“What are your plans?” Myra the banshee asked.
“Well, we are going to try to—” Lucie started, but the banshee hissed louder, interrupting her.
“Not what you are about to do! What are your plans afterward?” Myra looked over at Abaas. “You did tell them, right?”
Abaas shrugged. “It doesn’t change anything. They’re going to do what they’re going to do. I don’t think they trust my words anyway.”
Myra clicked her tongue loudly. “Careful. You do know it is within my power to disintegrate your soul.”
“Like you could ever let me forget,” he bit back angrily.
“What didn’t he say?” Jasper turned his gaze to Abaas in frustration.
“Pacifying a djinn isn’t easy. It exists as part of you now. Almost like a part of your soul. You can’t vanquish it without killing yourself. The djinn has to willingly leave its host for another but only if it accepts a new master. So, your options are to control it as a master slave relationship or to bind it to someone else. By binding it to them …” Abaas turned his gaze to Lucie.
“You can bind the demon to you as its master, making the djinn yours. Making Jasper yours or the new owner yours. The djinn was previously bound to the late vampire king. After his tragic death, the demon could no longer control its bloodlust. When Jester became angry on behalf of his brother, he killed. The same thing is now happening with Jasper.” Myra frowned and looked at Jasper.
“Can I bind it to myself?” Lucie asked quietly.
“NO!” Aedan, Jasper, and Ryan all shouted simultaneously.
Abaas chuckled. “Hardly. The fairy princess isn’t a suitable host for a demon. It would never choose to live inside you.”
“What about you, then?” Lucie asked, turning her attention to Abaas.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Myra said with a grin. “Abaas would have to agree to this, though.”
Abaas stared at Lucie blankly. “I’d become your bound servant. Are you sure you want that?”
“Well, you’re already that anyway, right? Because of your agreement with the vampires.” Lucie shrugged.
“Yes, but with some differences. I would be bonded to you. And with the djinn, I would be allowed to kill. This would involve taking on a new contract of sorts, one where I am loyal to the family but above all to you.” He smirked and tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure you want that, princessssss?”
“But your bloodlust would be under my control. You wouldn’t be able to kill unless I willed it.” Lucie challenged him back with the facts she had just learned.
“Lucie …” Aedan whispered, and she waved him off.
“I want something in return if I agree to this.” Abaas’s eyes met Lucie’s. Her gaze upon him was fiery, fierce, and determined. There was so much confidence about her. No self doubt. She was clever and quick-witted, and he admired her. He wouldn’t mind being bound to her as her servant. As her protector. Inwardly, he laughed. He went from trying to claim a fairy princess to being claimed by a fairy princess. He was about to make an agreement that would bind him to her. It would be a devoted role in every way. A protector, a servant … he would be and do whatever it was she commanded of him. He could even kill by her command. But this type of agreement would last through the ages and would follow her bloodline just like the djinn had been bound to the vampires.
“Well?” Lucie arched her brow at him and tapped her foot impatiently.
“I want your oath that the bond between our master-servant relationship will be over in the event of your death. And I want my soul returned to the life circle to be born again. This is something the fairy queen can grant.”
“I have no intention of becoming the fairy queen. That position is for my cousin Alexa. My Aunt Reiya is also immortal. She would be the one to grant this. I would have to discuss it with her, but I will do what I can. In the event of my death, you would not be bound anymore. I can at least do that much. But what would happen in that case?”
“I can choose my next master willingly, if I do not get to be reborn.” Abaas watched as her green eyes bore into him.
Lucie looked at her brother with a half shrug. She really didn’t see a downside to it. And Myra was also in agreement. She looked up at Jasper to see him frowning.
“What is it?” Lucie asked.
“It’s just … I don’t understand why.” He looked up at Abaas. “Why would you agree to this in the first place? I understand that you agreed to be the vampire’s servant so your soul wasn’t destroyed, but this is more than that. This is becoming her person.”
“I want another chance. I want another life, and she is the only one that can grant me that. Well, either she can or one of her relatives. I didn’t live my life before, and I want that,” Abaas said quietly.
“I will do what I can to hold my end of the bargain up. I don’t see how giving you another chance at life would be a bad thing. You wouldn’t retain your memories and would be starting fresh again.” Lucie didn’t see a downside to his request. He could be evil or good, just like anyone who is born. And if he helped her out by taking this djinn from Jasper, then it was worth the trade.
She knew the stories of Abaas. He was sick and twisted. Maybe dying had changed things for him. In either case, being reborn didn’t mean he would be a half-demon again. He could be reborn as a regular human. All this did was prevent his soul from ceasing to exist.
