Is there anything you wish?
Rakan asked me that, the first time he ever spoke to me. He said it once, and never again. I don’t actually remember what I answered, but I knew then, like I do now, that wishes are not a thing djinn take lightly.
But Casey isn’t a djinn.
I stare at him and swallow around the sudden knot in my throat. He’s still smiling, a tiny quirk of his lips that seems ripped out of a customer service manual. It’s just as real as my constant attempts to pretend Rakan means nothing to me.
Rakan isn’t here right now. It’s just me and this man who claims to belong to Rakan’s staff. So I make myself smile again and shake my head. “I’m good, thanks. Have a good night.”
I know that getting rid of him can’t possibly be that easy. But my stomach still drops when he takes a step toward me. “Are you certain, Miss?” he insists. “There’s nothing the al-Rashid family can’t get you.”
Alarm bells are screaming at the back of my mind. Sweat pools between my shoulder blades, making my borrowed shirt stick to my skin. I step away, no longer able to maintain a facade of calm.
Casey’s smile widens into something unnatural. “Humans always wish for something. There must be at least one small thing tonight.”
Humans.That’s not a word someone uses about themselves. Not if they’re as human as Casey is supposed to be. I have no idea who this guy is, but I don’t want him anywhere near me. “N-Not really,” I stammer. “I’m pretty comfortable. You even brought me fruit. What more could I want?”
“Plenty of things, Miss. I could provide all of them, if you wanted me to.”
He tilts his head at me, eyeing me like one would a very interesting experiment. “Then again,” he says, his voice still the same mild tone it’s been all night, “so could my brother. I suppose that’s the real reason you’re in this apartment. Isn’t that right, Iris Beckett?”
My brother. Just like that, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. There’s only one person this can possibly be, and inmy heart, I’ve known it for some time. Maybe, from the very moment he entered the kitchen.
I blink, and in an instant, Casey is gone. The man who takes his place is taller, and obviously inhuman. He has Rakan’s height, Rakan’s bones, and Rakan’s dark skin. The same obsidian horns curl over his head. But everything else is wrong. Blue runs through his throat where Rakan runs gold. He lets out a breath, and a gust of cold air rushes over me.
I don’t make a sound. I don’t move. Goosebumps erupt over my skin, my clothes doing very little to shield me from the low temperature. Not that it matters. I have a feeling that even wearing a damn parka couldn’t protect me now.
And yet… He hasn’t attacked me. He’s just standing there, still looking at me. Still smiling. That means something. It has to.
I force myself to contain my panic and meet his glowing, blue eyes. “You—” My voice cracks on the first try. I force it out on the second. “You’re the one who killed the harpy. The murderer.”
He hums thoughtfully, sounding almost surprised by the way I’ve catalogued him. “Is that what I am? I disagree. I’d rather call myself a hunter. And a judge.”
His words shouldn’t surprise me, but somehow, they do. So many people hurt others, genuinely feeling they can be judge, jury, and executioner at the same time. Monsters and humans are no different in that respect. But it’s just hard to grasp why someone would burn another person in an alley and deem it just.
“You have a very unique way of enacting justice, Mr. al-Rashid.”
Rakan’s brother huffs. “The punishment should always befit the crime that was committed. It’s only logical.”
I almost can’t believe we’re standing here, arguing about the ethics of murder. But as long as I can keep him talking, maybe I can stall? Maybe I can find some kind of way to defend myself?
I think about the broken taser in my apartment and narrowly manage not to flinch. There’s a knife block on the other side of the counter, but what in God’s name would a knife do to a djinn? With my luck, I’d only end up stabbing myself with it.
“I take it the harpy’s crime was making a wish,” I force myself to continue. “Where’s the harm in that?”
Rakan’s brother lets out a cold laugh. “Oh, Iris. If there’s no harm in it, why won’t you make one?”
For the first time since he entered the kitchen, there’s something truly dangerous in his voice. I stumble back, barely able to stay upright now. My back hits the wall and there’s nothing else to do. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to run, and no weapon I can use.
Rakan’s brother practically glides over to me, cold smoke rising around his feet. It’s the same smoke that had invaded the alley, the day of the murder. “Come on, Iris. You know you want to. It’d be so easy. Just say it. I wish…”
I bite my lower lip and stubbornly stay silent. He leans in, so close to me I can feel his breath on my face. “I can feel your wishes bubbling under my skin. How about… Freedom? I can understand that better than most, you know. I can give it to you. I can free you from this pretty cage Rakan has you trapped in.”
I bet he could. He can free me from life itself, and it’d only take him a second. But he hasn’t, and I have a feeling I know exactly why.
“There’s nothing you can give me that I want,” I blurt out, hoping I’m right.
Rakan’s brother recoils, as if I’ve just struck him. For the longest time, he just stares at me, taking me in from head to toe. At that moment, he reminds me so much of Rakan it hurts. That look… It’s exactly the same one Rakan gave me in the coffee shop.
