Ari wished she could enjoy the feeling of relief but al her thoughts were centered on Jai. “I stil don’t trust you. But I need your help.”
“I don’t know where White is, Ari. It could take weeks to find him.” Red sighed, his eyebrows drawn together in displeasure. “Your best bet is to wait it out—wait for him to send you his demand. And we al know what that wil be—that you wilingly come to him in Mount Qaf, and in return he’l promise Jai wil come to no more harm until you’ve done whatever it is he wants you to do.”
A rainstorm of anger was lashing inside Ari. “And what about Jai? In the time we take to wait here like puppets, what wil he be doing to Jai?” she shook her head.
“No. White wil get part of his wish. Me in Mount Qaf.” She glared up at Red, her energy crackling at her fingertips. “Take me to Azazil. He’l know where White is.”
“You understand what you’re asking me to do?”
She nodded, fuly aware that Azazil would want something in return.
Her uncle opened his mouth as if to argue and then slammed his lips shut into a pinch, his whole face glowering at her. Then he sighed, nodding in acquiescence.
“Take me there now.”
“Ari.” He reached out to touch her arm, an almost affectionate gesture. “If I do this, you must promise me to remember that you have nothing to fear from Asmodeus or my father. No matter what they say or alude to, they won’t hurt you. They can’t.”
Confused and suspicious of Red’s cryptic plea, Ari jutted her chin out defiantly. “What are you talking about? What aren’t you teling me?”
He shook his head, his mouth curved into a bitter smirk. “I can’t tel you what you want me to tel you. You must understand, Ari. I am bound in loyalty to my father, but I promised Sala that I would do whatever I could to protect you. So al I can say is that you can walk into my father’s palace without fear that he wil harm you…
personaly.”
“So he could stil hurt the people around me, right?” Ari answered sadly, wearily. “He could stil hurt you?”
Red blinked, seeming astonished. That astonishment transformed into a slow smile that lit up his handsome face. “No, kid, he won’t hurt me. But does that mean you care?”
Shrugging enigmaticaly, Ari replied, “About as much as you do.”
With a very un-royal snort, Red took her hand and whispered to her to prepare herself.
20 - There are Toys Willing to be Played with.
And Others Who’d Rather Remain in the Box.
The urgency had dissipated; their kisses lazy, comforting. Charlie held Falon loosely, his hands on her hips, her legs wrapped around his waist as she sat propped up on the pool table in her parent’s library. She felt warm and lithe, incredibly alive and sweet. She smeled of some kind of flower, but it must have been from her shampoo because Falon couldn’t be bothered with things like perfume. Not like Ari who always smeled faintly like vanila.
Charlie immediately tried to push Ari from his thoughts. Only seconds ago he’d felt calm as he had done since Falon had returned home, safe and sound. Falon had that effect on him. It had been a huge relief to see the team she was with pul up at the house after driving directly home from Connecticut. Thankfuly, they’d gotten out of the attacks completely unscathed. Announcing that she’d promised Jai she’d wait for them, Falon hadn’t wanted to leave the house in Connecticut until he and Ari returned to them. Then Red had shown up to give her the news and Falon had fled to Jersey to give The Guild the news: The White King had taken Jai and in a bid to get him back, Ari had fled to Mount Qaf to seek help from Azazil.
Days later, and there was stil no word from her.
The Glass King had stuck around, but what with Falon sneaking into Charlie’s room at night and Trey constantly blocking any attempts Glass made to speak with him in private about the Labartu, nothing had progressed in that department. If Charlie were honest with himself, he’d admit that a part of him was enjoying the reprieve.
After the turmoil, those tumultuous emotions he’d ridden through after using the Mount Qaf emerald, he was scared. Scared of himself, his response, his disregard for…
everything else but the power it could give him.
“Mmm,” Falon murmured puling back from their languorous kiss. “Where did you go? I lost you there for a minute.”
“Thinking too much.” Charlie shrugged apologeticaly.
“About Ari?” she asked quietly, a veil covering her expression and ironicaly giving away her vulnerability.
Charlie felt a spike of guilt and worry that he was hurting her. He was used to sleeping around with girls and walking away. Somehow, it hadn’t turned out like that with Falon. They’d been together for weeks and he wasn’t bored yet. If anything, he grew more intrigued by her every day. Unfortunately, the ache he felt whenever Ari walked into a room stil hadn’t gone away. He wanted to move on. He just wasn’t there yet. “I’m just worried,” he tried to assure her. “I’m glad you’re okay though.”
Falon bit her lip, not meeting his gaze, her whole demeanor so un-Falon-like Charlie couldn’t help but tense in anticipation of what was coming next. “Charlie…”
her breathing seemed a little shalow. “I think… I think I might realy care about you.”