Page 57 of Bound By Wishes

My magic began to pool around us, encompassing us in hazy black smoke. “Like this,” I answered him with a smirk.

In a matter of seconds, we were outside the cave, suspended in the blistering afternoon heat. The rocky cave below us shimmered in the harsh sunlight, with the baked earth radiating waves of heat that blurred the horizon.

“Oh, the camels,” Caleena exclaimed, pulling my attention to the beasts below. “Can you take care of them, Ranen?”

I shook my head; she never ceased to amaze me. We were facing the nearly impossible task of retrieving King Thalorian’s scepter, and she was worried about a few mangy camels. Her compassion was baffling, and yet the purity of her heart made her even more endearing.

“I’ll take care of them, sayyida,” I assured her.

Caleena’s gaze fixed on the scenery below as it rushed by, but mine remained on her. The hot wind played with her dark hair, whipping her braid and pulling loose strands free from its binding.

Caleena caught my scrutinizing gaze, and a faint blush warmed her cheeks.

“Tell me about the Nightshade,” she said, as if trying to distract me.

Dread crept through me as I chose my words carefully. “A djinn’s power lies in poisoning its prey, forcing them to hallucinate their worst nightmares until they die of fear.” Caleena’s eyes widened, a reaction I’d expected, knowing the night terrors that already haunted her.

“The Nightshade,” I continued, my voice dropping lower, “is the ruler of all djinns, wielding endless power. Unlike other djinns, it can move freely through the realm of dreams, twisting nightmares and feeding on a victim’s deepest fears until their very life dwindles away.” I hesitatedwhen Caleena bit her lower lip. “It controls dreams, reshaping reality in a person’s mind and creating horrors tailored to each soul, until even the strongest fall.”

“You shouldn’t have asked, Cal,” Malik said from behind us. “We would’ve all been better off without knowing that.”

“Who is she?” Caleena pressed, determination set in her dark eyes.

Words tangled on my tongue. I couldn’t lie to her, but thankfully, what slipped out was the truth. “No one of any importance. Not anymore.”

Caleena eyed me suspiciously. “And this scepter will stop her?”

“It’s the only thing I know of that can,” I replied, threading just enough truth into my words to sidestep the genie’s curse and the cuffs biting into my wrists.

Caleena was as sharp as she was beautiful, and I was treading on shaky ground with each question she asked.

“Do I get three more wishes now that I’ve freed you from your lamp all over again?” she asked, finally changing the subject.

“No,” I replied, sitting up straighter and meeting her gaze with a serious expression. “You sent me into the lamp with your second wish, and now that you’ve freed me, you’re left with only one wish. After your third wish, I’ll be bound to the lamp once more, awaiting the release of my next master.”

Her gaze wandered back over the landscape below, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you having another sayyida,” she said, angling her body toward me, her eyes searching my face for an answer she wouldn’t find.

I shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, I’m just forced to follow them.”

Malik leaned forward, poking his head between the two of us. “So let me make sure I understand everything.” He paused, his brows knitting together. “We have to get into King Thalorian’s fabled booby-trapped mines, defeat a mummified Nightshade creature that can kill us with our own nightmares, and we have to do all of this without using a single wish from the genie we just risked our lives to free?”

“That would be a good summarization, yes,” Caleena confirmed.

Malik fell back onto his knees. “Fabulous!”

I watched Caleena as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, only for the wind to tug it free once more. “You said you knew where King Thalorian’s mines are. Does that mean you’ve been inside?” she asked, trying to tuck the flyaway behind her ear again. “Surely, you must know how to enter without getting us killed.”

“I’ve never been inside,” I confessed, avoiding her gaze. “King Thalorian made sure that no magical being could ever enter his domain.”

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Malik huffed.

“We’ll be fine,” Caleena assured Malik. “I hope.”

Caleena trembled, and something about her vulnerability stirred an urge in me to pull her close, to shield her from everything lurking beyond our control.

“We’re here,” I announced in a somber tone as the mines finally came into view. Caleena straightened, and her eyes widened with awe.

“I don’t see anything,” she said, turning to me.

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