Another guard took chase at my yell. Pulling a chair over to block him as I ran, I turned back as Gideon stepped into the room.
I didn’t know what I expected to see... Lightning bolts flying from the Jinni’s fingertips. Or King Amir floating in the air at his command. Or even Gideon marching toward the king. I would’ve accepted any of those things as helpful.
Instead, our calm, dependable comrade had grown as still as the marble statues behind him.
While Bosh wove and danced to evade the guards, and Daichi dug in to fight, swinging wildly this way and that, knocking men across tables and chairs... Gideon didn’t even seem to register the two guards taking hold of his arms. He just stared at Arie and King Amir.
“Gideon!” I yelled, but his gaze didn’t flicker. What in all the lands was he staring at?
I risked his ire, snatching fruit off one of the tables, tossing it at him with all my might, glancing back.
His fingers twitched, just slightly. Otherwise he didn’t move.
It was almost as if... hecouldn’tmove.
I ducked behind a pillar, waiting for the guard still chasing me to come around the corner. I tripped him with an outstretched foot, grabbing his hair and smashing his head into the stone pillar.
He fell, out cold.
I peered around the other side of the pillar, only a dozen or so feet from the front of the room now, scrutinizing the scene. What was Gideon staring at so intently?
The king shouted commands I couldn’t hear over the din, but it caused villagers near him to quiet down, turning to face the room and spreading their arms wide, blocking others from reaching him.
Arie screamed and kicked as the guards held her back.
And then, I saw him.
Another Jinni.
His eyes were a strange violet color. And they were fastened on Gideon with the same intent, immovable focus as my friend, as if locked in an immense inner battle.
I hadn’t realized until this moment that I thought of Gideon as a friend, but I did.
So, without thinking, I charged.
CHAPTER 49
