Ari took a step back, not wanting to even breathe the same air as him. “I understand perfectly. You know, until this morning I had been thinking that Jai misunderstood you, that somehow you weren’t as bad as he thought. But I know different now. You are terrible. You’re a selfish, selfish man. But rest assured.” She held her palms up in surrender. “There is nothing going on between your son and me. And he will never cross that line.” Her eyes filled with unexpected tears. “You’ve damaged him too much.”
With that, she turned on her heel, her earlier resolve to distance herself from Jai even stronger. When the time was right, she had to believe she’d meet a guy who would love her enough to put her before his own demons. Charlie was not that guy. And Ari knew Jai never would be either. Heart breaking a little, Ari walked through the aching pain slicing in lightning shards across her chest. She was so sick of this. So sick of being cornered and hunted. First Jai himself, this morning. Now his father. It was time to turn the tables. It was time to become the hunter.
“Ari!”
She spun around, watching Charlie jog toward her from the training room. His eyes were bright, his pupils huge, as though he’d just had a hit. A momentary panic rushed through her at the thought of Charlie doing drugs again, but then she realized it was a side effect of his magic use. Her heart slowed a little. “Hey.”
“I’ve been looking all over for you. Did Luca tell you?”
“Tell me what?” she frowned.
“We found the guild hunting Dalí. We’re flying out to meet them tomorrow.”
Her muscles tightened and Ari felt a calm surety flood over her.
Finally.
Chapter
Nineteen
A KNIFE IN THE HAND AND LOVE IN THE OTHER
Having waited in his father’s private rooms — rooms that had been transformed from torture chambers to the far more pleasing sitting room and bedroom — the Red King finally stood at the bottom of the sultan’s dais in the grand mirrored hall that confused and overawed. Barefoot and dressed in robes that would please Azazil, the Red King flicked a glance at Asmodeus as he waited for his father’s response. Asmodeus stood to the side of Azazil’s throne, taller than even the Red King. His hard, hewn but youthful face was dark with displeasure, his black gaze staring straight ahead. Always dressed in unbroken black, Asmodeus was Azazil’s intimidating dark knight. His lieutenant. A prince among jinn. Red wondered how Ari would react to Asmodeus if ever they were to meet, and unfamiliar part of him hoped that they never did meet. It was bad enough she was being tossed back and forth between Azazil and the White King. Azazil was still deciding what would make better entertainment and the White King never veered from his focus to draw her to him to use her powers against their father. And now White had found Ari and paid her a visit.
Red’s fists clenched a little before he could stop them. If something had happened… he should have put that protection spell around her. He had promised. What did she think now? Did she no longer trust him? Surely that was something Azazil wished to avoid?
The sultan smiled benignly down at him from his place on his throne. Today his long white hair hung loose over his shoulders and Red could see a strand was dark with scarlet. It was blood. Azazil sometimes streaked his hair with the blood of his victims to intimidate his shaitans. “Relax. Having no children of your own, Red, you do not understand the bond a father has with his child. Although he would hate to think so, I know my son well. I told you White would do nothing rash after what he did to Ari’s human parent. He learns from his mistakes. He was impatient and angry and killing the human got him nowhere. Now he is just playing mind games with her. It’s time we did the same. You have two tasks ahead of you.”
“Master?”
“First, you must convince Ari to trust us. Lie. Tell her that, of course, we put protection around her; that a spy within your household told White where Ari was and White informed her there was no protection to make her distrust us.”
Seeing the logic in that and believing he could pull it off, Red nodded. “And what else, Father?”
“Well.” Azazil shrugged and shot a look at Asmodeus, who still looked like he’d swallowed a whole chicken. “The White King did us a favor ridding us of Derek. He’s started Ari on a wonderful journey to isolation. He wants her to have no one to turn to but him. We want her to have no one to turn to but us, so let us concentrate on Charlie. He’s still too close to the girl for my liking. Send in someone surreptitiously to teach the boy to use his powers. The more he uses, the more addicted he’ll become and the more determined he’ll be to exact his revenge. There’s a possibility this will drive him and Ari apart for good. We’ll just have to see.”