Page 88 of Heavensent & Hellbent

“My dear azizam,” Zahhak drawled. “That was allyou.”

I lifted my gaze to Azar, who was staring at me with wide eyes, lips slightly parted. Perhaps it was seeing the devastation on my face that snapped her out of it, her jaw tight as she turned on the Jinn King.

“What if we don’t want to be part of this? What if we just want to be normal—” she began, but was cut off by Zahhak snapping, “You are notnormal. You’re both so much more. Especially you, Azar. I know you feel war in your blood. You are a warrior; you have always been a warrior, long before females were even allowed to be them. Denying yourself of your greatness would be foolish.”

Four servants entered, each holding a plate in their hand. They stood behind our chairs, even the one that sat empty across from Zahhak, before delicately placing the plates of food in front of us.

The dish contained a scattering of pomegranate seeds, nuts, and an assortment of diced fruit. A vegetarian meal, after a glass of blood, was not what I was expecting. My stomach growled in response to the plate, betraying me.

“Eat,” Zahhak said, like we needed his permission to do so.

“I thought you said no one else was coming,” Azar said, eyeing the empty chair and full plate.

“I said your brother wasn’t coming, not that we were not expecting another guest,” he said. “I wanted time to explain before he arrived, but I became distracted.”

There was a tap on the door, before Red Lapels entered. “Keyon Jafarzadeh has arrived.”

“Let him in,” Zahhak said, clasping his hands together. He turned to me, though I found it hard to keep eye contact. “Roxana, let me introduce you to your suitor and soon-to-be betrothed, Keyon Jafarzadeh.”

“Betrothed?” Azar yelled before I could.

A boy entered the dining room. I vaguely recognized him, though he was dressed differently this time, more like my grandfather than when I had last seen him. He wore navy trousers and a matching tunic embroidered with gold thread down the collar and lapels. His face was still sharp lines, cutting, which made sense now that I knew he was a jinn.

“King,” he said to Zahhak, doing a small bow.

Zahhak smiled. “Grandfather, soon,” he said jokingly, slapping the boy’s back while Keyon made his way around the table. He did a small bow to Azar, who scowled at him, before coming closer to me.

This was the boy who saved me from the jinn in Denver.

“Roxana,” he breathed. “We meet again.” I was speechless, and he took advantage of that, snatching my hand from my lap and kissing the back of it. “My future bride.”

“Bride?”I hissed, yanking my hand back into my lap. “No.”

Keyon went to his seat at the table. “You didn’t tell her?” he asked Zahhak carefully.

“I had just begun to. Sadly, we became distracted,” Zahhak said. “Roxana, to break the unfortunate cycle, and to uphold the treaty, I’ve taken it upon myself to match you with someone appropriate. Keyon is the khan of his territory, north of the Underworld.”

“I’m not marrying you,” I spat out. “I’m not marrying anyone. This can’t be real.”

“You don’t really have a choice, azizam,” Zahhak said.

Keyon didn’t seem particularly pleased to be part of the conversation, and for a moment I felt bad that he was involved in all this. That was, until he opened his mouth. “Females often don’t know what is best for them.”

“What in the incel…” Azar snapped. I could have sworn Keyon’s lip quirked up at that. “So, jinn are into arranged marriages? We don’t even do that in Iran anymore.”

“And that recent change is a shame,” Zahhak drawled. “Be gracious enough that we are informing you of what will happen. Now let’s enjoy dinner. Get to know your future husband, Roxana.”

My cheeks flushed, and I saw red. “No.” I pushed my chair back, the legs screeching against the tile flooring. I waited for a moment before making a beeline for the exit. Zahhak made no move to leave; no one did, not even Azar, who looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. As I approached the open door, I was met with Red Lapels and Green Lapels, whoblocked the exit. I tried to shove past them, but they were like bricks, unmoving and rock solid. “Move out of my way,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Sit back down, Roxana,” Zahhak called, his voice level and bored.

I wasn’t going to sit down while my life was being given away to a stranger. I thought my dad was bad, but this was a whole new level. That thought elicited a pang of longing. To be arguing with my overprotective dad, who seemed so much more reasonable compared to my extended “family” member.

“Move,” I said again. Neither of the women did. I shoved Red Lapels, thinking she might at least stumble and then I could move past her, but her body didn’t shift. However, I did notice her jaw clench.

“If you do not come back in the next ten seconds, we will bring you back to this table by force,” Zahhak continued.

“Rox, come back,” Azar said. I was shocked. Where had her will to get out of here gone? I didn’t know how she could still sit around the table.