The Seven Kings of Jinn

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“By leaving me?” he asked hoarsely. “You’re all I have.”

“Charlie—”

“I’m all you’ve got. It’s always been us. I’m not scared of anything. And I take full responsibility for whatever happens to me, for whatever goes down. Just please… Ari… you’re my best friend.”

Jai groaned inwardly when he heard her whisper, “okay.”

Charlie's motives were still unclear and a human with unclear motives was a complication he didn't need right now. But he'd seen the bond between the kid and Ari. Trying to push Charlie away would only create mistrust between him and his client.

So be it.

“Okay then.” Jai clapped his hands and strode back into the hall. “If the after school special has ended… can we get on with this?”

Although her heart still raced too fast at the thought of Charlie caught up in the enormity of her situation—her very dangerous situation—the selfish part of her was glad he wanted to stick around. He followed her into the living room as she took a seat opposite Jai. Her guardian stared at her, emotionless, waiting for her signal to begin. It was so nice of Jai to turn into a cold asshat just when she needed him to be her friend. Ignoring the hurt that spiked through her every time she thought of his dispassionate attitude toward her now, Ari drew in a shuddering breath.

Jai’s face softened infinitesimally. The sun beamed in through the window and turned his eyes a startling golden green. “You ready?”

She nodded and then glanced over at Charlie one more time. “Last chance to get the hell out of here.”

He grinned at her, that adorable smile of his that never failed to make her feel good. “I’m not going anywhere. I called my mom last night and explained about Derek; said I’d be staying with you for a while.”

Ari quirked an eyebrow. “So you’re still getting wasted at Rickman’s, but communication with your mom has improved. That’s good, right?”

“Are you seriously going to lecture me about that right now?”

“No, she’s not,” Jai snapped. “Come on people, let’s focus.”

He was really pissing her off. Ari shot him a dirty look. “What crawled up your ass? Did you find out you were the Seal of Solomon and the most sought after weapon in the history of the jinn?” she mocked. “Oh no, wait, that was me.”

Jai sighed in exasperation, which made her feel about six years old. “You’re breaking rule number one. No insults.”

Another stab of hurt.

Nice.

“What, we’re back to rules again?” she huffed, ignoring Charlie's avid study. “And technically I wasn’t insulting you, I was mocking you.”

“Technically, will you shut up so we can do this?”

“Hey don’t talk to her like that,” Charlie warned.

Ari shrugged. “Jai means nothing by it, Charlie. He was raised like a wolf among people.”

The hurt that flickered for a second across Jai's eyes filled her with instant regret and remorse. Knowing what she did about his family history, that was a low blow. Despite his earlier baffling coldness, she wanted to reach out and touch him, to apologize. “Jai...”

His voice lacked any emotion. “Forget it. Let’s just get started.”

Still feeling awful, Ari bit down on the nerves and exhaled. “What should I do?”

“Speak to me,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Huh?”

“Using your mind.”

“Okay, what?” Charlie interjected.

“You.” Jai pointed a finger at him without looking away from Ari. “Can’t do that. You read that book last night, right?”

“Yeah… I just… I guess I keep forgetting Ari is jinn. It’s too weird.”

“Gee, thanks, Charlie.”

“You know what I mean.”

Ignoring him, Ari leaned forward, her elbows braced on her knees as she stared deep into Jai’s eyes. Trapped in his intense gaze, she tried not to flush at the tension she felt coiling within herself. “So… I, what?” she whispered hoarsely. “Just direct thoughts at you?”

“Exactly.”

“It can’t be that easy.”

“Try it.”

Okay, what do I say to him? Um… you look nice in a towel? She flushed. Jesus Christ, don’t say that!

Clasping her hands together and bracing her chin on the tips of her fingers, Ari imagined the words floating out of her brain across the living room and in through Jai’s forehead. What’s up with the grumpy?

His mouth quirked up at the corner ever so slightly. Didn’t get much sleep last night.

“Holy—” Ari jerked back in fright as his voice echoed around inside her head as clearly as if he’d spoken out loud.

“What? What did it work?” Charlie asked excitedly, but Ari couldn’t even look at him. She was amazed. In awe. A bubble of laughter floated out of her and tinkled into the air, and there was no mistaking the little spark of reaction in Jai’s eyes.

Curious, and eager to continue, Ari leaned toward him. Seriously. What did I do? Why are you being weird now?

The spark promptly sputtered out of his green depths. Nothing. I’m just doing my job, Ari.