“Many thanks,” I said to him, and Daichi echoed my words.
Arie stepped forward, stopping to press her hands together as if she’d been about to hug him. “Truly, Gideon, thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Gideon nodded in response, but even in the dim light, I could see his cheeks darken. Was he blushing? Maybe the Jinn were more human than I’d thought.
“I’ll take the lamp now,” Gideon said to me, clearing his throat and straightening his vest and jacket once more. “Shall we drive to the auction block to collect it, or shall I meet you there?”
“As soon as you honor the bargain with Arie, we’ll give it to you,” I replied, nodding.
Daichi began to back away from us, paling at the mention of the deal changing. “Did you say they’re—the men—the others are, um, around the corner? I’m just...” He pointed behind him, disappearing around the bend behind the trees. Coward.
“I do believe you changed the agreement,” Gideon argued, ignoring Daichi’s retreat and growing quite still. “You stated it would be mine if I brought the three of you outside the castle.”
“But I didn’t say when,” I reminded him. “It was no change to the original agreement—I was simply saying we couldn’t get you the lamp while still inside the castle, could we?”
Gideon’s mouth fell open. “Why, the audacity... you thought to fool one of the Jinn?” Was it my imagination, or was he now turning an almost ashen-gray, like a storm cloud about to release a tempest.
“Never!” I was quick to protest, wide-eyed. “I think you read into it.” It was daring to accuse him of being at fault. But I held my ground with a look of innocence and surprise. “My sincerest apologies, of course.”
“Of course,” he muttered, seeming unconvinced, but his normal color began to return as he calmed himself. He squinted at me, straightening his vest with a sharp tug. “Do not think to pull something like this so easily in the future. When the lamp is in your possession, contact me again.” And before any of us could answer, he vanished.
Chapter 24
Arie
I GRINNED AT KADIN. In his excitement, he picked me up and whirled me around. “We did it!”
I laughed, forgetting my annoyance for a moment.
We.
He’d included me in that word, again. It was an odd sensation, to belong after feeling so alone these last few months. It bloomed in my chest, hopeful and proud. Quite addicting.
When my feet touched the ground, I plummeted back to reality. He let go and stepped back, shifting into a more somber deference I recognized.
“It’s not everyday I rob a castle with a princess,” he said, raising a thick brow. His dark hair fell across his eyes, making me want to brush it back. “I don’t even know where you’re from.”
“Hodafez,” I whispered, throat tightening. That one word alone could give away everything if he asked the right questions of the right people.
Before he could ask anything further, I turned and ran around the bend to where Gideon had said the men would be.
Sure enough, they were lounging around the wagon and horses, waiting anxiously. Daichi must have filled them in. Ryo and Bosh whooped softly at the sight of me and Kadin, who clasped Naveed’s hand, then patted Bosh’s back as he jumped up and down.
“I looked everywhere for you!” Ryo punched Daichi in the gut out of nowhere, making him double over in pain.
I gasped, but the men only chuckled as Daichi wheezed, and Naveed held him up so he didn’t completely buckle over. When he finally got his breath back, he only shook his head as he straightened. “I deserved that.”
They laughed again, and I found myself laughing with them as Daichi and Kadin described how we’d gotten out of the dungeon.
“You’re so smart,” Bosh praised me as Kadin checked the wagon bed. The clink of the bags knocking against each other seemed to reassure him. “For thinking to call Gideon, I mean. That was brilliant.” His adoration made him the butt of jokes as we all climbed into the wagon. I chose a spot near the back, furthest away from Kadin, as he took the reins and clicked his tongue for the horses to move forward. We set out along the dark road, toward the auction house.
Nerves from the heist still thrummed in our blood. No one spoke as we watched Illium rearrange his powders in a way that made sense only to him, and then, despite the darkness, he returned to whittling something that was beginning to look like a pipe.
“I thought we were gonna get caught when we were climbing over the wall, and the guards were right there below us,” Bosh spoke up in a giddy whisper. The others laughed, nodding at the memory. I shook my head at the way near defeat entertained them; I’d never understand how men’s minds worked.
“I thought it’d be when you told the cook the food was cold,” Ryo taunted him. “Good thing the other girls backed you up. If they’d gotten suspicious, they would’ve started asking who you were and why you were there.”
“They did get suspicious,” Daichi mumbled, crossing his arms. “Maybe it wasn’t my fault, maybe it was Bosh’s fault...”
“We need to be on the road within the hour,” Kadin said over his shoulder, interrupting the debate. “Or sooner. The moment the king discovers our absence, he’ll have the guards out searching for us. We need to be long gone before then.”
I wrapped my arms around my legs, staying quiet and letting the men forget I was there as they re-told the stories from each of their viewpoints. Even an hour felt too long. If King Gaspar found Amir’s guards, and they found me here... I shivered in the cool morning air.
The sky grew lighter as we entered town through the main gate, nodding at the guard as we passed by. It’d be dawn soon.
Once we were out of hearing range, Kadin pulled the horses to a stop beside the wall, climbing into the wagon bed to join us, all business now. “Arie, Naveed, go pay for the lamp.” He handed Naveed a bag full of coin. Though he didn’t waste time thinking on his decision, I still knew what it meant. He didn’t trust me to go on my own yet. I supposed I deserved that. I stood to climb down after Naveed, accepting his hand. Though he couldn’t speak, his smile was encouraging; at least his opinion of me hadn’t changed.
“Illium and Ryo will take the wagon around the bend,” Kadin continued, “and pull off into the foliage to wait for us.”
The older man nodded, but didn’t stop whittling. Ryo jumped into the front and grabbed the reins. “You got it, boss.”
Kadin hopped down onto the road, landing softly on the stone beside me. “Daichi and Bosh, you’re with me. We’ll gather everyone’s belongings and meet at the wagon.”
I nodded along with the others. “No mistakes this time,” Kadin added. Without another word, he turned away from me, leading the big man and the gangly teen off into the narrow streets.
Naveed took us to the auctioneer and gave me the coins. Though the auctioneer yawned at the early hour, complaining we’d pulled him out of bed, he was quick to give us the lamp and take our payment. My fingers wrapped around the simple green-glass lamp, expecting to feel a sense of its magic or power of some kind, but it felt like any other oil lamp with cool glass that warmed to my touch. I handed it to Naveed even as we walked out the door, hoping to earn some trust if he told Kadin later.
The only true difficulty was pretending not to understand Naveed right away, even though his thoughts were so transparent to me. Let’s go to the wagon now. He pointed toward the city gates, miming what he wanted.
“Um, I’ll just follow you,” I said, as if unsure.
When we reached the wagon, the others were already waiting. Ryo clicked for the horses to take off and we were bouncing along the road out of town only seconds after climbing in. I settled onto the same bale of hay in the corner where I’d been before, watching Naveed hand the lamp to Kadin.
The men fell into conversation, and I relaxed as the sun rose, enjoying the rarity of no one thinking about me, until I felt Kadin staring. Not bad at all.
; When I glanced up, he gave me a small smile. Even though he didn’t mean for me to hear the thought, I still felt heat rise in my cheeks until I was sure I was bright red.
For a split second, I imagined what it might be like to live like this—free to do whatever I wanted. Be whoever I wanted. But it didn’t last. The road behind us stretched off into the distance, reminding me that I was only traveling further and further from home and the people who needed me.
Pressing my lips together, I swore to myself that the next time I saw Gideon, I would find a way to ask him for help. My Gift was a death threat and Amir’s was a weapon; Gideon could solve both problems.
“It’ll be two days before we reach Baradaan,” Kadin spoke up. His thoughts revealed that the men already knew, but he was telling them again for my sake. He was uncomfortable with me now that he knew my secret, but was trying not to let on.
He turned back to face the road and whatever lay ahead of us. I took a deep breath. Just being near him made me feel slightly unhinged. If he was this uncomfortable over my heritage, what would he think if he knew the whole truth? If he learned of my Gift? Part of me wanted to tell him, but the more rational side refused. Who was to say he wouldn’t leave me by the side of the road?
Naveed signed something that caused the men to burst out laughing and Daichi to shout curses; I assumed it was a joke at his expense.
I shifted on the hay bale, when Bosh got up and plopped onto the bale beside me. He dug into his pack, pulling out a smaller one. My heart skipped a beat. It was my stolen bag!
“Um, Kadin says this is yours,” he mumbled. His face was red as if he was embarrassed. Had Kadin told him my secret? Fury fought against the panic, making my pulse leap. I listened intently, but Bosh’s thoughts didn’t indicate anything unusual. He slid it over to me; the others didn’t notice. “He says you stole this before me, and we don’t steal from each other... anyway, I didn’t see you that day, but he says he knows it’s yours, you know, because of what’s inside. Sorry. Now that you’re one of us, I figured I should give it back.”
“That’s... alright.” I took the bag, resisting the urge to open it there in front of everyone. He thought I’d stolen the things inside?
“The, um, the food was all gross, so I threw it out... and I owe you a ruby, but the rest is there... you can check if you want...” he mumbled the last bit as he stood to go back to his seat.
I touched his arm. “Thank you.” For more than he knew.
His face lit up and he nodded, returning to his spot light-hearted now. Easy to please, that one. And easy to fool. I forced myself to wait until nightfall when Kadin got each of us a room in a small town for the night, before I opened the bag in private. I shoved the jewels aside.
There, at the bottom, was my crown.
Safe.
I didn’t have to stay with the men anymore, if I didn’t want to. As soon as I could convince Gideon to help me, I could place my crown on my head and ask the nearest royal family to take me home...
I should have been ecstatic. Things were looking up.
So why did I feel so sad?
Chapter 25
Kadin
EVERYONE WAS QUIET IN the early morning dawn, still waking up after spending the night in a small inn on the way to Baradaan.
I drove the wagon while everyone else lounged in the back. It didn’t take much focus. The animals plodded along, following the road, and the reins weren’t even necessary except for at the occasional crossroad.
I slipped the small lamp from my bag and held it in the palm of my hand. The green glass was smooth and thick, surprisingly sturdy and not nearly as fragile as it had seemed from a distance. I couldn’t help but wonder what this Jinni wanted with it.
Carefully, I re-wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it back in my bag for safekeeping. We might never know.
All that mattered now was that we’d finally found a Jinni to bear witness; Prince Dev was about to receive the justice he deserved.
All these years he’d gone about his father’s kingdom doing whatever he wanted and getting away with it. I couldn’t wait to see that smirk wiped off his face. No doubt, Naveed felt the same.
When I pulled my gaze from the road again to glance back at my friend in the bed of the wagon, my eyes snagged on Princess Arie instead.
I hadn’t found a way to bring up her secret again. Though I’d made Bosh return her crown the moment I’d pieced together that his latest haul belonged to her, I’d pretended not to notice the way she clutched the bag to her ever since.
The whole situation frustrated me more than I wanted to let on, because I should’ve guessed. Of course she talked like a queen—she was destined to become one. But at the same time, it didn’t fit the Arie I’d come to know. She was so normal. Not at all like the ruling class I’d known my whole life, who flaunted their Gifts and authority. She was just... Arie.
I wasn’t familiar with her kingdom of Hodafez. All I knew was what I could glean from a map. It was almost three days east of Baradaan, where I’d grown up. Where we were headed now.
I’d visited many kingdoms in my travels with Naveed. He’d been my closest friend since we were children running around naked in the streets. When we first left Baradaan, it was just the two of us. We’d added to our crew along the way until we grew to the size we were today. But I’d never been to Hodafez. And I hadn’t been home either. Not since I’d left four years ago.
Bosh’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Should we call on the Jinni soon or wait until we arrive?”
Naveed signed to me and the others. Do we even know how he travels? Does he need time to reach us?
I translated for Arie—and Bosh, who was still new to us and learning to sign. “Does our little Jinni-hunter know?” I asked Arie, though I suspected even more now that this title was a ruse.
She pulled out the Jinni’s talisman and we all stared at the little gray pebble like it might come to life. She shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
“We’ve already traveled a full day and then some,” Ryo spoke up. “What if they can only do that little zip from one place to another if they’re close by? We’d better call him now so he has time to catch up.”
Illium chimed in. “What if it’s nothing to him? You want to risk pissing off a Jinni? Be my guest, but let me off first.”
“Yeah,” Daichi agreed, standing even though the wagon hadn’t stopped. “Let me off too.”
“Don’t worry,” Bosh said from the opposite corner. “We will. No one wants to see you wet your pants when he shows up.”
Daichi lunged for him, and both Naveed and Illium held him back while Ryo laughed with Bosh. Arie shifted to another hay bale to avoid getting run over.
“Only one way to find out,” I said, and they quieted, turning to face me. I gestured for Arie to go ahead. “If it takes him a while to arrive, then we’ll know.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Illium asked, but Arie had already wiped her thumb across it, ever so gently.
The horse carried on down the road, but we all stayed frozen in a semi-circle, staring down at the pebble in silence. When nothing happened, I opened my mouth to suggest she try rubbing it a little harder.
I hadn’t even begun when Gideon appeared. He sat at the back of the wagon on one of the hay bales, plucking a stray piece of hay off his trousers. “You certainly choose unique places to meet.”
Daichi yelped and jumped a whole hay bale over before catching himself and growing still. Illium’s skin had gone ashen. As the oldest member of our group, he had grown up with stories of the Jinn terrorizing humans. Despite nothing really happening over the last few decades, he hadn’t forgotten, and had made sure we didn’t either, but I leaned forward, more curious than afraid.
“Thank you for coming,” I began, straddling the wooden divider between the driver’s bench and the bed of the wagon to face him, still holding the reins. It was uncomfortable, but I tried not to let it show on my face.
“Of cou
rse.” Gideon gave up removing the straw and placed his hands casually on the elegant cane he carried but didn’t seem to need. “It is a strange place to bear witness, but I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”
“Of course,” I imitated his polite manners, swallowing. His piercing eyes and my complete lack of knowledge about his abilities brought Illium’s stories back to me. “We’ll arrive in Baradaan around dinner time tonight. Since we—Arie—has your word you’ll bear witness for a full day, I was thinking we could officially start tomorrow morning?”
“Why, praytell, did you summon me now then?” Gideon said, tapping his cane on the wagon bed, drawing my attention to the elegant walking stick . Did he have a limp? I hadn’t noticed one. And if he did, why didn’t he cure it? Couldn’t the Jinni cure anything? Questions plagued me, but I didn’t dare ask and risk offense.
“Our sincerest apologies,” Arie answered before I could. “We thought you’d appreciate knowing the plan.” Such a diplomatic response. I tried not to smile.
Gideon softened a bit, though his features remained solemn. “I do appreciate that, thank you.”
“Would you like to stay and have dinner with us?” Bosh chimed in, fearlessly. “If you’re traveling all alone, it might be nice to have company.” I glanced at the others, especially Daichi and Illium, both of whom sat stiff and anxious, watching Gideon like he might explode any moment.
“Only if you want to,” Ryo interjected. Naveed nodded vigorously. I held my breath and waited as Gideon considered us.
Bosh would get an earful from me later. He hadn’t been around for some of Illium’s more chilling stories. Though I didn’t necessarily believe everything I’d learned about the Jinn, I knew there was some truth to the rumors. Most of us had grown up on the legends of the Jinn before they’d withdrawn to their lands.
They were enough to terrify a teenager, much less a young child who’d just wanted a bedtime story. I’d spent more than one late night lying awake in fear that a Jinni might come snatch me from my bed. Bosh blinked in confusion at the men’s glares. As an orphan, he must have missed those bedtime stories.
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