Keeping the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 3) (6 page)

“What am I going to wear?” I ask, to change the subject and lighten the mood. Renaya and Sebastian get quiet, but they are still shooting daggers at one another. Well, she is. His eyes are filled with concern. That seems to piss her off even more.

“Armor when you train and you can wear your human clothes at your leisure time,” Alaric says.

I scan their uniforms, specifically Alaric’s. That thing cannot be comfortable. It looks heavier than me. “Where did you get those from? And you never really explained where we are or what this place is.”

He nods. “You’re right. There’s still a lot we need to discuss. I made this place when I was a boy.”

“You
made
this place?” I ask.

“Yes. There are many caves in Ortarus. One day, I was bored and was exploring the different caves and this one spoke to me. I went inside and used my magic to dig through all the dirt, and I created this compound.”

“For what?” I ask. “You knew you would start a revolution?”

“No, I made this place for me. A place I could escape to, a place I can be alone. My secret place.” He laughs lightly. “I went a little overboard and created many rooms and a kitchen and living room. I made a little house for myself.”

“Or maybe the Ortarian energy controlled you into making this place.”

“Maybe. As for the armor, it used to be the palace guards’ uniform until they switched to the kind Renaya is wearing. The old uniforms were dumped in an abandoned building, and I along with a few others scavenged them. I stole Renaya’s uniform off a palace guard. Suspicion was aroused, but they never found the thief. I don’t think it’d be wise for me to steal another uniform again. Like I said, we must be careful.”

“You said everyone here has a job,” Sebastian says. “What will my job be?”

“You’re going to be going back and forth between the outside and here. You’re to join the others in hunting for whatever we need. I have requested a special uniform for you. It’s not quite finished yet. The others are still putting it together.”

“What is it?” Sebastian asks.

“A camouflage uniform. That way you can blend into the trees, keeping your eyes on your comrades as they scavenge whatever we need.”

Sebastian says, “All I’ll do is watch over the others?”

Alaric thumps him on the back again. “Don’t look so glum. Being the Watcher is one of the most important tasks. Your teammates rely on you to protect them. Their fate is in your hands.”

Sebastian nods. “I apologize for my lack of respect. I’m prepared to do whatever you ask of me, my king.”

Alaric bows his head. “Thank you.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows knit. “But how am I going to be able to attack if I don’t have magic?”

Alaric gets to his feet and motions for us to follow him. Renaya stays behind. Alaric leads us down the hall, down a flight of steps—we must be really deep underground now. We come face to face with a large door. A long wooden board stretches across it. Alaric lifts it and gestures for us to step inside. All around me are weapons. Swords, spears, bows and arrows. The kind of weapons they used in medieval times.

“This,” he tells Sebastian. “Is how you battle without magic.”

Sebastian gapes at everything.

“How did you make all of this?” I ask Alaric.

He raises his hands. “With these. We gather as many resources as we can from outside and forge them into weapons.”

“Amazing,” Sebastian says, his voice filled with wonder as he gazes around.

“I learned about these weapons when I was on Earth. I never imagined there were other ways to attack, without using magic. I suppose it never occurred to me that humans have wars.” Alaric leads us outside. “These weapons are to be used responsibly.”

“Of course,” Sebastian says.

“Come, let’s return to your room.”

The four of us are in my room. Alaric said we still have a lot to talk about. I’ve got many questions. “I haven’t thought about it before Salia mentioned it,” I say. “But if you’re the true king, that makes me the princess, right?”

Greif flashes across his face. “Normally, Daisy would be in line for the throne, but yes, technically you would rule.”

He must see the panic on my face because he quickly adds, “Not that you’re going to rule, of course. You want to live on Earth.”

“Well, yeah, my whole life is there. I have dreams. Getting into culinary school and opening my own restaurant.”

“Culinary school? That’s wonderful.”

I nod. “If you would have stuck around, you would have learned that I love to cook. It was something Mom and I did together.” I don’t mean to snap at him. I don’t want to hurt him, but it stings that he wasn’t part of my life. I needed a dad. Every kid needs a dad.

He bends forward and this time I let him take my hand. “You have the right to be upset with me. I’d like to make it up to you, though. Once Sorenten is defeated, I’d like us to get to know each other better.” His eyes fill with pain. “I’d love to hear about Daisy.”

I nod, my throat tight. “I’m sorry I keep exploding on you.”

He pats my hand. “That’s okay. I kind of deserve it. I was only thinking about myself when I went to Earth. I never anticipated falling in love. I should have told your mother the truth from the start.”

I pull my hand away. “Why didn’t you?”

His fingers plow through his hair. “I suppose I wanted to be human. I wanted a future with her. In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t possible, but I pushed it away.”

It’s like what happened to me and Sebastian. Though he was a genie, we wanted a future together. Can I blame my dad for following his heart? Of course not. I need to let the past go. What’s important is that we can start over fresh. You know, once the rebellion is over.

I force a laugh. “There’s a chance I’ll die, so we should probably squeeze in as much father-daughter bonding as we can.” I’m not trying to make a joke of the situation, I’m just trying to deal with my nerves. My stomach has been in knots ever since I decided to take on the task of killing the king. It’s safe to say I’ll have many restless nights.

Alaric awkwardly kisses the top of my head. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you live.”

“Me, too,” Sebastian says. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Their words reassure me, even though both Sebastian and Alaric hardly have any magic. It’s comforting to know they’ll be watching over me.

“And me,” Renaya adds. I smile at her. It’s weird how things are turning out. My seemingly boring life is getting more interesting by the minute. I wish I could tell someone about it, like Mom. Or Macy. I bet Mom wouldn’t believe me at first. She’s still a skeptic. How would she react when I tell her I found my father? If only there was a way for me to tell her I’m fine. Time moves slower here than it does on Earth, and I have no idea how long I’ve been gone. How long am I going to remain here? What if it’ll be years? Will I return to Earth before I’m, like, thirty?

It’s silly to think about this when there are more important things that should be occupying my mind. Like killing the king, for example.

“Do you have any more questions?” Alaric asks. “You can ask whatever is on your mind.”

“Well, there is something I’ve been wondering about,” I say. “Back on Earth I had dreams. Dreams about a meadow or something. Similar to the one here on Ortarus. But it wasn’t dark, it was sunny and bright and filled with trees and flowers. Sebastian told me that’s how Ortarus used to look like.”

Alaric nods. “Yes, Ortarus used to be a good, beautiful place before Sorenten took the throne.”

“So why did I dream about it? Also, there were shadows.”

“Yes, that was me,” Alaric says. “I was telling you it was time for you to come to Ortarus.”

I lift an eyebrow. “The shadows were you? How?”

“I suppose you can think of it as my spirit roaming around Earth. Since I couldn’t go there, my sprit did. Sent by Ortarian energy.”

“And the meadow? Why was I there? Because I was being called to Ortarus, so I went there in my dreams?”

He nods.

“And it got darker because I was getting closer to traveling to Ortarus? And when the shadows engulfed me, they brought me here?” I ask.

“It was Sebastian who brought you here. If not for him, the shadows would have probably killed you.”

I gape at him. “You’d kill me?”

“No! Like I said, that’s why Sebastian was sent back to Earth. To bring you here. He needed to use his magic.”

“And if he hadn’t? Would I be dead?”

“Lily, no one wants you dead. The shadows wouldn’t have gone after you unless they knew Sebastian was able to bring you here.”

This is very weird, but I’m not going to question Ortarian rules and customs. The important thing is that I’m here and I’m ready to do what’s expected of me. I think. I hope.

“If I absolved Sebastian of his crime,” I say. “And that changed everything, then technically he shouldn’t have been a genie anymore. So why did he turn into one?”

“The only way it was possible for Sebastian to return to you was to be a genie. The Ortarian energy made that possible.”

“There’s one thing that confuses me,” Sebastian says. “When I returned to being a genie again, why was I Lily’s personal genie? To bring her here?”

“Yes. We needed you two to be together. We couldn’t afford Lily wishing three times and having Sebastian disappear from her life forever. Also, the love you have for one another made it easier for you to travel.”

“Meaning?” I ask.

“If not for your bond with Sebastian, I would have had to come up with another way to get you here. When Sebastian told me how much he loves you, I knew what I had to do. Send him back so he could bring you here. Now that you’re here, Lily, your training must begin.”

“What kind of training are you talking about, exactly?”

He gestures around. “Everyone here trains. You will, too, Sebastian. We don’t have magic and will have to rely on our arms and legs. Lily, you will practice magic as well as punching, kicking, that sort of thing.”

“Like martial arts,” I say. “Cool, I’ve always wanted to try karate.”

Renaya gives me a confused face. “Excuse me?”

Sebastian says, “I’ll explain it to you later.” He turns to Alaric. “When do we start?”

“Tomorrow morning. I expect the two of you to be well rested and up early.”

Sebastian and I both nod, and Renaya and Alaric get to their feet. She heads for the door, after wishing both of us good night, while Alaric stands there before me. When I look up at him, I see something in his eyes, something I can’t identify. He bends forward and lightly kisses the top of my head. I’ve never had a dad, so this kind of feels strange, but good at the same time.

“I’m glad you’ve changed your mind,” he tells me, his voice soft. “I know what I’m asking of you is crazy—”

“It’s okay. I’d do anything to help the Ortarians. What they’re going through is terrible. No one should have to endure that.”

Alaric pushes some of his curly white hair off his shoulders. “Thank you, Lily. You have no idea what this means to me. To all of us.”

“I think I do.”

“We’ll watch over you,” he promises. “We won’t send you after Sorenten unless you feel you’re ready.”

I nod. “But I’d like to kill that bastard as soon as I can. Every second we waste causes more kids to die, more families to be torn apart, more people to suffer.”

He runs his hand over my head. “I’m sorry I missed out on your childhood. I’ve always known you were wonderful, but you’re more than that. You’re compassionate and brave.”

“Like her father,” Sebastian says, grinning.

Alaric gives me an uneasy smile. I can tell how worried he is. I wish I could tell him not to be—he’s only making me nervous—but he’s my dad, so it’s his job to worry about me, I guess. “Sleep well, honey. You, too, Sebastian.”

Sebastian lowers his head. “Thank you, my king.”

Alaric nods before leaving. Once he’s sure the coast is clear, Sebastian pulls me to his chest. I can feel his heart pounding. Looking into his eyes, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head, tightening his hold on me and practically fusing my nose with his chest.

“Can’t breathe.”

He loosens his hold. “I’m sorry, Lily. I’m just…not okay with this. As much as I want to be, I’m not.” He strokes my cheek. “If I were able to, I’d take your place and kill Sorenten.”

I rest my palm on his chest. “I want to do this. Freaked out as I am, I feel like I need to. These people here…what they’ve been through…someone needs to help them.”

“I know, I just…” His eyes fill with grief. “What if I lose you?” he whispers.

I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. His hands go to my waist and he spins us around, lowering me to the bed and gently climbing on top of me. He kisses me hard, yet soft at the same time. I feel like we’ve gone years without kissing. Like we haven’t seen each other forever and we’re making up for all that lost time.

“I love you,” I say, tangling my fingers in his hair. “Please don’t worry about me. I’ll train and I’ll be strong.” I force a smile. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

He doesn’t smile. “Words can’t describe how much I love you.”

I pull him close. “Then show me.”