittering chamber, so close it was like they were trying to walk through them. Their eyes stared at the ground, or the ceiling with its wall-to-wall diamond chandelier, but never straight ahead. I knew it was because they didn’t want to accidentally look at any of the royals in the room. It made me wonder if there was a punishment associated with such an innocent offense and my skin crawled to think of what it could be.
“You aren’t kidding, Edwin,” I said as I pulled my eyes away from the servants and ran them over the buffet in front of me. There were meats, fruits and vegetables, several different types of bread, hard-boiled eggs, and three kinds of soup. Not to mention there was enough juice and wine to fill Irving’s tub and then some. I eagerly accepted the baroque pillow next to Edwin and contemplated what I wanted to chow down on first as I settled Irving’s Chronolier in my lap. Irving took the pillow between Ada and I.
Edwin was as handsome as the day before, but Ada was extra gorgeous that morning. Her billowy black hair flowed freely around her shoulders and down her back. She wasn’t dressed up like me, but wore beautiful robes of red and gold damask with the matching slippers. I was a whole other level of jealous. I never could have pulled off that look without being mistaken for a damn elf.
“Hard boiled egg, Glory?” Edwin offered.
I smiled. “Yes, please.”
With a flick of his finger, an egg lifted from the platter and begin to bob up and down in the air toward my direction. Once it made it to me, it spun in the air, dipped, and landed on the platter in front of me. I burst into giggles and allowed Edwin to select the rest of my meal, all of which he made dance onto my plate.
“Did you manage to think up any ideas of how to stop Edwin’s unification?” Irving questioned his cousins as he reached for a pitcher of cranberry juice. A male servant stepped forward to intercept the action, but Irving simply looked at the man and he fell back against the wall, his eyes lifting to stare at the ceiling again. Irving proceeded to pour a jeweled goblet of juice for me, then one for himself.
“Oh, I had many ideas,” Ada said as she popped a cherry into her mouth. “But they all resulted in Maya Khan’s death.”
Irving smiled. “You cannot blame the girl for what her ancestor did before she was even born.”
“Yes, I can. And I do. If we are condemned by the Halo of Elders for the actions of Parish Amir, then the traitorous exploits of Munir Khan can also be laid at Maya’s feet.”
Irving simply shrugged off the statement and I could tell that ruffled Ada’s feathers a bit. I wondered what the Halo of Elders was, though I didn’t ask.
“Time means little to us, so of course the Khans must never be allowed to forget their offense,” Edwin said to his sister. “But Irving is also right. Maya cannot be held responsible for her ancestor’s actions. She is only three centuries in age. Her life has only just begun.”
I snorted. “Must be nice to be three hundred years old and still be considered young. I should wish for a dose of your ‘never-die’ juice.” I winked at Irving to let him know I was just kidding and he stopped glaring at me.
“Djinn are not ageless, Glory,” Edwin said. He spread what appeared to be jam onto a piece of bread and bit into it. “We just do it very slowly. So slow, it appears as though we do not age at all. But we do. The Sultan is evidence of that.”
“Depends on how old the Sultan is,” I said. I waited for one of them to tell me the Sultan’s age, but clearly none o
f then were willing to just give the info up. I sighed. “How old is the Sultan?”
“Old,” all three Amirs replied in unison, giving me nothing.
“Well, how old are you guys?”
“Younger.” I gave up at that point and turned my attention back to my breakfast.
“There must be a way to get you out of this unification, Edwin,” Ada said a moment later, returning to the main topic of conversation.
“If there is, the thought escapes me,” the prince replied. “Outside of uniting with another female, I cannot see a way to change the Sultan’s mind.”
A devious smile curled Ada’s luscious lips. “That’s it,” she said.
Irving was already shaking his head. “No, Ada.”
“But it’s a brilliant plan!”
“What is?” Edwin said.
“For you to unite with a female that is not Maya Khan!”
The crown prince’s eyes stretched wide. “I was only speaking out of my ass, Ada. You should not have taken that seriously.”
“It’s brilliant,” she repeated. “The Council would have no choice but to send Maya Khan back to the filthy bowels of her land if you were already united. We all know that royal unifications cannot be annulled for any reason, so they could never overrule you. Again, it is a brilliant plan and the result will banish the Khan traitors from our kingdom forever.”
Edwin seemed to think it over for a moment and realized what his sister said made sense. “Well, maybe it isn’t such a bad plan then,” he said. “If it rids us of the Khans.”
Irving started and lowered the goblet he had been about to drink from. “Edwin, think about what you are saying. If you unify with a female without the blessing of the Sultan and his Council, you will never sit on the throne of Shrinelyn.”
But Edwin now looked determined. “I can accept that since I know that you will rule in my place.”
“You know damn well I have no desire to be Sultan,” Irving growled. “That is your future and I will not let you give it up over one female whom, by the way, you have never met and may actually be quite compatible with!”
“Oh my, how the sands have shifted,” Ada said in a much too calm tone. “Only yesterday you were on board with being rid of the Khan traitors by any means necessary.” The princess glared across the table at me. “One night with you and his head is turned. I say, there must be gold between your thighs.”
“Leave Glory out of this,” Irving snapped, reassuring me with a look. “My thoughts are my own, and I do believe Edwin would sorely regret such a renegade move as to unify without the Sultan’s knowledge.”
“I only think of Shrinelyn,” Edwin said. “I want what is best for this kingdom. Has Father even considered the opinions of our kind? Does he consider how this unification will affect them?”
“This is not about the Djinn kind. This is about you.”
“I am only worth the love of our race, Irving. If I lose them, I have nothing. And then what shall I do?”
Irving sighed, appearing as though he was giving in a bit. “I do understand you, you know that I do. But will you at least meet the Khan girl first? If you do not like her, if you truly cannot ever see yourself loving her, then we will take action and it will be brutal. But not before then. Can you promise me that, Edwin? That you will at least try?”
It took the prince a while to respond but eventually he did. “I can do that, cousin.”
“But Edwin—” Ada started to say.
“Enough!” Irving snapped. Immediately, Edwin and Ada’s heads bowed in submission, and though I could tell Ada was fuming, she did not dare lift her eyes up from the table. I was in shock. Edwin and Ada outranked Irving in royal status, yet they were bowing to him. I looked around and all of the servants had their foreheads on the ground and their hands out in front of them, displaying their absolute subservience. To Irving. What in the hell was going on here?
“The subject is closed,” Irving continued in a commanding tone I was unfamiliar with hearing. “I find no pleasure in the idea of the Amir name being unified with that of the Khan scum. But I cannot, will not, stand by and allow Edwin to sacrifice his throne for such a ridiculous scheme that may very well be even more detrimental to the kingdom than the unification itself.” His gaze moved to Edwin and his tone softened. “Especially when I know that being Sultan is all you have ever dreamed of. Even in your youth, it was your dream. And it shall be yours, because I refuse to let you give it up for anyone or anything.”
Slowly, Edwin raised his head. The cousins stared at each other for a long moment, then Edwin nodded, then Irving, as though they’d come to some understanding that only they understood. A minute later, Irving offered his hand to Ada. Raising her head, she took it and watched as Irving brought her knuckles up to his lips and kissed them three times. Ada smiled, like really smiled. She brought his hand up to her lips, kissed it and brought it to her forehead. I could tell that all was forgiven between the two, but that still didn’t answer my question. Why in the hell did Edwin and Ada bow to Irving? I could understand the servants kissing the ground in his presence, but not the crown prince and first princess. It just didn’t make any sense.
After breakfast was over and Ada and Edwin had excused themselves from the table, Irving led me out of the palace into the beautiful Shrinelyn sunshine. We walked through the exquisite gardens on the grounds and through two guarded gates before we reached our destination.
We were at a small train station that was clearly only accessible to the royal family. Guards were scattered over the grounds, stationed in various defensive positions. Unlike the palace guards and their sabers, each of these men carried weapons that looked like the bazooka Irving had pulled on the automaton that had attacked us. Their expressions were meaner and their bodies carried more muscles. I sort of understood how it all worked. These were the men you had to go through first to get to the Sultan, which is why no one ever got to the Sultan.
Irving checked his stopwatch, which he had clipped to the inside of his vest. “It will not be long now, Glory.”
“What do you—”
“You look absolutely stunning today, did I tell you?” Irving pulled me into his body and slid his arms around my waist. “Our fashion suits you.”
“Thank you.” I was blushing and couldn’t figure out why. This wasn’t the first compliment Irving had given me but I guessed that didn’t make it any less flattering. I could feel the guards’ eyes on us, but I didn’t believe for a second they were interested in watching us flirt. With weapons like the ones they were toting around, the only thing they were interested in was blowing holes through people.
“Why did you bring me to Shrinelyn, Irving?”
He frowned and pulled back a bit. “To keep you safe and so you could meet the Sultan.”
“That’s all?”
“Should there be another reason?”
I shrugged. “Ada said I was the first human you’ve ever brought to Shrinelyn.”
I felt Irving’s body tense but he didn’t try to escape the conversation. “You are important to me, Glory, and you need my protection. Illusionists do not last long in your realm without a Djinn keeping watch over them. The League of the Black Cloud will never have you as long as you are in my care.”
The only thing I heard was, you are important to me, Glory. I didn’t know what this meant and tried not to read too much into it, but dammit, my heart was on super flutter. I was flattered…and also a bit panicked. When guys started talking about real feelings, it most often meant heartbreak was soon to follow. I was young but I knew what that shit felt like. Never wanted to feel it again if I could help it. But again, was I reading too much into what Irving said?
I never really got the chance to analyze it further, because a train finally pulled into the little station, its whistle piercing the air and making my ears ring.
“Wow,” I breathed as it came to a stop in front of us.
It was stunning. Made from brass and black stee
l, it was a train straight out of a fairy tale. There were nine coaches, including the coach that housed the engineer. Mounted to the pilot of the train were four steel horses each cast to appear as though they were leading the charge to attack an unforeseen enemy. It was breathtaking and again I wondered if Irving had had anything to do with its construction.
“Where are we going?” I questioned as a mechanical stairway whirred down to allow us access to it.
Irving smiled. “This is the Sultan’s private locomotive. He gave me permission to invite you aboard so that I could take you on a tour of Shrinelyn.”
“Really?” I squealed. “Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!” I elbowed him out of my way and boarded. He grunted out a laugh and then followed me onto the train.
The interior of the train was just as glamorous as the inside of the palace. Gold covered everything, from the wine buffet to the seats and footrests. Even the windows were framed in gold with dark red velvet curtains held back with golden clasps. Gold chalices and dinnerware were set at a small table to our left and across from it was a brass phonograph with a snowflake shaped horn and copper dials. The carpeting was black but plush, and all along the ceiling in a perfectly straight line were ruby sconces lit with a dim glow. It was like a mini palace on wheels. It was lovely.
Irving guided me to a curved bench that was padded to perfection with a high back. It was the only seating shaped that way in the entire coach and I knew that when the Sultan was aboard, this was where he sat. I had been given a place of honor and I wondered why, but forgot all about it when Irving slid in beside me and took my hand.
I looked down. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I am holding your hand.”
“No, duh, Djinn boy. Why are you holding my hand?”
“Because I want to.”
It was a simple answer, yet complicated as hell. Sure, we’d had sex, all the previous afternoon and well into the night, and it had been damn good, but were we a couple now? Was this his way of saying he’d staked a claim on me and I was his forever? I didn’t know how Djinn courtships worked and I didn’t want to think about it either. Again, the idea of it made me all panicky and shit, and I was supposed to be enjoying myself, not freaking out at the thought of being in a relationship with Irving. Especially since I had some unanswered questions about who he really was.