What was his problem?
“They are not pets,” I spat.
I had forgotten who I was speaking to—what he was capable of.The air thinned, charged with danger, his gaze shifting only this time to Theo who I hadn’t realised, had taken a single step closer to me.
Dalkhan stiffened, his eyes flaring with anger.
I shot my hand out, stopping Theo before he could get any closer.
Dalkhan’s lips curved with satisfaction.His voice, low and intrusive, slithered into my mind like smoke.
“You obey so well.”
My stomach twisted, heat flooding my cheeks—with anger.With something else I refused to name.
He was enjoying this.The obedience.The restraint.The power.
Dalkhan straightened, his massive frame casting a shadow over us all.He gave one last glance toward the pit then walked away.
The moment he was out of sight we exhaled as one.
“Pets,” Theo muttered in disgust, running a hand through his hair.“What a cocky prick.”
Tavrik’s muscles were tight and his jaw clenched.I reached for him, brushing his arm, and he softened immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.“He’s doing this to get under my skin.I told you, he hates me.”
Tavrik shook his head.“This isn’t your fault.He’s just showing us that we have no power here.”
I nodded.The sun had begun its slow descent by the time we decided to leave.Mira led the way, our silence trailing behind us like a ghost, each lost in our own thoughts.
If Dalkhan wanted to intimidate us, he had succeeded.
I didn’t want to go tonight, but of course, I had no choice.
My fingers hovered over the books still scattered on my mattress.I hadn’t touched the one about Dalkhan; I already knew enough about him.Morethan enough.The other one snagged my attention instead, the one Mira had given me.
The Three Thrones.I placed it in my lap and flipped through the pages, scanning quickly before Mira would arrive.
His name stood out.Dalkhan, King of the Aradhi
I forced my eyes lower.Beneath his name were two others.
Nazirah, Queen of the Mayyah (The Seas)
Sahir, King of the Rammal (The Sands)
I kept reading, the words unfurling before me—whispers from another time, another world.
Before the Veil, the Jinn were boundless.There were no borders, no sealed gates.Their power flowed freely, unchallenged.But when the Veil was raised and the world of mortals tore itself away, the three thrones fractured beneath its weight.
I pulled the book closer, cradling it in my arms.
Nazirah, Queen of the Mayyah.
Her power embodied the sea’s silent depths.Unknowable.Shifting as the tides.Her strength stretched as endless as the abyss beneath the waves.Once, her oceans had lapped against the shores of every land.She had whispered through the tides—let her waters taste their earth.But when the Veil rose, the seas withdrew and were locked away.
No longer could she reach beyond the Jinn realm.She was contained.Bound to a world smaller than she had ever known.
