The Law of Stars and Sultans

Head pounding, lids drooping, Ari decided tomorrow was a new day to worry about this stuff. Thankful she was too tired to dwell on the qarin she’d assassinated, Ari clumsily stripped and reached for her new silk nightie. Once she’d slipped it on, she dove under the covers and snuggled her head deep into her pillow, smelling her own perfume on it. Comforted, she let the world disappear …

* * *

The water was still in the moonlit lake. The surrounding mountainous rocks provided privacy to the mystical cove. As soon as Ari took it in and felt the rough sand against her skin, she groaned. She’d been here before.

Dammit.

“Asmodeus,” she griped, spinning around from her seat in the sand to peer into the dark.

As expected, he melted out of the shadows, coming toward her wearing loose black pants, nothing on his upper body except for a bronze circlet around each strong bicep, his long dark hair flowing freely over his broad shoulders. Ari tore her eyes from his ripped physique and glared into his hauntingly beautiful face.

It was so unfair someone so psychotic was so fantastic looking.

Asmodeus smirked at her as he approached, his bare feet kicking the sand. Ari stood, scowling at the revealing white fabric he’d dressed her in. It showed a lot of cleavage and a lot of leg. Disgusted, she crossed her arms and tilted her head back to stare up at the handsome giant of a man.

“Stop messing with my dreams and let me out of here. For the hundredth time.”

His smile deepened, a flash of white teeth in the dark as he stepped around her, two fingers sliding down her arm.

Ari shivered and pulled away. “I’m serious.”

“I know,” he replied nonchalantly as he came to a stop.

“Why won’t you stop tormenting me?”

For the last two months, Prince Asmodeus had been ripping her out of her own dream world and pulling her into his. At first he’d been determined to know why she was impervious to the command of the Seal of Solomon, but he’d soon discovered that she was as clueless as he was. And Ari knew Asmodeus was clueless as to why the seal did not work on him. He wouldn’t have been so desperate to seek answers from her otherwise.

Upon discovering she knew nothing, Asmodeus continued to keep returning her here. There seemed to be no purpose to these visits other than to tease and try to charm her, and occasionally threaten Jai’s life.

“It’s fun.”

“Fun?”

He shrugged.

“I’m too tired for this. Every time you visit my dreams, I’m exhausted in the morning.”

A wicked glint entered his dark eyes. “I think if you’re going to be exhausted, you should be exhausted for a reason … and since the ginnaye isn’t willing to accommodate you, I’d be more than happy to see to any of your … needs.”

“Not even in your dreams.”

Asmodeus chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, studying her. As they stared at one another, his smile slipped. “You killed today.”

Ari flinched back from him. “How did you …?”

“I make it my concern to know.”

“You’re watching me?”

“Whenever I’m bored, yes.”

Disgusted, Ari shook her head. “You’re a creepy son of a bitch.”

His demeanor changed instantly from relaxed to bristling. “Be careful.”

A shot of fear tingled down her spine and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying something even more foolish.

Satisfied, he turned and sat in the sand, his arms dangling over his braced knees. “Sit.”

“You have no manners, you know that, right?” Ari grumbled as she lowered herself to the ground, keeping a careful distance between them.

The marid sliced her an amused look. “Stop deflecting. You killed today.”

Ari sighed. “Yes, I did. Am I in trouble?”

“Not with me.”

“With anyone?”

“There is no one to care about the qarin’s demise.”

Ari breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good to know.”

After a moment’s silence, Asmodeus picked up a small rock and with a flick of his wrist sent it skimming over the water. “You shouldn’t be doing it.”

“Working for the Guild?”

“Turning yourself into an assassin.”

Ari tried not to wince at the word. “Why? I’m doing good. I’m ridding the human world of evil jinn.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that worth the loss of your purity?”

“I’m not pure, Asmodeus.”

“Your soul was clean, Ari. You’re marring it with this need to hunt jinn.”

“It’s not a need,” she lied. “It’s a want. Even before all this …,” she gestured to her surroundings, “I was a high school graduate with a serious identity crisis. I didn’t know what I wanted out of life. I didn’t know where I fit in. Despite all the bad stuff that’s come with finding out who I am, at least I’ve also found my place in this world.”

“With the ginnaye, assassinating jinn?”

“With Jai, hunting bad guys.”

He grunted. “You are so naïve, it physically pains me.”