The horde of jinn raise a chatter, like the hissing and clicking of cockroaches, that rustles through the air. Nardukha silences them with a single uplifted hand.
“Why does it matter so much to you?” I ask. “What are you so afraid of?”
But even as I say it, the answer hits me like a dash of icy water.
Nardukha fears the Forbidden Wish.
It is the one wish he cannot stop from happening, because the magic behind it is older, older even than he. It is a power far greater than any the Shaitan could wield. And love, love makes people do stupid things, like sacrifice themselves for one another. Nardukha fears love because he fears it will lead to the Forbidden Wish and my freedom.
For the first time, I realize I might be strong enough to defeat him.
If I were to let Aladdin make the wish, giving his life in exchange for mine, perhaps I could defeat Nardukha then.
But I already know I won’t let that happen. The price is not one I am willing to pay.
“You have broken the first rule of the jinn,” rumbles the Shaitan, his voice dangerously low. He stops in front of me. “And you must be punished.”
Before I can say another word, his hand wraps around my arm.
“Let her go!” shouts Aladdin, grabbing Nardukha’s arm and hissing when the Shaitan’s skin burns his hand. Zhian steps forward and easily knocks Aladdin to the ground, and Aladdin’s head strikes the stone hard. Smirking, Zhian pulls the lamp away from the thief. The bond between Aladdin and me unravels, and I’m left suspended, neither confined to my lamp nor bonded to a new master, for my wish-granting power is meant only for humans, not jinn. At least that’s something to be grateful for. I don’t have to feel Zhian’s will invading my own.
“Zahra is mine, boy,” Nardukha says. “I created her. And in my benevolence, I allow you dismal creatures to borrow her. But as always, you grow greedy.”
“She doesn’t belong to you,” Aladdin declares, rising to his feet, his temple bleeding. “She belongs to no one.”
“You think you love her? You can’t even comprehend her.” Nardukha’s voice turns me cold. He eyes me, snakelike, his hand searing my skin. I dread the calculation in his black stare. Looking at him, I realize how futile any struggle is. He will win. He will always win. Against him, I have nothing more to wield than empty defiance. I will die today, and Aladdin will die with me. I have loved him to his death, just as I did you, Habiba. This has been the great lesson of my long life: To love is to destroy.
With a look of disgust, the Shaitan throws me down, and I land hard on my knees. I can tell Nardukha is growing bored. He is not one for long conversations. His punishment is always swift and absolute. I turn to Aladdin, my body going numb, my chest emptier than ever.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
He takes my face in his hands. “I’m not. I’m not sorry I met you. I’m not sorry I fell in love with you. I have no regrets, Zahra, and neither should you. I love you.”
A blast of pain cuts through me, and suddenly Aladdin and I are ripped apart and thrown wide by a burst of angry power from the Shaitan. He steps between us, bristling, and hauls me upright with a hand around my throat.
“Enough,” he growls, his honeyed voice turning to stone. “Before I rip you apart, I will in my mercy allow you to repent. You will show me your allegiance, and you will beg for forgiveness.”
His words begin to swell with power as he draws magic to himself, leaching it from stone and sky, from fire and flesh. Energy streams from the world and coils about him, and I tremble as he releases me, my hand going to my aching throat. I know what comes next. I have seen him draw in power like this before. I know what words he will speak even before he says them, but still they strike like a battle-axe, relentless and final.
“Kill the boy.”
With the words he unleashes the power he has knitted around himself, and the force of it washes over me in a wave. I sway on my feet, gasping out, “No.”
“Kill. Him.” Each word is a hammer against my temple, pounding me into submission, compelling me to obey. The compulsion is stronger even than a wish, for it is a different kind of magic, pulling on the bond between jinni and maker.
I whirl to Aladdin, eyes wide, my heart of smoke bursting into sharp fragments. Nardukha’s command drags at my every fiber. It whispers through my thoughts, muddling my mind.
Kill him.
Yes, that is what I want.
No! It’s not! You love him!
But I want to kill him.
No, you don’t! Get control of yourself, Zahra!
My name isn’t Zahra. I am Smoke-on-the-Wind, Curl-of-the-Tiger’s-Tail, Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away.
He loves you!
He is just a mortal. Just a boy, a moment in time that will soon pass.
His name is Aladdin.
I have known a thousand and one like him. I will know a thousand and one more. He is nothing.
He is everything.
“Zahra?”