“Our only regret in leaving is that we could not bring our drohi with us,” Colin said. “They are bound to the Asura.”
“But their bond to us has since been severed,” Javed added. “All the ascended here have similar tales to tell. There are many of us.”
Oh gods…My stomach clenched. Maybe the ascended weren’t being killed off as we’d been told. Maybe the whole point of creating anchors was to force them to come back, like the drohi were forced to go back.
“You’ve gone pale.” C’ael sat forward, his brows pinching. “Leela, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” I picked up my cup and sipped my chai. “Thank you both for coming and speaking with me.” They took their leave, and I turned to C’ael. “I don’t understand why I have to wait till tonight to see Iblees.”
“He’s integrating, Leela. And before you ask, that means that he is allowing his soul to fully knit into one. When Iblees usually manifests, it is a smooth process. The sliver of his soul living on this plane as djinn will happily integrate with the whole because it recognizes home. There is no conflict, no trauma as Iblees awakens in his new body. But with Araz, the circumstances were less than ideal. He was under duress, terrified for your safety. The merger has not been smooth, and so he takes time to rest. To drift. To integrate. He’ll be himself soon enough.”
“Himself?”
He smiled. “The drohi you fell in love with is Iblees. The stiffness to his attitude will shift as he fully integrates.”
“How do you know so much? You said you came from nothing. That Iblees called you forth.”
He considered my question for a moment before replying. “I think we’re connected, he and I. In a way. I feel his emotions sometimes. His longing.” His gaze slid my way. “His desire to protect you.” He exhaled. “I guess that’s how I know things.”
Farida returned with another woman in tow who was carrying a plate of barfi. Deeti, no doubt.
C’ael chuckled softly. “Time for the taste test, Leela. This should be fun…”
I was expectingdinner to be in a dining room, but C’ael led me outside onto a balcony hewn into the side of the mountain. Isucked in cool air, tipping my head back to the stars. I’d lived surrounded by the sky for months, and yet I never tired of seeing it.
Fire pits sat on opposite sides of the balcony, and a table for two was set between them already laden with domed dishes. Iblees stood looking out at the view, his powerful frame encased in a cream kurta that hugged his muscled frame becomingly. I swallowed past the sudden dryness in my throat because I knew that body intimately, had been wrapped in it every night for almost as long as I’d been on this particular earth, and now…
He was here. Standing mere meters away, and I couldn’t bring myself to touch him.
“I’ll be back to get you later,” C’ael whispered, his breath warm against my ear. “Try to have fun. Relax.”
He drifted away, and Iblees turned to face me, his lips curving in a smile that made my insides warm. “Leela…” He approached and held out his hands, looking down at me with an expression that held such vulnerability it made my heart ache.
I placed my hands in his, the sensation familiar and safe. “Hey…” I met his gaze as he searched mine.
“How was your day?”
“Good. I learned…a lot. And you? How was the integration?”
He blinked and then let out a soft chuckle. “C’ael told you?”
“A little. How are you feeling?”
“More like myself than ever.” He smiled, his topaz eyes warming. “Are you hungry?”
“Ravenous.”
“Good. Come sit.” He held out a chair for me and once I was seated picked up a plate and began to load it with food. “A little of everything,” he said. “You need to keep your strength up.”
I watched him serve me, my breath coming faster. “Why are you serving me?”
He paused and looked down at me with a frown. “Ah…” He chuckled again. “Old drohi habits die hard, I suppose.” He pressed his lips together. “But I want to. I want to serve you, Leela. I want to take care of you. To protect you.”
“Because I’m your twin flame?”
He exhaled. “Yes, but also because you’re Leela.” He reached out and ran his knuckles down my cheek. “My Leela.”
My breath caught, and my eyes fluttered closed. “I want to believe it. That it’s you…” I opened my eyes to find him crouched beside me, his regard sincere and warm.
