“It won’t work to bend someone’s will, you know.” I squinted at her. I’d never understood why she wanted it so badly. Everything she wanted most involved manipulating others. “And you’d never use it for anyone else. So it wouldn’t help you at all.”
Yuliya just laughed slightly. “The Key is valuable for many reasons, and you know it. You think you’re the kingdom’s favorite because you’re the baby? Just wait and see how things change when you can’t give anyone what they want anymore.”
For once, I couldn’t disagree. The silence was heavy. Yuliya waited, brow arched, as she fingered the shell with the impossible spell. To have legs... To finally be able to search for Gideon and speak to him again...
I let a smile stretch across my face and nodded. This could be everything I’d dreamt of for the last year. “I swear on Rusalka and every fish in it.” I reached for the shell.
Yuliya didn’t give it to me. Instead, she tilted her head, considering. “We’ll have to make it binding.”
I drew back. I’d had no intention of keeping my agreement, and she knew it.
She held out her hand. “Hair.”
I knew why she asked. She wanted to meld the spell to fit me specifically. Once she did, I would be compelled to keep my promise.
Pursing my lips, I stared at her, wanting to refuse. But if I did, she’d know I hadn’t meant it. And besides, a month would give me more than enough time, wouldn’t it?
With a sigh, I reached up and yanked a strand of my red hair out, handing it over to her. I wasn’t in a position to bargain. But I touched my tail, struggling with the idea of losing it.
Yuliya took ingredients from a bottle around her neck. Closing her eyes, she held them in a tightly clenched fist so none of us could see, holding the shell and my strand of hair in her other hand, making a spell on the spot.
I envied her ability to do this. It was one of the reasons no one challenged her. Many spells were entirely internal and secret, belonging only to the one who’d come up with them, and impossible to replicate unless the creator chose to share. Which of course, Yuliya never would.
Even though we all leaned in, Yuliya took precautions, not opening her hand until all the ingredients had melded into the sea and over into the shell. We grudgingly waited for her to explain. I felt a flutter like a tiny school of fish in my belly all panicking at the same time.
“I’ve changed the spell,” Yuliya stated the obvious as she opened her eyes, enjoying our anxious tension. “It’s still spelled to give you legs whenever you choose. But now, you must have proof that he loves you enough to ask you to stay or the spell will break. If that happens, you will forfeit the Key to me and lose your legs.”
That would force me to return to the ocean. How vindictive. Not only would she get the Key, but she’d make sure I didn’t have any second chances with Gideon either.
“If you accept this shell, the binding spell will require this proof, otherwise it will exist as evidence that you gave the Key to me willingly.” She smirked as her words sunk in, then said it anyway, “At that time, ownership of the Key will transfer to me based on your giving it to me in this moment.”
I swallowed. To say goodbye to the Key forever? I’d never considered it before. But then again, legs to walk on land and find Gideon had never been an option before either. And I wanted that chance. Badly. Pursing my lips, I nodded and held out my hand for the shell.
“One last thing,” Yuliya added as she dangled the shell above my hand, “if you speak of this agreement and reveal the terms to anyone before you have your proof, you will also forfeit the Key to me.”
My free hand flew up to clutch my throat as if it had a life of its own. To not be able to speak of it... She was putting me in a very difficult place, and she knew it. But she’d also seen my greatest desire, and knew what I would say.
I cleared my throat, not letting myself think about it any longer. “Fine.” I didn’t want to live here anymore anyway. I wanted to be with Gideon. To be with someone who would truly love me. I pictured him the way I did every night and various times throughout the day, smiling at me the way he had in the vision, and I grinned. Taking a small bag from my closet, I packed a few items. Extra shells. A little jewelry. An ocean flower for my hair.
“Rena, I should warn you,” Yuliya added, when I held out my hand for the shell. “Don’t let the humans see your magic. If they find out what you can do, they won’t like it. And what they don’t like, they eliminate. Understand?” My other sisters nodded gravely. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“In accepting this shell, you accept our deal,” she intoned, opening her hand to reveal the shell.
Swallowing, I picked it up. The water shimmered around our hands and the binding contract settled over me.
It was quiet. My sisters glanced between each other, wide-eyed. Nothing like this had ever been done before. Yuliya gave me the words for when I was ready to use the spell, to get my human legs. I could use it anytime I wanted for the next month.
I squealed and swam a giddy circle around the room, and then another. My gills spasmed in excitement. “Tell Mother and Father I’ve gone to our cousins in the south,” I said as I swam toward my window, not wanting to waste another minute. “I’m leaving immediately!”
As I passed the stone sentries at the edge of the kingdom, it felt like my life was finally beginning. I patted one of them on a rocky shoulder in goodbye and grinned. “I hope I never see you again.”
I swam through underwater canyons, hands on the shells around my neck, just in case I ran into a predator. There were no safe dwellings out here. It had been months since I’d last risked this journey to the surface. Where to even start? My instincts led me to the same place I’d first met Gideon—the human kingdom closest to that rock where I’d watched my first sunset.
I surfaced by the beach. The human buildings shimmered in the early morning dawn. Taking a deep breath, I blew it out, gripped the shell from Yuliya, and whispered the spell that would give me legs.
It was agony.
My tail felt as if it were being ripped in two. Though there was no blood, it hurt far worse than any wound the Key had ever given me. My vision blurred as spots appeared and I passed out.
I woke underneath the water in the shallows, gills still spasming in pain. They hadn’t gone anywhere. But as I moved to swim, I found two long scrawny legs where my tail had been. Wide-eyed, I touched one of them, feeling the fleshy skin in awe. Carefully, I kicked them apart. They looked ridiculous.
As I pushed off the sand, I broke free of the water and stumbled to shore where I stared down at the two stubs. It looked like I was standing on two extra arms. I laughed and shook my head. I’d only taken a few tentative steps down the beach, when I heard a splash behind me.
My hands flew to my mouth. Is it Gideon? Has he found me already?
Hopes high as the blue sky overhead, I spun around, nearly tripping in my haste.
It wasn’t Gideon.
Instead, I found a human girl standing in the water, fully clothed. She didn’t even notice me as she strode onto land and bent to twist the cloth around her legs.
Frowning, I took a few steps closer. Most humans seemed to cover their legs for some reason. I didn’t want to stand out in the human world, did I? “Where can I get some of those?”
Chapter 5
Rena
A WEEK HAD PASSED since I’d entered the human world. I pulled my hand away from my mouth to find I’d chewed my nails so short they were bleeding again. This bad habit never would have lasted underwater, but here on land it was only getting worse and was a constant reminder of my anxiety.
I stared up at the vaulted ceilings of the Hodafez castle, where I was now a guest of Queen Arie—the girl I’d met that first day in the water.
When I’d trailed her home to her castle that day, she’d been trying to save her father, as well as avoid an arranged marriage with King Amir of Sagh. I’d butchered her plans—by accident, of co
urse. At least it had all worked out in the end. Well, avoiding the marriage at least, not as much her father’s condition.
King Amir’s Gift of Persuasion had left a permanent mark on Arie’s father’s mind. He’d slipped into a coma with only a handful of waking moments over the last week.
Standing, I crossed to the large window in the king’s bedchamber. The room felt more like a tomb. I’d tried some of my limited spells on his ailments, wanting to make myself useful, but it only seemed to slow the inevitable.
I dropped into a chair and let my head fall into my hands. My red hair fell forward, creating a curtain to hide my face, even though there was no one here to see. No one conscious anyway.
Every time I helped the king, Yuliya’s words would echo in my mind. Don’t let the humans see your magic. Arie still believed what I’d told her in the beginning: that it was my presence alone that helped her father. If she’d been able to read my mind with her Jinni’s Gift and learn that I was out of spells and her father was still fading, she might not let me stay.
I shivered at the thought. Good thing she couldn’t read my mind. The sea’s spells had protected the Mere from the Jinn for centuries, and they were equally helpful protection from the rare Gifted human.
Because I was desperate to stay.
I’d exhausted every possible spell to track Gideon over the last week and not one of them had worked. He was in the human world still, but it was impossible to nail down an exact location. It baffled me, until I finally realized he was flashing across space and time, the way only a Jinni could. The few times I’d caught a glimpse of him and prepared to set out in one direction, he would suddenly shift far away to another and ruin everything.
That was why I’d spent every waking hour over the last three days with the king, even though my spells only required a few minutes, because the last time Gideon had flashed into the castle, he’d come here. To this room.
Arie had been with her father at the time, while I’d been outside in the courtyard—where Gideon had last appeared—chatting with a boy named Bosh. Gideon had brought news regarding his search for a way to heal the king—or rather a lack of news. Arie had casually mentioned this over dinner, hours after Gideon had already left.
I sighed, moving my chair into the square of sunlight streaming into the room. At least while I waited for Gideon to return, I could soak up these glorious rays.
Each day here was a constant battle between trying to find Gideon, yet not reveal the true reasons for my search. Yuliya had been wise to include that restriction in our agreement. Every single day I regretted agreeing to it.
I dozed in the warm sunlight all afternoon until the door clicked open. Arie stepped inside. Her thick brows were drawn together and she went straight to her father’s bedside to check on him, her long, black hair brushing the blankets as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Anything?” she whispered, as if he truly was just sleeping.
I shook my head. It surprised me to find that this made me sad. None of my sisters could’ve evoked that feeling in me. I didn’t know Arie well enough to trust her just yet, but I almost felt as if she was becoming a friend.
I chewed on the inside of my lip, trying to keep quiet while she tucked the blankets more carefully around her father. When she sighed a second time, I took it as an opening. “What’s wrong?”
“I just spoke with Gideon. He still hasn’t found anyone in the human world who knows a cure, and he...”
I stopped listening. My body grew cold like I’d swum through ice water. Gideon had come back again? How do I keep missing him?
“When did you talk to him?” I inserted at the first opportunity when she paused to listen to her father’s breathing.
“Just a few minutes ago.”
The ice water in my veins flashed hot and then cold again as I took that in. “Where?”
Arie turned at the tension in my voice, meeting my eyes for the first time since she’d arrived. “In the throne room. Why?”
“I—I just—no reason really.” I forgot to be polite in my haste. “I have to go.”
I ran down the long castle corridors, slowing to a fast waddle whenever a servant appeared, until I reached the grand throne room with its enormous ceilings, white marble floors and pillars, and walls full of golden accents wherever you looked.
It was empty.
After a thorough search of the rest of the castle, I finally made my way to my private room where I screamed into my pillow in frustration.
YET ANOTHER WEEK PASSED. I paced the throne room of the Hodafez castle, kicking at my heavy skirts and struggling to hide my anxiety.
It was raining outside and I’d spent the afternoon watching water fall from the sky and beat on the enormous glass windows. Arie held a stack of papers in her hand, sorting through them in some random fashion.
She insisted on holding court six days a week, despite the fact that no one in her kingdom wanted to bring their grievances before her—before a girl with a Jinni’s Gift that let her read their minds. Once again, I found myself thankful the Mere were immune to the Gifted.
I wiggled my human toes in the slippers, enjoying the strange feeling. Arie glanced up at my fidgeting, but she assumed it was nervous energy from the rainy day, because that’s what I’d told her.
A knock sounded on the tall wooden door, catching our attention. Arie opened it to find a servant with her hand poised to knock again.
“Yes?”
The servant trembled under Arie’s stare. Arie’s lips tightened, and then stretched into a smile as she placed a reassuring hand on the servant’s arm.
Curiosity pulled me closer to see what made this human so nervous. Halfway there, I remembered that Arie’s Gift made even her own household uncomfortable. My feet slowed.
“Letter for you, your majesty,” the servant barely spoke above a whisper, handing the folded correspondence to the queen before bowing low and scurrying away.
Arie didn’t waste time, breaking the red seal and unfolding it.
I snuck up behind her and peered over her shoulder. The few rows of wiggly lines scrawled across the page meant nothing to me. “What’s it say?”
Arie sneered at the page, crumpling it into a ball as she shook her head. “King Amir wants to discuss an accord between our kingdoms to renew goodwill.” She laughed once.
“Why is that funny?”
“Just that he thinks I’d consider letting him back into Hodafez under any circumstances.” Arie shook her head again and threw the letter into the fireplace, returning to her work.
I picked up the book I’d abandoned the day before and dropped into a chair with a huff.
The Land of Jinn
Or at least, that’s what Arie told me it was called. She’d asked me to read it, to see if there was any mention of how the Jinni cured a poisoned mind.
Every few minutes, I flipped a page, making sure to rustle it a few times. The little black letters meant nothing to me. But the pictures were pretty.
I was helping Arie’s father as much as I could with my spells already. If Arie needed to think I was reading a book to do so while she tried to rule her kingdom in her father’s place, I’d play along. My real reason for staying here in Hodafez though—my only reason—was to find Gideon.
That moment on my first day was still the most I’d seen of him. In the middle of Arie’s wedding-turned-coronation, he’d crashed through the doors with a group of humans. A fight broke out. While everyone lost their minds and chaos reigned, I’d withdrawn to a corner where I’d held the Key in my hands and whispered his name over it.
Gideon.
I hadn’t admitted it before that moment, even to myself, but I’d hoped his vision would be the same as mine: that he’d been looking for me too.
Instead, in the inky cloud I saw him standing before a large gate made entirely of pearl. Instead of grass or dirt, he stood on white curling whisps of thick smoke which I realized were clouds. On each side of the gate, walls stretched into th
e distance and out of sight. I could only assume it was Jinn, since I’d seen nothing remotely like it in the human world.
In the vision, Gideon pushed the gate open and stepped through—then something hurled him back out and he nearly fell off the cloud. I reached out a hand toward him instinctively, even though it wasn’t real. Then, the Key showed me his greatest desire: the gate before him began to open. He was welcomed in.
I’d blinked as the vision faded, confused. In the moments that I hesitated, pondering the best way to approach him with this knowledge, I missed my chance. Gideon vanished.
“He’ll come back,” I told myself that day through gritted teeth. “Next time you’ll talk to him.”
But the days on land had ticked by until one week became two. Today the second week ended. I had only two weeks left to find Gideon and convince him we belonged together. It felt like years since I’d stepped out of the water on two legs and begun navigating the human world. Each day I tried to locate him without success, and at this point, I was running out of ideas.
It’d been a while since I’d turned a page. I flipped the yellowed parchment, letting the pages slide together so Arie would hear it.
The next page had a picture of a Jinni. Without being able to read the words, I had no idea what it meant, but it reminded me of Gideon. Of my looming deadline.
“This seems like a terrible waste of time,” I complained when I couldn’t stand listening to the rain any longer. “We should ask Gideon to force your subjects to attend court.” That seemed like a completely reasonable suggestion; it could solve both our problems at once.
“And why do you want to see Gideon again?” Arie murmured without taking her eyes off the papers.
I clammed up.
No way I would let Yuliya have my Key because of a simple slip of the tongue. “No reason.” I shrugged, like I did every time she asked. “I just think the Jinni are fascinating. That’s why I decided to visit the human world, remember?” I repeated the lie I’d told her when we met. “Because no one knows where the entrance is to Jinn, and I certainly won’t meet one back home.” I paused, just in case she wanted to respond, and when she didn’t, I continued, “Anyway, I’d really like to meet Gideon. He seems like a great place to start.” My voice sounded strained to me, but Arie either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
The Jinni Key Page 4
