Imari opened her mouth as she tried to find the right words to respond to Lucien’s declaration. There were a thousand things she could say, but none of them she wanted to share with her parents right behind them. She wanted this moment alone with him. A moment where she could be as open and heartfelt with him as he had just been with her. But she wasn’t a fool. She knew that moment might never come.
He spoke before she could say anything. “You don’t have to say it back. You don’t have to say a word, really. I just needed you to know how I feel before I step into the arena with Khalid.”
“Lucien, I—I…”
He squeezed her hand. “I know you don’t want to be tied to any man. Don’t worry. My feelings for you aren’t going to turn me into some manipulative monster. This doesn’t change anything. You’ll have your annulment as soon as it can be done.”
“Thank you.” Thank you? That was her response to this incredible man? “I mean, I appreciate that.” Oh, brilliant. She was really knocking this one out of the park. But she didn’t want to lie to him either. She wasn’t completely sure she wanted to be married. She cared for Lucien, without a doubt, but marriage was a big step. So was staying married. She had a lot to think about, but right now, she just wanted to focus on keeping Lucien alive.
His smile faded a little. “I hope we can remain friends when this is all over.”
“Friends? Are you kidding?” She wanted so much more than that. But how did she explain what she wanted? Should she just tell him she wanted to date him? Dating sounded so…formal after all they’d shared.
The caravan came to an abrupt halt, rocking her and Lucien and bringing their conversation to an end. Ahead of them, Khalid dismounted.
Lucien, his smile now replaced by a stern expression that she took to be his game face, looked around. “Apparently, we’ve arrived.”
She stared out at the arena, dread filling her. “This is it.”
The arena probably wasn’t what Lucien had expected. It wasn’t some open-air amphitheater. Instead, it was a cave. She’d been inside once, briefly. She’d been young and uninterested in the challenge between two of her father’s head gardeners. Her most vivid memory of it was how vast a space the cavern was, but other than that, she didn’t recall much. When there was any kind of dispute to be settled here, only those involved remained inside.
It was one way of controlling the chaos that such clashes set free.
“We’ll all go in, but only you and Khalid will remain inside.”
Lucien nodded slowly as if letting it all sink in. “Then only the victor emerges, is that it?”
“Yes.” She studied his face, wanting to sear his image into her head and her heart in case the worst possible outcome happened. Then she made herself smile. “I’ll be right here to greet you when you come out.”
“I’m glad you have confidence in me.”
“I do.” But she also knew the outcome could go in Khalid’s favor very easily.
“Out,” Khalid roared at them.
With a frown, Lucien jumped to the ground and helped Imari from the wagon. Her parents were already off their mounts. She made eye contact with them, thinking they’d say something, but she was met with silence.
So be it. Unless they were going to rescind everything they’d said to her and about her, she had nothing to say to them anyway.
She linked her arm through Lucien’s and gave him a bright smile she didn’t feel. “I guess we should go in.” Then she glanced at Khalid, who was practically trembling with anticipation. Heaven help her, she hoped Lucien wiped the cave floor with him. Not that she wished Khalid dead. She didn’t. Not even a little. She just wanted him taken down a rung, or three. And she needed him to lose. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” her betrothed nuisance growled at her.
She sighed. His whole attitude was so tired. Much like this place she’d grown up in. “Then let’s go in and talk to the mediator.”
He turned on his heel and marched ahead of them. She and Lucien followed with her parents behind.
The mediator was a rotating position, but it was always filled, meaning there was always someone in the cave to handle disputes. The position could only be held by a marid, the strongest and most powerful type of jinn among them all.
Imari didn’t relish being in the presence of a marid. He would judge her for what she’d done, just as her parents and Khalid had, and she hoped that the mediator would still be fair. But that was nonsense. The mediator would absolutely be fair. Anything else could invite chaos, and no jinn in this realm would willingly do that.
They entered the cave. It was a beautiful space, really. Lanterns and torches set around the tiled walls made it quite bright. The floor was dirt, but raked in a spiraling pattern. Order was everything after all.
At the far end of the circular space was the mediator’s tower. It allowed the mediator to watch each challenge from the best vantage point.
All of that she remembered, but she was surprised to see the interior wasn’t quite as vast as she’d recalled. “I thought this place was bigger.”
“It was,” her father said.
She turned, surprised he’d spoken.
“The chaos contained within has scarred the walls and thickened them.” He looked at her like she was directly to blame for that. Why not? She was apparently the seat of all that was wrong in their lives anyway.
“I never knew it worked that way.”
Her mother managed to stop frowning long enough to add, “Jinn magic. It protects us.”
Yes, Imari thought. Against dangerous women who want to marry for love, instead of her parents’ job security. Perhaps she was being too hard on them, though. Did she really expect them to go against tradition for her? To give up their lives? No. But a little support, a little understanding…that would have been nice.
Although it wouldn’t change a thing.
The mediator came down from his tower and walked toward them. He was a small man, but she knew that, like all marid, he had a giant form as well. And his current size in no way spoke to his power. A marid jinn could bend time. No other kind of jinn could do that. Even so, it was extraordinarily rare for a marid to use their power that way, because bending time created the one thing they all strived to be free of.
Chaos.
Instead, marids dedicated their lives to order and peace and maintaining both in the realm they called home.
He bowed. “I am Hammad. You have a dispute?”
They all bowed back.
As expected, Khalid spoke up first. “My betrothed has shamed me by marrying another and trying to break our sworn marriage contract. I have challenged the usurper.”
Lucien nodded at the mediator. “That would be me.”
The mediator eyed him with curiously. “You are not jinn.”
“No, I am not.”
“While you are in our world, our rules will still apply to you.”
“Fine by me, so long as they don’t hamper my ability to defend myself or fight for my wife’s honor.”
Khalid sneered at the word wife, which made Imari smile. If Lucien was trying to rile him up with a little pregame trash talk, it was working. Plus, hearing Lucien call her wife gave her a little unexpected thrill.
The mediator continued. “The only rules you must abide by within this arena are thus: You must accept me as mediator. You both must agree to the terms of the challenge. And you must accept the outcome as final.”
“I accept,” Khalid spat out.
But Lucien wasn’t as quick to respond. “I accept you as mediator, and I accept the outcome as final, but the terms of the challenge have not been settled.”
The mediator looked at Khalid. “What are your terms?”
Khalid sneered at Lucien. “The winner gets this woman’s hand.”
The mediator looked to Lucien then. “Do you agree to that?”
“No, I don’t.”
The mediator seemed confused. “Do you not want to retain this woman’s hand? You are married to her, are you not?”
“I am. But the terms I want are that no matter who wins, the decision about Imari’s future is up to her. Her choice to be married or not.”
The mediator thought that over, then he laughed. “But that would make the point of this challenge moot, wouldn’t it? She will choose you, won’t she?”
Lucien shrugged. “She only married me to protect herself from the wish merchant pursuing her. She will most likely choose not to be married to anyone. You could ask her, you know. She’s standing right here.”
The mediator glanced at Imari but shook his head. “No, the terms can only be that the winner takes the woman. It is her betrothed’s honorable right, after all, to have the bride he was promised.”
Imari’s heart sank. That meant that Lucien had to win to save both of them.
“That’s barbaric,” Lucien said.
“She is the one who broke her contract, jinabi. She knew our rules when she did it. Order keeps order.”
Lucien glanced at her, but she couldn’t do anything but offer him a shrug. The mediator was right. She’d known. And she’d pretty much told Lucien how it was going to go down. Just like this.
Lucien seemed to understand. His mouth firmed into a hard line. “One last question before I accept, then.”
“Go on,” the mediator said.
“Who or what determines the winner?”
“When one of you concedes,” the mediator said. “Or one of you is dead. Do you accept?”
With one last glance at Imari, Lucien faced Khalid. “I do.”
Khalid thumped his fist against his chest. “As do I.”
Hammad nodded. “Very well. The challenge begins at the first ring of the bell and ends at the second.” He turned and headed back to his tower.
“Prepare to die,” Khalid sneered at Lucien. Then he shot a hard look at Imari. “You had better not spend our wedding night weeping over this jinabi.”
Imari refused to be cowed by him. She crossed her arms and gave him the same glare right back. “The only thing that would make me weep on our wedding night is the thought of how much I would have to teach you and how little pleasure you would bring me.”
The corner of Lucien’s mouth twitched, like he was trying not to laugh.
The mediator raised his hands. “Then it is settled. The challenge will begin when only the challengers remain in the circle.”
Imari’s parents bowed and left.
Imari wasn’t as quick to go. She leaned up and kissed Lucien’s cheek. “See you on the outside.”
“Yes,” he said. “You will.”
She hoped so. In fact, she had to. Because if there was a wedding night with Khalid, one of them probably wouldn’t live through it.