“I’d expect so. There are several djinn from Ilyarien’s army that are still here. You’ll meet them today. The devouring force was formed by them, an effort to bring back the deva and free their god.” He tipped his head to the side. “Are you ready for tonight?”
My stomach trembled. The binding would happen tonight, after which there would be a feast to celebrate the upcoming freedom of the people. And then tomorrow we’d infiltrate Aakash Sansaar and stop Chandra from taking the crown and the throne’s power.
“It’s all right to be nervous, Leela,” C’ael said, his gaze softening. “But you won’t be alone. I’ll be by your side when you take what is rightfully yours.”
“I just wish we didn’t have to wait until tomorrow night to make a move.”
“I know, but it must be equinox, and the moon must be high.”
“And everyone will be there watching.” I pushed a pastry around on my plate. “It’ll be a spectacle.”
“Ah, you never did like being the center of attention.”
My gaze whipped up to his. “No. I never did, and I still don’t.” I didn’t bother asking him how he knew that. His connection to Iblees…to Araz was obviously strong.
“You’ll need to learn,” he said. “Your people will need a figurehead.”
“Once the deva come, they can take over.”
“Once the deva come, they will see that they already have a goddess of righteous nature in place.”
Gentle warmth bloomed beneath my sternum, and the moths that had formed in my belly dissipated. I downed the last of my chai. “Let’s go work some muscles.”
The training groundwas outside the mountain, nestled in a ravine beneath a shimmering blue veil which C’ael explained was a manifestation of the ward that kept this camp hidden. It turned out that the ancestors in the temple had left enough of their power for this ward to exist eternally. The only way out was by consent of their descendants. In this case Craven and the other generals. But now that Iblees was back, he also had the power to allow movement in and out of the camp.
“Craven is an earth djinn,” C’ael said as he led me outside. “Shaba and Farid are water djinn, and then you have Walia, whose affinity is air.”
Golden light stained the walls up ahead, and the clang of metal on metal echoed around us.
I followed C’ael out into the mid-morning sun, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the brightness. A group of djinn and Asura stood with their backs to us, watching something. A sparring match, if the clanging swords and cheers were anything to go by.
I spotted Craven standing off to one side, his attention on whatever was going on behind the wall of warriors.
“Looks like someone is putting on a show,” C’ael said in a sing-song voice. “Shall we take a peek?”
“Hell yes.”
“Craven has a clear view. Come on.”
The general looked over as we approached. “Ah, just in time to watch your twin flame in action,” he said with a grin.
But my attention was already on the match. On Iblees’s monolith, muscled frame, surrounded by several djinn with weapons. They attacked, and he defended, his movements fast and powerful, yet somehow graceful too. Tendrils of hair, escaped from the knot on his head, whipped at his cheek as he twisted, evaded, then struck to attack.
The warriors around him worked well together, pushing in as one, doing their best to try and overwhelm him. Iblees was faster. Stronger. My pulse beat hard in my throat, heart swelling in awe as I watched him take them down, one by one, until they were on the sand and he was the only one standing. Only then did his molten gaze meet mine across the dusty earth, zeroing on me as if he’d known I was standing there all along.
My heart slammed against my ribs, my mouth going dry as the warriors’ cheers muted beneath the thunder of blood in my head. He strode toward me, and my stomach flipped hard.
“Blink…” C’ael whispered in my ear before stepping back.
“A fantastic demonstration, Iblees,” Craven said.
“Araz,” Iblees corrected, his gaze fixed on me. “My name is Araz.” It was suddenly harder to breathe. “Leela…” He looked down at me, eyes like fire raking over my face. “Do you want to spar with me?”
Silence fell around us, leaving me acutely aware that all eyes were on us now.
We’d sparred before many a time. But this…this was different. There was an underlying meaning to this moment that my mind struggled to decipher, but my body flooded with the heat of anticipation, a thrill shooting up my spine so that I stood taller, my chin coming up to meet his gaze fully.
“Are you going to go easy on me?” My voice was deeper—mine and yet not mine.
