Jinni's Wish (Kingdom, #4)

Jinni glanced over his shoulder, the King and Queen’s guards had been easy enough to dispatch. He’d hidden behind potted shrubs, waiting until the moment they crossed his path and then he’d struck them with the hilt of his sword in the side of their heads. There’d only been two of them, and each walking separate wings. There’d been no cries of alarm, no sharp gasps of breath. They’d simply crumpled at his feet like wilted flowers.

It would have been so much easier to use his magic, to will them to sleep, into a stupor so deep they’d not wake again until the next morning. But magic always left a trace, and only he could use magic in all of the King’s palace, which meant he’d be discovered.

If he was discovered, it was entirely possible the Queen’s affair would also be revealed. She’d be stoned, or worse. He couldn’t have that. So he tiptoed silently along the halls, hugging the walls and keeping well within shadow.

Dressed entirely in black, from the scarf wrapped tight around his face, to the supple black sandals on his feet-- it would be nigh impossible for anyone to discover his secret. A soft blue wash of moonlight spilled through the open windows, Jinni pressed his face tight to the stone wall, hearing nothing but the violent beating of his heart.

The King and Queen’s chamber lied just ahead. Breathing through the rush of adrenaline, he moved as silently and stealthily as he could, ignoring his compulsion to run and end this now.

The hall opened up into a “T,” quickly he peeked his head around the corner, relieved to see an endless stretch of blackness and no sounds of feet.

He was here to kill the King. It was inconceivable to him that someone hadn’t figured it out yet, that he could be so close to their beloved King and none stirred. How could the palace be so peaceful and calm, how could they not know?

He licked his lips.

The King had been good to him. Had cared for him. Given him a home, and shown him true friendship. Many nights he’d been called upon by a restless King to tell tales of a Kingdom made of stars-- of the birth of the djinn and the power that they weaved with nary a thought.

They’d walked the gardens talking of government matters. The King had even given him exclusive access to Aria, knowing their friendship, and lifting the ban that no man could ever visit his daughter alone.

The King trusted him.

Jinni gripped his scimitar, it glowed an unearthly blue as a shaft of moonlight sliced across its steel face. The curved sharp blade intended to cut a man in half.

Did his friend deserve this fate?

As he stared at the blade, torn between his need for vengeance and his love for a man who’d never shown him anything but kindness, the door swung open on silent hinges. Nala stood poised at its entrance wearing nothing but a white guazy nightgown.

Her black hair spilled around her face and back, her green eyes were frantic and wide. Panic fluttered at the pulse in her throat and Jinni’s mouth went absolutely dry.

“Jinni,” she cried, flinging her arms around his neck. Nala kissed him, peppering his face and brows with her relief and joy. Tears ran warm down her cheeks.

Jinni frowned, wiping the tears up with his thumbs. “Nala, we could be caught.”

“Do not worry about the guards. All know not to bother us when the King is present.”

The moment he’d spotted her, he’d forgotten about the fact that the King was in this room, that right now he could be watching him embracing his wife. Thinking about it made a sick rush of bile race up his throat. He peeked over her shoulder

Hundreds of candles lit the room, incense swirled thick and musty, sparking heat through his blood. And then he smelled it, that sick odor of musk and sex. “You mated him again.”

He ground his molars.

She nodded. “It was the only way, I had to get him sated that he wouldn’t suspect.”

Jinni narrowed his eyes, taking her arms off his neck. “Suspect what? Where is he?” He swept into the room and immediately spotted the prone form of the King.

He looked small in the enormous four poster bed. The flickering lights danced across his tallow colored skin. A white silk sheet was the only thing he wore, it wrapped loosely around his hips and upper thighs.

King Abdullah’s eyes were closed as heavy snores fell from his lips. Beside the bed, upon the nightstand, a golden goblet stood. Jinni marched up to the cup and swiped it, sniffing its contents. The red wine smelled too sweet. Sickly even. He curled his nose with disgust and sat it down, splashing some of it over the side.

“You drugged him?”

She clasped her hands. “It was the only way.”

Jinni dropped the scimitar and grabbed his head, tugging on his hair. “I cannot kill him now.”

Her eyes grew more frantic. “Jinni, the beatings. It must end.”

Heart clenching at the reminder, he squeezed his eyes shut. “I will not ram a sword through his gut while he sleeps, Nala! I’m not a coward. I came here to fight him man to man. To tell him of my love for you, to demand justice for the beatings he’s inflected upon you.”

A sharp snore punctuated his statement and he growled.