Page 81 of Bound By Wishes

Ranen watched me for a few more agonizing heartbeats. “I agree,” he finally stated. “Caleena isn’t used to our life here, and we shouldn’t subject her to a protocol that should have been abolished centuries ago.”

A powerful wave of relief washed over me, so overwhelming that my legs gave out, and I sank back into the chair.

Mozenwrath, however, did not seem pleased. His face scrunched in irritation. “Your Majesty,” he beseeched, completely ignoring me. “The council will never allow this marriage if they can’t confirm that she is a pure bride.”

Ranen’s eyes darkened, filling with a shadowed intensity that made the air around us feel heavy, as if time itself dared not move. “Ya amar?” He turned to me. “Are you pure? Andbefore you answer, know that nothing you say will change the outcome of our marriage.”

Mozenwrath sputtered, his shock evident, and I met Ranen’s gaze with a slow, unyielding smile. “Yes,” I answered. “I am.”

Ranen’s gaze latched onto me with a suffocating intensity, as though it could devour me whole. My cheeks burned, heat rushing to my face.

“You have your answer,” Ranen said, turning to Mozenwrath. “The wedding can proceed as planned.” Ranen busied himself with a stack of papers in front of him as if he was done with the conversation.

“But we can’t take her word for it,” Mozenwrath protested.

Ranen rose to his full height, his presence swelling through the room, filling every corner with an undeniable, overwhelming force. “You question the words of my queen? Choose your next words very carefully,” Ranen warned.

“But she’s…” Mozenwrath began.

“Wrong words,” Ranen growled.

I gasped as Mozenwrath shattered, his form crumbling into a thousand tiny shards of black sand that swirled violently in the air. It happened so quickly, I almost missed it. Ranen’s djinn magic was far more powerful than anything I had seen when he was a genie. A chill of fear ran through me.

“Did you just kill your adviser?” I asked with a slight tremble in my voice.

Ranen sank back into his seat, his expression cold. “Unfortunately not. He’s a djinn, as is the council, but he’ll think twice before challenging your word again.”

For some reason, that didn’t sit well with me. “I thought you said only your family were djinns?” I rose from my seat.

“They are my family, in one way or another,” Ranen replied with a distant tone.

Great. More djinns to put up with. I turned to leave the room but stopped in the doorframe. “Thank you,” I said, smiling at him. “For not making me go through that awful bridal inspection.”

Ranen finally looked up from his parchment, his gaze hardening. “No one will touch you without your consent. Not while I’m here.”

A warm, tingling sensation spread through my limbs as I made my way back to my room. Ranen would never truly know what his words meant to me. He made me feel special, protected in a way I hadn’t thought possible. It was everything I had longed for, and yet, beneath that warmth, my stomach twisted as if a swarm of bats were flitting through it. I still wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with a man’s touch, even though by this time tomorrow, he would be my husband.

I spent the rest of the day locked in my room, battling waves of panic that threatened to overtake me. Every bride feared their wedding and the night that followed, but for me, it wasn’t just about gaining a husband. It was about inheriting an entire kingdom, one that would be looking to me, depending on me. It all felt so suffocating. And intimacy… Intimacy scared me more than I cared to admit. I wasn’t afraid of Mathew anymore, but the memory of his cruel treatment lingered, haunting me in ways I couldn’t shake.

Arwa eased the bedroom door open and poked her head in. “The king has invited you to dinner,” she announced.

“Not tonight,” I answered with a weary smile. “I’m not hungry.”

She looked as though she was about to argue, but instead, she simply closed the door without another word. I stepped onto the balcony, grateful for the cool breeze that kissed my skin. The night air was a welcome relief to the heat of the day. I gazed up at the stars, their soft glow twinkling against the deep velvet of the sky. The silence was suffocating, and my worries grew louder without the day’s distractions to drown them out.

A swirl of dark magic glimmered in the air, rivaling the stars. From the shadows, Ranen materialized, his form emerging from smoke. He leaned against one of the columns, his posture casual yet imposing, the soft moonlight catching the sharp angles of his face. My pulse raced, his mere presence igniting something deep within me.

“Are you going to come looking for me every time I turn down a dinner invitation?” I asked, half joking to lighten my melancholy mood.

“Yes,” he answered without a moment’s hesitation. “Your fear concerns me. And even though I know I should give you some space to process it, I couldn’t stay away.”

"What do you know of my fears?" I asked, turning away to lean against the cool stone of the balcony. "I thought you stopped being in tune with my feelings once the genie curse was broken."

I didn’t hear him approach, but I felt the heat of his presence before he even touched me, the warmth seeping through the sheer fabric of my dress as he drew closer.

"I will always be in tune with you, ya amar," he whispered, leaning in closer, his breath ghosting the shell of my ear. "Your fear and your happiness…they do things to me, unspeakable things, things I can't explain."

A rush of goosebumps prickled across my skin, and I shivered at the intimacy of his words.

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