Jinni's Wish (Kingdom, #4)

“Jinni,” Danika flew to his side. “You’re here.”


She was in her mortal form again, though still wearing her translucent dragonfly wings. Her big blue eyes were wide and expectant.

He rolled a shoulder, his movements awkward and stiff. He didn’t even need to breathe anymore, everything he did now… breathing, smiling, even talking, it was all an act. A way for him to try and retain some sort of humanity. But he wasn’t sure he cared much anymore.

“Where else would I be, starflower?” His words no longer carried the sting of sarcasm. “I’ve nowhere to be, and no one to care.”

“She’s coming. Your mate.”

He looked up at the sky, studying the constellations. The night was clear, with nary a cloud to mar the exceptional beauty of this strange land. Jinni liked trees, but a part of him would always yearn for the endless rolling dunes of his homeland.

“Don’t you care?”

Should he? He waited for a spark, some thread of longing to fill him, breathe new life into his soul to brush away the decay that’d crept like a slow cancer through him. But it was empty and hollow.

“No.” He looked at her.

“Perhaps I waited too long for you, Jinni.” She wrung her hands together, her spider silk dress sparkling with dew.

He wasn’t sure, but thought maybe there were tears in the corners of her eyes. “Why do you cry?”

She sniffed, knuckling the corner of her eye. “I never wanted us to be like this. I know you can never fully accept me, but I would be your friend. If you’d let me.”

He studied her rosy cheeks, the pale circles under her eyes. She did not look well. “I was once a god. I do not think you could ever understand.”

Danika laid her palm upon his chest, a static tingle rushed through her fingers. “You’ve still got magic. It’s not been fully stripped.”

Glancing at his wrists, he said, “I was feared, a slave to no one. I owned land, animals, chariots. Within me was life or death, now…” he looked back at her, “there is just death.”

Straightening her shoulders, Danika shook her head. “I lost my sister, I will not lose my boys.” There was an edge of steel to her words. “Your mate is coming, she is your perfect match.”

Jinni glanced back up at the sky and narrowed his gaze when he caught sight of the flaming orange tail of a streaking comet.

“You can either choose to accept and live, or you can fade into the ether and never know true joy. The choice is yours, I cannot force your happiness.” She shoved something into his lax hand.

It took a huge amount of concentrated effort to grasp onto something solid, all the energy in him had to roll into his hand, just to make it substantial enough to hold on.

The effect left him dizzy and breathless.

Jinni unfurled his hand, within it lay two silver chains. A purple pendant attached to each, one square shaped, one heart shaped. “The stone of veritas?” he inquired with a raised brow. “What truths do I need to discover?”

“The stone can do much more than tell truth. It can show truth. Place the amulet around your neck, I’ve infused enough magic into it to make you fully fleshed and solid once and only once. Choose your moment wisely.”

“Why do I have two stones?”

“The other is for her. When the time comes. You’ll know why.”

Jinni shook his head. “I cannot regain solid form again, Danika. Even if I could turn solid once, what would that matter? I cannot retain the form for long, cannot know the erotic caress of a woman. Especially not a mortal. This is senseless.”

She frowned, blonde brows drawn into a tight vee. “You, a genie. You should know magic cannot be contained, cannot be denied. I tell you there is a way, I’ve already provided it.”

A soft humming filled the woods.

“How? You tell me my mate comes, and maybe I believe you. But how am I to know her, hmm? She cannot even see me. I’m a ghost among mortals.”

Danika jerked, her eyes went flat black and then she spoke, but the words were not in her voice. They were deep, a man’s voice. “Look at me. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine…”

She was in a trance. Jinni cocked his head. Who did she speak to?

The first faint hum of curiosity stirred.

Suddenly he became aware of the absolute stillness of the woods and the whistle like shriek from the sky. He glanced up, and the comet was close. But he knew now, it was not a comet at all.

It was an airplane, and it was headed straight for them.

“Tristan Black,” Danika said, the name momentarily caught his attention and he glanced back at her. With a final shudder, she blinked. The black eyes returned to blue.