Page 56 of Land of Monsters

I am so sorry I failed you.

“Seems you’re being a bit rash.” A voice cut through, swinging everyone’s heads to the newest addition. Sucking in, I froze as I watched Dzsinn step into the courtyard, pulling down his hood, his focus on Sonya. “Though you always were. So desperate to be the best, to be recognized and seen, you tended to overlook things…”

Her eyes widened, shock tinting her features while Dzsinn moved to the middle.

“Even as a child.”

Fury bloomed in her eyes, her expression turning impassive, her chin lifting in defiance.

“Dzsinn.” She uttered his name with intimacy, sinking my stomach into the ground.

“It’s been a long time. Glad you still remember me…cousin.”

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

Cousin?

This whole time he not only knew of her, but was related to her? What the hell was going on? Was this all a trap for me?

My gaze jumped between them in disbelief, noticing the animosity.

Her lids narrowed. “We share no blood, genie.”

“And yet, you wear my family’s heirloom like it’s yours to have.” He flicked his hand to the luminous crystal necklace around her throat. It was nothing I really took notice of before, a woman’s trinket. “I was wondering how my people wereignoring my summons.” He seethed. “The Cintamani stone is rightfully mine, Sonya. You stole itfrom me.”

The Cintamani stone?

It was a sacred stone to the jinn race, which most believed was more a myth than truth. A symbol with both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. One of the stories was that it originated in the stars and had fallen to Earth as a meteorite from the gods. It was known as the wish-fulfilling gem. It gave luck and opportunity to whoever wore it, emitting vibrations and assisting in resourceful manifestation with an energy source.Some linked it to the Philosopher’s stone—the elixir of life.

“And unless my moles are dead, no one, except another genie, can break our summons.”

Holy fuck.

I stared at her, her chest rising and falling under the legendary stone. It made so much sense. Her continuous rise to the top, acquiring so many to follow her without thought, getting away without a scratch, and succeeding in everything she did almost effortlessly.

People died right and left around her, yet she skated by, only becoming more powerful. Because she had the foundation of genie magic around her throat.

Dzsinn glared daggers at her. “You came into my family, were raised and loved like one of our own, and this is how you repay us?”

“Loved?” she spat. “I was treated like an outcast my whole youth.”

“Because you were a righteous, conceited bitch even then,” Dzsinn jabbed.

“For all I went through… I earned this.” She touched the jewel. “Plus, the necklace chose me. I was the worthy one out of all of you and your brothers.”

“It belongs to me.” Dzsinn’s vocals tightened. “And I’ve come to reclaim it.”

A loud laugh sang through the yard, her head tipping back. “And you expect me to hand it over to you?”

“With or without your head attached. I am taking back what is mine.”

Her amusement tinkled in the air again, her head shaking, the humor slowly dropping away.

“Kill them both.”

The clicks of guns snapped in unison, her soldiers reacting instantly to her order. I held my breath, waiting to hear the shots, feel the bullets burrow into my body.

But instead of a gunshot, a rumble shook the ground, knocking against my skin and diving into my lungs. The entire world seemed to stop on a point.

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