Slave to Passion

Chapter Sixteen

As they stood on a bluff overlooking Gannah, the salty breeze whipping the hair back from their faces, Nasir wondered what Kavin was thinking.

The tall spires of a city he’d loved since he was a child sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. Palms waved in the air, mountains rose to the north, and the sea filled the horizon beyond. Below them, past the city walls, his people—his tribe—milled about the streets, shopping, working, living as they did every day.

He saw home. He saw safety. He saw people removed from war and suffering who had no idea just what kind of horrors were being unleashed in Jahannam. But he’d made Malik a promise. He’d tell them. He’d make sure they all knew it wasn’t just those from his tribe who were being imprisoned. It was djinn from all tribes, from all races, from every part of their world. And it was time it stopped.

Kavin leaned against his side. “What if they don’t let us in?”

He glanced over her head toward Hana, and read the same worry in the young girl’s face that he heard in Kavin’s voice. They were both Ghul, about to enter a city they feared would despise them on sight. But Nasir knew differently.

He tightened his arm around her. “You brought their prince home. I don’t think they’re going to care if you’re Ghul or Shaitan or even human.”

She looked up at him, and, as the sun warmed her features, he remembered how scared he’d been as they’d fled the arena. Getting out of the tunnels had been easier than he’d expected. But out in the open, he’d been so afraid they’d be recognized. That he’d lose her so close to freedom. But Hana had known a secret passageway under the city walls, and with the guards distracted by the revolt, they’d slipped away quickly and easily.

It had taken three days to reach Gannah. Though his powers had returned once they’d been free of the confines of Jahannam and he could have teleported home, both Kavin and Hana had been imprisoned so quickly after reaching adulthood, they’d yet to develop their gifts. But that would soon change.

“You sound so certain.”

“I know my people, rouhi. You’re free. No one will hurt you here.”

Uncertainty filled her eyes as she ran her fingers over the opal at his throat. “Freedom means nothing to me unless you’re here to share it. What about this?”

He’d thought the same thing more than once. Wherever the sorceress was, she could call him back at any moment. He had no idea if his brothers were alive or dead, if she was using them and biding her time with him. But he was done living his life under the control of others.

He turned her, wrapped both arms around her back, reveling in the warmth of her body, the feel of her skin, her love that had reminded him who he was—who he wanted to be. “We’ll worry about that if it happens.”

“But—”

He pressed his finger against her lips. “She hasn’t contacted me in months. I don’t know what happened to her, but I’m not going to live my life in fear. I want to spend it with you. However long that may be. Nothing in life is certain, Kavin. All I know is that I love you. Right now, that and what we do to stop the torture in Jahannam is all that matters.”

Her eyes softened, and she lifted her mouth to his when he lowered to kiss her, curled her arms around his neck, and held him so tight he felt her everywhere. And though he knew the battle with Zoraida wasn’t over, for now he didn’t care.

He was back. He’d found his heart and soul and a reason to live in a Ghul. In the most amazing, beautiful, gentle creature he’d ever met. And because of her, he was alive. He wasn’t about to waste a moment of the time he’d been given all because of her.

“Come, rouhi,” he said, easing back, smiling down at her with all the love she’d given him, even when he hadn’t deserved it. “I want to introduce you to my parents.”

She gripped his hand in hers as he stepped back, pressed the other against her belly, and shot him a nervous look. One that was so damn sexy, he itched to kiss it from her face. “The king and queen? In this?” She glanced down at the ripped purple gown she was still wearing. “Maybe you could take me somewhere to freshen up first?”

He chuckled, waved his hand, and muttered magical words in his language. Her dress transformed into a simple but elegant pale blue gown that hit at her calves and showcased her slim arms and waist.

Surprise lit her eyes as she looked down. “How…?” She glanced up sharply. “How did you do that?”

His smile grew wider. Behind her, Hana chuckled.

“I am full of surprises. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

Her lips curled with a wicked grin that sent heat careening through his belly. A heat he planned to shower on her as soon as they were alone.

She tightened her fingers in his and took a step down the hill, toward their future. “Something tells me life with you will never be boring.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, rouhi.”