She was about to see Jai.
Footsteps pounded behind her and a shadow fel over her. Not Jinn.
Glancing up into the cute face of some tal, dark haired student, Ari gave him a wide-eyed, ‘do I know you?’ look.
He smiled down at her, reminding her a little of Nick. “Hey, um, you’re new right?”
Distracted by thoughts of Jai just yards outside somewhere, Ari just nodded.
“I’m Beau,” he said, holding the door open for her and letting a soft breeze wash over her. Not for the first time, and perhaps for the milionth since activating her Jinn heritage, Ari wished she could feel if the breeze was a cool or warm. From the skirts some of the girls were wearing, and the board shorts some of the guys were wearing, Ari would guess it was a surprisingly hot day for September in Connecticut. “I’m a senior,” Beau continued as they stepped outside, students gently pushing past them. “I saw you earlier in the hals. With your sister?”
“Step-sister.” Ari stopped, turning to face him, squinting against the bright sunlight.
“Marissa, right?”
She almost blushed at the open appreciation in Beau’s eyes as they traveled over her body before returning to her face. He adjusted his backpack as it slid off his shoulder, his grin wide and handsome. She was being flirted with. Great.
Yes, Ari, great!
They were on an investigation and inside info would help—information from Beau the senior perhaps. Jeez, Falon was right. She did suck at this.
“Yeah, I’m Marissa.” She returned his warm smile and held out her hand for him to shake. His grip was surprisingly gentle for his size and at the touch of her hand, his smile widened. It occurred to her that this guy, who was only a year her junior, looked so young and so innocent.
“Anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?” he asked, so assured of his own charm and appeal.
Who’s the guy?
Ari blinked in surprise at the sound of Jai’s voice in her head. Twisting around, she spied him over her shoulder, leaning against his SUV that he’d parked in the front row only yards from the entrance. He was wearing dark sunglasses, a pair of wel-worn black jeans, boots, and a plain white t-shirt that showed off his honed physique.
Ari eyed the girls walking past him, craning their necks around to catch another eyeful and then turning to giggle with their friends. The whole scene was a total cliché.
Hot older guy at high school: the effect.
Cliché or not, it had an effect on her. Her gaze drifted back to him and her mouth went dry. Jai was hers.
That was never going to get old.
“My boyfriend actualy,” Ari murmured in reply to Beau’s flirtatious question. Although distracted, the thought of Falon’s earlier annoyance niggled at her and she turned back to Beau with an apologetic smile. “Maybe I can catch up with you later?” She stil might need him after al.
Beau’s gaze was on Jai now too. He looked a little bewildered as he answered warily, “Sure thing.”
Crap. Why did Jai have to be so intimidating?
Roling her eyes inwardly, Ari left Beau’s side, trying to strol casualy toward her boyfriend and ignore al the people staring at them. As soon as she reached him, Jai stood up off the side of the SUV and puled her into his arms, her shocked gasp lost in his possessively deep kiss. Grasping his biceps for support, her insides on fire despite the temperate cool of her skin, Ari kissed him back for al she was worth. When he finaly let her go, they were both panting a little.
Ari wasn’t sure if she could remember what words even were, or how to use them.
That was the first time they’d kissed in public.
“What was that?” she finaly managed, her voice low and husky.
Jai just shrugged, looking around the campus casualy. “Just playing my part as possessive boyfriend.”
“Playing or for real?” Falon suddenly appeared beside them, a huge Cheshire Cat grin splitting her face. “Guys, that was so hot! Months of pent up attraction huh?
Jock boy is stil staring by the way.” She gestured towards Beau with a lift of her smal shoulder.
Ari tried for surreptitiousness as she looked over her own shoulder and sure enough, Beau was stil standing staring at them, his expression warring between
disappointment and something else—something Ari couldn’t quite put her finger on. Two guys appeared beside Beau, clapping him on the shoulder in greeting and finaly drawing him away from them. Ari sagged in relief, wondering what that was al about.
“You know,” Falon sighed wearily, “Three guys have already asked me if my sister is single. I know you’re hot and al, but I think you’ve got some weird succubus vibes from your mom. It’s totaly depressing being your friend.”
It was like she’d slapped her with that careless comment. Ari frowned. Did she have some weird succubus vibes from her mom? Was that what Jai was attracted to?
Falon smirked at Jai before Ari could reply. “You’re going to have your work cut out for you playing possessive, jealous boyfriend, Gorgeous. Ari is a hit as Marissa.”
“I think I can handle it,” Jai replied gruffly, his eyes sparking a little too brightly with unnamed emotion as they searched Ari’s flushing face.
“You know, your epic non-romance is starting to piss me off.”
“That’s funny.” Jai shot Falon one of his scariest glowers. “Because you’re starting to piss me off.”
Falon just roled her eyes.
“Wel?” he asked. “Anything yet?”
Ari shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Not true,” Falon corrected her with a puckered brow. “You felt something earlier. Just because it wasn’t the art teacher doesn’t mean you didn’t feel something.”
“Oh now you tel me.”
Before Falon could answer with something completely smart ass, a blustering gust of wind ripped through the parking lot, blowing Ari’s hair back off her face.
Papers blew out of the loose folder Falon was carrying and messed up her short pixie haircut. Students cried out around them as they lost their hold on assignments, chip packets and other items.
That wasn’t what caused the blood to drain from Ari’s face, or Falon’s eyes to widen in recognition, or Jai’s whole body to tense as he stepped in front of her, guarding her.
With the wind had come the largest mass of Jinn power Ari had felt since meeting Azazil. But it wasn’t his power. That would have been familiar to her.
“You guys are feeling that right?” she asked, gazing over Jai’s shoulders and into the parking lot. Falon and Jai mirrored her, searching the crowds for the source.
As though her eyes were suckers, Ari’s zoomed through the crowds of students and cars to find the Jinn. And he wasn’t alone. One by one Ari found them, male and female Jinn standing in the crowds staring at her. There were at least fifteen of them, their expressions dark with intent.
“We’re surrounded,” Jai muttered having spotted them too in the half-circle they made around the three of them.
“Jai…?” Ari asked shakily, wondering how they hel they were going to get out of this without her activating the Seal. The last thing she should do was tap into that thing. It was too dangerous. Nothing... nothing was worth that risk.
Jai stepped back, his hand grabbing a hold of hers tightly. “They’ve found you. They know what you are.”
“The trial,” Ari breathed, “Because of the trial.”
“It doesn’t matter why, al that matters is getting you out of here.” Falon looked up at Jai, her expression fierce. “We can’t trigger the Seal. Not after what happened…” she trailed off, almost apologeticaly.
Ari nodded, ignoring the bite of hurt that nipped at her to know they al thought she might flip a switch and go crazy on them. “No, you’re right. But we’re all getting out of here.”
Jai’s anger was palpable, but seeing how determined she was he cursed under his breath, his brows creasing in concentration. After a second of alowing Ari’s panic to grow, his eyes flew upwards behind her.
She grabbed his arm. “What about the SUV? If we jump in that we could lead them away from the school, from the students…”
“They’d kil the engine,” Falon answered, shoving her suggestion aside impatiently. “We’d be sitting ducks.”
“The roof,” Jai murmured under his breath. “Ari and I are heading into the school and up onto that roof. Falon, they’re not here for you.” He placed his car keys in her hand. “Take my car, it’s closer than yours, and get back to the house. I’m going to take Ari somewhere safe and as soon as we get there, I’l cal to make sure it’s safe to return to the team.”
“Of course.”
“No, not of course,” Ari argued, disbelieving what she was hearing. “What if they’re waiting at the house? I can’t leave you to walk into that.”
“Ari,” Falon hissed, “If we let your ass fal into the hands of some sociopathic Jinn, we’re al dead anyway. Just stick with Jai and try to listen to him for once.”
The fact that Falon had referred to Jai by his actual name was enough to bring the severity of the situation crashing down on al of them. Before Ari had even nodded her approval of the plan, Falon was jumping into the SUV and Jai was hauling her by the wrist into the school. He shoved students out of his way, his expression sending the rest skittering out of their path.
“Why the roof?” Ari breathed, trying to keep up.
“Because I tested the Peripatos and the Jinn have combined their power to block the channel. They’re working together, Ari, which is worse than bad news.
Nothing can come in or out around this f**king school.”
Jai was cursing. He was worried.
Ari gripped him tighter, her heart thudding in her chest as Jai suddenly cursed again, looking around bewildered. His strong arm reached out and grabbed the colar of a passing male student. “How do we get onto the roof?” he demanded.
The boy’s answer was lost to Ari. She was barely listening now as the thought of imminent battle with the Jinn set her panic at an al-time high. It wasn’t that she was afraid to fight. She’d fought the Jinn before and lived to see another day. It was that the Seal was reacting so badly now, pushing through and dominating her. She couldn’t let the Seal have control and already she felt its ugly darkness churning to wakefulness in her chest.
As Jai dragged her up a narrow empty staircase it suddenly dawned on Ari why they were heading for the roof. “Oh God,” she bit out. “You want us to fly.”
“Ari, keep it together, baby,” he growled. “I know you hate flying, but right now I just need you to concentrate on keeping a lid on the Seal. Okay?”
“Being patronizing won’t help me keep the lid on it,” Ari growled, tugging her hand out of his as they stepped out onto the roof. The wind was stronger up here and it provided a great view of the town, and the four Jinn standing behind Jai. “Oh crap.”
At her widened eyes, Jai spun around, his reflexes fast as he swiped a hand across the air in time to deflect a wave of magical energy. Ember burned in his left palm and he threw it at one of the Jinn, who did as Jai had done and created a shield that the magic bounced off of.