Ari shrugged. “Why would I be mad at you?” she asked lazily, not meeting his eyes.
Charlie groaned.
“You’re mad at me. You’re definitely mad at me.”
“I’m not,” she lied.
He took a step toward her. “Ari, she asked me last minute and you hadn’t, so …”
“I hadn’t so you went with Macy. That’s fair.”
“You don’t sound like you think it’s fair.”
“Of course it’s fair. I didn’t ask you so of course you’d look for another girl. We’re interchangeable.”
“Interchangeable?”
Charlie looked horrified. “No, no, Ari, no, you’re the one who didn’t ask me.”
She scowled up at him.
“Did I ask anyone else?”
His face dropped.
“Well, no.”
“And I could have.
Bobby, AJ, and Stevie B. all asked me to ask them.”
Now it was Charlie’s turn to scowl. “They did?”
“Mmm-hmm. And I said no.”
Her best friend heaved a massive sigh. “I knew as soon as I turned up at the dance last night that I’d made a mistake. I’m really sorry, Ari.”
When he gave her those puppy dog eyes, she found it difficult to resist. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I forgive you.”
Charlie grinned with relief. “Good, because I need to ask you something.” He got down on one knee and it was then Ari realized he’d been hiding one hand behind his back.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Charlie …” If this was a marriage proposal, she was going to die. He did know they were only kids, right? And that it was kind of illegal?
He pulled his hand from behind his back and offered her a corsage in a clear box. “Ari Johnson, will you go to homecoming with me?”
Laughter burst from between her lips as she stared down at him on his bended knee. “Homecoming is next semester. It’s months away.”
“I know. I’m planning ahead so Bobby, AJ, and Stevie B. can’t beat me to the punch. So will you?” he grimaced. “A quick yes or no will work … My knee is kind of on a stone.”
Laughing hard, Ari reached out and took the corsage. She gripped Charlie’s arm and urged him to get up. “Yes, I’ll go to homecoming with you.”
Grinning a little goofily now, Charlie gripped the edges of her doorway and leaned close to her.
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
His expression suddenly changed as his eyes roamed her face. The smile left his lips and regret flashed in his dark gaze. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Ari. I promise I’ll never hurt you, or let anyone else hurt you, ever again.”
It was not a promise Charlie had managed to keep.
The hiss of flames brought Ari’s head out of her memories and into the room. Charlie stepped out of the Peripatos beside the bottom of her bed. He was wearing faded jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt, and a lot more jewelry than he used to. He wore two silver rings, a couple of copper bracelets, and a number of chains bearing metal talismans. It was all to fuel his power. The jewel that fueled most of his power must be on him if he’d used the Peripatos, but it was hidden. Was the emerald in his pocket?
“You look pensive.” Charlie cocked his head to the side, his face expressionless. “Does that mean you’re willing to cooperate or that we’re about to become mortal enemies?”
Wearily, Ari got to her feet. “Do you really think after everything that I wouldn’t cooperate?”
Something dark flashed in his gaze and he clenched his fists. “You need to learn when to give up.”
“Are we doing this or not?”
He raised an eyebrow at her tone but nodded. “Them for my freedom, right? So, do you have a plan, or are we going to put our heads together and work it out?”
Ari bristled at the innuendo in his voice. It was so smarmy, so not Charlie. “I have a plan. All I need from you is to lure the Ghulah and Pazuzu out to Rancocas State Park in two days’ time, at dusk. The park is beside the New Jersey Turnpike.”
Charlie curled his lip. “And where in the park am I to lure them?”
“Somewhere in the middle, away from the creek. I’ll be able to sense you.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “This wouldn’t be a trap, would it?”
Instead of answering his question directly, she replied with utmost sincerity. “I don’t want you to die, Charlie.” Her eyes glittered at the thought and he gave her a sharp nod.
“I believe that.” He shook his head as if he didn’t understand her. “Fine. I’ll get them there and then I’m gone.
You’ll keep those ass**les off my back?”
“Yes, I will.”
“You’ll have backup tomorrow, right?”
Ari smirked at him. “What? Do you still care after all?”
“No. If you die, I have no one watching my back as promised. So, do us both a favor and bring some backup.” He scowled at her and let the flames of the Peripatos engulf him.
For what could have been a minute or an hour, Ari stared at the space where Charlie had stood, feeling brittle and restless at the same time. She wanted this to be over. She wanted him to be okay. If she couldn’t get him through this and out onto the other side, Ari would never be able to forgive herself. His life had come to this because of her, because her mother placed her with Derek in Sandford Ridge, Ohio.
Ari had to change it. This couldn’t be Charlie’s ending.
Fire exploded in the room, shaking Ari out of her maudlin thoughts as a giant of a man stepped out of the flames.
Her heart surged into her throat.
“Red,” she breathed, shocked he was there but relieved too.
He gave her a small nod. “Ari.”
Ari took a step toward him and faltered at what she found in his eyes. They were colder somehow, and they still held grief. He mourned her mother, Sala.
At the thought of Sala, Ari felt overwhelming loss and regret. She never got the chance to get to know her mother—a Jinn who’d loved Ari so much. Sala had also loved Red, and he had adored her back.
“How … how are you?” she asked softly.
“I am well. And you?” He gazed around her room, taking everything in. Ari was sure it was so he didn’t have to look at her. She shivered, hating this strange, formal distance between them.
Her uncle had made so many mistakes, most regarding Charlie, but he’d also been her closest ally among the royal Jinn. Ari wasn’t even 100 percent sure he was her ally, but with little else to hold on to, she’d always needed to believe that he was friend, not foe.