I look toward the bedchamber, where Iris is still asleep. No, not asleep. Unconscious, because of the way I brought her to my penthouse. Because of my life forcing its way into hers.
But there’s no turning back now. Kasim will never let things go, and not just because she’s a loose end. This is all my fault, and I have to keep Iris safe.
“I’ll manage,” I tell Sigurd. “I always do. Isn’t that what you said at the party?”
“That was before you found out the woman you love is being hunted by the worst possible person on the planet.”
He’s right, and we both know it. I don’t have anything to give him that would be true and also adequate. “It’s still true, Sigurd. It has to be. I wanted to give her choices, you know that. But at this point…”
“Choices are a luxury,” Sigurd murmurs. If there’s anyone who’d understand that, it’d be him. “All right, Rakan. Just be careful. Remember, you’re not fighting this battle alone.”
He ends the call, and just like that, I’m alone with the silence. I’m almost resentful of it. Sigurd’s questions frustrate me on a good day, but at least they anchor me. Without that, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
In some ways, I find myself jealous of Kasim. He has a clear path. Mine suddenly seems so obscured.
A reflection flickers in the window, and for a brief moment I could swear he’s right there in front of me.“You’re soft, Rakan,”he’d likely say, if he were here.“You always have been, since we were children.”
He wouldn’t be wrong. He never was, about me.
A sudden sound cuts through my thoughts. It’s small, almost a whimper, and it comes from the bedchamber.
By the time I reach the door, Iris is already sitting up. She presses her hands to her temples, as if in pain. I want nothing more than to help her through it, but she wouldn’t welcome my touch. Or anything from me, for that matter.
“What happened?” she croaks out, still dazed. “W-Where am I?”
I take a step forward, allowing her to see me. Her breath catches and her eyes widen. “You… Rakan!”
She stares at me, no doubt trying to make sense of it all. I give her the time she needs.
“You brought me here against my will,” she finally says. She isn’t shouting. That almost makes it worse.
I did, and there’s no way around it. I have no intention of pretending or lying to her. “Whether you were willing or not, you’re safe. That’s what matters right now.”
“Safe,” she repeats, as if she’s never heard the word before. “Rakan, from the very moment I met you, I stopped being safe.”
I suppress the urge to flinch. “That may well be, but I’m not the one trying to kill you. That much, at least, you have to accept.”
“I suppose that’s true,” she replies. “Because if you’d wanted me dead, you’d have killed me in the cafe. Or maybe in The Obsidian Lounge, once you had your fun.”
That comment is almost worse than knowing the danger she’s in. This is truly my doing, the hurt I caused her through my arrogance and stupidity. There’s nothing I want more than to fix it. “Iris, whatever you think happened—”
“I know precisely what happened.” She cuts me off. “And the way I see it, you’re using someone’s tragedy to get me right where you want me. To control me. Because that’s what you do, don’t you, Mr. al-Rashid? You play games with people’s lives and revel in their struggles.”
I don’t answer immediately. There’s something almost cruel about the distance between what she believes and what’s actually true, and part of me wants to close it.
I want to tell her plainly what she is to me, what all of this actually means. But the full truth doesn’t stop there. It goes further back, into territory I haven’t let myself speak of out loud to anyone. She’s already carrying enough tonight without me adding my grief to it.
“I must be so small to you. So pathetic.” Something shifts in her face, and for a moment it isn’t anger. “Even that harpy and her daughter. I bet their lives, their dreams, their pain… None of it matters to you. You can just wave your hand and the world itself obeys.”
If only it were that easy. But as any djinn would know, the wishes that matter can’t be so easily fulfilled.
“If that’s what you think about me, Iris, I don’t blame you,” I tell her. “But the djinn who hunts you is infinitely more dangerous. And there are wards here, shields that can protect you. Curse me if you want, but you’re not going anywhere.”
Iris opens her mouth, perhaps intending to protest further. But there’s no reason to prolong this confrontation. I step back from the doorway. “That being said, you don’t need to worry about being disturbed. You’ll have everything you need. I’ll leave you alone.”
She stares at me. Whatever she was going to say next, she’s forgotten it. I don’t fill the silence for her. I’ve taken enough from her tonight already.
With a thought, I will myself away from the penthouse and leave her to it.
