Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

have faded back into the ether. It affects him little, for he can create more of us when he returns to his true form, but it will be too late for us. To him, we are expendable. We must show him that we refuse to be superfluous.”

A beautiful djinn emerged then, though her legs were furred and hoofed. A Ghul in another form. “And if we consent to do this, what would keep Erebus from smiting us in our weaker forms? I rather like being powerful.”

“Abdhi was right about the Ghul,” Santana whispered. “Who in their right mind could look past those legs and think that was a normal woman? Even if I don’t shave for weeks, my legs aren’t that bad.”

I chuckled. “Maybe they cast magic to fool the men they’re trying to capture.”

“You must listen,” Safiya insisted, silencing Santana and me. “There are two choices ahead of us: we risk death waiting for Erebus, or we take matters into our own hands and exist as weaker individuals with our own lives, free of any connection to Erebus. Power is all well and good, but you cannot use power if you no longer exist.”

She’s good. I’ll give her that, Kadar muttered. She’s even got me considering it.

We should all consider it, I replied.

He snickered in my head. You’re only saying that because of your fiery señorita.

That is my main reason, but the more Safiya talks about it, the more it makes sense. I meant it. Safiya was extremely persuasive, and she made a skilled argument. She didn’t feed the djinn any lies; she’d given them cold, hard facts in the hopes they’d make the right decision.

Well, brace yourself. These djinn could talk the hind leg off a Ghul, and a few will probably lose a limb or two before they reach any kind of answer. Kadar sighed. Think of it as the worst Christmas dinner you have ever encountered, and all the family members are here, every single one with their own opinion. There’ll be tears before bedtime, I guarantee it.

“I will leave you to discuss this matter,” Safiya concluded. “Come dawn, we need a decision.”

The djinn separated into their respective groups, arguing amongst themselves about who ought to be the three chosen spokespeople. Kadar was right. There’d be hours of bickering and handwringing before the sun rose, and I had no idea how this would play out.

“She cannot be serious,” Zalaam whispered. “This is tantamount to suicide.”

“And hoping that Erebus will return to his true form before you all die isn’t?” Santana hissed back. She had a point.

Zalaam balled his hands into fists. “I would not expect you to understand. This is sheer madness.”

“Kadar doesn’t think so.” I held Zalaam’s fiery gaze. “He started off thinking the same as you, but Safiya won him over.”

“Nonsense,” Zalaam spat.

“It isn’t nonsense. If this goes ahead, and Erebus dissolves these ties, every djinn bound to a magical will be freed, as well. It’d be a clean slate for him, and for you, and for every Levi to come,” I said. “Kadar could live his own life, and so could you. And I’d never worry about the woman I love dying in childbirth, and no Levi after me would, either.”

Santana’s eyes widened, glimmering with sadness and hope. “You’ve really been thinking about that a lot, haven’t you?”

“How could I not?” I replied, shuffling awkwardly.

Zalaam clicked his tongue. “Ah, so that is why you are so eager, is it?” He stared at Santana, who still looked at me with that painfully conflicted expression. “You think this will grant you a normal life and free my boy at the same time?”

“It will,” I insisted, ignoring the desert chill creeping into my bones. Kadar had stopped warming me up, likely out of stubbornness.

“No, it will not.” Zalaam’s black smoke wisped upward. “Even if Erebus dissolves his bond with us, it will do nothing against the curse placed upon the Levi family. The sorcerer who executed the curse was no ordinary magical—he was a spurned djinn. And Erebus cannot break a djinn curse, even by dissolving our ties to him. It will remain in place, and the Levi men will continue to be born with djinn inside them. For us linked to the Levis, we will only be free when our magicals die, as has always been the case.”

Abdhi hovered nearby, shamefaced. And the hopeful shine in Santana’s eyes dimmed.

“Abdhi? Is that true?” I demanded.

Abdhi toyed with the strands of smoke twisting from his fingertips. “I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that, Raffe. You would have to ask—”

Safiya walked toward me, silencing Abdhi. “I heard Zalaam’s words to you, and I am sorry to say that they are true. If a djinn is bound by another djinn’s curse, it will not break upon the occasion of Erebus freeing us. I had to conceal that from you earlier, when I told you otherwise, and I am deeply remorseful for that. I did not want you to lose heart.”

“You don’t think you should have told them that?” My voice came out strangled, my heart crushed to pieces. I’d been so sure.

What, did you think she wouldn’t lie by omission to get the other djinn on her side? Or us, for that matter? Kadar scoffed, though he couldn’t hide his disappointment. He’d bought into the hope, too—I could feel it, swimming through me.

Safiya sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. “I did not wish to say anything in front of the other djinn, as your situation is somewhat unique. The curse upon your family is ancient. I did not want to single you out, and I did not want to instill doubt where there need not be any. Other djinn who are bound to mortals may be freed by this action, as they have not been tied to the djinn for as long as your family has. Providing Erebus agrees, that is.”

“I need some air,” I panted, ready to run away from this oasis.

“Raffe, breathe. We