Keeping the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 3) (5 page)

Later that day, Alaric and Renaya meet Sebastian and me in my room. I haven’t seen either of them all day, and Sebastian and I have been talking with some of the other rebels, learning their stories and sympathizing with them. I haven’t had a chance to tell Sebastian my decision. I just couldn’t find the right moment. We haven’t really had alone time. With so many people in this tiny place, we don’t have much privacy. I’m sure sleeping in the same bed is causing people to whisper about us. Ortarus doesn’t seem like a place where PDA is encouraged.

We’re sitting on my bed while Alaric and Renaya take the chairs facing us. “Before you start,” I say. “I want to apologize for yesterday. I was wrong to behave that way. This place and these people mean something to me.” I look at Renaya. “All of you do. You’re right that I can’t understand what you’ve all been through, but that doesn’t matter. No one deserves to live such a life. If I can do something to change that, I will. I need to.”

Renaya’s face lights up. It’s the only positive emotion I’ve seen from her. Sebastian’s eyes are wide.

Alaric bends forward. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

Sebastian grabs my hand. “It’s dangerous, Lily. You could die.”

“That doesn’t matter. Didn’t you tell me last night that you would do it?”

He runs his hand through his hair. “Yes, but I was talking about myself.” Fear and worry seep into his eyes. “I was up all night thinking about it. I don’t want to lose you.”

I place my hand on his. “You won’t lose me. And even if I die, I’ll die trying to give your people—our people—a good life.”

He tears his gaze from me, to the floor, and doesn’t say a word.

“Sebastian, I’m sorry, but it’s the only way. I can’t think about myself here. We’re talking about thousands of people who live in fear. That’s not a life. I can change that.”

Sebastian’s eyes move to Alaric. “What happens if Lily is killed during the battle with Sorenten?”

Alaric hesitates. “There’s more that I haven’t told you.”

Sebastian and I exchange a look. “What do you mean?” I ask.

He’s quiet for a few seconds before, “After Sorenten is killed, all his magic ceases to exist. For example, his hold on me will vanish, too. My royal magic will be restored to me.”

“That means you’ll be king,” I say.

Alaric nods.

“Then Lily’s life isn’t important,” Sebastian says, his tone shifting from confusion to anger. “She can die in the process of killing Sorenten and it won’t make any difference because you will still be king!”

I grab his arm. “Sebastian, relax.”

He pulls his arm away. “I know you want to be strong, Lily, but someone needs to protect you and watch over you. Now I see Alaric for who he truly is. A selfish, heartless ruler.”

Alaric shoots to his feet. “How dare you say something like that to me? Do you honestly think I don’t care about my daughter? You think I don’t care if she dies in battle? I only just got her. I
never
want to lose her.”

Sebastian presses his lips together. Alaric sits back down. “She’ll train hard, under Hastus’s guidance. Hastus is the best warrior we have.”

“There’s still a chance she’ll die,” Sebastian says.

“There’s always a chance.” Alaric’s voice is low.

Sebastian shakes his head like he can’t believe it. “You already lost one daughter, do you want to lose another?” As soon as the words leave his mouth, his eyes grow bigger than Saturn. My dad doesn’t know about Daisy’s death. I totally forgot about it until now.

Sebastian buries his face in his hands. “I’m so sorry. Please, my king, forgive me.” He takes my hand. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

I pat his hand, telling him it’s okay. The truth is my dad needs to learn about this sooner or later. But I don’t…I don’t want to be the one to tell him. I’ll have to, though.

Alaric’s eyes move from Sebastian to me, his forehead wrinkled. “Lost one daughter…Daisy?” Shock fills his eyes and I can see a tremor go through him. “Is she…?”

I take in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. I don’t know if I can do this. Seeing the pain on his face. The guilt for not being part of her life.

“Lily?” Alaric asks, his voice panicked.

I try to regulate my breathing. My heart is hammering in my chest so strongly it’s as though it’s made of metal. My gaze is on the floor. I haven’t noticed it before, but it’s made from hard mud, like the bottom of a cave.

“Lily, please.”

Slowly, my eyes make their way to his face. I shut them, begging my brain to give me the right words. “There was an accident.” My eyes open. “Four months ago. I mean, four months ago on Earth…” My voice trails off. Maybe I’m stalling because I don’t want to see my dad’s face fill with pain.

“Yes?” Alaric asks.

“Well, um…” I can’t do it.

Sebastian fits his fingers through mine. “Should I tell him?”

I shake my head and take another deep breath. “She died in a car accident.”

There’s no reaction from Alaric. He just sits there staring at me like his brain doesn’t understand what he just heard. His eyes are faraway, as though he’s lost in memories. Probably memories of my sister.

Tears fill my eyes, no matter how many times I think about her, I can never get over her death. Maybe with time, maybe never. I don’t want to ever forget her, but I don’t want my pain to consume me. Like it’s consuming my father. He’s still sitting there, but slowly, his eyes begin to fill with tears.

He gets to his feet. “Excuse me for a moment.” He swiftly leaves the room, and the three of us look at one another.

A few minutes of silence pass before Renaya gets up and lowers herself next to me. She touches my arm. “I didn’t know you had a sister. Alaric hasn’t spoken much of his family. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks, Renaya.”

She gives me a small smile. Then she rests her head on her brother’s arm. “I’m fortunate to have Sebastian and can’t imagine what it would be like to lose him.”

He smiles sadly as he rubs her arm. The room grows quiet as each one of us is caught in our own thoughts. About fifteen minutes pass before Alaric returns to the room and he and Renaya sit in their seats.

“I’m sorry,” Alaric says. His eyes are red, voice is raspy. “Please, let’s continue.”

I can sense how much pain he’s in and why he’d rather not think or talk about Daisy. He needs to mourn her death on his own time, alone, in privacy.

“How is your mother?” Alaric asks, slowly moving his eyes from the floor to me.

“She’s good. She’s, um, seeing someone.” I don’t know why I said that.

Alaric tilts his head forward. “I’m glad she’s happy. I feel terrible for putting her through so much pain, but I had no choice. If I had been able to send her a message to let her know what happened, I would have. I’m very sorry for everything I put you through, Lily.” He makes a move like he wants to take my hand but changes his mind. “When Sorenten is defeated, I would like to apologize to her in person.” He rubs his hand down his face. “I wish I could do the same for Daisy. Had I known she would…I wish I could have…” He sighs, shaking his head.

I get up and place my hand on his back. “Daisy knows how sorry you are. I know she forgives you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Truthfully, I don’t. I don’t know if there’s an afterworld or anything like that, but I do believe that she’s looking down at us right now.”

His eyes lift to the ceiling as though he expects Daisy to be up there. “We don’t have such a concept here.”

“What do you believe?”

He shrugs. “Ortarians die and that’s it.”

“I believe what Lily believes,” Sebastian says. “I know her sister is looking down on her, on you, too. I know she doesn’t blame you for what happened. She understands.”

Alaric doesn’t say anything and the room is silent yet again. After a bit, I ask, “Is it possible for us to go back to Earth?”

Alaric shakes his head. “My magic isn’t strong enough.”

“But I’m a royal, aren’t I? Can’t I go to Earth the same way you did? Isn’t my magic just as powerful?”

Again, he shakes his head. “You’re needed her.”

“But I need to tell my mom I’m okay. She’s probably worried sick.”

“I understand that, and if I was able to take you back, I would. But it’s not possible. You’re bound here.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Bound? By what? The Ortarian energy, or forces, or whatever you want to call it?”

I mean that as a joke, but he nods. “Ortarus needs you.”

I slump against the bed’s headboard. “I can’t believe this. I’m just supposed to let my mom drive herself crazy with worry?”

He lifts his hands apologetically. “Like I said, if I was able to, I would take you back. Don’t you see, Lily? You’re fulfilling a prophecy.”

“A prophecy?”

“Well, it’s not as though a prophet predicted you’d come to slay the king, but Ortarus expects you to fulfill your task and that’s why you’re not able to return home until Sorenten is killed.”

“And would I be able to return back to Ortarus?” I ask him.

His eyes widen, and that’s when I realize what I said. I made it seem like I would want to return here. Would I? I have no clue. All I know is that I want to kill the damn king and go back to my old life. With Sebastian. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

“Yes, once you kill Sorenten your task will be complete and you will be able to travel back and forth. Since you’re half human and a royal, you can survive on both worlds.”

“What about Sebastian? He’s not a royal. How would he be able to survive on Earth?” My heart skips a beat. “Don’t tell me he can only live on Earth if he’s a genie.” Sebastian intakes a sharp breath.

“No, Sebastian will be able to live on Earth as a human.” He bends forward. “Because of the love you have for one another. It’s so deep and strong, not like anything I have ever seen. Your bond makes it possible for Sebastian to survive on Earth.”

I sigh in relief.

“In addition, as king I have the ability to use my magic the way I see fit. I can make as many changes as I wish.”

“Does that mean you’ll allow Ortarians to travel to Earth?”

“Years ago, my great grandfather, who was king, decreed that Ortarians were not allowed to go to Earth. He was afraid of mixing in with the humans. Of losing Ortarus. Of the humans discovering our existence. But I don’t want to be as harsh.” He pauses. “If an Ortarian requests it, I may allow them to travel to Earth, but he or she would need a good reason.” His eyes get intense. “I plan on giving my people good, happy lives and hope they won’t feel a need to travel to Earth. The less humans who know of our existence, the better.”

I nod. If humans were to find out that there’s another world out there, they’d want to explore it. Maybe stick their noses where they don’t belong. We’re a curious species and we can’t help it. I don’t blame my dad for wanting to keep Ortarus hidden.

“Back to other matters,” Alaric says. “I’m sure the two of you have many questions. For example, you’re probably wondering why I wear armor and why Renaya is dressed like a palace guard.”

Sebastian and I nod.

He fingers his armor. “I wear this only in here. When I leave, I must take it off and enter the palace in my regular clothes. The reason I wear the armor is for two reasons. One is for training and the second is to show rank. Only the high officers here have armor.”

“Officers?” I ask.

“Officers of the rebellion.”

“Then why isn’t Renaya wearing armor? Isn’t she like your second-in-command?”

Renaya and Alaric exchange a glance. It hits me. “She’s undercover at the palace?” I ask.

“No,” Renaya says. “The king and servants would recognize me in the palace. I wear this because I enter and exit the compound frequently. I circle the palace often and many other important buildings, such as the guard barracks, in search for information. No one suspects me. The guards think I am just another one of them. But I don’t get close and I don’t interact with the other guards. They would sense I’m not one of them.”

“And she wears her uniform in here to remind everyone who she is and what she does,” Alaric explains.

I see. Everyone has their jobs.

“I don’t like the idea of my little sister putting herself at risk like that,” Sebastian says.

Renaya glares at him. “I can take care of myself, Sebastian,” she mutters.

Alaric thumps Sebastian on the back. “Your sister is good at what she does. We don’t have anyone as agile or stealth-like as her. She’s a great asset to this group.”

Sebastian’s jaw clenches. “That may be so, but I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have the right to tell me what to do,” Renaya says, eyes harder than usual.

“You’re my reasonability—”

“I’m not!”

They go back and forth, and Alaric and I just sit here, unable to stop them. They’re not listening to us, and it’s as though they’re in an arena and are about to bite each other’s heads off.