Chapter 17 #3
I folded my legs beneath me, wincing at the soreness of my muscles, and lost myself in the fire’s hypnotic dance. The wood split and cracked, sending embers spiralling upward like tiny spirits seeking freedom.
I should have been thinking about Zaheera, or my mother, or of what came next.
Yet all I could see was him.
I examined the stone, the very thing that had turned my life upside down. I turned it over, holding it towards the flames. The black swirls within it shifted erratically. It was restless.
“Elira.”
Theo’s voice pulled me from my trance.
He had flopped down beside me, stretching out like a lazy cat. He lifted an arm in invitation. “Come on.”
I shook my head. No matter how exhausted I was, I feared that the moment I shut my eyes, I would see him.
“I’m fine. I’m not tired.”
He gave me a look, one that said he saw straight through the lie.
I held out for another heartbeat before giving in.
Slowly, I stretched out my legs, my bones cracking as I shifted into him.
He curled an arm around me, locking me against him. He kept his other arm outstretched for me to lay my head on. It was no pillow, but anything would be better than the hard ground.
Tavrik was already lost to sleep, his obnoxious snoring filling the silence.
With the stone pressed firmly against my chest, sleep claimed me.
I didn’t dream.
There was only darkness.
I woke to a dull ache radiating through my back, my body stiff from the unforgiving ground. I pushed myself onto my elbows, wincing. Everything hurt, but at least my sleep had been dreamless.
I inhaled deeply but regretted it instantly. The scent of roasting meat seeped through the air, thick and acrid, coating my tongue with the taste of charred flesh.
Tavrik was crouched over the fire, gripping a makeshift spit and turning over what one could only assume was a skinned rabbit. The meat searing and curling at the edges, splitting open to reveal grey muscle beneath. The sight alone was enough to nearly make me throw up.
Tavrik kept his face blank, though there was tension in his shoulders.
Theo loomed above him with his arms crossed tight over his chest, watching the rabbit like it had personally offended him. When the fat started bubbling and popping, his face went through about five different shades of green.
Tavrik tore off a chunk, charred bits clinging to his fingers, and thrust it toward Theo.
Theo jerked backward, his nose wrinkling. “Absolutely fucking not.”
Tavrik’s mouth curved into something that might’ve been a smirk as he pivoted toward me, the meat dangling from his fingers like a threat.
“Elira?”
I gave him a blank stare. “Not happening.”
With an exaggerated sigh, he lifted it to his own mouth, his jaw working overtime to breakdown the stringy texture. His expression remained carefully neutral. Too neutral.
Then his eyebrows shot up, his entire face brightening.
“It’s actually good!”
Theo’s eyes became suspicious slits.
“I’m not falling for that. Again.”
Tavrik held his performance for exactly three more seconds before his composure crumbled. He spat the mangled meat onto the ground, his face contorting in disgust. Then he chucked the rest into the fire, the flames hissing as they devoured it.
“What happened?” I teased. “I thought you were enjoying that.”
He glared at me, unimpressed. “Please. It’s so bad I want to cry.”
We wasted no time in setting out, hauling ourselves for yet another day of walking and complaining. We had made good distance yesterday, but it wasn’t enough if we wanted to reach my mother and fast.
As luck would have it, we stumbled across a dense thicket brimming with wild berries, their skins glistening with morning dew.
We plucked them greedily. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to dull the hunger twisting at our insides.
It was all eerily familiar, too much like our journey into the Jinn realm, only this time the burden pressing on my shoulders was even heavier.
Tavrik, ever the solider, was the first to break the silence.
“We need a plan.”
I already knew the answer.
“We take my mother into the Jinn realm.”
They both stopped walking.
“What?” Theo snapped, spinning around.
“It’s the only way,” I said firmly. “If I leave her here, she’s as good as dead.”
Tavrik huffed out a slow breath. “And what’s stopping them from killing us the second we step foot back in their world? We weren’t exactly allowed to leave.”
“I’ll tell him the truth.”
Theo’s arm shot out, blocking my path.
“Elira, are you insane?” He shook his head in disbelief. “You think Dalkhan will just let this go? That he won’t tear us apart the moment he realises we played him for a fool? We went into his world and lied to his face!”
My stomach twisted into a knot.
His eyes went distant. “They will torture us. Again.”
We never truly spoke of what we had endured, and I wasn’t sure we ever would.
Tavrik’s jaw had gone tight, his hands curled into fists. The memory still lived in him. In both of them.
“He won’t hurt me.” Even I could hear the delusion in my words, but I stuck by them.
Tavrik laughed bitterly.
“Elira, you are blinded by your feelings.” His tone was sharper than before, almost pitying. “He is a king. The most powerful Jinn king that ever was, and three mortals deceived him. We entered his lands and stole something that could end his life.”
I flinched. He was right.
“I don’t know then!” I shouted. “I don’t have all the answers!”
It hurt to think of what they might do to us. To think of what he might do to me.
“We’ll figure it out.”
They exchanged a look, but I chose to ignore it.
I had to have faith.
Maybe he would take us back. Maybe he would understand.
Maybe, just maybe, he felt enough for me to not want to hurt us.
Or maybe we were fucked.
There were only two choices.
Stay here and die or go back and hope we don’t die.
The sun dipped lower, shadows stretching long across the ground, when the world around us began to feel familiar.
My bones knew it before my mind did.
“We will reach her by tomorrow,” Tavrik confirmed.
Relief and fear churned in my stomach, like swallowing something that wanted to come back up.
We hadn’t stopped yet for the day. We hadn’t bathed or eaten anything substantial. Our skin was burnt from the sun and our legs shaking from overuse.
We deserved a break.
Theo built the fire, with Tavrik throwing dry grass and twigs into the flames, coaxing it to life. The heat wrapped around us like a blanket against the night’s chill.
We collapsed onto the ground, groaning in relief. I actually wept as I stretched out my legs, rubbing at muscles that felt like they’d been beaten.
The stone was a burden in my palm. My hand was slick with sweat, but I refused to let go. I wouldn’t risk dropping it. Not now. Not when we were this close.
None of us spoke, too tired to even entertain the idea of conversation.
I curled into Theo, pressing my face against his shoulder, and the world disappeared.
I had no idea how long I slept before jolting awake.
Not from nightmares, as my sleep had been mercifully dreamless, but from a presence hovering over me—dragging me up from unconsciousness like from deep water.
I pulled away from Theo, careful not to wake him. He stirred slightly, making a soft sound, but remained asleep.
I scanned the darkness, squinting against the shifting shadows.
Nothing, though the feeling still lingered. Like eyes watching me beyond the firelight.
Fear tore through me. My hand had gone numb from gripping the stone for so long—could I have dropped it? I opened my fist slowly, sighing in relief.
It was still there, but the darkness inside seemed more agitated, the swirls slamming against the edges as if it might break free.
A shiver raced up my spine. The power was restless, almost hungry. Like it wanted to be used.
The fire was now nothing more than dying embers, glowing like fallen stars. The sky had begun to lighten, the first breath of dawn stretching across the horizon.
I sat in the silence while the world woke up around us.
I would reach my mother today. The image Zaheera had shown me—of her sitting alone, calling out to me—replayed in my mind on endless repeat.
“I’m coming, Ummi.” Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I wiped them away with a shaky hand. “I will protect you. I will fix everything.”
The scorching sun sat high overhead. Sweat dripped from my skin, my clothes damp and stifling. We would reach the village by nightfall.
It was too easy.
Unease chewed at my insides, biting deeper with every step forward.
Theo dragged his feet beside me, his usual energy drained as the sun leeched the life from him one drop of sweat at a time. He was drenched, his hair plastered to his forehead and face pale despite the angry flush of heat on his cheeks.
He looked ready to drop when his head snapped up, eyes locking on something ahead.
“Water,” he croaked.
He shoved past me, stumbling toward a small stream that cut through the dry land. He dropped to his knees and plunged his hands into the water, splashing his face and gulping it down like a dying man.
Tavrik and I exchanged a sideways glance.
“That was very ungentlemanly of you,” I said, crossing my arms.
Theo lifted his head, water still dripping down his chin. “I was going to pass out.”
Tavrik stepped aside, motioning for me to go next. “After you.”
I dipped my head in thanks, shooting Theo a look as he stuck his tongue out at me like a child.
As the cold water touched my lips, it doused the fire burning inside. I drank deeply, soothing the raw ache in my throat before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
With the newfound hydration came unwanted clarity.
My heart dropped into my stomach. The land before us was familiar. The road. The twisted trees. The cracked earth and sloping hills.
We were so close.
I needed a distraction, something to pull me away from the brewing storm in my chest.
I looked at Tavrik, falling into step beside him. “Tell me about Jasila.”