Page 8 of Bound By Wishes

My muscles tightened, cautioning me against striking bargains with mythical beings. I shoved down the rising dread, refusing to heed the voice that whispered warnings in the recesses of my mind. I inhaled deeply. “I wish for you to get me and my crew out of this cavern.”

An evil grin, stretching unnaturally wide like the Cheshire Cat, crept across his face. His inky smoke rose around me, threatening to suffocate me. Dread coiled in the pit of my stomach, forcing me to realize that I had made a grave mistake. Perishing in this underground cavern was a fate preferable to the unknown evil that now leered at me.

Faster than a scorpion’s strike, we were above ground, surrounded by endless miles of desert. I set Caleena on her feet, and she scurried away from me like a skittish hare, her eyes wide with disbelief. I scrutinized her in the waning sunlight, noting her confusion at the sudden change in scenery. She looked around, her breath quickening as she tried to grasp the reality of what just happened.

To my surprise, she was not as displeasing in appearance as I had originally thought. Beneath the layers of dirt and scrapes, her skin was radiant, glowing in the fading light. But shock puckered her brow as if the magic that had transported us here had not only changed our surroundings but her understanding of the world. This was going to be harder than I thought if she couldn’t grasp the idea of a little magic.

"Where are my crew members?" she demanded, herstature growing taller, commanding attention as her brown eyes shimmered with anger.

I stepped closer to her, surprised when she held her ground. “They have been returned to their camp with no memory of anything that has happened.”

She glanced around nervously, the setting sun's rays casting a golden glow in her dark earth-colored hair. “Where are we, and why have you stranded us in the middle of a desert?”

My gaze brushed down her tattered, dirty clothing. “We have a lot of work to do, and there are no prying eyes to witness my magic in the middle of the desert.”

“I think you could’ve picked a better place than under the harsh rays of the blistering sun,” she sassed, igniting my ire. I was not accustomed to being spoken to in such a manner or my choices questioned, but a still small voice reminded me that I needed this human—for the time being, anyway.

Without warning her, magic surged from my fingertips. Caleena ducked as inky darkness surrounded us, transforming the smoldering hot sands into a lush oasis. Palm trees swayed in a hypnotic dance, and a majestic waterfall poured into a deep pool, turning the barren landscape into a paradise.

Caleena's eyes widened as she took in the beauty of my creation. I was impressed with it myself. For a genie, I still outdid myself.

The air was thick with the sweet scent of tropical blooms, their perfume mingling with the crisp freshness of the waterfall's spray. I inhaled deeply, finding peace in anything other than the musty metallic smell of thelamp.

Birdsong filled the air, a symphony of chirps echoing through the canopy above. Caleena’s gaze swept across the top of palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. The sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, creating patterns that danced across the ground.

“This is amazing,” Caleena said as her gaze shifted to the ground. Beneath our feet, the smoldering sand had transformed into soft, powdery soil, alive with lush greenery.

With another wave of my hand, bottles of expensive perfumes, oils, and soaps materialized on top of the boulders encircling the pool. Each intricate bottle gleamed in the sunlight, hinting at the luxurious scents within them.

My gaze drifted from her to the inviting water, her eyes following mine.

Her face blanched as she took a timid step back. “You don’t expect me to bathe in that pool?”

I shrugged my shoulders in indifference. “It’s a heated pool.”

“The temperature is not what concerns me,” she hissed. “It’s the unwanted company.”

A deep laughter rumbled in my chest. “Do you honestly believe that I, Ranen, king of Jalam, would desire to watch you bathe?”

Her once defiant gaze softened, and a fleeting look of vulnerability flickered within her eyes as she glanced back at the rippling surface of the pool. A barely noticeable tremor coursed through her slender frame, betraying a fear that seemed at odds with the strength she had displayed moments before. Was she truly that afraid of me?

“Will you at least return to your lamp while I bathe?”Her chestnut eyes brushed across my face, forcing my resolve to crack a little.

"I will not return to that prison, not for you or anyone else," I said flatly. "But if it brings you peace," I conceded, my tone softening slightly, "I shall vanish for a mere half hour to allow you some privacy."

I could tell an argument was on the tip of her tongue, so I disappeared before she had a chance to speak it. With a flourish of smoke, I materialized just beyond the oasis, hovering in the air like a phantom tethered to mymaster. That word caused an angry bubbling sensation in my chest, but I would appease this wicked curse by using the term no matter how degrading it was. I glanced down at the shackles that kept me bound to her. They winked in the waning sunlight, almost as if laughing at my predicament.

I lounged further back into the fluffy cloud of smoke, feeling its soft tendrils caress my body. With a huff of impatience, I crossed my hands behind my head using the moment of silence to think.

Caleena had three wishes. Three wishes before I was cast back into the lamp, and she had already used one. My powers were not limitless like they were before, and I could not grant her anything she wanted without her using a wish. I could offer her small comforts, subtle uses of my magic to keep her content, but for anything significant, it would require the use of another precious wish.

There was also the small, nearly impossible task of telling her that she was about to step into a world unlike anything she had ever known—one ruled by djinns, creatures of immense power and cruel nature, who had little regard for humans, even those of royal blood. Turning herinto a princess meant nothing in a kingdom where ancient magic and dangerous whims dictated the rules, and she was about to find herself caught in the middle of it.

Caleena

I glancedat my surroundings for the hundredth time, certain at any moment I was going to wake from this bizarre dream. And no matter what that egotistical genie said, I did not trust him. It did make me feel slightly better when he insinuated that I wasn’t desirable enough to peek at, but that didn’t stop me from watching for any wisps of his smoke.

I began to peel the damp clothing from my body, slowly, piece by piece. My shirt dropped to the ground with a plop, and I kicked my pants away, but I refused to shed my undergarments. I closed my eyes. The nagging headache still pressed at my temples. Here I was, in the middle of the desert, having been whisked away by a genie of all things. Maybe I was dead, my body splattered at the bottom of that cavern. I opened my eyes, feeling the heat rising from the pool and brushing across my bare limbs. How had I ended up in this ridiculous situation?

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