Of Wish and Fury (Seven Kings of Jinn)

More importantly, they’d shown them how to create large air cushions so their attackers couldn’t get so close to them, and how to use objects around them as weapons without losing focus on the attacker. They’d also taught them to listen and study the energy and air around them for change, to see the warning in the stillness of a room before an attack came. While Jai was stern and focused, Trey was forever cracking jokes and distracting them. For some reason, that didn’t bother Jai. He just laughed right along with everyone else.

Ari loved seeing him smile and decided Trey might be the best person she’d ever met. Charlie liked him, too. The two of them had a similar sense of humor, and Charlie seemed relaxed for the first time in forever. She eyed him carefully. He looked so much happier. This warmth and energy had seemed to appear all around him since they’d started using their magic. Though something niggled at her down deep inside as she thought about how much Charlie got off on using his power.

“You want a tour?” Jai’s voice suddenly broke through her thoughts.

Ari blinked, looking over at where he was sprawled across an armchair. “Huh?”

He gestured at the screen and then eyed Charlie and Trey, who were laughing again. “You don’t seem into it?”

“I’ve seen this movie.”

“So a tour then?”

“Of the house?”

“No, of Mount Qaf,” he replied sarcastically. “Yes, the house.”

Alone time with Jai? “Okay.”

They told the guys where they were going and Ari ignored Charlie’s eyes boring into her back as she left the room with Jai. They strolled down the hallway, their footsteps echoing loudly off the tiled floor and walls. The whole place was so cold.

Jai had just opened his mouth to speak when a tall figure appeared before them.

Ari came to a halt, eyeing the man. Decked out in black pants and a white shirt rolled up at the sleeves, he reminded Ari of Luca. Of course. She shifted her feet uncomfortably. One of Jai’s half-brothers?

“The spawn returns,” the man bit out, his lip curling up in distaste as he eyed Jai.

“Hey,” Ari snapped and took a step forward. Jai’s hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back.

Ari, don’t, he telepathed and something in his voice pulled at her heartstrings.

“What’s this?” the guy flicked a look at her. “Is this it? The seal?”

Jai’s hand tightened around her wrist. “You’ll refer to her as Ms. Johnson, Tarik.”

“Or what?”

Seriously, how immature is your family?

He’s not even the worst. Wait until you meet David.

Looking forward to it. Not.

“What are you smiling at?” Tarik glowered at Jai. “You two telepathing? That’s a little rude.”

“Well, you’d know all about that,” Ari retorted.

Tarik’s eyes grew even colder as he continued to stare at her as he spoke to Jai, “Got yourself a new bodyguard, boy? What? Trey finally seen the light?”

I hate to tell you this, Jai, but your half-brother is a loser.

At her words, Jai relaxed. She felt his grip loosen, and he sidestepped Tarik, drawing her with him. “Why don’t you go torture some kittens, Tarik.”

“No sharp implements needed. Just talk,” Ari added as they walked away from him. “The sound of your voice ought to do the trick all by itself.”

They strode out of the hallway and through an arched room into another room. Ari was barely aware of her surroundings she was too busy glowing from the sound of Jai’s laughter. Finally, he stopped and she stumbled to a halt beside him. He looked down at her, his eyes warm, shaking his head. “You see how my family can reduce you to acting like a five-year-old?”

Ari raised an eyebrow, pretending to be offended. “Moi? Immature? And here I thought my comeback witty and sophisticated.”

He snorted. “Oh, very.” And then he eyed her carefully, and Ari felt that familiar flush under her skin at his appraisal. “You don’t have to defend me, you know. I can handle myself.”

At the unspoken reminder that he wasn’t hers to defend, Ari shrugged, finally looking around her. “So what’s this place?” she asked, eyeing the paintings on the walls and the objects locked up in cabinets. The lighting was dim, the floor, walls and even the ceiling tiled with dark Moroccan mosaics. Heavy silk curtains draped the unusual arches of the entrance and exit, adding an exotic feel to the place.

Thankfully, dropping the subject, Jai took a turn around the room, ambling past each item. Ari followed, curiously drinking everything in. “This is my father’s collectibles. Paintings. Ornaments. Items of worth. I used to come in here when I was a kid because it was the one place my brothers found boring.”

Fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him, Ari passed him to look more closely at a beautiful hourglass. The two pieces of blown glass were held together with an hourglass frame made of gold and precious stones. It was locked behind a glass cabinet. “What is that?” she breathed, feeling drawn to the piece.