The Forbidden Wish(26)

He frowns, withdrawing his hand. “Maybe I want to. Even a thief may have honor, and even a jinni may have a heart.”

The roaring of the river fills my ears. Avoiding his gaze, I cross to the other side of the bridge, staring north at the dark shadow of Mount Tissia. I struggle to swallow the knot in my throat.

I need a plan. A plan to get inside the palace.

A plan to cool the embers Aladdin’s touch stirred to life.

Turning around, I find him watching me, cautious and curious.

“You should make a wish.”

At once he turns skeptical. “What?”

A part of me hates myself for feeding his obsession. That part wants me to tell him he’s haunted by the dead, that I know how that feels, that I’ve drunk that poison many times. I’m sickened with it even now. But I don’t, because I am a selfish spirit, and looking up at the dying moon, I can almost feel the bond between me and the lamp snapping once and for all.

“The princess,” I say. “She’s the heir to the throne, right? Whoever marries her will be the most powerful man in the kingdom.” I turn and gaze at the statue of Nykora. “He could do whatever he wanted. He would command the vizier, the military, the guards here in the city . . .”

I meet his gaze and find him rigid, his body tense as a drawn bow.

“This is it, don’t you see? You don’t have to kill anyone, but you can still get your revenge. I can help you.”

“What are you saying?” he asks.

I smile and lean in to whisper, “I can get you into the palace. I can give you power, wealth, and titles. I can help you win the princess, and in doing so, win your revenge. What would anger Darian more than seeing his enemy take his bride? What would be sweeter than seeing this vizier forced to bow before you, his prince?”

Aladdin holds his breath, and I can see that he’s caught my meaning. Not for the first time, I feel truly monstrous. I’ve always hated the jinn for being cruel and selfish. Do you remember how I once told you that I wasn’t like them? But I know in the space where I have no heart that I’m no different at all.

I’m a very good jinni, and that’s a very bad thing.

But freedom, Habiba . . . For freedom, I might become anything. It terrifies me to think how far I will go for it. But I’ve never wanted anything so badly before, so I swallow my conscience and nod encouragingly at my master.

“It could work,” he says softly. “Zahra, you’re brilliant.”

I straighten, my hands beginning to tingle. “Then say the words.”

Aladdin pauses, takes a breath, steeling himself. When he speaks, his voice burns with conviction.

“Zahra, I wish to be made a prince.”





Two: The Princess


As they often did in the late afternoon, when the sun was ripe and the day hazy, the Queen and the Jinni walked together in the shade of the Jewel Gardens in the heart of the palace, which the Queen had wished for and the Jinni shaped for her. They spoke of many things, of past wars and rulers, of faraway lands, of gods and jinn. For the Jinni had lived long and seen much, and the Queen, possessing a keen mind, had many questions.

At last the Queen said, “Thou hast become a friend like unto a sister to me. I favor not only thy counsel, but thy company. May I ask thee anything?”

And the Jinni answered, “I have had many masters, but none like you, O Queen. I am honored to be thy friend, and surely I will answer whatever thou ask of me.”

“Then what troubles thee?” the Queen replied. “For I know the look in thine eye—thy thoughts are tossed as the storm-driven sea.”

“It is true, Habiba,” said the Jinni. “For I am afraid.”

“What dost thou fear?” cried the Queen. “Name it, and I shall slay it for thee.”

Taking the Queen’s hands in her own, the Jinni replied, “Long has it been forbidden that a jinni and a human may bear any love for the other, yet you have become sister to my heart.”

“Who dares forbid us?” asked the Queen.

“The one they call Nardukha, the Shaitan, who rules the jinn and all of Ambadya. He is as old as the gods, and none may defeat him. If he knew of the love I bear thee, swift would be his wrath. For this is the first rule of the jinn: that no jinni may love a human. For always must our allegiance be to Nardukha, and none else.”

“Then let him leave his hall beneath the earth and tell me so himself,” said the Queen. “For I do not bow to the laws of fearmongerers. He forbids this and he forbids that, but he is not all-powerful. Even the Forbidden Wish may be spoken, and there is naught he may do to stop it.”

At this the Jinni raised a mournful cry. “What dost thou know of the Forbidden Wish?”