Shaking his hand free of ice, he clenched it tightly into a fist. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. Either you go to find Arim before night falls, or I’m dragging you with me to Tanselm. I’ve kept out of it for years, letting the two of you knock each other over with magic so in tune, it’s a wonder you haven’t been fucking each other senseless in between fights.”
I flushed, and the jerk laughed.
“Tell me you don’t desire him with every fiber of your curvy little body,” he murmured, his gaze roving over me with appreciation. “If I didn’t know for a fact that Ini was your mother, I’d doubt your Dark Lord influence. You’re pretty enough to be Aellei, or even a lesser Djinn. But you have Ini’s eyes, as much as that must pain you.”
“Nothing pains me, Sava.” I smiled, the expression absent in the icy gaze I gave him. “I’m a Dark Lord. We’re inured to pain, didn’t you know? We feed on it, like the carrions of the universe we’ve been bred to be.” I pushed his arm aside when he would have touched my knee. In comfort.
I wanted to snarl. As if I needed his pity.
For a while, I’d welcomed him. Been glad to find a friendly face in a world that didn’t notice me. And when they did notice, it was only by creatures that wished me serious harm.
Now I remembered why I’d stayed away from the Aellei and from Sava himself. That press of cloying sentiment, of joy and affection, led to powerful emotions that had once crushed me almost to nothingness.
I had no plans to return to the wounded little girl ripped from my world. To the naïve, trusting fool who’d thought love could conquer prejudice and fear. How wrong I’d been then, and how wrong I’d be to embrace such foolish affection now.
“I think you’d better leave.”
Sava stared at me, his dark eyes flashing into a white so bright it was as if looking into a mirror. Oh, so I’d annoyed him, had I?
“If I find you’ve mentioned my whereabouts to Arim, I’ll curse you with magic you’ll never break. Dark magic.” I paused for effect, staring at his head. “Your golden tresses will never grow back.”
Sava’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You little witch. You’d curse me for trying to help you?” He quickly stood, surprising me with a swell of menace. For all that Sava could intimidate, he was still a Shadow Dweller. But right now, he felt as Dark and powerful as a Dark Lord, or, Night forbid, as righteous as a Storm Lord. “Fine. Wither away to nothing while your brother takes over Tanselm.”
A low blow, referring to Sin Garu as my brother. I had made it clear years ago I wanted no ties to that malevolent creature.
“Don’t come crying to me when it’s too late to save yourself from the Malinta demons. Because I’ve been there, Lexa. And the pain you suffered is nothing compared to a few hundred years in the Pit.”
He flashed away into the Between before I could say anything, and I stared blankly at where he’d been standing. Sava had been imprisoned in hell? How had I never known that? And how old was he if he’d been there for hundreds of years?
As far as I knew, he’d been alive and well in either Tanselm or Aelle since I’d known him. When I’d first met Sava, I had been young, just ten years old. I’d assumed Sava was the same.
I just couldn’t imagine my friend, or maybe ex-friend, in the bowels of the Pit.
I shuddered, remembering the screaming and dread welling from that bleak area surrounded by cursed rocks in the middle of demon hell. The demons had recoiled when touching the stones and gave the entire area a wide berth. Sava had been jailed there?
For a moment, I felt bad about refusing his help. Then I remembered Arim’s scorn, the disbelief and hatred on the faces of those Light Bringers I’d once called friends. People I’d opened myself up to. People I’d trusted.
No, a Dark Lord’s best friend was herself. I’d do well to remember that if I wanted to outlive Sin Garu and the Netharat. Come Light or Dark, I would make it out of this tangle with my feelings intact.
My soul, however, was another matter entirely.
Chapter 6
Jonas
A Charming Djinn
I stared with consternation at Sava, who appeared to be unconcerned about being caught uninvited in Tanselm’s northern territory as he paced back and forth in my room.
Sava raged while he recounted his meeting with Lexa. I watched in amusement as he swelled with fury.
I coughed to cover a chuckle. “You want to keep it down? Need I remind you I’m barely tolerated in this place, much like you scheming Aellei?”
Sava’s eyes glittered with anger.
I shrugged, unconcerned with his power. Though impressed, like all Djinn, I had little tolerance for royalty. I didn’t even treat my own leader with reverence. I liked and respected Ethim, but I’d never bowed to my king and never would.
“I told you she’s a handful.”
