Of Wish and Fury (Seven Kings of Jinn)

The bittersweet confession was the most honest conversation they’d ever had, and it was also the most painful. Not sure what to say or where to go from there, Ari opened her mouth to speak. It was then that the woods erupted into fire, stalling her. She jumped to her feet, her body registering the threat before her brain did, but by then it was too late. Something solid connected with her head and Ari barely had time for a last thought before all the lights went out.

Because of the trace Jai had put on Ari when he’d kissed her that first time they’d been introduced, he could feel her emotions screaming and Jai could pretty much follow the shrieking. She had just pulled up to Vickers Woods. Jai collapsed onto Ari’s dad’s armchair, wondering what was happening out there. He knew it was about time those two hashed it out, but he was afraid for Ari. Afraid whatever Derek had to say was going to hurt her. And he had a horrible feeling she’d already been hurt today. By me. Feeling uncomfortable, Jai shifted uneasily. Ari wasn’t even in the room to pin him to the chair with those wounded eyes. He had done the right thing by not telling Ari about the magic. He had done his job. What did she want from him? She knew he worked for the Red King; she knew he was her guardian, not her friend. What the hell was with the guilt trip? He cursed under his breath just as his cell rang. He tugged it out of his back pocket and flipped it open when he saw the name. “Trey, what’s up?”

“Did she like it?” his friend asked with a grin in his voice.

“Did who like what?”

“Ari. Did she like the earring?”

Jai clenched his jaw in irritation. He should never have even mentioned her, or that awkward, blazing moment at her door when she’d tried to kiss him, or how he’d been so close to giving in he thought he was going to explode with the need for her. “Is that why you forced the earring on me? You said it was a congratulatory gift for getting this job. You know, the kind of gift a friend can’t refuse. But if this was some sick thing you got in your head about Ari—”

“What the hell crawled up your ass?”

“I told Ari the truth about magic.”

“About time.”

“Yeah, she didn’t take it very well.”

“And you’re feeling guilty because you have feelings for her.”

“Stop psycho-analyzing me. I don’t feel guilty. I’m just annoyed. And I’m waiting for her to return. She ran off after her dad.”

“He finally left his room?”

Jai rolled his eyes. Trey’s mind was a steel-trap; mention the slightest detail and he’d remember it. “Yes, he did.”

“Well, when she gets back and she forgives you for lying to her, bring her to LA, I want to meet her.”

Feeling a spark of unwanted jealousy, Jai found himself saying the words, “She’s off-limits, Trey,” before he could stop himself.

His friend laughed. “It’s not like that. And I’m seeing someone at the moment, anyway. He runs a nightclub downtown and he’s smokin' hot. Human this time. The last jinn I dated was no fun in an argument. She kept running off into the peripatos every time things got heated.”

“So this nightclub guy is new?”

“Yeah, we’ve been dating about a month. There have been a few women in between, though. I actually met this dancer at his nightclub a week ago. The way that woman can bend… damn, is all I can say.”

“It doesn't sound like you're being discreet.”

“Oh, I'm being discreet. Trust me.”

Trey’s dad, Rik, would have an apoplexy if he knew the truth about his son’s sexuality. Rik was stuck in the dark ages and homophobic. He wouldn't understand Trey's bisexuality. Correction, he wouldn't even try to understand it. “I didn't mean that. I meant, does your guy know about the women?”

“We’re not monogamous or anything. I’m over that.”

He was only over that because the last real relationship he had been in had broken him. As well as being a guardian jinn, Trey was an artist (something else his father didn’t know about). He’d fallen in love with an art dealer in LA, and he and the guy had been seeing each other for just over a year when the guy finally got fed up of sitting around waiting for Trey to tell his family about them. He’d walked out and left Trey a mess.

“Yeah.” Jai sighed. “So, is that why you called? To annoy me about Ari?”

“She sounds nice, man. And she sounds hot. I say forget about the old man and go for it.”

“How do you know she’s hot? I haven’t even told you what she looks like.”

“I know that look in a guy’s eyes when he thinks the person he’s talking about is hot. You were practically drooling.”