Wish For Me (The Djinn Order #1) (13 page)

“So you are the human with whom Irving has become so enraptured with,” Ada said, her accent more elegant than Irving or Edwin’s.

I snorted. “Enraptured? Enamored? You all have it wrong. A few weeks ago, Irving didn’t even like me. He tolerates me at best.” I decided not to tell her about all the kissing we’d been doing. That would have blown my entire case.

“Well, how do you feel about Irving? You cannot tell me that you don’t find him incredibly handsome and charming. He is one of the most sought after males of our kind.”

Of course he was. He was handsome, unattached, and a freaking prince. “Well, of course I find him good-looking. Sexy, even.” I should have stopped there, but I didn’t. “His smile is gorgeous, his abs make me drool, and his butt? Now that’s official. Never seen anyone wear a pair of leather pants like him.” Ada stared at me for a moment, and I thought maybe I’d overstepped and insulted her somehow and my death was all but certain. But then she burst out laughing, which caught the attention of Irving and Edwin.

“What is so funny?” Irving asked as he pushed Edwin away from him and rearranged his duster. I smiled, sure that Ada would tell him nothing and my secret would be safe. I was wrong.

“Glory was just telling me how much she enjoys staring at your ass. She believes it to be one of the best she has ever seen.” Sharing a look, Ada and Edwin cracked up while I blushed a million shades of red.

“Is that so?” Irving asked, fighting back a smile of his own. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. If it had just been the two of us, I would have confessed and given him a long list of adjectives to describe how great his ass was. But all I was at that moment was mortified. I prayed that the Sultan hadn’t heard any of it.

“I think the moment has arrived for me to tell Glory who you really are before she turns any more red,” Irving said, still battling with his grin. “Glory, allow me to introduce you to Edwin and Ada Amir. They are my cousins, and the crown prince and first princess of Shrinelyn.”

What? Damn.
I let my eyes flutter close in shame. I’d been talking man butts with the princess. “I am so sorry. I had no idea, Your Highnesses
.
”

Edwin waved a hand in my direction. “Do not be sorry, Glory. I am sure you are normally a quite charming girl and it is only Irving’s vile influence that has steered you wrong.”

That earned him another punch from Irving and the boys were at it again. At least now it made sense why Irving and Edwin thought it was okay to roughhouse in the Sultan’s assembly chamber like a couple of street urchins. They were the Sultan’s children—Irving, his nephew—and from what I could surmise from the twinkle in the Sultan’s violet eye, he cared for them with all of his heart. I figured, for a family of royals, it wasn’t often they could just relax and be themselves. Or put each other in chokeholds and full nelsons. Maybe that was why no one else was in the chamber. Not a guard, not a servant, no one. The Amirs just wanted to be
themselves
.

Ada, clearly over her brother and cousin’s antics, left me and walked over to embrace her father. “Sit down, Papa, and stop scrying Glory.” She helped her father back into his chair and removed the book the Sultan had been reaching for from a high shelf. Then she waved me over to them. I was reluctant, but I went because I wanted to know what she had meant by
scrying
.

“Papa is a scryer,” she explained as she offered me the spun gold chair she’d moved next to the Sultan. I didn’t want to insult her further by saying no, so I sat and pretended that I wasn’t totally out of my element. “He is only one of two living scryers who can read souls.”

Read
souls?
“How does that work?” I asked.

The Sultan tapped his golden eye lid with a long, crooked finger. “Every being gives off an emanation, or aura,” he said. “Emanations tell a story and often times, they tell me more than most know about themselves. But you, Glory, are quite difficult to read.” He tilted his head in observation. “Someone is blocking me from seeing.”

“Is this true, Papa?” Ada stared at me like I was a freak of nature. Or something she might have to kill later. “Has this ever happened before?”

“Many times,” he replied. His marble eye rolled as the Sultan continued to scry me. “But this is the first time that I have not been able to break through. The barrier is vast and true. Whoever set the protection in place is quite powerful.”

“More powerful than you, Papa?” Ada questioned with just a drop of venom in her tone.

“Oh, yes. Much more powerful.”

I didn’t know what was going on, but sitting there silent seemed stupid since they were talking about me. “Could it be a Djinn, Your Grandness?”

“Perhaps,” the Sultan said. “Or a
sahera
.”

“A sahera?” I said at the same time Ada hissed, “
Hunters.
I should have known.”

Now I was really confused. “Huh? What’s a sahera?”

“A sahera is a witch,” the Sultan said. “They often work closely with hunters to locate and destroy us, as we are their one common enemy. There are even saheras who have joined the League of the Black Cloud.”

“What is this I hear about saheras?” Irving said, walking up with Edwin.

“A sahera placed a protection on Glory,” Ada snapped. “Which confirms that the hunters know you are in her service. I told you centuries ago that your Chronolier should be kept in the vault with ours and not introduced into the human realm. But no one would listen to me and now see what has happened! You’ve been discovered!”

“Calm down, my Ada,” the Sultan said. “We do not know that. I said it was possible a sahera did this. But a Djinn could also be the culprit.”

“Who have you told about me?” Irving asked, looking down at me. I expected to find accusation in his eyes, but it wasn’t there. He simply wanted to know what we were dealing with.

“I haven’t told anyone. Honestly, who would believe me?”

“You would be surprised,” the Sultan chuckled. “Nevertheless, it does concern me. My nephew is a prince of Shrinelyn, an Amir. Our enemies would kill you without hesitation to have his Chronolier in their possession.”

Oh, they’d proven that for sure. I swallowed and patted my bag to make sure I still had the Chronolier with me. “Well, I’ll be sure to never let it out of my sight again. And I want you to know, Your Grandness, that they
would
have to kill me to take Irving’s Chronolier. I’ll protect it with my life.”

Everyone grinned except for Ada. “Well, that is comforting to hear. And please, call me Kasam.” Ada sucked in a breath, but said nothing. I figured it wasn’t everyday that the Sultan allowed someone to call him by what I assumed was his name.

I nodded. “Okay…Kasam.”

“Good, good.” He patted my hand, then nodded at Ada. “Please show Glory the vault while I steal a few moments with Edwin and Irving. There are important matters I must discuss with them.” The guys gave each other questioning glances, but said nothing. It appeared no one questioned the Sultan when he issued orders, and with a jerk of her head, Ada gave the command for me to follow her.

I rose and moved to step around Irving. “Don’t look at my ass,” he muttered just loud enough for me to hear. I tried to be embarrassed, but all I could do was smile at this point.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I replied, and made sure to pinch his butt as I walked by. I heard him cough to cover his laugh, and I giggled as I ran to catch up with Ada, who waited for me at the chamber doors.

The second the guards pulled the doors closed behind us, she let out a string of curses a mile long. They were in another language I stood no chance of ever being able to comprehend, but I knew cursing when I heard it.

“They leave me out. They always leave me out!” That, she said in perfect English.

“Leave you out of what?” I asked.

Ada eyed the guards stationed at the doors, then gestured for me to follow her. She led me down the fancy hall and around a corner into another. That’s when she answered my question.

“The politics of Shrinelyn,” she replied, stopping in front of a floor-to-ceiling painting of a stunning woman with midnight hair down to her waist, wearing purple and silver robes and the most exquisite jewels. At a second glance, I realized the woman was Ada, all dolled up. But I didn’t have a chance to comment on it.

“I am the first princess, the daughter of Kasam Amir, Sultan of Shrinelyn. I should be included in all discussions concerning our realm, yet papa always sends me away. It is so frustrating!”

“I’m sure he only does it to protect you, Your Highness,” I said. “Fathers are like that with their daughters. It just means he loves you.”

Ada’s expression darkened. “You do not know what you are talking about, Glory St. Pierre. Not at all. If you knew all the horrible things I’d done in the name of the Sultan, you would not think so highly of his love for me.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. I waited for Ada to make the next move.

“For some reason, the Sultan trusts you.”

I fidgeted with the braided bracelet I was wearing. “What makes you say that?”

Ada stuck me with a hard stare. “To call the Sultan of Shrinelyn by his name is an honor, Glory. One few have ever been afforded. I hope you understand that.”

“I do, Your Highness.”

The princess cocked her head. Her eyes searched, looking for something that had nothing to do with my physical appearance. “What is your secret, Glory St. Pierre?” Obviously, the penchant for using my full name ran in the family.

“I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness. What secret?”

“The one you and Irving are keeping from us. Papa could sense it, even if he would not speak of it.”

“I don’t know what—” Then it hit me right between the eyes. “Oh,
that
.”

Ada raised a brow. “What?”

I went ahead and just showed her. One, because I was scared of her. Two, because I was
terrified
of her. I imagined I was wearing an 18th-century ball gown like one Marie Antoinette would have worn at one of her infamous parties. When Ada’s eyes widened with shock, I knew my glamour had worked.

“Now I understand why Irving brought you here,” she said. “He knows Shrinelyn is the safest place for an illusionist.” With that, Ada turned and flounced off.

“I don’t understand something, though, Your Highness,” I said, trailing behind her. “Why was Irving so upset when I wished for glamour?”

“I find it difficult to believe that Irving did not inform you of the history between the League and what are called illusionists.”

“Not really. I mean, he said they would come after me, but it seems a meet and greet with the hunters is inevitable anyway.”

Ada tossed a dark laugh over her shoulder. “You speak in such a casual manner, as though you do not find the League to be a true threat.”

“Oh, I do,” I said. “I was the one who had to sop up Irving’s blood when they shot him. I know what they’re capable of. But he’s convinced they will turn me against the Djinn kind and I don’t know what made him think that. It’s not going to happen, though. Bet your money on that.”

“Your confidence is admirable,” the princess said. “But I must make you aware of the very real possibilities. The League is after Irving, but once they learn of your power, they will add you to their list of those that must be conquered. It is their way, and you must be warned. Those whom the League of the Black Cloud cannot turn to their cause, they kill.”

“Kill!?”

“Yes. The League would do anything to strengthen their numbers, including eliminating illusionists and other humans with magic to keep them out of our clutches. Very few have had a Djinn looking out for their best interests as you do. But I figure, when they find out whom your Djinn is, they will not even bother trying to convert you. I believe Irving feels as I do and he brought you here to save you from that.”

But I didn’t completely agree. “As much as we’d all like to think Irving is that chivalrous, he is also looking out for his own ass. He’s an Amir, a freaking prince of Shrinelyn, and the hunters know that. They want his Chronolier and since I’m the master of it, wherever I go, it goes. Irving brought me here for his sake as much as mine.”

Ada stopped and swerved to meet me face-to-face. “Did you not hear a word I said in the assembly chamber? Irving is the only Amir who grants wishes. As you said yourself, he is a prince of Shrinelyn, therefore he is a royal who knows the ins and outs of this kingdom better than anyone. He is a confidant to our Sultan and the best friend to the crown prince. His magic is powerful and his mind is filled to the brim with steel creations that could bring an entire realm to its knees. The hunters would slaughter every Djinn alive to be his master. So no, Irving did not bring you here to save himself. He brought you here to save
Shrinelyn
.”

I nodded, feeling utterly pathetic for not having taken the time to come to that conclusion on my own. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. You’re right. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I am not offended,” Ada huffed. “I only wish that humans were not so closed-minded and self-centered. But I understand that you cannot help it and we are partially to blame.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because we exist to grant your every desire. How can we not expect you to be greedy and selfish when we make all of your wishes come true?”

She made a damn good point and there was nothing that I could say to counter it.

We made our way to the vault in silence. It was situated down yet another corridor and up a set of winding marble steps. After going through three sets of locked doors, we arrived. I smiled when I saw the door to the vault as it was exactly what I had expected it to be. Huge. Solid. And made of gold.

However, I was surprised that there were no guards. If any place needed protection, I would think the vault would. But then Ada started chanting and I realized that the vault
didn’t
need any guards. Magic was protecting it.

Ada’s foreign words caused the door to click. A dial near the handle popped out and spun. When it stopped, a vial with a steel spike on the end appeared, and without hesitation, Ada reached out and pricked her finger on the spike. Her blood filled the vial, kind of like what mine had done in Irving’s verity meter. I guessed that the princess’ blood was the actual key to the vault because after another click, the gold door slowly swung open.