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Man, I could stare at those babies allday.
Stop! Stop it girl. Get a hold of yourself. Geez.What was that? Like ten seconds? I wasn’t doing very well with forgetting about my whole genie-lustissue.
Zand cared about me? Sure, I totally understood the protective thing, going crazy on anyone if they hurt Ali, like a lion with her cubs. A man who would fight to protect me was sexy as hell. I’ll be damned if this news didn’t make him even more attractive tome.
Dahvi smiled as if he knew the effect his words had on me. “My brother is very passionate. It’s the Ifrit fire burning in hisveins.”
“Ifrit?” I said, tilting myhead.
“It is a type of djinn,” said Dahvi. “Their power stems from fire. It expresses itself as passion, love, loyalty, andsensuality.”
That sure explained a lot about Zand. “And Kaza, what ishe?”
“He is a Shaitan,” said Dahvi. “His magic wields the power of air, and they are the embodiment of lighthearted, mischievous, carefree andfun.”
Yep. That wrapped up Kaza in a nutshell. Nothing, not even a wound from a tiger, dented hisstride.
Most of all I was intrigued about Dahvi. Like me, he had a sensitive and compassionate side to him. “What type of djinn areyou?”
“I am a Marid,” said Dahvi, lifting me over a short iron fence. “Our element is water. We represent emotion, wisdom, patience andintuition.”
Ahhh.Totally suitedDahvi.
Something about having them with me made me feel protected and safe. That was a strange thing for me. I’d always been the one to protect and look after Ali. No one watched out for me. This whole genie thing would take some getting usedto.
Filled with this new knowledge, we turned another corner of our journey. My foot struck something, accidentally knocking it over. Candles and bowls flew to the ground, spilling coins, fruit, and candy onto thesand.
Gods.
We were at the wall haunted by thedjinn.
I froze. Last night, it hadn’t blessed my wish for a good mission. Two guesses as to why I’d been caught by the guard. Had I upset the djinn? Knocking over its offerings just now was bound to piss it off even more. What would it do to me in return? Make my eyeballs explode out of myhead?
Dahvi ran his hand along the cracked wall decorated in a floral motif. “A djinn dwells here. It is trapped bymagic.”
I didn’t want to hear anymore. My feet carried me out of there. No more curses or bad luck for me. I’d had enough for oneday.
But as I turned the corner into the marketplace, instinct flared in my belly, a sign I always had when trouble wasafoot.
Dahvi bumped into the back of me. “Master?”
“Shhh.” Prickles spread higher into my upper intestines as I scanned the immediatearea.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Patrons dawdling along the aisles carrying baskets. Merchants cooking meals on hotplates. The baker stacking more bread on his pile. The butcher wrapping up meat in paper and handing it to acustomer.
Most of the traders here barely scraped by, so I stole from the wealthier markets across town. Plus, it never paid to pinch so close to home. People knew where I lived. Taking from these people would be stupid and asking for trouble. In the slums, the merchants in this market always looked out for me, giving me whatever they could spare. But that was onlyoccasionally.
Someone grabbed me by thearm.
My heart exploded, and I let out a nervoussqueal.
“Azar, it’s just me,” said Farhad, the merchant selling fezhats.
I placed a hand on my chest to calm my raging heartbeat. “Farhad, you scared me half todeath.”
Dahvi stepped protectively betweenus.
Farhad squinted at the genie, assessing Dahvi. The merchant released his hold on me. “What trouble are you in, Azar? The sultan’s guards have been asking around aboutyou.”
