He shot another quick glance at Azazil. “Do I need to bow or anything?”
Red smirked. “Only when you’re acquitted.”
“Ooh I’m liking the confidence.” Charlie rubbed his sweaty hands down his jeans. “Confidence is key.”
Chuckling, Red nodded and retreated.
Sucking in a deep, controled breath, Charlie tried not to let his legs shake again. He was going to make it through this. Today did not feel like the day he was going to die.
Right?
Ari watched as Charlie was led into the amphitheater by the Shaitans, and her stomach almost bottomed out. Seeming to sense her anxious gaze, Charlie turned and caught her eye. She offered him a reassuring smile and he returned it before giving Jai a sharp nod as he headed towards the center of the floor.
“I feel sick,” she murmured to Jai, pressing her thigh against his in comfort.
Immediately her skin prickled, like little uncomfortable needles al over her face. Her heart literaly skipped a beat as she glanced up to find Azazil smirking at her, and Asmodeus watching her with an emotionless but somehow focused expression. She gulped and fought to restrain herself from digging her hands into Jai’s arm.
Do you think he heard me? Azazil, I mean. Look at the way he’s looking at me.
Probably, Jai replied softly, Let’s just stick to telepathy while we’re here, okay.
Yeah. Okay. She shrugged off Azazil and Asmodeus’ frightening attention and glanced back at Charlie. He was shivering in the winter of the realm and Ari wondered bitterly why, if he was going to make a dumbass wish to be a sorcerer, he couldn’t have gotten the nifty temperate temperature bit of the deal. She should have brought him a sweater or something.
Jai pressed his leg back against hers, drawing her attention. Have you thought about what we’re going to do if Red doesn’t pull this off?
Loving that he used the word ‘we’, Ari wanted to take hold of his hand in hers, but with Azazil watching on and Red’s warning earlier, she managed to refrain from seeking comfort in Jai’s touch. I honestly don’t know.
Ari, he was using his ‘I’m older, wiser and a guardian’ voice, You’re not thinking of using your power are you? That’s a death wish.
I don’t know, Jai. I just know that I can’t let him die.
She felt his body tense next to her.
Don’t worry, her words were soft and cajoling, My power is the last resort. I’ll speak up first. For all their twisted ways, Jinn believe in honor and
upholding their laws. Well, Gleaming’s son attacked me—a full-blood. He was going to kill me— a crime punishable by death. Let’s see Gleaming talk
his way out of that.
After a second, she felt Jai relax, his arm brushing hers in a way that sent inappropriate tingles shooting to inappropriate places. Her eyes fel to his hand that was fisted atop his thigh. Slowly, his fingers unfurled as he relaxed, believing her. He had nice hands, she mused, strong but graceful. Just the sight of them gave her tingles too.
Flushing, Ari was glad for the distraction as The Gleaming King spoke out to the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to bring my son justice.” He strode in front of Charlie, his powerful muscles flexing in a way that made Ari gulp for Charlie’s sake. His eyes driled into her friend with bitter hatred and it took everything she had not to throw herself in front of him and hide him from Gleaming’s view.
“This monster, this half-blood, pretender of Jinn, kiled my son in cold-blood…”
…Unlike any trial Ari had ever witnessed, Gleaming and Red argued back and forth about the events that led to Dalí’s death with no real sense of logic—there was no offering of evidence for a start. It was just assumed that a Jinn King was to be believed.
The argument was difficult for Red because he was trying to keep Ari’s involvement in this whole ugly business as low key as possible.
“The case is not about what my son did, Red!” Gleaming belowed and Ari found herself almost sneering. Red and even her father, White, were so cool and
colected that she couldn’t help admire that about them. Gleaming was a hot-head and he came across as petulant, childish and undignified. Plus, he was trying to nail her best friend to a cross. “This boy, this barely Jinn, half-human murdered my son.” He turned to the crowd. “A knife in the back, if you please.”
The crowd gasped at that, and Ari heard the murmurs of ‘coward’ ripple through the arena.
“He was in the middle of choking to death a Guild hunter. Charlie saved the girl’s life,” Red caled out, trying to draw their attention back, but it seemed to have no effect.
Ari glanced anxiously at the Marid, Adeel, who was judging the trial. Earlier he’d looked half-asleep but now he was sitting up, studying Charlie carefuly. She swalowed hard, noting Charlie flex his hands, seeing the tremble in his fingers.
She felt like crying for him.
“If I may,” a strong, familiar voice rang out around them and al heads turned to where Charlie had entered earlier.
Shock and frightened anticipation froze her in place and she felt Jai press closer to her as The White King garnered everyone’s attention. Blank-faced, he strode towards the center of the amphitheater and addressed Adeel. “I have a testimony to make on the accused’s behalf.”
There were more gasps, including Ari’s.
Adeel bowed his head at The White King. “The White King is of course alowed to provide his side of the events.”
Ari’s eyes locked with Charlie’s as his head whipped around to her, his eyes questioning her silently. She shook her head, letting him know she hadn’t arranged this.
“What are you doing, White?” Gleaming asked quietly, al his posturing deflating under his brother’s gaze.
White didn’t answer him. He looked right through him and then turned to the crowds. “This trial is irrelevant. Had Charlie Creagh not kiled Dalí, son of Gleaming, Dalí himself would be here facing inevitable death for kidnapping and torturing, with the intent to kil, my daughter Ari Johnson.” He eyed her in the crowd and she felt the murmurs rise and the gazes fal on her. “My daughter is a ful-blooded Jinn.”
“Can it be? Is it Sala, the Ifrit’s daughter?”
“Full-blood? She must be Sala’s long lost child.”
Her mother’s name ricocheted around the arena, and Ari’s fearful gaze found Red’s. His expression was grim. Now everyone knew who she was.
This was only the beginning.
“What say you, Wise Adeel?” White continued on and Ari chanced a glance at Azazil. He was watching The White King in amusement. A burning in Ari’s cheeks
drew her gaze to Asmodeus and to her fright she found his gaze was stil upon her, not the proceedings. Shifting anxiously under his attention, Ari quickly looked away and to Adeel.
“You are saying that Dalí was kiled because he was trying to murder your ful-blooded daughter, Your Majesty?”
“The Red King and I had to forcefuly obtain Dalí’s whereabouts from The Gleaming King after learning he had taken her.”
Astonishment rippled through the Jinn audience and Adeel frowned. “The Gleaming King was wilingly alowing the torture of a ful-blood by a half-blood?”
“Yes,” Red and White replied in unison.
At the immediate growl from Gleaming’s direction, Ari felt her stomach flip with relief and her shoulders sagged. Adeel stood to his feet and addressed the Sultan.
“From the testimonies of two Jinn Kings, I have no choice but to alow Charlie Creagh to return in freedom to the mortal realm, Your Majesty. One: he kiled a half-blood. There is no law against half-bloods kiling one another. The fact that the half-blood was Royal may certainly have swayed the ruling otherwise, but since that Royal half-blood would have been executed for his crimes against a ful-blood, I am un-swayed. No law was broken on Charlie Creagh’s part. I see no reason to continue the trial, Your Majesty.”
Azazil nodded and with a yel of outrage, Gleaming fled into the Peripatos.
Stunned that it was over so abruptly and that The White King had done what he’d said he’d only do if Ari bent to his wil, Ari could only look on as the crowds of Jinn folowed, some more reluctantly than others as they watched Ari, waiting for her to make a move. Yes, there would be gossip now.
Trying to shrug it off, to focus on what mattered, she lifted her eyes to find Charlie. He was standing next to the Red King, grinning over at her in exhaustion and relief.
3 - Your Kind Wickedness…
Hiss and crackles filed the amphitheater and bright bursts of fire exploded here, there and everywhere, like fireworks on New Year’s Eve as the Jinn emptied from the amphitheater with utter dissatisfaction at the trial being canceled. Ari could stil feel the tingle of the Jinn stares on the back of her neck as they left, their curious speculation causing her heart to race with more worry. The last thing she needed right now was to be hunted by someone else. Trying to shrug off her uneasiness Ari threw Charlie a relieved smile and brushed a hand across Jai’s, teling him silently to folow her as she strode across the strange glass floor that reminded her of the great hal in Azazil’s palace. As soon as she reached Charlie he puled her into a tight hug, tucking his head in the crook of her neck and inhaling her. He shuddered with relief and Ari awkwardly fought the urge to comfort him as wel as the urge to untangle herself from his embrace so Jai wouldn’t get the wrong idea.
“You’re okay?” she asked instead, patting him firmly on the back before puling out of his embrace. She studied Charlie’s face as she took a step back beside Jai.
Charlie looked exhausted.
“I am now.” He grinned shakily and then nodded at Jai.
Jai nodded back warily. “Good result.”
“Yeah.”
A tense silence sprung between the two of them and Ari shot a look at The Red King who was smirking back at her in amusement. Ignoring his teasing, Ari
telepathed to him. I would seriously hug you right now but I have a feeling Azazil wouldn’t like that.
Her uncle grinned. Good call.
Another prickle of awareness tingled on the back of Ari’s neck and she turned around to folow the feeling, only to meet The White King’s gaze. She was shocked to see he was looking at her as if he found her a perplexing puzzle. One he was determined to solve.
He nodded at her and then stepped back into the Peripatos.
Frowning, Ari turned back to her uncle, aware of al three men’s gazes upon her, waiting to see how she’d react to her father’s appearance. “Why did he do that?”
she asked Red quietly. “Why did The White King help after I refused to be blackmailed?”
Red shrugged. “It was a matter of honor. No matter your answer, he was always going to help free Charlie because it would piss off Gleaming. Gleaming betrayed White when he alowed Dalí to go after you. White couldn’t let that pass without seeking justice.”
“You mean revenge.”
“Despite what you may think, sometimes the two are one in the same.”
Charlie smiled at Red. “I tried to tel her that once.”