Jinni's Wish, Book 4 Kingdom Series by Marie Hall Page B

don’t
do this. You cannot do anything, my love. The bruises will soon
fade, all will be well.” She gripped his hand, and tugged at him to
stop his pacing.
    But a powerful anger had gripped him, an
irrational, mind-numbing rage that made him want to rip the man’s
hands off with his own. He shrugged her off, needing to walk and
pace and seethe.
    “ How long, Nala?” he asked her again, a
low rumble laced his words.
    She dragged her hands over her face. “He
smells you on me. He cannot prove it, and I will never tell him,
but I believe deep down he knows. And when I return, he… hurts
me.”
    Acutely aware that he could not scream, but
needing to release the roiling tension gathering in his gut, Jinni
marched to one of her precious apple trees and punched his fist
through it, the wood splintered off in his knuckles, ripping his
flesh open.
    But the pain did not lessen the fury, only
increased his desire to do more harm.
    “ No more,” he vowed.
    Nala ran to him, gripping his hand and
cooing softly against the bleeding. Gathering a corner of her robe,
she dabbed at it. Tears coursed down her face.
    “ Please, Jinni, please forgive me. You
shouldn’t worry about this. My body is strong, I’ll heal.”
    “ Forgive you?!” he roared, knowing his
voice rose, knowing anyone who marched passed would hear, but his
rage would not let him think rationally. “You’ve done nothing
wrong. I will kill him.”
    “ No!” She squeezed his forearm as he tried
to yank out of her arms. “No,” she pleaded again, wrapping herself
around his middle. “You cannot.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “You forget who I am.
What I am. I can kill him. With my bare hands.”
    She glanced over her shoulder. “Not like
this, Jinni.” Worry scrawled fine lines upon her brow. “Not like
this. You must calm yourself.”
    His nostrils flared, his blood boiled. Could
she not understand, she was not a martyr that had to take this
abuse. “I love you, Nala.”
    Nala shook her head. “Quiet, Jinni. I’ll not
have you be tried for treason. Do you hear me?” Her kiss took the
sting out of her words.
    That touch of her lips mollified him
somewhat, eased the crippling anger to a manageable level. But his
body still trembled with adrenaline.
    “ I must avenge your honor, King or no, you
must understand that?” He trailed his knuckles down her soft
cheeks.
    Sighing, she laid her head against his chest
and he gripped the base of her skull with frantic fingers. That any
would dare to harm her…
    “ I understand,” she whispered.
    “ Tonight,” he nodded, gripping her chin in
his hand, “open the doors to me tonight.”
    “ Oh what am I doing?”
    Jinni feathered a kiss across her lips,
tongue seeking entry, when he heard a rustle in a bush behind
them.
    Nala jumped away from him, and it incensed
him all over again that they could not be free to touch and love
openly. Muscle ticking in his jaw, he watched as one of her
personal guards walked into the square.
    The guard wore a bright crimson tunic and a
large scabbard strapped to his waist, his black brow was raised in
question as he spotted Jinni standing by the Queen’s prized apple
tree. The very one that now sported a fist sized hole through its
center.
    Nala lay on her chaise, attempting to appear
calm and collected, but it was obvious to him she was anything but.
Her skin looked waxy and her eyes haunted.
    “ My lady,” the guard intoned, and dropped
to his knee. “You look unwell, allow me to escort you to your
chambers.”
    “ Yes, Mikahel,” she nodded, “I think that
to be a good idea.” She gave him her hand, then turned and glanced
once more at Jinni over her shoulder as the guard escorted her
out.
    Jinni clipped his head. Tonight, it would
end.
     
    ***
     
    Paz licked her lips as she gazed at the
canvas. It was obvious to her how this would go down. Jinni stood
by the window, gazing out at the sky, a blank look on his face.
    “You don’t need to keep telling me