Keeping the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 3) (15 page)

The largest guard grabs Candon. “What is this?” he demands, pointing to the floor.

Candon winces. “Nothing.”

The guard snarls. “You’re hiding rebels.” He twists Candon’s arm behind his back. Sebastian’s hands clench at his sides.

“No—no!” Candon sputters.

A sound comes from above. The guards from outside are trying to find their way in. It won’t be long before they find the second secret entrance. It’s over.

“Open it!” the guard yells to Candon.

“There’s nothing there,” Merla says. “Please, let my husband go.”

The guard grunts, then hurls Candon into Merla, sending them flying to the wall. I wish I could slip through the ceiling and punch each and every guard here. If they so much as touch Sebastian’s parents one more time, I swear I’ll—

The largest guard waves his hand over the hidden door, using his magic to open it. My palm lifts and I focus my energy on keeping the door sealed. I can feel his magic pulling at mine, but it’s not as strong as mine. Soon, mine is overpowering his.

“Lily,” Sebastian gasps.

The guard backs away. “There is nothing there.” His head whips around. “Check outside,” he calls to the other guards. “I know they’re hiding here somewhere.”

I keep my hand up, making sure not to lower my guard. I’m
not
going to let them find us.

The guard trying to get in from outside pushes at the second door. I raise my other hand and do the same, shutting my eyes so I don’t lose focus. I chant in my head:
Please don’t let them find us. Please.

Just like the other guard, I feel his magic for a bit before he, too, slowly recedes. “Nothing here,” he calls. “Just dirt and trash.”

It’s working. I can’t believe it’s working. I can hear my fellow rebels sigh in relief. Sebastian gently and hesitantly rests his hand on my back, as though he doesn’t want me to lose focus.

The guards who are outside surround the building a few more times, poking and prodding the walls. I keep my hold on the two doors. The guards inside the house finish up their inspection before reluctantly leaving. They don’t give Merla and Candon, who are still sprawled on the floor, a second glance.

Sebastian makes a move like he wants to spring up the stairs to check on them, but I grab his arm. “Not yet,” I whisper. “They can be hiding, waiting for us to show ourselves.”

“But my parents are hurt. Why didn’t they use their magic to fight off the guards?”

I place my hand on his chest. “That would have only made them look guilty.”

He doesn’t say anything as he watches his dad get to his feet before helping Merla up. They dust off their clothes and look away. I hope they don’t come down here. It’s not safe yet.

“Act normal,” Candon says to his wife. She nods and heads to the kitchen to prepare dinner while he fixes up the mess the guards made.

My eyes search the house for guards. I know there are some still here, waiting for us to screw up. That’s not going to happen. I’ll make sure of it.

“No one move,” I tell everyone.

We remain crouched in our hidden places for what feels like hours but are only minutes. Just when I’m about to give up on the guards still being here, I see something leap out of what looks like a framed photograph of Merla and Candon at their wedding. The guard now stands in the center of the living room. He shrunk himself.

Glancing around some more, he snatches a necklace from the jewelry box and stuffs it in his pocket before leaving the house. Candon, who’s in the next room, doesn’t notice. Both he and Merla go on with whatever they’re doing.

We definitely can’t leave now.

I’m not going to sit here for hours, though. There has to be a way to know if there are more guards around. Shutting my eyes, I massage my temples as I channel my energy into creating some sort of location spell. I talk to my magic, asking it to help me out here. Something burns inside me. Not a burn that causes pain, more like a burn that’s lighting me up.

When I open my eyes, everything is a shade of light blue. My fellow rebels are outlined in black. This must be my location spell. It worked! Excitement fills me, but I push that aside. I need to focus.

I search the house, slowly, one room at a time. I need to be thorough. I won’t let anything happen to Sebastian’s parents. Or to us.

After examining the place for a few good minutes, I realize the only two people inside the house are Candon and Merla.

I hold up my hand. “It’s safe now.”

I blink and my eyesight is back to normal. Once I get to my feet, Sebastian pulls me into his arms. “You’re amazing.”

Everyone else gathers around us, their eyes wide with gratitude and relief. Alaric has a proud smile on his face.

I don’t care if we’re in public. I grab Sebastian by his shirt collar and press my lips to his. I can practically hear everyone taken aback by that, but a second later, they’re clapping. This feels like we’re on stage and performing the last act of the play, where the hero and heroine share a passionate kiss.

Alaric says, “I’ll go up and tell Candon and Merla it’s safe now.”

“Please thank them for protecting us,” I say. “Tell them they’re wonderful people.”

He nods. “Will do.”

I smile and interlock my fingers through Sebastian’s. “Your parents are awesome,” I say. “They could have easily given us up in a heartbeat.”

“Had they not found the door, I’m sure they would have tortured them.”

“Oh, god.”

He pulls me to his chest, resting his chin on my head. “It’s okay. Hopefully they won’t come back.”

We, along with the others, return the weapons to their usual hiding place. Inside a room that appears to be a closet.

When we’re done, Candon and Merla are back with us. We all thank them for watching over us, and they blush from all the praise. I promise them I’ll get their necklace back when we raid the palace, and they thank me.

Salia and a few other women offer to help Merla with dinner. Alaric claims this calls for a celebration. We wash up and ready ourselves just as the women bring the food in from upstairs. We gather around the table and start to eat. We don’t stop talking about how relieved we are. Even though we know this is just one hurdle we’ve overcome, it’s still nice to celebrate. One point for us, zero for Sorenten. The feeling is incredible.

I reach for my sweet drink and bring it to my lips. But just as I’m about to take a sip, it’s thrown to the floor. I look up to the person who knocked it out of my hand—Hastus. His eyes are wide, almost demonic-like.

“What are you doing?!” I cry.

His gaze flits to the cup, which is rolling around on the floor, the liquid spilling out of it.

“Poison,” he whispers.

My heart skips a beat. Poison? Someone’s trying to poison me?

Sebastian’s on his feet. “What do you mean poison?”

Hastus points to the liquid. I hadn’t noticed it before, but it’s green. It’s creating a hole in the ground, as if it’s made of acid.

Alaric slams his fist on the table, then slowly gets to his feet. “Everyone remain where you are.” He starts to walk around the table. “Someone here intended to poison my daughter.” He glares at each one of the rebels, including Sebastian and his parents. “And I want to know who it is.”

No one says anything, or even moves. Everyone’s faces are pale, and a few are trembling. Sebastian looks just as mad as my dad. His fists clench and unclench at his sides.

“Now,” Alaric says.

Again, nothing.

“
Now
!”

We all wince.

Alaric spins around to face Salia, Merla, and all the other women who brought the food and drinks down. He stomps over to them. “Was it you?” he demands Salia. “Or you?” He turns to another, then another. They tremble beneath his hard gaze.

But like before, no one utters a word. Every single rebel exchanges a glance with one another. They look like they want to run into one of the caves outside and hide. I want to tell him to relax, but I was nearly
poisoned
.

“As your king,” he says. “I order whoever is guilty to reveal yourself this instant.”

Once again, everyone looks at one another. Sebastian eyes each one, most likely trying to sniff out the culprit. I do the same, but everyone just looks terrified.

“Okay,” Alaric says. “It seems you leave me with no choice.” He holds out his hand to me. “Lily, please step forward.”

I get up and head over to him. “Alaric, you don’t have to—”

“You’re going to interrogate each one until you find the person responsible for this.”

I gape at him. “Interrogate?” I hope he’s not alluding to torture or something along those lines.

He nods. “Yes, you’re going to probe the minds of everyone here until you discover who did this to you.”

“Probe the minds? But you said I can’t use magic to read minds.”

“Yes, but there’s something I haven’t told you.” He leans close. “Only the true king, or princess in your case, has the ability to probe minds. But we try not to do so often because we don’t want to abuse the power. Fortunately, Sorenten isn’t the true king and can’t probe minds, for if he could, we would all be in grave danger.”

I stare at him, my head spinning. Just when I think I have this whole magic and true princess stuff figured out, I learn something new. Something I don’t want. Probing the minds of all the Ortarians? It doesn’t seem right.

But I need to do this. I need to find the betrayer in our midst. I need to protect my people.

“Okay,” I say to Alaric. “What do I do?”

“I don’t have much experience with it, but you need to let your magic guide you.” He thrusts his hand out to one of the women quaking at the corner. Salia is holding onto her tightly.

“Step forward, Fara,” Alaric says.

She can’t be more than twenty years old. She hesitantly makes her way toward us. Her eyes are brimmed with tears. “Please, my king. I haven’t—”

“Silence. If you’re innocent, you have nothing to hide.” He motions for her to stand before me, then nods for me to begin.

I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. Do I touch her head? Nothing about this seems right, but we’re at war now. I have the other rebels to think about.

Shutting my eyes, I focus on trying to reach her thoughts. A strange thing happens. I find myself zooming into her head. All this is going on inside my mind, but I see it as though I’m actually inside her head. All her thoughts and memories swirl around me. There are so many and I can get lost in them. I need to locate the correct one. I picture the events that took place only minutes ago. The way I was about to take a sip from that sweet drink, how the liquid created a hole in the ground. As I flip through Fara’s memories, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. No wicked thoughts, no memory of poisoning the drink. Nothing of the sort.

I open my eyes. “She’s innocent.”

A sigh the size of Jupiter leaves her mouth. Alaric pats her back. “You’re free to go.” She nods and rushes back to her spot.

Alaric calls a few more women. I scan each one carefully, but don’t find anything. The only two people left who were in contact with the drinks are Salia and Merla. Salia and Merla? I doubt they had something to do with this. I tell my dad that anyone here could have slipped something in my drink, not just the women, but he waves his hand, claiming there’s a high chance it’s one of these two.

“Alaric, you can’t seriously think Salia or Merla are responsible for this.” Salia is one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. And Sebastian’s mom? She wouldn’t do this…would she?

“Lily,” Alaric says. “Please do as I say.”

I sigh. “Salia…”

She bows and quickly rushes over. I felt terrible doing this to my fellow rebels, but my guilt is much stronger when it comes to invading Salia’s mind. We’ve gotten close these past few days, and she shared so much about her life with me. It just feels wrong.

Alaric rests his hand on my shoulder. “Lily.”

Salia nods to me. “It’s all right.”

“I’m really sorry about this,” I say before diving into her mind. The first thing I see is how happy she was during our celebration. It makes me smile. But suddenly, I’m chilly and the place is dark. An image pops before my eyes. An image of Salia standing in Merla’s kitchen. She’s shaking terribly as she waits for Merla and the other women to leave. Then she sets one glass cup filled with that sweet drink. Her hands are shaking more than her body. Her thoughts are all over the place. Guilt, fear, worry. She slowly looks to her right and left before holding a closed fist over the cup. She shuts her eyes and bites her bottom lip before opening her fist and dropping a small leaf into the drink. She then places the cup onto the tray with all the other drinks and climbs down the steps to the basement. Her heart is pounding, sweat breaks out all over her body. She’s beyond terrified. The guilt is overwhelming, so strong it nearly knocks me backward.

When she reaches me, she pushes a smile on her face, her hand hovering over the poisoned glass. Then she hands it to me.

My eyes shoot open and I back away from her. I can’t…I won’t believe this. Salia can’t be behind this. It’s a mistake. Her eyes are wide as they well up with tears. She doesn’t say a word, but she doesn’t have to. I can read in her eyes how sorry she is.

“Seize her!” Alaric yells.

Hastus and a few other men grab hold of her arms and pin her against the wall.

“Wh—why?” I sputter, my heart racing. “Why would you do this to me, Salia?”

Her back faces me as the men press her head into the wall. “Please, Princess. I’m so sorry. So very sorry.”

“Should we kill her, my king?” Hastus asks.

“No!” I jump toward them. “I want her to explain.”

“Lily, the guards came after us because she told them we’re here. We need to get out of here before they return.”

Salia shakes her head. “They won’t return. Sorenten put a tracking device on me, and that led the guards here. But they couldn’t find you. I…I destroyed it, so it’s safe now—”

“Why should we believe anything that comes out of your mouth?” Alaric snaps to the guards. “Kill her.”

“Not yet,” I say. “Please.” I turn to her. “Why would you betray us, Salia?”

Tears pour down her cheeks. “To free my father.” She looks from Alaric, to Hastus, to me. “I figured if I go over to the palace and tell King Sorenten of the revolution, he would free my father. I didn’t tell him about Lily. Just that there’s a group who wish to overthrow him.”

Hastus grabs her by the collar. “You traitor! I’ll kill you right now.”

“Wait,” I say. “Salia, I told you I was going to free your father. I gave you my word.”

More tears pour down her cheeks. “I couldn’t bear to see him being tortured every day. In exchange for being a spy, Sorenten promised to free my father.” She lowers her head. “He lied to me. He didn’t free my father.”

“It was you who led the guards to our first compound, wasn’t it?” Hastus says between clenched teeth.

She nods, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Gortien was innocent. He didn’t betray you.”

A lightbulb goes off in my head. “That’s why you convinced Alaric not to come back to save Sebastian and me. Because you wanted the guards to capture or kill us. And it was you who poisoned Sebastian, wasn’t it? So I would be alone, with no help.”

Sebastian clenches his jaw.

Salia nods. “I poisoned you, too, but it only affected Sebastian and not you.” Her voice trembles. “I needed…to…to search around the caves outside for the plant that would give me a stronger dosage. And I needed to wait a few days for the plant to be…potent.” Which would explain why she hadn’t poisoned me right when I got to the house. “I hoped to bring you to King Sorenten—”

Hastus lifts his hands to Salia’s neck and twists it. Salia drops to the floor.

“No!” I say.

“Lily, it had to be done. She couldn’t be trusted anymore,” Alaric says.

He’s right. I know he is. Salia betrayed us and we couldn’t have her among us anymore. But to kill her? She was only trying to save her father. As much as her betrayal stings, I can’t help but understand her. She was desperate.

“Come,” Alaric says to everyone. “We’re leaving.”

“Where?” Candon asks. “You’re not safe anywhere.”

“We’re not safe here,” Alaric argues.

Candon motions around. “Why not? The traitor destroyed the tracking device. Lily can block the secret entrances. The guards won’t be able to get in. You’re safer here than you would be in any cave.”

Alaric is quiet as he thinks over Candon’s words. He says to me, “Lily, quick. Reach into her mind and see if she destroyed the tracking device.”

“But she’s dead—”

“We have only a few minutes before her brain is completely dead. Go.”

I get to work, plowing through all the memories until I find the right one. The tracking device is no bigger than a button. I see Salia smashing it with a hammer.

When I tell them what I saw, Alaric doesn’t seem any less satisfied. “Sorenten will wonder why the device has been destroyed and he’ll send the guards after us.”

Candon nods. “Most probably, but we’ll be ready for them.”

Alaric shakes his head. “I appreciate you wanting to help us and I appreciate everything you’ve done so far, but we need to leave. Immediately.”

Candon sighs. “All right.”

“We’re coming with you,” Merla says.

Sebastian steps forward. “Mother, Father, I told you not to risk your lives for us.”

She pushes some hair off his forehead. “You’re my children. All of you. Candon and I have decided to be part of the rebellion. We have magic. We can help.”

That’s right. They’re the only ones except for Hastus, me, and some of the others who have magic. We could use their help.

Alaric nods. “Thank you. Now we need to decide where we’re going.”

Candon smiles. “I can think of only one place.”