Page 98 of Heavensent & Hellbent

“Very few jinn like Zahhak. He’s tyrannical and out of control. Many of us pretend to be on his side, to keep the peace, but I would happily break him if given the chance. The people of the Underworld want democracy, not a dictatorship. He has been the sole leader for too long, hundreds of years, never changing with the times.”

“So you really didn’t want to be married?” I asked.

“No,” he said, keeping his gaze on Azar. “Getting married to a woman who’s obviously in love with another man is not appealing to me, shockingly.”

Azar shot off a cutting remark, and then she and Keyon were bickering, their voices distant as I gazed upon Zain properly this time.

I reached up, placing my hand on his chest. I had to touch him, to know he was really here. His chest was rock solid, but he softened under my touch, and I heard him release a small breath.

He took a step closer to me so that there were only inches between us. I was so close to potential death, from beings beyond my imagination, and yet the heat from his body was all I could think about. His familiar scent invaded my senses. Vanilla, salt air from flying—and smoke. I could only imagine the latter derived from his journey into the Underworld.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, his grip tight. I felt small bundled into him, and it was the first time in a while that I felt safe. I relaxed into his body, looping my arms around his neck.

“You’re okay,” he whispered into me, almost like he was talking to himself. “You’re okay.”

We separated, only an inch, so we could look at each other. His eyes were dark and fierce. I raised one of my hands to his cheek—it was cool to the touch.

“I’ve missed you,” I said.

He caught my hand in his, interlacing our fingers, sendinga shiver through me. His hands were rough and strong against my own shaky palm.

I glanced from his eyes down to his slightly parted lips.

We edged closer, again, this time until our lips touched. Zain’s kiss was not gentle but rough, claiming, and it was exactly what I wanted. I kissed him back with passion, knowing this could possibly be our last.

I had forgotten where we were—who we were—when the clearing of a throat interrupted us, followed by Azar hissing, “Seriously, Rox, get a room. But not right now, because you know there’s basically a war going on in the gardens?”

Zain untangled from me, his lips pinker than they were before.

“You must be Azar,” he said to my sister.

She cocked her head. “And you’re the angel who’s damned my sister to a death sentence?”

I grimaced, but Zain only nodded. “That would be me.” And then, shaking out of whatever haze had taken over us, Zain became the angel, the warrior, once more. He spoke quickly, “The div are going to cause a distraction, kill the king’s soldiers, whileIfind and kill the king myself.”

He shifted his gaze to Keyon. “If you do anything that even slightly indicates you’re double-crossing us, I will slit your throat and throw you to the div without hesitation.”

Keyon only smiled with his teeth.

“You can’t go there alone,” I said. “We’ll come with you.”

Zain shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

“I think you’re forgetting, but in our past,I’mthe dangerous one.”

“You, Roxana, don’t know how to fight,” he said through gritted teeth. “And I don’t want you to have to fight. We need to get you somewhere safe until this is over.”

I shook my head because I knew I could be strong. I could help break the cycle.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said.

He sighed, possibly remembering the many versions of me, that my stubbornness was something he would never overcome.

“We’ll all help,” Azar said. “You’d be signing your own death warrant going up against him alone. There’s strength in numbers, in using all our powers.”

Our gazes turned to Keyon, who was now staring at his nails, like he was not trying to be part of this conversation. He sighed when he felt all eyes on him. “I can help, but under one condition: When we kill him, each khan will have ownership over their own lands, without interference from a kingdom leader. Only if this is agreed to will I help.”

“I mean, that’s really not something we can dictate, right?” I asked.