The Jinni Key Page 22

  He stared down at me and the look in his eyes hit me. It was the look that I’d seen in the eyes of my parents, my sisters, mere-boys, and even Gideon—but only in the visions. Never in reality.

  “I’m sure,” I told him, not letting go either, soaking up the feeling of his arms around me. “I don’t need to use the Key to grant your desire, because I want to stay.”

  Epilogue

  Arie

  WHEN I OPENED MY eyes, they landed on Kadin in the chair beside my bed. His long legs sprawled out and his head tilted back as he snored softly. He’d been there all night.

  The early morning rays lightly touched the stubble on his jaw, but he didn’t stir. Exhaustion kept him asleep, while I had slept too much. Even so, sleep tugged at me, begging me to return to it.

  I didn’t know how many days had passed like this one. At least a week. Maybe two. Maybe more.

  That first day, he’d fought the guards outside my room, yelling at them to let him in. I’d lain in bed, numb, hearing his shouts as if from a mile away. Gideon had rescued him, and the guards allowed him in, though they hovered suspiciously. Their numbers had doubled after the incident. I doubted they knew the details; they certainly didn’t know how useless they were against Jinni magic. Still, they stood faithfully outside, protecting me.

  “I don’t blame them,” Kadin had said, lips lifting in what he meant to be a smile as he sat next to me and held up a one-sided conversation. “They’re just concerned for you. Especially now.” He had winced at even this smallest mention of everything that had happened.

  I tried to find the energy to nod. Lifting my hand, I touched his, and he scooped it up and held on tight.

  After that though, he didn’t bother to get permission to enter. He used the secret entrance to come and go, sleeping in the chair by my bed each night and slipping behind a curtain or door whenever a servant or guard knocked and entered.

  Sometimes I woke to find him gone, but always Gideon or Bosh was in his place.

  “How are you doing?” he would ask each day.

  Sometimes it made me furious and I’d ignore him. How do you think I’m doing? My only family is gone. I am alone. I am broken.

  Other times, I’d try to smile back at him and croak, “I’m okay.” I’d let him hold my hand.

  Now, after sleeping through most of the morning, I rolled over to find him awake this time.

  “I can’t feel it anymore,” I whispered, because any louder and I’d be forced to face it.

  Right now, I needed to believe I was wrong, that it wasn’t true. I needed him to argue with me.

  “What if my Gift is really gone? Does that mean...” I trailed off, not willing to even whisper the last part. Kadin already knew. When a Gift was severed, it led to death. Its absence was like the loss of a limb or a lung, and without it...

  Kadin leaned forward, taking my hands in his and squeezing. This new, heavier fog in my mind, almost like a rain cloud, lifted just slightly and my chest felt a bit lighter.

  Kadin stared into my eyes and instead of arguing like I hoped he would, or even addressing my fears, he simply said, “You’re going to be okay.”

  I swallowed. The clouds settled back in and the dark weight of them pulled me deeper under the covers. Even my bones were tired. “How can you tell?” I managed to say as I sank back on my pillow.

  “Because you’re here, aren’t you?”

  “What does that even mean?” I snapped. But the anger exhausted me and snuffed out faster than a candle. I closed my eyes. It wasn’t his fault. No one knew what to say.

  “It means there’s still hope.”

  My eyelids fluttered, holding in unexpected tears underneath. I swallowed and tried to blink them away, but one slipped down my cheek toward the pillow.

  Kadin caught it. “I’m not letting you go again,” he said. His voice was low, sharp. Almost angry. “You can’t make me. Even if you call for the guards again, I’m not leaving.”

  My lips twitched at his attempt at a joke and it helped my eyes clear. “I never did apologize for that.”

  He took my hand and kissed my palm. “No need.”

  My fingers curled in response. A distant part of me felt warm, but the rest of me was so cold. The shade of this dark cloud dampened the moment. Made it dull when it should have lit me up.

  Everyone said I was mourning my father’s passing. Even Gideon encouraged me that this grief was normal. Despite everything he’d said about the Severance in the past and how the results were undeniable, he now swore I could get through this.

  But I didn’t feel okay and this didn’t feel normal. Only time would tell the truth.

  Summoning all my energy, I pulled myself up until I could swing my legs over the side of the bed.

  Kadin’s posture shifted in a heartbeat, upright and alert, watching me with those golden eyes. He didn’t say anything. He let me lead the way.

  I pulled my robe tighter, gathering the little shreds of strength I still had left, and stood. “Can you have someone draw a bath?” My voice sounded weak.

  “Absolutely.” He jumped to his feet and went to fetch someone.

  It was time to face this head on. First, clean up, then face my people.

  All I could do was hold onto the gift that Kadin had given me.

  Hope.

  Likely it was the only gift I had left. Still, it was something. It was a start.

  THE END.

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  THE CURSED HUNTER

  Nesrin Ahmadi needs a dragon’s egg, no matter the cost.

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  After years of searching, she’s about to give up, when debtors come to threaten her family. Climbing to heights she’s never dared to go before, Nes risks everything to find an egg...

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  ...and finds a dragon instead.

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  The Cursed Hunter is a loose “Beauty and the Beast” retelling. Set in a world that humans share with mermaids, dragons, and the elusive Jinn, this is not the fairytale you remember...

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  GLOSSARY

  Amir (Ah-MEER)– King Amir of Sagh, a wealthy neighboring kingdom of Hodafez

  Arie (ARE-ee) – princess of Hodafez (means Lion in Hebrew)

  Baradaan (Bar-rah-DON) – kingdom where Kadin and Naveed grew up

  Bosh (BAH-sh) – orphan adopted into Kadin’s crew (persian word for yes)

  Daichi (DIE-chee) – member of Kadin’s crew

  Dina (Dee-nah) – Rena’s fourth older sister

  Dmitri (Di-MEE-tree) – mereman

  Egor (Ee-gore) - mereman

  Enoch (Eee-knock) – the violet-eyed Jinni who helps King Amir

  Farideh (Fair-REE-duh) – Arie’s lady-in-waiting

  Gideon (GID-e-un) – a Jinni

  Havah (HAH-vuh) – Arie’s lady-in-waiting (means sky)

  Hodafez (Ho-DAH-fes) – Arie’s kingdom (loosely translated in persian it means goodbye)

  Illium (ILL-ee-um) – member of Kadin’s crew

  Jezebel (JEZ-zuh-bell) – queen of the Jinn

  Jinn/Jinni (Gin/GIN-nee) – Jinn is the name of the country and the race of Jinn as a whole (i.e. the Jinn, the land of Jinn); Jinni is the singular, used to refer to
an individual Jinni and also as a possessive (i.e. a Jinni, a Jinni’s Gift)

  Kadin (KAY-din) – leader of the crew of thieves

  Lemuel (LEM-you-el) – another Jinni

  Mere (Meer) – mermaids and mermen, also known as mere-folk

  Misha (MEE-sha) – Rena’s second older sister

  Nadia (NAH-dee-ah) – Rena’s third older sister

  Naveed (Nah-VEED) – member of Kadin’s crew

  Piruz (Peer-ROOZ) – town that Kadin takes them to

  Rena (REE-nah) also known as the Grand Tsaretska Marena Yuryevna Mniszech (Zar-ret-ska Mar-reen-na Yer-yev-na Nez-zich) – youngest daughter of the Sea King and Queen

  Rusalka (Roo-SULK-ah) – the underwater kingdom of the Mere

  Ruslan (Roos-lan) – mereman

  Ryo (RYE-oh) – member of Kadin’s crew

  Sagh (SAW-gh) – King Amir’s kingdom (persian word for dog)

  Sasha (SAH-sha) – Rena’s fifth older sister

  Severance – when a Jinni’s Gift is severed from its owner

  Yuliya (YOU-lee-yuh) – Rena’s first older sister

  THREE UNBREAKABLE LAWS of Jinn:

  1) Never use a Gift to deceive

  2) Never use a Gift to steal

  3) Never use a Gift to harm another

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I WANTED TO SET THIS book on fire multiple times, but thanks to prayer and amazing people, it survived and might even be an exciting story. (My husband says I shouldn’t tell you that, but it’s the truth.) I want to thank everyone who played a role in keeping this book out of the trash:

  First, my critique partners, Brittany Wang and Jessi Elliott. If I am the Story Architect, then they are the Story Engineers and Electricians who specialize in problem solving and connecting all the moving parts. Both of you are so talented and bring a completely different perspective to the story that I either didn’t consider or didn’t want to consider haha! Brittany, you’ve read this story multiple times now, just like all my previous books, and yet each time you always come up with new ideas and encourage me to keep going! Jessi, the timing of your reading this book was nothing short of miraculous, thank you for being so detailed and thorough! I’m so thankful for both of you. Your friendship means more than you know.

  To my beta readers, aka My Construction Crew. You helped me to both build this story up and tear it down, depending on what it needed—a good chunk of the beginning and the entire second half were completely rewritten thanks to all of you! I had such a wild deadline and each of you agreed to read in a very short time frame, which meant the world to me. Make sure to watch for lots of changes inspired by your notes and questions! Huge shout out to: Amelia Nichele, Athena Marie, E.C. Woodham, Elizabeth Hamm, Kyra Hunter, Lia Anderson, Peggy Spencer, Valerie Wheeler.

  To my proofreaders, aka The Last Line of Defense. I was extremely nervous to share this book with the world. I’m incredibly thankful to have people willing to triple check that this story is truly ready. Enormous thank you to Brittany Wang, Kris Cox, and Rachael Martin for catching all the last-minute boo-boo’s.

  I also want to shout out my Patrons, aka My Support Network. During the last year that I’ve been on Patreon, 191 amazing people have supported me. Their support has encouraged me and helped me focus on writing this story, so I feel that it’s extremely important to give them credit. To all my Patrons, thank you SO much. You rock! Make sure to check out our “Patron Key” (designed by the fabulous Mandi Lynn from Stone Ridge Books) on the next page to find your name!

  Last, but certainly not least, I’m extremely thankful my husband can handle the insanity of being married to a writer who talks about characters like they’re real people and has way too many deadlines. Not only that, but he continues to encourage my writing and my dreams—thanks babe! And Penny, our corgi, continues to encourage frequent breaks to play ball, which is obviously very important as well. Finally, thank you God for this amazing support network and another story out in the world!

  THANK YOU TO ALL MY PATRONS!

  AUTHOR PAGE

  BETHANY ATAZADEH is a Minnesota-based author of YA novels, children’s books, and non-fiction. She graduated from Northwestern College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a writing emphasis. After graduation, she pursued songwriting, recording, and performing with her band, and writing was no longer a priority. But in 2016, she was inspired by the NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel in 30 days, and since then she hasn’t stopped. With her degree, she coaches other writers on both YouTube and Patreon, helping them write and publish their books. She is obsessed with stories, chocolate, and her corgi puppy, Penny.

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