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Kadin
EVERYONE WAS QUIET IN the early morning dawn, still waking up after spending the night in a small inn on the way to Baradaan.
I drove the wagon while everyone else lounged in the back. It didn’t take much focus. The animals plodded along, following the road, and the reins weren’t even necessary except for at the occasional crossroad.
I slipped the small lamp from my bag and held it in the palm of my hand. The green glass was smooth and thick, surprisingly sturdy and not nearly as fragile as it had seemed from a distance. I couldn’t help but wonder what this Jinni wanted with it.
Carefully, I re-wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it back in my bag for safekeeping. We might never know.
All that mattered now was that we’d finally found a Jinni to bear witness; Prince Dev was about to receive the justice he deserved.
All these years he’d gone about his father’s kingdom doing whatever he wanted and getting away with it. I couldn’t wait to see that smirk wiped off his face. No doubt, Naveed felt the same.
When I pulled my gaze from the road again to glance back at my friend in the bed of the wagon, my eyes snagged on Princess Arie instead.
I hadn’t found a way to bring up her secret again. Though I’d made Bosh return her crown the moment I’d pieced together that his latest haul belonged to her, I’d pretended not to notice the way she clutched the bag to her ever since.
The whole situation frustrated me more than I wanted to let on, because I should’ve guessed. Of course she talked like a queen—she was destined to become one. But at the same time, it didn’t fit the Arie I’d come to know. She was so normal. Not at all like the ruling class I’d known my whole life, who flaunted their Gifts and authority. She was just... Arie.
I wasn’t familiar with her kingdom of Hodafez. All I knew was what I could glean from a map. It was almost three days east of Baradaan, where I’d grown up. Where we were headed now.
I’d visited many kingdoms in my travels with Naveed. He’d been my closest friend since we were children running around naked in the streets. When we first left Baradaan, it was just the two of us. We’d added to our crew along the way until we grew to the size we were today. But I’d never been to Hodafez. And I hadn’t been home either. Not since I’d left four years ago.
Bosh’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Should we call on the Jinni soon or wait until we arrive?”
Naveed signed to me and the others. Do we even know how he travels? Does he need time to reach us?
I translated for Arie—and Bosh, who was still new to us and learning to sign. “Does our little Jinni-hunter know?” I asked Arie, though I suspected even more now that this title was a ruse.
She pulled out the Jinni’s talisman and we all stared at the little gray pebble like it might come to life. She shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
“We’ve already traveled a full day and then some,” Ryo spoke up. “What if they can only do that little zip from one place to another if they’re close by? We’d better call him now so he has time to catch up.”
Illium chimed in. “What if it’s nothing to him? You want to risk pissing off a Jinni? Be my guest, but let me off first.”
“Yeah,” Daichi agreed, standing even though the wagon hadn’t stopped. “Let me off too.”
“Don’t worry,” Bosh said from the opposite corner. “We will. No one wants to see you wet your pants when he shows up.”
Daichi lunged for him, and both Naveed and Illium held him back while Ryo laughed with Bosh. Arie shifted to another hay bale to avoid getting run over.
“Only one way to find out,” I said, and they quieted, turning to face me. I gestured for Arie to go ahead. “If it takes him a while to arrive, then we’ll know.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Illium asked, but Arie had already wiped her thumb across it, ever so gently.
The horse carried on down the road, but we all stayed frozen in a semi-circle, staring down at the pebble in silence. When nothing happened, I opened my mouth to suggest she try rubbing it a little harder.
I hadn’t even begun when Gideon appeared. He sat at the back of the wagon on one of the hay bales, plucking a stray piece of hay off his trousers. “You certainly choose unique places to meet.”
Daichi yelped and jumped a whole hay bale over before catching himself and growing still. Illium’s skin had gone ashen. As the oldest member of our group, he had grown up with stories of the Jinn terrorizing humans. Despite nothing really happening over the last few decades, he hadn’t forgotten, and had made sure we didn’t either, but I leaned forward, more curious than afraid.
“Thank you for coming,” I began, straddling the wooden divider between the driver’s bench and the bed of the wagon to face him, still holding the reins. It was uncomfortable, but I tried not to let it show on my face.
“Of course.” Gideon gave up removing the straw and placed his hands casually on the elegant cane he carried but didn’t seem to need. “It is a strange place to bear witness, but I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”
“Of course,” I imitated his polite manners, swallowing. His piercing eyes and my complete lack of knowledge about his abilities brought Illium’s stories back to me. “We’ll arrive in Baradaan around dinner time tonight. Since we—Arie—has your word you’ll bear witness for a full day, I was thinking we could officially start tomorrow morning?”
“Why, praytell, did you summon me now then?” Gideon said, tapping his cane on the wagon bed, drawing my attention to the elegant walking stick . Did he have a limp? I hadn’t noticed one. And if he did, why didn’t he cure it? Couldn’t the Jinni cure anything? Questions plagued me, but I didn’t dare ask and risk offense.
“Our sincerest apologies,” Arie answered before I could. “We thought you’d appreciate knowing the plan.” Such a diplomatic response. I tried not to smile.
Gideon softened a bit, though his features remained solemn. “I do appreciate that, thank you.”
“Would you like to stay and have dinner with us?” Bosh chimed in, fearlessly. “If you’re traveling all alone, it might be nice to have company.” I glanced at the others, especially Daichi and Illium, both of whom sat stiff and anxious, watching Gideon like he might explode any moment.
“Only if you want to,” Ryo interjected. Naveed nodded vigorously. I held my breath and waited as Gideon considered us.
Bosh would get an earful from me later. He hadn’t been around for some of Illium’s more chilling stories. Though I didn’t necessarily believe everything I’d learned about the Jinn, I knew there was some truth to the rumors. Most of us had grown up on the legends of the Jinn before they’d withdrawn to their lands.
They were enough to terrify a teenager, much less a young child who’d just wanted a bedtime story. I’d spent more than one late night lying awake in fear that a Jinni might come snatch me from my bed. Bosh blinked in confusion at the men’s glares. As an orphan, he must have missed those bedtime stories.
The worst of it was, I didn’t know how to separate fact from what parents told children in order to scare them into obedience. When a Jinni appeared, were they really coming from a place outside of our realm? That seemed a bit far-fetched. But then again, so was the whole appearing and disappearing, and that had turned out to be true. What about the other myths? Could the Jinni really steal your soul?
Gideon’s eyes snapped to me at the thought. Had he—no. No, it couldn’t be. Had he heard me? Quickly I sorted through the stories, feeling a distant memory of a Jinni who could read minds—did Gideon have this Gift? Immediately I threw up mental shields, imagining walls twice as high as a castle and ten times as thick, in the feeble hopes I might be able to protect myself.
Gideon tilted his head slightly and blinked at me, before returning his gaze to Arie, who was speaking to him.
“I’m guessing a traveler so far from home must be lonely,” she said. “I’m new to this group myself, but they’re mostly good company. Besides Kadin, of course,” she teased. Gideon didn’t react. “Anyway, you’re very welcome to join us, right Kadin?”
Normally I’d have a good comeback, but the fact that she and Bosh had just invited one of the Jinn to spend the evening with us—not to mention the whole day tomorrow—I could barely think, much less formulate an excuse.
There was no way he’d say yes. But now that they’d offered, I couldn’t say otherwise. “It’s up to you,” I told him after an awkward pause. “It won’t be anything fancy. Just dinner at the Red Rose, one of the nicer inns in town.” One of the only inns in town, to be specific. Baradaan’s two villages flanking the castle were both small. That was part of why Prince Dev had found a way to personally terrorize nearly every single villager. It was also why it’d be the perfect place for a Jinni to bear witness to the crimes of the princes. In a town that size, there was no way he could miss it.
Gideon sat more still than any human being, thinking. Then he surprised me by saying four words I’d never expected to hear. “Very well.” He nodded to Arie, Bosh, and the rest of us. “I accept.”