Make Me Burn: Fireborne, Book 2 (16 page)

“Thank you, Blade, that makes me feel so much better, coming from you.”

The redhead smiled. “Any time at all, dear. We’ll look after your bum if you look after ours. Just ask for us, we’re usually around.” After taking a moment to fiddle with her eyelashes in the mirror, she gestured to the others. “Come, pets, we should let this one go so she can slip back into her skirt and catch up with the Persian Prince before someone else snatches him up.” She winked at Aziza. “I hear he gives good aftercare.”

She bet he did. Blade opened the door and the other girls filed out ahead of her. Before she followed them, Aziza stopped her. “Blade?”

The Kewpies’ leader lifted one dark-red brow. “Yes?”

“Can I ask—you were just talking about Tabitha’s name and it made me wonder—did Paige and Charity have a particular fetish that you know about? Something they liked more than anything else?”

Blade’s smile was sad. “All things sharp and shiny, love. Just like me. They were good women who played hard and didn’t deserve their ends, no matter what anyone says. I miss them.”

“I’m so sorry.”

The woman shook her head, leaving without another word. Aziza grabbed her skirt and slid it on, her mind whirring. Knives in particular. Underbridge, Ram and knife play. She thought about Ram using that blade to cut off her shirt and wanted to scream.

Was that something he did? It was sexy when it was used to strip off her clothes, but she couldn’t imagine him using it for anything else. Didn’t want to. That was fear play, and not something Aziza ever wanted to experiment with. Not that she had a right to judge. She was turned on by things most people assured her would send her straight to hell. Like threesomes. And foursomes. And now, it seemed, dragon tails.

From what Ram and Shev had told her, and from what she’d now seen and experienced, the Jinn’s appetites for sexual debauchery were impressive. No limits, Ram always said.

Did that include cutting people? Because if it did, she was going to have to get her exile out of the country. All signs were flashing like bright neon and pointing directly at him. If she didn’t know him,
she
would think he was guilty.

But you do know him.

Aziza straightened her skirt and sighed as she turned her torn shirt around, tying the torn ends together in front and leaving off her corset. She flinched a little as the fabric scraped the welts on her back, but then heat blossomed inside her again, reminding her of what she’d done. What Ram had done to her.

No. She shook her head. No going gooey or needy. She didn’t want to cuddle with Ram right now…but she would let him know he owed her a shirt.

She laced up her boots, thinking she should have sent those girls home. She could appreciate their pride and courage, but if Blade had that much in common with the other victims, she could be in danger. Her only saving grace was that she apparently hadn’t played with Ram yet. But she wanted to.

Perhaps she is the other one you are meant to protect.

Maybe she was. So was that it then? Chiye and Blade were the women who needed the Fireborne’s protection? She could do that. For the moment she’d just make Ram promise he wouldn’t play with either of them until the Jiniyr were out in the open.

Greg would be happy with that promise as well. She smiled, hoping he was having as good a time as she had. Ram had described Chiye as Aziza, but less fatalistic. She laughed under her breath. Greg needed less fatalism. And less Aziza.

When all this started she’d been afraid she would lose him because of his feelings for her. That seeing her with Brandon and Ram would push him away. Even after he’d told her he knew he was meant to be a part of what was happening, that he knew she loved him and he wasn’t going anywhere, she’d worried. But after the night Te hid him from Razia, he’d changed. Subtly. Still her best friend, still Greg…but more at ease. More accepting of her choices, particularly in the romance department. She should be kissing Te’s ass for that alone because, God knew, she didn’t want to lose any more of her family. Not Penn and certainly not Greg.

The mere idea that she could lose either of them nearly sent her over the edge again. Damn, she was a mess right now. Maybe she
should
find Ram and let him hold her until she stopped shaking. Stopped feeling as if she was going to cry. She could tell him about the Jinn she’d seen. About her conversation with the Kewpies.

When she lifted up her face to look in the mirror, she gasped. Shev was looking back at her from the other side.

Aziza’s eyes widened when she saw a shimmer in the air in front of her. This was different from the other times. No dizzying whirlpool of confusion. No competing images. This was solid. She could see it—see beyond Shev to the club she’d been inside not too long ago and the woman she’d seen crying on the golden staircase before she found the body. Who
was
she? Had she and Shev been there watching? Had they seen what Aziza had allowed Shev’s
tau’ma
to do to her?

Aziza fought her body’s immediate response to the reminder.

The mirror was partially fogged by steam or someone’s breath…and she could see words—
Take my hand
—and beneath it, the word
Veil
.

Take her hand? How? Shev’s expression was urgent. Impatient.

“Fuck.” Aziza lifted her hand and touched the mirror, watching it ripple even as she opened herself to her power.
Conceal.
She was definitely getting a lot of practice with this ability. She must not be very popular. None of her Qarin wanted to be seen talking to her.

Her hand was disappearing. She could feel it. A thousand bee stings and intense pressure…and then Shev took her hand. The ripple in the mirror expanded until it encompassed the sink and the wall behind it.

Then Shev was in front of her, tugging her hand out of Aziza’s and walking to the bathroom stalls, looking underneath for occupants. When she found none, she whirled around and touched Aziza’s shoulder. “Witness. Now.”

Stop.
The burning on her forehead was nothing compared to the emotions simmering inside her. “Hello to you too. What the hell, Shev? What is with all this cloak-and-dagger bullshit, where have you been, who is that girl…and did I just reach into another dimension through a restroom mirror?”

“You did.” Shev’s usually sultry voice was hesitant and suspicious. “I wasn’t sure you could, or that you would. You haven’t exactly been subtle in expressing what you think of me now. That you disapprove of my inaction. I believe you mentioned something about punching my face the other day? I was hoping you might be in a more receptive mood after your session with the King of Kink. Everyone on my end certainly is, which is why I used their distraction to contact you.”

She
had
seen. Great. “I don’t do subtle. And good—I want everyone to know how pissed I am about what happened. Forcing you and Ram to make a choice between saving the lives in your care or being shunned and losing your powers is ridiculous and unforgivable.”

Aziza pulled Shev close, breathing her in. “And I
would
punch you if I wasn’t so damn happy to see you. Ram will be too. He told me
tau’mas
are linked in a way I could never understand. I know he’s missing you. After all this time, I thought you didn’t care.”

When she drew back, Shev wore the same look of torment on her face that Ram had for the first few weeks when he thought no one was looking.

She was still as sensually captivating as ever, her dark, shoulder-length curls and kohl-framed amethyst eyes still heart-stopping. But she was no longer wearing the revealing clothes she’d favored, opting instead for an outfit that looked surprisingly similar to Ram’s Jinn uniform—white pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved top. Sheer or not, on Shev it seemed like a nun’s habit. And she had a small knapsack strapped over her shoulder, hiding any hint of her curves.

The way she stood now, her arms crossed defensively, her shoulders hunched as if waiting for a physical blow…she had suffered.

She
must
miss him too.

The Jinn shrugged in one sharp motion laced with frustration. “I could not have prevented that. It was either sever the link completely or join him in exile. I already told you I wouldn’t do that. Too much was at stake. I told her as well, not that she’ll listen.”

Her? “The girl who was standing behind you?”

Shev took a deep breath. “Ram’s younger sister. He has two you know. Had. One was temporarily exiled years ago and disappeared, no doubt slain by Enforcers. And now this one is worried for her brother and for some reason believes I can do something to help him.”

Aziza could only stare. She’d had no idea. There were so many details about Ram’s life that she didn’t know. Had never asked. Did he know his sister would be so worried? He could have told her. Ram knew how important her family was. He also knew what it was like to lose a sibling.

“Can you do something about his exile?”

Shev glared. “No.”

“Are you still my Qarin? Still in charge of looking after me?”

Shev was having a hard time meeting her gaze. “Due to my failure to keep you in check and your current feelings about me, I’m now considered an interim observer until an appropriate replacement can be found. I’m not allowed to interact with you unless it is an emergency—and no, the Enforcer didn’t count because we knew you could defend yourself. As far as a Jinn Qarin, now that they have seen what you can do, what you’re willing to do, there aren’t as many volunteers as there were in the past.”

Because she’d taken more than her share of the sand? Or because she’d killed Harash—the being that had been one of
them
until he’d joined the Jiniyr? From what she’d read, the Jinn as a people took any death of their own kind personally, and focused all their energies on making the life of the person responsible a study in torment and insanity. “Is that their choice or yours?”

Shev groaned. “Aziza, I didn’t come here to be interrogated. You’ve spent too much time with your wolf.”

Aziza crossed her arms. “At least tell me how I was able to pull you through the damn mirror. What’s going on? Why have I been seeing into the Niyr and Jinn worlds?”

Shev’s gaze narrowed. “You see the Niyr world?”

“Yes. Well, not much of it, and only for a split second. But it’s happened several times now. Te knows about it.”

“Three,” the Jinn corrected. “You’ve torn open a window into Qaf three times now, each instance during the exact moment we assume the Jiniyr were depositing a body and setting their repelling charms.”

Oh God
. “You mean each time I was seeing into the two worlds simultaneously, when I got sick and dizzy, someone was dying or already dead and being left for me to find?” When Shev nodded, Aziza said, “But until the last body, I didn’t know—”

“What’s inside you knew.” Shev’s stare didn’t waver. “It reacted to the violence, the injustice, and it was instinctively seeking it out. The stories used to speak about that ability as well. But the way it happened means the Jiniyr are better at hiding than we ever imagined, because you never found them. They must be between worlds in one of the innumerable pockets there are available to hide in.”

“What do you mean, ‘between worlds’?”

“It’s how we travel long distances in a short period of time.” Shev leaned against the sink and studied Aziza. “So pale. Are you surprised? They’ve killed for you before. Or can it be that you truly don’t know how much they want you or how powerful you have become? You shouldn’t have been able to see me, to bring me here. You shouldn’t have been able to see the club and you shouldn’t have been able to reach into Qaf and take my hand. But then, I was willing to test that legend as well, since I didn’t know you could freeze my world with yours either. Not until it happened.”

“What?”

“My world is locked in time as well. Paused at your command. Until Mayet’s Witness has run its course, no one
but you and the person you wish to join you is able to remain aware and active.” She studied Aziza intently. Carefully. “I knew you’d be strong, but I had no idea you could ever do this with only two portions. It’s making my people nervous, and we’re nowhere close to being as paranoid as the Niyr.”

How could that be true? “Everyone?”

Shev’s face was tight with repressed emotion. “We are all affected by your whims now, Fireborne. At least, I assume it’s all of us. Qaf is certainly no longer immune. My people haven’t dared admit this weakness to the Niyr long enough to discover if they are suffering the same fate. To discover what else you can do. Stubborn fools. Even after the treaty, even after all these years, they’ll never learn. They will never be truly at peace with each other.”

Aziza felt defensive. She hadn’t been able to affect any world but her own…but that was before she’d broken Tarik’s vial and taken in more of the sand.

“Do they think I’m doing it on purpose? That I knew? How could I? It’s not like my devoted
Jinn
Qarin told me what the hell was going on.”

But Te had said something about the Niyr monitoring her “episodes”. Was this why?

The Jinn shook her head impatiently. “I told you, I wasn’t allowed.”

“Fuck that, Shev. If that’s how they’re going to play it you can tell them they can get another Fireborne. Joseph is alive—if one of you could find him, I’m sure he’d be able to control his powers and not step on anyone’s toes the way I have. Maybe you could be
his
Qarin.” At least Ram would get to see Shev more often. And she could see her brother.