I am loyal to her, and since there is nothing in these worlds that means more to her than you, I am consequently loyal to you too.”
Jai found a small amount of relief in that. He turned to Red, and although the words killed him to form, he asked, “If we can’t get her out of this, will you still watch over her? Make sure he doesn’t hurt her?”
Something flashed in Red’s eyes and Jai finally saw for himself Red’s loyalty and affection for Ari. He hated the thought of her with Asmodeus almost as much as Jai did. “I will protect her if it comes to that. And if it doesn’t … I will still make sure she is protected.”
“He won’t give up. Asmodeus … even if we find a way out … he won’t stop.”
Red’s jaw clenched as he turned to stare out at the night sky through the balcony window. “I’ll make it so he has to.”
***
“No,” Trey breathed, slumping down in a chair, his heart pounding hard in his chest. The rest of the Roes stood in tense silence, taking in what the Glass King had just relayed.
“Isn’t there something we can do?”
Fallon asked. Trey heard the panic he was feeling in her voice. “We can’t leave Ari to that. We can’t let that happen to Ari or Jai. Not after everything they’ve done.”
Trey looked up at Glass, hope in his eyes. Surely Glass and his brother Red wouldn’t let Asmodeus marry Ari. It wasn’t possible. Not after everything they’d all been through.
Glass met Trey’s eyes and within, he saw love and determination. All of it for Trey. He’d do anything for him.
Trey knew this because he’d already sacrificed something incredibly precious for Trey. It should’ve scared him to have a Jinn king—an actual freaking Jinn king—give such devotion. The Glass King, like all the Jinn kings, could be a ruthless bastard when he wanted to be. He would always make the hard choices, and sometimes Trey wasn’t going to agree with those choices. It should terrify him. But it didn’t. He was in love with Glass. So deep in love, that sometimes scared him. There was the consolation, however, that he would most probably never lose him. He was a freaking Jinn king after all. No one messed with a Jinn king.
So the ache Trey felt in his chest about Ari and Jai’s predicament wasn’t just because he loved Ari, it was because he loved Jai, and he knew what it would do to him to lose Ari. He understood it because what Jai felt for Ari, Trey felt for Glass.
“We have to do something,” Trey murmured. “There has to be a way.”
Glass shook his head slightly, and Trey could see he hated delivering this news to him. “There is only one way out of this, and there is a huge possibility it won’t work. I’m leaving now to attempt to do what I can, but I don’t want to leave you with hope. I need you all to come to terms with the fact that there is a great chance Ari will be lost to you.”
Trey’s throat tightened and he nodded sharply before turning his gaze on his companions. Fallon stood beside her father, fists clenched at her sides, face red with anger. Her mother sat across from Trey, Caroline’s face pale, eyes sad. Michael stood by his daughter, and Trey could only describe his expression as pained. Trey knew Michael had become especially fond of Ari and even more so of Jai over the last few months.
Trey fought back the tightness in his throat and glanced back at Glass. “Do what you can.”
Glass bowed his head and stepped back into the Peripatos to try to save their friends from tragedy.
***
Sleep evaded Ari. The entire night was a battle against despair, her mind racing over possible solutions to fight back the inevitable loss of her future. When morning broke, she was exhausted and trying very hard not to be defeated.
When Asmodeus turned up at her chamber and demanded her company for the day, she found herself leaving with him willingly—the hope being that she could find the Jinn who’d sat on sandy beaches with her in her dreams and shown her that inside him somewhere was wisdom, light, and a modicum of goodness.
They strode through the palace grounds, the warm Mount Qaf air blowing through Ari’s hair. She saw the sly grins of the market sellers and patrons and knew that word had spread about their impending nuptials. “They know,” she said flatly.
He strolled beside her, arms behind his back, his hard face tilted slightly toward the sky. “Yes, they know.”
“Doing this won’t bring her back.”
“No. However, it will destroy you and scratch an itch of mine at the same time.” He slanted a darkly heated look her way. “I’ve wanted you in my bed a while. We both know that.”
Ari blanched at the thought. “How can you want me when you hate me?”
Asmodeus laughed, a bitter, horrible sound. “Do you not understand yet, Ari?” He led her to end of the courtyard where they could be alone, perched upon one of the highest peaks of Mount Qaf. The emerald chips in the mountains winked and sparkled in the sun, casting rays of green light here and there. Asmodeus leaned on the wall and Ari felt a chill bleed out of her veins at the sinister look on his face. “I killed my sister—my twin—because of you.” He looked at Ari again. “And I don’t hate you. That,” he leaned into her now, his eyes roaming her face, “is why I am doing this to you.”
“Out of guilt,” she curled her lip in anger. “You’re doing this because of your own guilt?”
“If I can’t hate you, I need to find my vengeance somehow.” Asmodeus smiled, but it wasn’t the least bit pleasant.
“I want you in my bed and I want you out of Jai Bitar’s life. Not only will it break your heart to leave him, but oh, Ari,” he breathed, his voice thickening with sexual intent, “what will make it sweeter is the guilt you’ll feel when you discover you enjoy being in my bed.”
Rage and impotence ripped through her and she shoved her face aggressively in his, forgetting he could crush her in a second. “I will never enjoy your hands on me. Never.”
Asmodeus merely laughed. “A woman’s body can betray her. Yours definitely will.”
Tears shimmered in Ari’s eyes. “I hate you.”
In a blur of movement she found herself caught in his clutches, his hand gripping her nape tightly, painfully, as he hauled her up against his body. She strained against him as he leaned down to brush his mouth across hers. He pulled back and his eyes bore into hers, heavy with malice. “Good,” he murmured softly.