Two Deals: a Djinn Paranormal Romance (Blackwell Djinn)

by Nikki Kardnov

  He retreated from the room to the balcony that overlooked the gardens. Night was at its peak and the stars lit the sky. Crickets chirped in the underbrush and somewhere in the woods that surrounded the grounds, a doe twitched in the long grass as it listened and dozed.

  Poe lit a cigarette and took a long pull from it. He breathed out and propped the heels of his hands on the stone railing.

  This wasn’t how he pictured his night transpiring. Sure, he’d been keen on making a new deal, to have his magic returned to him for however long he could hold onto it, but this was not the way he’d wanted it to happen.

  Beside him, the air opened up with a crackle and Dae appeared.

  Poe took another hit from the cigarette. “What now?”

  “I heard.” Dae looked through the open balcony doors to the bedroom. “Red is displeased.”

  “Red can go fuck himself.”

  “I’ll be sure to pass that message on.”

  “Well he’s human now, so what the fuck is he going to do?” Poe turned and leaned into the railing. He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to drive away the unease and tension plaguing him.

  “It’s no coincidence,” Dae said. “Her showing up.”

  “What would you have me do?”

  “Turn her away,” Dae said. “She is no one to you.”

  “Like you did to me?”

  “Don’t be petty.”

  Poe sighed. He hadn’t meant to say that. He regretted it as soon as it was out.

  Dae leaned against the balcony’s wall and folded his arms over his chest. “Mother’s death changed me and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

  Poe blew out a jet stream of smoke, then flicked the spent cigarette down into the garden. The embers arched through the air. “It changed us both.”

  Poe was glad his brother had come around and no longer blamed him for their mother’s death. But where did that put them now? Could they even move on from this and return to what they were?

  Poe didn’t think so. Wherever they went from here, it would be different.

  “So what now?” Dae asked. “What do you plan to do with the girl?”

  Through the balcony doors, Poe could make out the curve of Willa’s face, the sweep of her hair across the pillow.

  What now?

  What now?

  How could he answer that question when he didn’t even know what brought her here in the first place?

  “Once she wakes, we’ll get our answers.”

  “I could try healing her,” Dae said.

  “No. Her injuries aren’t life threatening. And besides, your magic might not do the work and instead just cause her more pain as it prods at her insides.”

  But more than that, he didn’t want to smell Dae’s magic on Willa. If she smelled of anyone, he wanted it to be him.

  “Have it your way.” Dae pushed away from the wall. “Just be cautious when she wakes.”

  “Aren’t I always?”

  Dae laughed. “No. You are never cautious.” He put his hand to Poe’s shoulder. “It was always the thing I admired most about you, brother.”

  In the span of a breath, Dae was gone and Poe was alone again.

  He went to the open doors and leaned a shoulder into the casing.

  Willa lay on her back, her face turned toward him, toward the moonlight. Her long lashes fanned over her freckled cheeks. Her plump lips were just slightly parted. Her breathing still sounded wet and raspy, but at least she was breathing evenly.

  Poe was overcome with the urge to go to her. To lie beside her and take her in his arms. His body was nearly vibrating with it.

  “Bloody hell,” he said and ran a hand through his hair.

  Maybe Mad was right. Maybe this woman had brought chaos to their door. Because Poe did not feel like himself right now. He felt like a man being split in two.

  Chapter 9

  WILLA

  Willa woke to a warm darkness. What time was it?

  She tried to sit upright to grab her phone and then realized her left arm was in a splint. How had that happened?

  Bracing her arm against her chest, she tried to wriggle up and immediately regretted it.

  It wasn’t just her arm that hurt. Her entire body ached.

  She felt like she had the world’s worst hangover without all of the fun the night before.

  She had barely moved an inch, but her head was swimming and her legs felt far away.

  Where was she?

  Despite the darkness, she immediately knew she was not anywhere familiar. The bed was too soft, the sheets too silky. She preferred crisp cotton and a firm mattress. It reminded her of sleeping on the floor when she was a kid.

  Moonlight stole through a window to her right. Heavy drapes hugged the window. The bed she lay in had four solid posts.

  She wasn’t at the Compound...

  And then she remembered—

  Raina. The demon. The leather collar.

  God, things had gone bad very, very quickly.

  She needed to...well, she wasn’t sure what she needed to do, but lying here in some strange random bed was definitely not the right answer.

  She tried to get up again and grimaced.

  “Lie still,” a voice said from the shadows.

  Willa recognized the sound of Poe’s smooth voice, the lilt of his British accent. Her heart immediately lurched to her throat.

  She’d made it to Blackwell House?

  “My bag,” she croaked. “Where is it?” The leather collar was in the bag. She couldn’t risk losing it.

  “It’s here. I went back and retrieved it and your car.”

  Oh thank God. At least something went right.

  Poe sat forward in a wingback chair near the window. A sliver of moonlight highlighted half his handsome face. He’d abandoned the black suit jacket somewhere through the night and had on only a white t-shirt that tightened around his biceps as he propped his elbows on his knees.

  She was so relieved to be here, knowing that if there was anywhere safe, it was here, with Poe Blackwell.

  But she was embarrassed that she’d had to come to him. Was he annoyed? He probably had better things to do other than rescuing and nursing some rando bartender he just sorta kinda knew.

  “Did we...um...you know?” she said. She’d come here for the safety and something else. Something that seemed too big to ask for now.

  A deal.

  Had they made one? Her memory was foggy.

  Poe smiled in the moonlight. “Did we have sex?”

  “What? No!” The extra emphasis she put on her words caused more pain to shoot through her ribs. Ow. She curled inward panting. Poe rushed to her side.

  “Lie still,” he said again. “You broke two ribs and punctured a lung.” He fluffed the pillows behind her so she could be semi-upright.

  Once she had caught her breath and the pain subsided, she tried again. “What I meant was, did we make a deal?”

  Poe laughed. “I know what you meant.”

  “Then why—”

  “Clearly for my own amusement. Though seeing the great deal of pain it caused you, I will admit, I regret the timing of the joke. But not the joke itself.”

  Even though he just confessed to trying to embarrass her, a smile found its way to her lips. She liked listening to Poe talk. She liked the sound of his voice and the words he chose to say.

  His voice was its own kind of drug and made her forget for a moment that her body was broken and her sister in danger and her world had fucking imploded.

  “We did not make a deal,” Poe answered. “But were you on your way to me in order to make one?”

  “Yes…but…”

  But now, clearer headed, she needed to think it through.

  Was this really her best option? Jumping into a deal with a Blackwell djinn?

  In order to learn more about demons and witches, Willa had started researching the supernatural world when she was a teenager. Back then, she’d had a hell of a time
getting her hands on reliable information. It wasn’t until they moved to Blackwater and into Caleb’s Compound that Willa was able to read more in-depth about the world she was a part of, but knew so little about.

  She could recall reading a chapter dedicated to Blackwell djinn in one of Caleb’s European history books. The author, if the bio could be trusted, was a 12th century vampire. He had remarked on how cruel the Blackwell djinn had been in Europe through medieval times, how they had twisted any and all wishes. How they had made a man a king only to have him lose it the next day in a coup.

  Willa knew djinn were not as cruel as demons, but they couldn’t exactly be trusted either.

  She had to consider all of her options and chose the one that was best for Raina. Because if Willa made a deal with Poe and wished to heal Raina from her addiction to the shadows, only to find out later that she became addicted to heroin or something, Willa would be really, really fucking mad at herself.

  She wanted to be done with this madness once and for all. She wanted them to be normal. Pizza and rom-coms—GOALS.

  But she needed to do it the right way. So for now, she could handle a little pain while she worked it all out.

  “I think I need to rest first,” she said and lay her head back against the pillow.

  “What? For what reason? If we make a deal, I can heal you and rest would therefore be unnecessary.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Poe. I know djinn twist wishes.”

  He grumbled. “That might be the case for most, but not—” He cut himself off and inhaled deeply, then, “Fine.”

  He returned to the wingback chair like he had all the time in the world. “Rest as long as you like then. I hear a broken arm only takes six weeks to heal.”

  “I don’t need six weeks. I’ll be fine for a few more hours.”

  “Your definition of fine differs vastly from my own.”

  Willa’s eyes were already growing heavy again. Making a deal and a wish under these circumstances was only asking for trouble.

  The bed was so soft and if she didn’t move too much, the pain eased a bit. “You can go,” she said, her voice muzzy with sleep. “You don’t have to watch over me.”

  Distantly, she heard him say, “I’m not going anywhere, love.”

  She fell asleep quickly and slept better than she had in a long time.

  Chapter 10

  WILLA

  When Willa woke again, she felt like she’d been hit by a train, then pressed beneath a steam roller, then hung out to dry like a ratty bed sheet.

  She’d thought things were bad the first time she’d woken. Apparently she had no idea just how bad it could get. Opening her eyes hurt. Stretching her fingers hurt. Breathing hurt.

  She was starting to regret turning Poe down. How long ago was that now?

  Late morning daylight shone through the French doors to her right. She had no clock and her cell phone was nowhere in sight, but if she had to guess, it was late afternoon. But what day?

  It already felt like she’d been separated from Raina for far too long. There was no telling what plan her and Caleb had devised since Willa left. There was no telling what the demon would do to get that collar back.

  Willa had always known Caleb toed the line of straight up mustache-twirling evil, but she’d thought he had just enough humanity and mercy inside of him to keep him on the right side of that line.

  She had thought she had time to figure things out before pulling Raina away from Caleb and the city.

  She’d been wrong.

  With a wince, she pulled herself upright.

  She checked her arms and her legs. There were bruises and scrapes everywhere, making her body look like some kind of crude abstract painting.

  Gingerly, with her good arm, she touched her face and found it swollen and puffy.

  Where was Poe? Hadn’t he promised to stay by her side?

  “Hey,” she croaked, her voice barely above a whisper. She sucked in a breath and braced herself and then shouted, “Hello! Shit. Ow. Fuck.”

  She collapsed against the headboard, breathless and wracked with pain.

  She didn’t have to wait long though, thank God.

  But when Poe came, he wasn’t alone. Two of his brothers were with him. Willa knew Dae from Club Drav. He was technically her boss, though she rarely saw him. He was very much a hands-off kind of boss. Willa was never sure which brother was the oldest. Neither of them looked like they were over thirty, but in reality, they were hundreds of years old.

  The other brother, Mad, was taller than Poe and Dae, and stockier, too. His hair was darker and longer and currently tied back in a bun. Tattoos covered his arms in various shades of black and grey. He went to the windows and pulled back the drapes, blinding Willa.

  She shielded her eyes from the light as a dull ache blossomed in her head. Poe had said she had a few broken ribs and a punctured lung, but did she have a concussion too? Her head felt like it might explode.

  Dae leaned into one of the posts at the end of the bed. He wore a black t-shirt and the sleeves, as if by magic, found the exact right place to fall to accent the dip of his bicep. He wasn’t even flexing. His dark hair stood back from his forehead with roguish carelessness.

  Willa could smell the scent of his cinnamon clove magic. All of the brothers’ magic had a distinct smell. Like with a wolf pack, a djinn’s scent surrounded a mark through the duration of a deal and told other djinn what was theirs.

  And Willa would know Poe’s even if she was blind.

  His reminded her of a pine forest, of woods and earth and autumn air.

  Willa could smell it now as Poe grabbed the wingback chair from the corner and dragged it to the bedside. She watched him as he did, watched the muscle and tendons in his arms as he worked. Veins stuck out across his hands. For a delirious moment, Willa imagined what it would feel like to have his hands on her body, to feel his fingertips gliding over her breasts, teasing at her nipples.

  Heat spread from her aching ribs down between her legs. She shifted as her body buzzed with sudden desire. And then one second later, she realized she was in a room with three djinn. Who all had supernatural senses.

  Which meant they could probably smell her.

  Mortification pooled in her cheeks.

  She ducked away from the light trying to hide her face.

  “Here,” Poe said and offered Willa a glass of water. She noticed the smirk on his stupid clever mouth.

  Can I crawl beneath a rock now, please?

  With her good arm, she took the glass from him and drank deeply. The cool water helped drown out some of the rawness in her throat.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Poe leaned forward in the chair and propped his elbows on his knees, hands threaded in front of him. “Who did this to you, love?”

  Should she tell him all of the details? Every gritty part of it?

  Though it was her sister who had jumped off the deep end, Willa felt responsible for it. She was embarrassed to admit just how ill-equipped she was to handle this level of shit storm.

  Worse, she knew how djinn viewed demons. Demons were the one supernatural being that djinn did not mess around with. Djinn couldn’t exorcise demons—only humans could—which made getting rid of one that much harder when it came to a djinn’s social sphere.

  If Willa told Poe what trouble Raina had gotten herself into, and that Willa wanted to stop it, Poe might just kick her to the curb.

  She decided to go with a half-truth.

  “My sister and I got into a fight.”

  Dae asked, “About what?”

  “Caleb. I think he’s a bad influence and I keep trying to get her to leave.”

  Poe leaned back into the chair. “Truer words have never been spoken.”

  Dae and Mad shared a look. They clearly didn’t believe her. Part of her didn’t want them to believe her. By being here, she was entangling Poe in her drama. And by extension, his brothers. It was an asshole thing to do. But she didn’t
have any other choice. She didn’t know anyone else in this city, hell anywhere, who could help her.

  She did want a deal, she realized. If she got the wish just right, maybe she could save her sister from herself and they could move from Blackwater and be done with this life.

  And wouldn’t that be nice?

  “Poe?” Mad said.

  Poe stared at Willa as if reading her thoughts. Her skin tingled.

  Djinn couldn’t do that, could they?

  Poe had always seemed to know what she needed when she needed it.

  “I think she’s telling the truth,” Poe finally said. “She definitely wants to save her sister.” He leaned forward again and leveled his gaze at her. Those gold flecks in his green irises caught the light and his eyes glittered as he said, “So is it a deal you want, love?”

  Willa swallowed hard against the thickness of her throat.

  No turning back now.

  “Yes.”

  “I think this is a bad idea,” Dae said.

  “I second him,” Mad agreed.

  Poe glared at the both of them. “Well I’ve never much cared for your opinions anyway.”

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Despite what Poe said, Willa noticed an infinitesimal shift in his demeanor. His eyes narrowed as he regarded her again.

  What was she going to do if he turned her down? Poe was her best chance. He was Raina’s best chance.

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she considered the trump card she’d had in her back pocket for a very long time. Was she really going to play it? Her body apparently already knew that answer while her mind was desperately trying to catch up, to stop it, to stop the breath from passing over her lips and telling Poe the one thing she swore she’d never bargain with.

  She looked up at him and sucked in a settling breath to try to keep her voice from quivering as she said, “Help me save my sister and I’ll tell you who your caeli is.”

  Poe sat up straighter. “I thought you renounced your power. You told me yourself you no longer do readings.”

  She didn’t need to do a reading.