Genevieve walked up the polished marble steps into the posh resort bar and ran a hand through her disheveled black hair as she scanned for the people she was supposed to meet. It had taken most of the day to get to this Iblis-forsaken tiny island in the middle of nowhere. She was still pissed that they hadn’t let one of her family apport her to it directly from her home dimension. Instead, she’d been forced to rely on human transportation.

The closest they would let her apport from the Jinn dimension to Earth was an airport in Argentina where she’d had to board a terrifyingly tiny puddle jumper of a plane. She knew of planes but had never ridden in one before. It and had no beverage service, so she hadn’t been able to drink anything to calm her nerves. A few vodka tonics would have helped take the edge off the shaky flight she’d had to endure. The whole experience had been archaic. Tashi was going to get an earful when Genevieve got home. How could her friend have given such a glowing recommendation to a place with transportation that looked like something human drug smugglers used? But then, fairies tended to be overly optimistic about everything. Genevieve should have known better.

She spotted two polished-looking people, a woman with Asian features and a black man, sitting at the far side of the room and headed toward them. Those had to be her hosts seated at a low table with tea lights scattered across it. Everyone else in the bar was wearing resort attire, but the woman had on a navy designer dress, and the man’s fine exotic orange-patterned coat implied that he was anything but a tourist. When they saw her coming toward them, they rose and waved her over with smiles. Genevieve didn’t bother to return one.

Instead, she wound her way through the tangle of sleek white sofas and elegant chairs that were crowded with vacationers enjoying themselves. That was a good sign, as was the quality of the bar. Unlike the plane, the resort was on par with the standards she was accustomed to. She unwrapped the floral silk scarf from her neck and tied it to one of the straps of her coral leather handbag.

“Genevieve. I recognize you from your pictures.” The woman reached out to shake her hand. “I am Chin-Sun, and this is Itembe. We’re so glad you made it. How was your journey here?”

Genevieve briefly clasped Chin-Sun’s slim fingers, then Itembe’s rather large ones. He towered over her like a wraith, but it was his dark eyes more than anything that were intimidating. She plopped into the chair opposite them. “It was horribly frightening,” she said. “From the way the plane swerved, it was obvious that the pilot was drunk. He needs to be fired, and the plane should be sold as scrap.”

“Please rest assured that our pilot would never fly under the influence.” Itembe lifted his hand to wave the cocktail waitress over. His long dark fingers looked entirely capable of easily grasping and crushing a man’s head. “He’s worked with us for a very long time. There is no one else we would trust our guests with. The problem is that, on planes that size, you can feel every little thing. And the air on the way in can be turbulent. I’m positive he had your comfort in mind as his highest priority and was just doing his best to maneuver around the worst of it.”

Genevieve sniffed at his explanation. The plane clearly needed to be scrapped, and she saw no sense in debating it. The cocktail waitress came to stand next to her, and Genevieve placed an order for a top-shelf gin martini, very dry. Then she turned back to Chin-Sun and Itembe. “I’m sure you don’t need the help, but my brother specializes in metal. He could remodel that thing for you in an instant, transform it into something modern and much faster.”

Itembe stretched an arm across the back of the couch and crossed his long legs. “Your offer is generous. Thank you. However, we are already in the process of plans for an upgrade.”

“Hm. Okay.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and tapped a finger on her knee. “Just know that that thing makes a very negative impression. So much so that I’m now very concerned about what that implies with regards to my vacation.”

Chin-Sun smiled at her. “Don’t worry. You’re going to have a wonderful time.”

There was something in those slanted dark-brown eyes that made Genevieve uneasy. Mahrid Jinn were known to be tricksters, more powerful than the Afrit class she came from, but tricksters all the same. From the little she’d been able to glean about their reputation, she knew that these were especially powerful ones, and she swore she could feel it radiating from them like a physical force. If only her friend Tashi had just shut up about the dream vacation she’d had here... In it, she’d gotten to experience her deepest wish; to be able to go more than twenty steps from her tree and see the world. Yes, it was all Tashi’s fault that she was trusting herself to these Mahrid.

Chin-Sun pulled some papers from a black file lying on the table and slid them toward Genevieve. “We’ll just need your signature on these.”

Genevieve flipped through them quickly, already having been sent a draft to read through prior to coming, and jotted her name on the line with the gold pen Itembe supplied her. Her signature glowed bright gold for a moment and sizzled, as though burning itself onto the page, before settling into normal black ink. She frowned, and tried to pinpoint exactly what sort of magic that indicated. Some kind of binding spell no doubt.

She pushed the pages back across the table and tapped her finger at the last clause above her signature. “Just so you know, suppressing my powers doesn’t need to be part of the deal. I don’t have any, as you probably already know, so it’s an unnecessary waste of energy.” The truth caused bitterness to infuse her tone. She was far past the point when they should have made themselves known. All the other Afrit she’d grown up with had long since broken theirs in and were honing them into a specialty.

At a very basic level, her people could be said to be craftsmen. The precious inanimate materials of the Jinn dimension, which was similar to Earth, could be multiplied and molded by the powers of the Afrit. Where she came from, the city was composed of grand palaces and other structures of infinite artistry and luxury. The clothing was couture and the food indulgent. Everything was made through the effortless use of magic.

Though the Afrit were not the most powerful among the Jinn, most believed that they ranked very closely to the Mahrid. The truth was that no one really knew exactly how powerful the Mahrid were, though they’d often been called masters of space and time. In the past, there’d been efforts to catalogue what they could do, but the authors of such accountings always seemed to mysteriously disappear. And now Genevieve was second-guessing the wisdom of entrusting herself to them, even if it was just for a simple vacation.

“Oh? Well then we won’t worry about having you wear the suppression cuff.” Chin-Sun nodded at the slim golden circle of bracelet that had appeared on the table next to the file. “Instead, let’s focus on making sure we give you exactly what you came here for. Why don’t you outline it for us one more time?” Chin-Sun clasped her hands together over the knee of her crossed leg.

Genevieve frowned. “I thought everything was arranged already. I gave you that information over a month ago.” She tapped her fingers on her thigh, making her many jewel-encrusted rings flash in the light. Why was she here if they weren’t ready for her? The waitress appeared at that moment, and Genevieve ordered a second drink before downing half the contents of the one she’d just been given.

She had no idea what they had in store for her exactly, and it was making her edgy. They hadn’t wanted any specifics of what she wanted for the vacation, though she’d provided it anyway. They’d just wanted a sensory description of how she would feel if her ideal was achieved. The whole thing was odd. They wouldn’t tell her anything about the arrangements that had been made, which had made packing difficult. That in itself irritated her. Since she didn’t have powers and wasn’t traveling with a family member who could conjure anything she might need, she’d had to pack like a human. She complained to Tashi about it, but her friend had reassured her that it was better not to know. The surprise was the best part of the whole thing, she’d said.

“Oh, yes. Itembe and I went through what you sent us in detail,” said Chin-Sun. “But as you said, it was over a month ago. We like to review expectations one final time before sending you off, just in case you’ve changed your mind about something.”

Genevieve let her impatience out with a huff. “Fine, if you think it’s necessary.” She downed the rest of her glass and set it on the table, knowing she was being petulant but not caring.

Chin-Sun’s gaze didn’t waver, and her lips remained set in a polite smile. Genevieve glanced at Itembe. He was even more enigmatic than Chin-Sun. She had no idea what was going on behind those midnight-dark eyes.

“As I’ve already stated, I’ve traveled a lot and been to many luxury resorts. But none of them have given me the experience I was looking for. They promise complete relaxation and claim their level of pampering will make you feel like royalty, but that’s never been the case. You said to describe how it would feel, but I’m not sure how to do that.”

“Just do your best one last time,” Chin-Sun said.

“Okay. Well, for once I want to feel the glowing satisfaction that comes from having my every need fulfilled before I even know I have it. I want that radiant, bone-deep happiness that comes from feeling complete and getting everything I want out of life.” She twisted her hands together in her lap, knowing it sounded dumb.

It wasn’t easy to express the exact feeling she wanted. She just knew there was a driving need inside her, an unhappiness she couldn’t seem to shake. Every day it demanded more, and more was what she’d done her best to get. Finer clothes, a larger suite, more opulent jewelry, travel to exotic locations, and various spa treatments had all been tried. They worked ... for a time. The problem was, the feelings those things brought always faded not long after. They didn’t drive away the looming cloud of worry about her future like they used to. And that cloud was growing and becoming more menacing every day. All she really wanted was a period of time to forget about her future and feel whole for once.

Everything she had was given to her by her family, which hadn’t been a problem until now. She’d reached maturity and her brothers were grumbling about providing for her. Kaeda, the oldest, said that maybe their mother choosing such a human name for her had been an omen. Why wait for the humiliation of appearing before for the tribunal, he’d said. She should just move to Earth now and live with the humans since she basically was one. That comment had stung, being so close to the truth, but she hadn’t let him see her cry. Weakness had no place among the Jinn.

She pulled herself out of her musings and shrugged. “That’s all.” She glanced at Chin-Sun, who nodded. Her brown eyes were earnest, and she seemed to have been listening with the utmost attentiveness.

“I see,” Itembe said, smiling. It stood out brightly against the dark skin of his face, like a sliver of glacier in a mountain crevice. “No one has ever left here feeling dissatisfied. I guarantee that you won’t either.”

The rhythm of his words rushed over Genevieve’s skin like warm honey, and the confidence of his smile made Genevieve feel hopeful. She knew her hosts were doing their best to be reassuring, but she still remained skeptical of their ability to deliver on their promises, however powerful they might be.

“Feel free to relax this evening and explore the resort. And tonight, get plenty of sleep,” said Chin-Sun, collecting the file from the table and rising from the sofa. “Your vacation will begin first thing in the morning.”

A flutter of excitement—just a little one—beat against the inside of Genevieve’s chest. “Okay. Um, what should I wear tomorrow?” She rose from her seat, as did Itembe.

“Wear whatever you like,” said Chin-Sun. “You won’t even have to worry about it. You’ll see.”

Genevieve frowned. “Why all the mystery? There’s only so many things I could be doing at a resort like this.” The spa or laying on the beach came to mind. Then again, this was no human resort she was visiting. Her hosts were Mahrid Jinn who had powers which were kept highly secret. It was rumored that they had unlimited powers, but Genevieve highly doubted that.

Chin-Sun shook her head, the dark strands of her hair glossy in the low light. “Just rest assured that we would never schedule anything mundane for you. Many have given us reviews stating that they were glad they knew nothing ahead of time about their experience. So you see, its unexpected nature is an intrinsic part of its impact. As Itembe said, your satisfaction is guaranteed.”

Genevieve pursed her lips and shrugged. “Okay. I suppose if anyone could surprise me, it would be the two of you. We’ll see. Just don’t forget that there will be consequences if I am disappointed.” She tucked her purse under her arm and turned to go. The waitress was approaching right at that moment with her order, which was perfect timing. Genevieve took the glass from her tray, toasted her hosts with narrowed eyes, and left bar.