step, miss,” said the soldier who hopped back out to help her. “There’s still glass underfoot.”
It crackled under her slippers until he swung her off them.
“Oh, my God,” she moaned when she got her first clear look at Arcadius.
Cade’s double lay on his face on the rug, his back and legs a mass of wounds that overflowed with blood. He’d managed to protect his head with his hands, but they too were cut up. As the carpet rose smoothly and shot forward, two soldiers stripped off their shirts to staunch his worst bleeding.
Elyse knelt and stroked his hair, the only part of him that seemed safe to touch.
“He’ll heal, miss,” one of the men assured her. “Djinn aren’t fragile like humans.”
“Are we going to the hospital?”
“We’re taking him to the palace. The magician can patch him up.”
They meant Joseph. The thought of him immediately comforted her. He’d do anything to help either of his masters.
“Take me in quietly ,” Arcadius croaked. “I don’t want our enemies catching wind of any more weaknesses.”
The soldiers exchanged glances. Elyse assumed they were wondering which of those enemies was responsible.
Chapter Five
THE quickest way for Arcadius to heal would have been shifting into his smoke form. Some djinni couldn’t change if they were in shock or pain, but Arcadius had relied on the trick many times on the battlefield. Like the troops who served him, he’d trained himself to do it under adverse conditions.
That knack was lost, he feared. He truly might be less powerful now that he’d split in two.
Their escort took him at his word about wanting to slip into the palace quietly. He wasn’t sure how they convinced the royal flight controllers to wave their carpet past the main landing site, but they set down in the secluded courtyard outside the sultan’s rooms.
Alarmingly, he didn’t have sufficient strength in his limbs to rise.
“Don’t struggle,” Elyse advised, her fingers combing his hair gently—as she’d been doing all along. “Let the soldiers do the work of moving you until you feel better.”
He wanted to ask her to stay with him. Fortunately for his pride, he had to bite his lip against the discomfort of the guards lifting him. Compounding the pain of his wounds, being carried made him dizzy.
He recognized the bed they laid him on as Iksander’s. Though neatly made, the covers smelled of Elyse and the other him. Something primitive inside him couldn’t help but find that comforting. When he closed his eyes, he almost fell asleep.
“I’ll summon the magician,” a male voice said.
Maybe he had drifted off. Only a second seemed to have passed before he heard Joseph and the other him speaking.
“Holy hell,” breathed his double, leaving Arcadius in no doubt as to how bad he looked. “Who did this to him?”
“We were attacked,” Elyse said from her perch beside him on the bed. “It was my fault. I ran after someone I thought looked suspicious. I should have waited for the guards. Arcadius had to shield me.”
Arcadius didn’t like her blaming herself. He was the one who knew magic. He should have spotted the danger. Not your fault, he tried to say but only got out a useless groan.
“Why were you—”
Joseph cut his double off. “Let me see if I can spell Arcadius to shift. Both of them can answer your questions then.”
“Of course,” Cade said, sounding stiff and chastened at the same time. “Let me know if I can help.”
Arcadius nearly smiled. He’d forgotten that ability of Joseph’s: to boss anyone he chose when he felt sure of his position. The sultan himself hadn’t been immune to it.
He tried not to fight Joseph’s magic. Resisting would make the shift harder. Despite knowing this, it wasn’t natural for him to yield control to someone else. Finally, after a few minutes of chanting, Arcadius’s particles flashed hot and spread out. He was a man-shaped cloud, larger than before, with the pleasant sensation
It crackled under her slippers until he swung her off them.
“Oh, my God,” she moaned when she got her first clear look at Arcadius.
Cade’s double lay on his face on the rug, his back and legs a mass of wounds that overflowed with blood. He’d managed to protect his head with his hands, but they too were cut up. As the carpet rose smoothly and shot forward, two soldiers stripped off their shirts to staunch his worst bleeding.
Elyse knelt and stroked his hair, the only part of him that seemed safe to touch.
“He’ll heal, miss,” one of the men assured her. “Djinn aren’t fragile like humans.”
“Are we going to the hospital?”
“We’re taking him to the palace. The magician can patch him up.”
They meant Joseph. The thought of him immediately comforted her. He’d do anything to help either of his masters.
“Take me in quietly ,” Arcadius croaked. “I don’t want our enemies catching wind of any more weaknesses.”
The soldiers exchanged glances. Elyse assumed they were wondering which of those enemies was responsible.
Chapter Five
THE quickest way for Arcadius to heal would have been shifting into his smoke form. Some djinni couldn’t change if they were in shock or pain, but Arcadius had relied on the trick many times on the battlefield. Like the troops who served him, he’d trained himself to do it under adverse conditions.
That knack was lost, he feared. He truly might be less powerful now that he’d split in two.
Their escort took him at his word about wanting to slip into the palace quietly. He wasn’t sure how they convinced the royal flight controllers to wave their carpet past the main landing site, but they set down in the secluded courtyard outside the sultan’s rooms.
Alarmingly, he didn’t have sufficient strength in his limbs to rise.
“Don’t struggle,” Elyse advised, her fingers combing his hair gently—as she’d been doing all along. “Let the soldiers do the work of moving you until you feel better.”
He wanted to ask her to stay with him. Fortunately for his pride, he had to bite his lip against the discomfort of the guards lifting him. Compounding the pain of his wounds, being carried made him dizzy.
He recognized the bed they laid him on as Iksander’s. Though neatly made, the covers smelled of Elyse and the other him. Something primitive inside him couldn’t help but find that comforting. When he closed his eyes, he almost fell asleep.
“I’ll summon the magician,” a male voice said.
Maybe he had drifted off. Only a second seemed to have passed before he heard Joseph and the other him speaking.
“Holy hell,” breathed his double, leaving Arcadius in no doubt as to how bad he looked. “Who did this to him?”
“We were attacked,” Elyse said from her perch beside him on the bed. “It was my fault. I ran after someone I thought looked suspicious. I should have waited for the guards. Arcadius had to shield me.”
Arcadius didn’t like her blaming herself. He was the one who knew magic. He should have spotted the danger. Not your fault, he tried to say but only got out a useless groan.
“Why were you—”
Joseph cut his double off. “Let me see if I can spell Arcadius to shift. Both of them can answer your questions then.”
“Of course,” Cade said, sounding stiff and chastened at the same time. “Let me know if I can help.”
Arcadius nearly smiled. He’d forgotten that ability of Joseph’s: to boss anyone he chose when he felt sure of his position. The sultan himself hadn’t been immune to it.
He tried not to fight Joseph’s magic. Resisting would make the shift harder. Despite knowing this, it wasn’t natural for him to yield control to someone else. Finally, after a few minutes of chanting, Arcadius’s particles flashed hot and spread out. He was a man-shaped cloud, larger than before, with the pleasant sensation
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