“So mercenary, little thief.” He cradled me closer and dipped his head to kiss the corner of my mouth. His voice was teasing, tempting. “Is there nothing else you want?”
The breath caught in my throat. I closed my eyes, anticipating the delicious warmth of his lips on mine. It never came.
Dhav suddenly put me down and my eyes flew open. We had company.
Hundreds of ghuls surrounded us in the dusk, their eyeless skulls turned towards us.
Al Uddin’s army, come for their final revenge. They lurked silently, the smell of their fetid bodies catching in the back of my throat. And when they opened their mouths, venom flecked their teeth.
I wondered what they were waiting for, why they weren’t attacking us. And then I realised.
It was more fun for them if we ran.
Chapter Thirty Five
We were defenceless. My power was still drained, and most likely wouldn’t be back till morning. And Dhav’s blades were long gone, buried along with Al Uddin and his tower.
We stood, side-by-side, with no chance of escape.
Dhav took my hand, his grip reassuring even now. Despair bloomed in my chest.
After everything we’d been through and everything we’d done, having it end like this was unbearable.
A low growling started among the assembled hordes. Poison dripped from their mouths as the ones nearest us sank to their haunches, ready to pounce.
Dhav looked down at me.
“Do you have any power?” he asked. He already knew the answer, and he wasn’t surprised when I shook my head. “Well then, let us try diplomacy.”
I was startled. Before I could say anything, he straightened his shoulders and stepped forward.
“I am Prince Dhavani of Ashfahaan. I appeal to you as my brothers. We had a common enemy, and now he is gone.”
The growling got louder, and now some of the ghul were prowling towards us. We had nowhere to go. Dhav’s face was pale, but he didn’t falter.
“You no longer have to do anyone’s bidding. You are free. Al Uddin is dead.”
The sound of Al Uddin’s name was like a switch. The growling stopped. In the sudden hush, I heard a night-bird tweeting far overhead. It was incongruous, like finding a beautiful flower in a nest of vipers.
The eyeless heads were now cocked as if listening, even though they had no ears. I wondered how they sensed anything.
The one closest to me had stringy threads of cartilage visible at its jaw. They moved up and down like pistons whenever it opened its mouth.
Dhav kept his voice steady. He turned slowly in a semicircle so that all the ghuls could see him, or sense him, or whatever it was they did.
“I know he threatened you. I know he had the power to destroy your homes, crush you under the ground if you did not do as he asked. But he is gone now. The land swallowed him. Go and see for yourselves if you don’t believe me.”
Incredibly, I saw several ghuls near the back slide back into the shadows. Dhav’s voice was low and reassuring. He stood proudly, exuding authority, every inch the leader he was.
Live or die, I’d never loved him more.
“For the past century, you have been forced to do as Al Uddin commanded. But that is over. I give you my word, as Prince of Ashfahaan, that you are free.”
The ghuls crept closer, and now I could smell them. Rancid flesh and decaying bones. But they didn’t seem as if they were approaching to attack. They sounded as if they were listening.
“As long as my family rule Ashfahaan, you will be allowed to live peacefully. Safely. Without persecution. Your land, wherever you call home, will be yours. I will make it legal and binding. I give you my word as the Prince of the realm.”
The sun finally dropped below the mountain, and were in darkness. I clutched at Dhav’s hand, suddenly terrified. My heart was hammering so fast I thought it might punch a hole in my chest.
I couldn’t see the ghuls, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Creeping towards us. Getting ready to attack. We waited.
Nothing happened.
We stood there for a long while, our hands gripped together tightly. And as our eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw we were alone.
“Do you think they’ve gone for good?” I ventured.
“I hope so. I’ll keep my end of the bargain. Let’s see if they keep theirs.”
Something shone in the distance. A pinprick of light, stabbing through the darkness. I squinted at it.
“What’s that? I think it’s moving.”
It bobbed closer.
“It’s a torch,” said Dhav suddenly. He raised his voice. “Hey! Over here!”
The torchlight paused for a moment as if the person carrying it was getting their bearings. And then it headed straight for us.
I sank to the ground, my ankle throbbing, while Dhav directed whoever was carrying the torch towards us. I stiffened as I felt something touch me. A furry head rubbed against my hand and I squealed.
“Shit! What the actual…”
There was a soft little mew.
“Balthazar?” In disbelief, I lifted the little cat up to eye level. It gazed back coolly. “It is you! You got home safely!”
I rubbed my cheek against his soft fur, risking a clawed nose or worse. Balthazar did not, as a rule, like being cuddled. But for once he put up with it stoically.
“I can’t believe you’re here. But that means…”
The torch-carrier finally arrived, the light picking up first Dhav and then me. A joyful yell pierced the night.
“You’re here! You made it!”
It was Kiran. And then we were all hugging and kissing, except for Balthazar, who watched the emotional reunion with a bemused expression, and decided he’d rather wash his paws.
Chapter Thirty Six
“The spirits told me what to do,” Kiran explained excitedly. She’d brought food in her little bag, and herbs which worked wonders on Dhav’s shoulder and my ankle. “They came to me and told me what you were planning. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to hold the illusion long enough.”
“Me too, “ I admitted, my mouth full of delicious olive bread. “Al Uddin was so full of himself, I thought he’d bang on forever. But he was just too eager to see Dhav dead.”
“But what if he’d made the wish differently?” asked Kiran. “What if he’d just said ‘kill Dhav’, what would you have done?”
“I have no idea. You can’t wish people dead, that’s genie lore. I probably would have wafted around looking stupid, and Al Uddin would have come up with a different wish. But I made sure I asked him specifically what he wanted to see. And he took the bait. He told me in detail how he wanted to see Dhav suffer, so technically I was fulfilling his wish.”
“Words are important,” said Dhav with a smile.
“And the best bit was he never stopped to think what removing the curse might do to him.” I ate the last of the bread, trying not to belch. The moon had finally come out, dousing us in silvery light. “Hey, how’s life as a witch’s assistant?”
“It’s amazing. She’s such an old dear.”
Dhav’s eyebrows shot up and I tried not to giggle.
“So she’s not feeding poison apples to princesses or making them fall asleep for a hundred years?” I teased.
“No, she is not!” Kiran was appalled. “She’s teaching me herbology, and she lets me see Maeva and Deelan every week. I’m so happy.” She gave me a quizzical look. “And what about you? I thought you said you couldn’t hear the spirits. What changed?”
I shrugged.
“I guess I’ve embraced my inner djinn.”
“What was it like to be a genie?”
She sounded curious, and I saw Dhav was listening too. We hadn’t really spoken about my transformation. I thought about it for a moment.
“Part of it was amazing. I mean, I could do anything. Literally, anything. I could have put the entire human race on Mars, or make Superman real. Hell, I could have beaten Superman han
ds down in a fight. But only if someone else wished it.” I picked at a hangnail. “I had all that power, but I was at someone else’s beck and call. And that part sucked.”
Kiran rubbed my arm sympathetically.
“He’s gone now. Everyone knows Al Uddin’s dead.”
“Already?”
“Mother Paduri is telling everyone that she helped get rid of him. She’s upping her prices, and she’s painted a sign on her door saying ‘By Royal Appointment.”
Dhav was scandalised.
“I haven’t appointed her to do anything!”
“And are you going to tell her that?”
He subsided, the thought of confronting the cairn-witch too much even for him.
“No, no. It’s fine. She can keep the sign.” He got up. “Let’s go. I don’t want to stay out here all night.”
“Balthazar will take you home.” Kiran whistled. “Here, boy.”
“We can just walk with you, can’t we?” I was puzzled.
“No, I mean Balthazar will take you back to Ashfahaan.”
Dhav laughed.
“We’re in no condition to walk that far. We’ll need to rest at the village, get some supplies, maybe a vehicle if someone will sell us one.”
“You won’t need one.” Kiran looked down. “Oh, there you are. Well, that’s not going to work, is it?” The cat stared up at her and Kiran tutted impatiently. “Come on, lazybones. Get changed.”
She frowned at the cat. Dhav and I looked at each other.
“Um, what are we waiting for?”
“Balthazar, he’s being a bit… ah, there we go.”
There was a muffled squishing sound, like someone squeezing grapes underfoot, and the cat exploded.
We stumbled back as his outline suddenly lost cohesion, flowing outwards like molten lava and changing into a new shape. A much bigger shape.
His form filled out, becoming broader and more sinewy. Black fur lightened to gold, morphing into the body of a heavily-muscled lion, with a tufted tail to match.
His little cat paws expanded, his front legs becoming scaly and bird-like, the claws thickening into wicked-looking talons.
His head changed, the feline features giving way to feathers and a curved beak, the proud face of an eagle. He grew wings to match; powerful golden appendages curved along his lion’s back.
He spread them wide and the moonlight glinted off them as he threw his head back and shrieked defiantly at the stars. He was utterly majestic.
Then he turned and looked at us smugly.
“Show off,” muttered Kiran. She saw Dhav and I standing there with our mouths gaping. “He’s a griffin. Didn’t you know?”
“I guess the half-eaten moose should have been a clue,” I said weakly.
Dhav shrugged.
“I suspected he was a shifter when I saw his effect on the man-wolves.”
I slapped his arm.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You enjoyed stroking his little head so much, I didn’t want to alarm you.”
“Yeah, well. I can’t even reach his head now.”
The griffin looked down at us and smirked.
“He can fly you home,” said Kiran. She tapped his beak. “Let them get on.”
Balthazar obediently knelt down and lowered his wings. He watched us expectantly.
Dhav hesitated, then vaulted lightly onto the creature’s back. He held out his hand. I shook my head.
“I’m not getting on that,” I said firmly.
“It’s quite safe,” said Kiran knowledgeably. “He hardly ever bucks people off.”
I eyed the griffin, who looked back at me impassively.
“I’m not sure I trust him.”
“Come, little thief. We’ve already flown once today.” Dhav’s voice was teasing. “Or are you scared?”
Stung, I grasped his hand and let him pull me on board. I sat behind him stiffly, not sure what to hang onto. The griffin’s fur was coarse, more like hair than fur.
“I think I preferred the cat,” I muttered.
“Come see me soon,” said Kiran. She tapped the griffin’s rump. “Ashfahaan, boy. And fly carefully. No loop-the-loops this time.”
I blinked.
“No what, now?”
But it was too late. With a heave, Balthazar bunched his hind muscles and leapt into the air. I cried out as I was thrown forward, instinctively grabbing onto Dhav. I buried my face in his back, swearing loudly.
The griffin’s wings unfurled and beat down, and I caught my breath as I felt the ground drop away. And then there was just silence, and the wind through my hair. We were soaring through the star-lit sky on the back of a mythical creature.
When I finally dared to open my eyes, I realised it was all quite beautiful.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Balthazar set us down in the desert close to the sentinels. Seeing the stones standing at the border to Ashfahaan made me feel like we were home.
Which was stupid, because I was nowhere near home.
I realised I had no idea what was going to happen next.
Dhav scratched the griffin behind its ear, and it closed its eyes in bliss.
“Thanks for everything, Balthazar,” I told him. “I have to say, the name suits you much better this way.”
He squawked in agreement, then leapt into the sky, heading back towards his mistress. We watched him go. I was aware of Dhav standing next to me, and suddenly felt self-conscious.
The mission was over. It was back to real life. Dhav was a prince, he had a kingdom to rule. Where did I fit into that?
As if aware of my unsettled emotions, he took my hand.
“Ready to go home?”
Home. An image of gran swam into my head.
“Can I have a minute?” I asked. He nodded.
“Farouk’s waiting for us. I’ll meet you at the truck. He’s going to be so annoyed we lost the dune buggies.”
I let him go, and faced the desert. The moon turned the sand silver, and the star-flecked sky stretched for miles. It was easy to believe I was surrounded by the spirits of my people from long ago.
“Hello again,” I said softly.
I’d felt them as soon as we’d landed. I could hear their whispers at the edge of my consciousness, a comforting ambient sound, a reassuring presence.
The spirits were stronger here, in the desert. I knew now they could be called, if there was reason enough, or magic enough. But this was their true home.
I had a feeling that as soon as I crossed through the sentinels, I would no longer be able to hear them.
Welcome back, sister.
“Thank you for your help. For contacting Kiran.”
You are kin. You are djinn.
“So what do I do now? Any suggestions?”
The murmuring rose and fell, but I didn’t get an answer. I tried again.
“Should I stay? Or should I go back to England? Everything I know is there, gran’s house is there. But Dhav… he’s here.”
The whispers died away and there was quiet. I wasn’t going to get an answer.
And that was fair enough, I thought. They couldn’t tell me how to run my life. I had to decide what I wanted for myself.
I’d kept gran’s house because it had felt like the last physical connection to her. But here in this desert, in this remote part of the world, I’d found more connections than I ever thought possible.
Maybe I would stay. Maybe I wouldn’t. But I knew I couldn’t hold on to the past anymore. One way or another, it was time for a change.
I turned and walked slowly towards the sentinels where Dhav and Farouk were waiting.
Just as I got to the stones, a stray breeze blew my hair back. It brought with it an aroma, a beautiful hint of orange.
Something fluttered down to me, and I caught it. A single white flower. I brought it to my nose, inhaling its delicate scent.
Orange blossom.
There wasn’t an orange tree for miles. I glance
d back at the desert, wondering if it was a sign.
I tucked the blossom into my pocket. Then I slipped through the stones, back into the real world.
Farouk opened the door to the truck.
“Welcome, miss. You both look like you’ve had quite the adventure.”
“Has it really only been seven days?” I wondered.
“Eight. But I thought I’d give you an extra day.”
“Farouk, I gave you strict orders,” said Dhav sternly. “You disobeyed them.”
“Yes, your Highness.”
“Remind me to give you an extra large bonus this year.”
“Of course, your Highness.”
Dhav and I climbed into the back seat. He could have sat up front, but he didn’t, and I was glad.
“Back to reality,” he murmured. “No doubt there’ll be plenty of things to do back at the palace.”
“I guess you’ll be busy.”
“I think that will be an understatement.”
He looked out of the window as if he was deep in thought, and I suddenly felt awkward. The closeness we’d shared just a few hours ago now seemed as distant as a dream.
I looked at his hand and ached to hold it. But we were back in his world now, and somehow it didn’t seem appropriate.
“I think we need to talk,” he said suddenly. My heart sank.
“Can we do it later? I’m too tired to concentrate.”
That, at least, was true. I was exhausted by the exertions of the past few days. But I also didn’t want to hear him say it had been fun while it lasted, but now it was over.
“Of course. You must rest. Farouk will call ahead and have your old room prepared. Tonight, then?”
“Tonight.”
I closed my eyes, not wanting to invite any more conversation. And I kept them closed until we pulled up at the Palace. I don’t know if Dhav knew I was feigning sleep, but he didn’t speak to me for the rest of the journey.
Raj was waiting for us, as was half the country, it seemed. Hundreds of people were gathered outside the palace.
Dhav cut through swathes of courtiers and officials and guardsmen and advisors and clerks to reach Raj, embracing his brother in a fierce bear hug.
I stood by the truck, not wanting to intrude. And actually, I couldn’t have even if I wanted. There were too many people around the two princes.
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