Ari ignored the nervous churning in her stomach. Everything felt off. Not that she wasn’t glad to leave the Bitars behind. They didn’t have the greatest energy, and they really were just a painful reminder that Jai would rather placate people who abused him than take a chance on someone who genuinely cared about him. Her conscience stuck her tongue out at the guardian sitting on her left. Jai did have one redeeming quality, however, and that would be his best friend. Ari had been surprisingly sad to say goodbye to Trey. She hoped they saw each other soon. He was one of the few people Ari had ever felt instantly connected to and he was so easy to talk to even if his last words had been for her to not give up on Jai. Well, too late. He’d made his choice, and now Ari was making hers.
The choice to hunt those that hunted her would have been easier to make if Ari believed she could count on her uncle. The Red King had appeared before they’d left and Ari wasn’t quite sure what to make of him…
… “You’re not talking to me?” her uncle made a face that was comical on his giant-sized intimidating self.
Ari narrowed her eyes on him. “You said you’d put a protection enchantment around me. You lied.”
Red held up his hands in defense. “I did,” he insisted, his blue eyes guileless. “I’m sorry my brother was able to find you, Ari. In a way, it was my fault. I had a spy in my household, a Shaitan I trusted. He overheard a conversation between Azazil and I and he told White where to find you. It rendered the enchantment useless.”
Standing there, scrutinizing his innocence, Ari realized she didn’t know if she trusted him. Perhaps he was just an excellent liar. Was he good enough to fake that warmth in his eyes when he looked at her? Like he was fond of her? In the end, Ari knew that trust him or not she didn’t trust anyone else so… he’d have to do for now.
“OK.”
He grinned. “We’re cool?”
Sighing heavily Ari nodded.
Getting serious, The Red King got right down to business. “I’ve spoken with Jai already. The Roe Guild are well-known, have a good reputation. A team from The Guild is hunting Dalí, they have been for months. Apparently he’s an excellent bank robber and has a small but growing criminal organization, that’s why he had humans so readily available to do his dirty work. Anyway, Jai says Luca has called ahead and the team has given us their address in Phoenix where they last tracked Dalí. Like Luca, Nicki, and Tarik, The Guild has been sworn to secrecy over your real identity. They know the penalty if they break that vow.”
Ari gulped, hating to be the cause of such a threat. “So I meet up with these guys and they lead me to Dalí?”
“They’re very good at finding half-breeds, Ari, and once you give them new information I think they’ll find him for you.”
“New information?”
“The Roe Guild is unaware that Dalí has changed his M.O. Before, he knocked over banks. Now, he’s just gunning for you. This harmal concoction Jai spoke about… I think this is the key. It’s the only way Jinn could get near you without you commanding him to your will. Dalí had to have experimented with the harmal on actual Jinn. When you get to Arizona tell the Roe’s about the harmal, tell them to check in and see if there have been a bout of missing Jinn recently. If you find a pattern it could lead you to Dalí”
Ari nodded, feeling sick at the thought. “That makes sense. I’ll tell them. Thanks.”
Red cocked his head at the way she hesitated over the ‘thanks’. He smiled sadly. “You can trust me you know.”
Ari smiled back at him. “I’m getting there.” Kinda…
… with everything that had happened in the last few days Ari’s mind drifted into sleep behind her closed eyes. The plane disappeared, the feel of Charlie’s thigh pressing against hers in the tight confines of the plane disappeared, and the exotic smell of Jai sitting so close on her other side melted away. Ari found herself standing in what looked like a large cavern. The smell of wet metal and salted sand was overwhelming and completely disorientating. Ari whirled around, her eyes adjusting to the dark of the cavern, her heart pounding as she tried to find a shaft of light that would lead to the exit. Water lapped somewhere in the distance, an ominous swish that was soon drowned out by the tempo of Ari’s heart. Where was she?
Where am I?
The crash of water and a roar of fury had Ari spinning around again, and her eyes widened at the sight of two enflamed beings flying towards her. They crashed with a grunt, and the flames flickered back out and up into the cavern, casting light all around them. Eyes catching the trail of long dark hair in the sand, Ari ran towards the familiar Jinn, who lay sprawled on the ground beneath a massive male Jinn. The full mouth and tip-tilted eyes told Ari it was the woman again. Lilif? But the Jinn holding her down…? Try as Ari might, she couldn’t see his face. She saw his strong arms, his long powerful hands encircling the female’s neck, his huge thighs straddling her small hips, pinning her to the ground. But anytime Ari tried to make out his features they just blurred together until her eyes nipped with the strain.
Gasping, Ari stumbled back as the male Jinn emitted this awesome pulse of power, like a pocket of air blasting her backwards. Glancing down at the way he flexed his hands, Ari felt fear choke her, inexplicable fear for the woman as blood streamed from her eyes.
“I am sorry,” the male Jinn told her softly. “You are savage in your chaos. It should be glorious but it is not — not even to me. Instead you are catastrophic. I cannot chance you to exist as you are any longer.”
She whimpered beneath him, her bloody eyes pleading with him. Ari watched him shake his head.
“I cannot kill you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You were born to upset the balance of things, Lilif. It is your way. But left within your hands, your destiny would cause such a shift that even Azazil the lover of destruction cannot allow your destiny to remain in your control. You will live your destiny my way.” He lifted a long finger to stroke her smooth cheek. “Forgive me.”
A yell of disbelief escaped Ari before she could stop it as the Jinn removed his hands from around Lilif’s neck only to punch a hole below her left breast with his otherworldly fist. He withdrew the bleeding hand with a sickening, squishy wrench that made Lilif’s entire body collapse limp and lifeless. Lying in the palm of the male Jinn’s hand was a glowing ball of ember, pulsing with power and promise.
“Ari, wake up.”
The ember seemed to pulse at her, knocking her back, pushing at her shoulder.
“Ari.”
It kept coming for her. “No.”
“Ari. Wake. Up.”