I nodded curtly at Marilyn and without saying a word continued with River toward the veranda on the opposite side. When I approached the small room that contained the entrance to the prison below, I stopped outside of it.

I set River down on her feet and reached for the door handle. Although it was locked, the moment I touched it, there was a click and it magically unlocked. This had been another perk of entering a permanent contract with the Nasiris—if it could really be called a perk. I was granted access to their atrium whenever I wanted, and consequently also had access to the human cells. Although I would avoid going there as much as possible. Since I had unlimited wishes, I would request that human blood be delivered to me in jugs so I wouldn’t have to go through the trauma of murdering someone. That task would be left to someone else.

We stepped into the bare room, and then I did the same with the second, much sturdier door that protected the prison. It clicked the moment I touched it, and I was able to swing it wide open. Closing my hands around River’s, I twined my fingers with hers and guided her inside.

Still, she hadn’t asked me what I planned to do next, and so I told her. “In case you haven’t guessed already, we’re going back down to the Nasiri atrium. The first thing I want to do is get rid of that damned tattoo you still have on you.”

“What will that mean exactly?” she asked, as we began to make our way through the maze of prison cells.

“You’ll be just like a regular prisoner here. The connection the jinn have with you that allows them to get inside your mind and make you hear and sense things will be removed, and consequently also the brand.”

“Okay,” she said, casting me a grateful look. “Thank you.”

Thank you. She didn’t even seem to be aware of how ridiculously inappropriate it was for her to be thanking me. I let it pass.

As we neared the storage room in the deepest part of the prison, she spoke again, “Do you think your family will come back for you?”

“Oh, they will,” I replied. “I’ve no doubt about it. My guess is they’ll all return first to The Shade, but then some will come back. Not just for me, but also because my grandfather and his girlfriend are due to arrive here—perhaps they have already—with those three dragons. They’ll need to warn him not to try to enter. Of course, none of them will be able to enter without permission, and since I’ve now forbidden the jinn to touch those they freed again, they’ll be forced to return to the island.”

“Will you go to see them?” she asked. “Tell them what’s happened to you? Even if there’s nothing they can do about it, at least it will put their minds at ease.”

I grimaced. Put their minds at ease. Telling my family that I’d just sold my soul to an ancient clan of jinn would hardly do that, but River was right that at least they would know what had happened to me. And more importantly, I didn’t want them hanging around in the desert with the hunters stationed so close by.

“Yes,” I replied. “I will have to tell them.” By now we had reached the storage room, and were already making our way down the narrow staircase toward the jinn’s kitchen. “After we get this tattoo off of you, I’ll go back up there. We’ll go back up there,” I added. I didn’t want River out of my sight, especially now that we had made enemies in this place. That bastard Michael, for one, would be after her.

We passed through the kitchen where a pile of dirty pots and plates appeared to be washing themselves in the sink, and made our way back up through the atrium toward Nuriya’s chambers on the top floor. I knocked on the front door, then stepped back with River, waiting.

When the door opened, it wasn’t Nuriya standing behind it. It was another jinni. Female, she looked almost like a younger version of Nuriya. She had the same curling jet-black hair that sprawled down her back and reached to below her waist, but her nose was less straight and more rounded at the tip. Her eyes were amethyst-colored, and her face was rounder and softer, which added to her youthful appearance. Instead of pale blue, beneath her bare abdomen was a light pink smoke.

“Where’s Nuriya?” I asked, not bothering to ask who she was exactly.

She eyed me curiously, from head to toe, and then smiled a little before asking, “What do you want her for?” Her voice sounded childish, though from the curve of her waist she was well into adolescence.

Her question grated on my nerves. “Just take me to her, will you?” I said, raising my wrist and showing her the gold band.

“Oh,” she said softly. “So you are Benjamin Novak.” This jinni only seemed to have eyes for me. I hadn’t noticed her once glance at River. “My name’s Aisha. Daughter of Karam, and niece of Queen Nuri. I’ve been delegated to look after you.”

I raised a brow. Nuriya hadn’t mentioned anything about delegating the granting of my wishes to someone else. I’d been under the impression that she would grant them herself. This left me unsettled. I didn’t know if this girl was as powerful as the queen herself, and after selling my freedom to these creatures, I was going to make damn sure that I received the service I’d paid for.

“As I said,” I said, my temper rising, “I would like to see Nuriya.”

Aisha cocked her head to one side. Another smile spread across her plump lips. “What’s wrong with me?” she asked, a teasing glint in her eyes.

I couldn’t believe that a jinni was flirting with me. This is the last thing I need to deal with right now.