Her One Wish (Kingdom, #10) by Marie Hall
Her One Wish
Nixie is a genie with a problem. She's just killed her master. Kind of a big no-no for her kind, but really, what did the ruling council of genies expect her to do? It's not like she was given a handbook on how to be a "proper genie." She was never even supposed to wind up in Kingdom. She'd been born on Earth, Chicago specifically. Her father also happens to be Tristan Black, which, yeah, kind of an issue. Now they've thrown the book at her, locking her away in the most wild, most hidden part of Kingdom and only the bravest could ever have a hope of saving her from a prison of perpetual darkness.
Robin Hood is a man on a mission. The tales have gotten this "hero" all wrong. He may not be the altruistic knight of yore; in fact, he might even be attempting a coup of his realm.
But as we all know, in Kingdom, things are rarely as they seem...
Dedication
To Ginger, for helping me figure out the final pesky plot point to this book. To Rayale, for always telling me you’re my biggest fan. Seriously, I’m your fan! To Philip, for not being afraid to be honest, even if you thought it would hurt my feelings. Which it totally didn’t. Pshaw! To Sonaly, you’re a superstar, woman. And to Tamika, you made me dig in deep, girl!
Also, a great big thank you to you guys. My readers, you’re the only reason why Kingdom still lives on…
Chapter 1
“No! You can’t have her. No!” Paz screamed, wrapping her arms around her slim daughter’s shoulders.
Jinni stepped forward. “Please, if I may.” He held up a hand, glancing between his daughter and the council of genies.
Standing in silence, Nixie clung to her mother’s arms, unable to believe that this could actually be happening. She’d just turned eighteen. She’d had plans to go to college, to linger in the world of mortals until she died. She’d grown to love Chicago as surely as she loved her family. The fast-paced frenetic lifestyle of a big city appealed to her.
Kingdom had been nothing more than fairytales to her, fun and beautiful and exciting, but not a place she knew or understood all that well. A place where she and her parents would visit on occasion, but Kingdom had never been a world she’d wanted to call her own. Not if it meant being forced to give up her friends and her family.
Her mother’s immortality was secured because of her binding vow with her father, who just so happened to be a golem. Which meant he could never age. And since he couldn’t, neither could she. But Mom and Dad were her only family members who couldn’t. Her uncles were mortal and so was she.
She’d known choosing the mortal world over Kingdom would mean she’d age as any mortal would, and would eventually die, but there was something about the swiftness of life, the unknown of it all that had inspired her. Mortals lived their lives to the fullest always understanding each day might be their last.
Father had taught her that, and she’d come to accept it as fact. Mom hadn’t been happy with her decision, but she’d understood it at least.
Nixie’s life had been mapped out, and then she’d gotten the summons—an order that had brought her strong, handsome father almost to his knees.
“What?” the bushy-haired, dark-eyed council leader asked with the acerbic command of one not used to having his judgment questioned.
Nixie felt like she was listening to the world underwater, disbelieving what was about to happen to her. All she could do was pat her mother’s back and stare blankly at the faces of three men she’d never met before tonight.
In fact, she’d never even known a council of genies existed. Or that there was a world comprised of nothing but glittering stardust, from the marble-like floors of the palace, to the star-cloaked dome of the ceiling. Though Dad had told her many tales of Kingdom, he’d never gone into great detail when it came to the place where he’d been born.
Instinctively she’d always known that topic had been a sore one for him.
The beauty and majesty of this place both awed and terrified her.
Jinni stepped forward. “My daughter knows nothing of this world, nothing of magic. We taught her none of it. To summon her thusly, to force her enslavement of—”
The bushy haired Babak lifted his jewel-encrusted hand and fixed a stern stare on his plump brown face.
“It is not your decision to make, Jinni. Nor can—” His nostrils flared when her father attempted to interject— “You change the decision of the council, even with the cries of a father’s love.”
“Then what about a mother’s love?” Paz asked with a tear-stained face. “What then? Will you listen to me? Our daughter was raised a mortal; she’s not been prepared for the life you ask of her. Please, please, I beg you. I will drop to my knees if I must.”