“Then you’re both wrong,” Ari snapped and sidled even closer to Jai. Charlie narrowed his eyes on them and Ari sighed, crossing her arms over her chest
defensively. “Never mind. What you’re saying is that we shouldn’t be grateful to The White King?”
Her uncle snorted at the thought of it. “Not to his face.”
“Wel, I don’t care why, I’m just glad I’m free,” Charlie replied, rubbing wrists that looked a little tender. Ari frowned. Those shackles must have been heavy. She shuddered at the thought of Charlie in those shackles again. God, there had to be a way to convince him against taking his revenge against the Labartu. Surely, this trip to Mount Qaf must have scared him a little. Enough to make him think twice?
Worried for him, Ari shivered. “Can we go? Can we go back to our world?”
“Technicaly this is your world,” a deep, rumbling, ancient voice answered and they turned to see Azazil standing inches before them, his huge figure casting Ari in shadow. She tried not to feel intimidated, but the Sultan stood so close she could smel the strong scent of citrus and pomegranate that seemed to linger continualy in his hair. She could feel that powerful wave of energy hit her again, the one that seemed determined to sway her off of her feet. Pride forced her not to gulp as her gaze drifted from the massive shoulders of the white-haired sultan to his dark-haired Lieutenant, Asmodeus. As soon as her eyes locked with the Marid a strange need tightened in her chest, a familiarity, a longing. She tried to suppress it, blowing it off as some kind of consequence of the dreams she’d been having about him. The fact that he wouldn’t take those sinfuly dark eyes off of her wasn’t helping.
“Master.” Red bowed his head, and when Jai folowed suit, so did Ari and Charlie. “Did you enjoy the trial?”
“Quite entertaining. But what is this talk of you leaving so soon.” Azazil grinned, a scary flash of teeth that made Charlie flinch beside her. “Let the boy have a night of fun in Mount Qaf. He’l have some fine food and sleep in a fine bed. You’l dine with us tonight, get some rest, and then return to the mortal realm in the morning.”
Even as Ari’s shoulders hunched towards her ears at the unwelcome invitation, she heard Red’s voice pounding into her head. Don’t even think about saying no.
Defeated but pretending otherwise she grumbled back, I’m not stupid.
Trying to keep her expression as blank as possible, Ari looked up at the Sultan Azazil and immediately fought the urge to gag at the way he looked at her—as if he could see and understand her very insides. “Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty. We’d be glad to accept your hospitality for the evening.”
Pleased, Azazil smiled and bowed his head before turning on his heel and heading across the amphitheater with his robes bilowing behind him.
Asmodeus hadn’t moved. He gazed at Ari unflinchingly and she felt as if he too were trying to probe his way inside her. Jai shifted his feet, his eyes flicking back and forth between Ari and Asmodeus unsurely. Finaly, just as Jai’s eyes narrowed and his body tensed, Red stepped in front of them al and came face to face with Asmodeus.
“Is there something you need, Lieutenant?” he asked quietly, an unbreakable steel in his words that Ari so admired.
Asmodeus ripped his gaze from Ari long enough to shoot Red a disdainful look. “No. Not need…” and with that enigmatic comment he shot Ari another look before slowly making his way after Azazil.
Red turned and looked back at her, his eyes narrowed in question.
Ari held her hands up in defense. “I don’t know what the hel that was about. I swear.”
Displeased, her uncle swung fuly around to glare at Jai. “Remember what I said. You cal on me if he comes anywhere near her.”
“What does he want with her?” Jai’s voice had gotten scary low and suddenly Ari felt the unusual clamminess of sweat on her palms. She was afraid. God, she
wanted to get the hel out of here.
“I don’t know.”
“Wait, what did I miss?” Charlie asked sharply. “What the hel does that scary-ass dude want with Ari? The way he was looking at her, I wanted to pun—
“Don’t even think about it,” Red snapped. “None of you. None of you are a match for Asmodeus.”
Feeling a little rattled as they al returned to their rooms—Charlie now in a room two doors down from Jai’s—Ari hated to separate from them, but Red had said they needed to get ready for dinner. It wasn’t until she stepped into her room that she realized what he meant. Awaiting her inside was three of Azazil’s female Shaitans.
She scowled as they told her they’d been sent to ready her for the occasion.
Her scowling did nothing to stop them.
Working quietly and in sync, the three beautiful, dark-haired Jinn fluttered around her, puling at her clothes, twisting her hair, and shimmying her into the softest red fabric she’d ever felt against her body. They stopped to work in a semi-circle around her, their own bodies were wrapped in the softest wine leather—tight fitting trousers laced up the sides, and what Ari would consider to be a leather tank top squeezed their ample assets up and out daringly. Ari almost flinched when she made eye contact with the one brushing kohl around the edges of her eyes. The female Shaitans’ own eyes were bright purple. Were they triplets?
The cold look on the face of the Shaitan in front of her stiled Ari from the smal amount of resistance she was making.
Shutting them out, Ari refused to think about the dinner she was invited to this evening. Instead, she put it to one side and concentrated on what would happen once they did leave Mount Qaf. For Ari, her future was uncertain. Okay, so she knew her father wasn’t about to give up on her, and he’d threatened to up his game if she didn’t give in to him, but other than The White King she didn’t know who her other enemies were. And there was a ninety percent possibility that after today she was going to have more enemies. But what was she to do? Sit in a room somewhere and wait for them to come get her? No.
No freaking way.
Hunting Dalí, training with Trey and Jai, and then with Falon, had made her feel like she had a chance. Maybe she didn’t, but if she was going down, she had already decided she wasn’t going down without a fight. So what was her next move?
Ari thought about Falon and the Roe Guild. They were so dedicated to their job and it was such a worthy, honorable job they did. Such a good, meaningful…
purpose. And Charlie… Charlie was better with the Roes. Okay, so yeah, they were teaching him to use magic, but it was controled and… and at least with them he wasn’t drinking and doing drugs. Maybe the Roe’s influence would rub off on him and he’d give up his own hunt and join The Guild.
Ari stiffened. Maybe that’s what they could al do? Her, Jai and Charlie. Would the Roes welcome them into their team? Why not?
Feeling a sense of peace float down around her shoulders, Ari smiled softly. Yeah. That decision felt right. She would train to be a Guild Hunter. She would be the hunter instead of the hunted. And if they eventualy came for her… wel, she’d be ready for them.
What about Jai?
Her heart gave a little yelp of distress. Jai was a Ginnaye not The Guild. Would he leave his tribe behind for her? Was that asking too much, too soon?
“You are done.” The Shaitan in front of her ripped her from her deep thoughts and Ari stumbled a little as she was forcibly turned so she could see her reflection in the ful-length cheval mirror that had been brought to her room.
Her mouth fel open and she immediately wanted to sink into the floor.
The dress reminded her of a vision she’d had of Lilif once.
“I can’t wear this,” Ari breathed, feeling her cheeks redden.
The Shaitans frowned and replied in unison, “You must. Master wishes it.”
Master is a perv. Ari groaned inwardly, remembering that technicaly, the very young-looking Azazil was in fact her grandfather.
Casting an unsure glance down her body, Ari wondered if the guys had been made to dress up. I bet not like this. She eyed the red dress that clung to her every curve, the cowl neckline showing far more cl**vage than Ari was comfortable with, and the slits up either side flashing her tan legs al the way up to mid-thigh. Gold cuffs shaped like snakes with ruby eyes had been cuffed around each bicep. Her hair was tousled and wild, faling down around her shoulders in tumbling curls and her make-up was smoky and seductive. She looked older.
She looked nothing like herself.
And she hated it.
“Seriously, do I have-”
She cut off as fire exploded behind her and she spun around as Asmodeus stepped out of the Peripatos.
Ari froze as he gestured with an impatient snap of his hand for the Shaitans to leave—which they did in a hurry. Red’s warning that Ari wasn’t to be left alone with the Lieutenant grabbed Ari’s heart and squeezed, the breath whooshing out of her body.
“Are you really alowing them to leave?” Red asked softly, not wishing to anger his father or make him think he was questioning him in anyway. He’d already pushed Azazil far enough these last few weeks. He waited patiently, watching as Azazil took a sip of wine a female shaitan handed to him from her position on her knees beside the massive chair the Sultan was lounging in. She was one of five Shaitans that Azazil had blinded and deafened before training to serve him using their other senses. That way they could be privy to al his private business without ever knowing it. They alone were alowed into his private chambers, his private chambers that changed from one day to the next. Today it had been decorated in opulent golds and rich burgundies, every piece of furniture designed with French Rococo in mind.
When his father said nothing and merely closed his eyes, enjoying the finest wine that magic could buy, Red took another step forward. “I thought this is what you wanted, Master? Ari. Here. That is why you had me change Charlie’s destiny—to turn him sorcerer so he would find his revenge and be brought to trial and sentenced to death. To bring Ari here and then give her nothing to hold onto in the mortal realm?”
Azazil sighed wearily and handed the glass of wine back to the Shaitan at his feet. Finaly he looked up at Red, his gaze lidded. “I would almost say you sound accusatory, son.”
Red shifted uncomfortably. That had been exactly the opposite of what he was trying to be. “Of course not, Father.”
Shrugging, Azazil played indolently with a ruby ring on the middle finger of his right hand, either pretending boredom or portraying real boredom. “I admit to being intrigued by Ari. She’s pure in a way I haven’t seen among many of our kind and definitely not what I’d expect from a child spawned by a Jinn King and an Ifrit.”
“Perhaps because she was raised as human.”
The Sultan laughed. “I know you have a soft spot for the race, but believe me, son, when I tel you that humans are just like us—good, bad and everything in
between. They just don’t have our power. Thank the stars, for they also do not have our self-restraint.” He stopped and looked up at Red, his gaze direct and piercing.