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Cairo sighed, a gust of heated air that spoke of deserts and ancient magic. “Very well,” he said, his voice resigned. “But you must prepare yourselves. The story involves forbidden love, vengeance, and powers beyond your wildest comprehension.”
“Typical,” Riker murmured, crossing his massive arms. “Always the dramatic ones.”
“Shush, you,” Helen scolded with a flick of her wrist. “I want to hear this.”
Elijah passed the joint to Helen, who accepted it with the grace of royalty.
“Better be good,” I warned, hoping my humor masked the unease brewing in my gut. Because when a djinni talks about wild powers and revenge, you listen—and you pray you’re not about to become part of the ash heap of history.
Cairo shifted uncomfortably, the air around him shimmering. “I swear on the ancient sands that birthed me, I am not behind these fires.”
“Then who is?” I pressed, leaning forward.
“A fire djinni, King Zayn of the Djinn to be precise, and he delights in chaos.”
“King, huh?” I quirked an eyebrow. “So we’re dealing with supernatural royalty now. Peachy.”
“Keep talking, Cairo,” Niko growled from the corner, his wolfish instincts clearly picking up on the urgency.
Cairo’s gaze burned into mine, a silent plea for understanding. “Zayn is... capricious, vindictive. He revels in the screams of those he consumes by fire, their agony a symphony to his twisted soul.”
“Charming,” Riker muttered. “Sounds like my kind of guy.”
“Riker, if you don’t zip it...” Helen warned.
“Dude, go on,” Elijah said, the smoke from his joint curling around him like a protective barrier.
“Zayn’s wrath knows no bounds,” Cairo continued. “He would incinerate a village for a perceived slight or torch a city just to marvel at the destruction. His favorite pastime is turning hope into despair—with flames so intense they could melt the very stones of the earth.”
“Great,” I sighed, tapping a finger against my chin. “We’ve got ourselves a pyromaniac king with a god complex. And here I thought Tuesday was going to be bingo night with the poltergeists.”
I leaned back against the wall. If what Cairo said was true, then Zayn was a walking wildfire with a taste for chaos and no regard for human life. The image of my city in flames flickered through my mind. “You’re saying this Zayn character could torch this whole town just because he got up on the wrong side of his sultan’s bed?”
“Quite so,” Cairo replied, his eyes darkening with the gravity of the situation. “He is not bound by the moralities that govern mortals.”
“Fantastic.” I exhaled a laugh that held no humor.
Cairo shifted uncomfortably, his hands clasped together as if they could contain the storm raging within him. “There’s more you should know,” he said quietly, casting a glance at the rest of my mismatched crew.
“Tell us,” Riker prodded.
“Zayn has a…a feud with me.” Cairo paced the length of my office, his hands clenching and unclenching as if grasping at invisible straws.
“Okay, Cairo,” I said, folding my arms. “You’ve got our undivided attention. No more smoke and mirrors. What sparked this whole feud with King Zayn?”
“Love,” he began, halting mid-pace to face us. “It’s always love that starts wars, isn’t it?” His British accent carried a sorrow that frayed his voice. “I committed the unforgivable sin—I fell for a human.”
“Ah, the classic tale of boy meets girl, boy turns out to be a supernatural entity, chaos ensues,” Helen said.
“Exactly.” Cairo’s lips twitched despite himself. “But in the world of djinn, such things are forbidden. When Zayn discovered Poppy and me, he saw it not just as a violation of our laws, but as a personal affront to his sovereignty.”
“Guy’s got a bigger ego than Niko’s bank account,” Elijah interjected, earning a sharp look from the werewolf billionaire.
“Zayn demanded retribution. He wanted me to surrender myself and leave Poppy to her fate among humans—alone and memory-wiped,” Cairo’s voice cracked, and the temperature in the room rose a few degrees.
“Memory-wiped?” Riker asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s cold.”
“Indeed. But I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.” Cairo’s eyes blazed with defiance. “So we fled.”
