A Soldier of Shadows
Page 20

There were far too many of us to fit in the elevators, so I wondered how exactly we were going to get up there. Whether or not the witches had their powers intact to vanish us, or perhaps the jinni himself would…
My question was answered as the black-haired jinni turned on Ben. “You don’t need me anymore. You know the way out.”
With that, he vanished, leaving a thin veil of light blue mist behind him.
Ben addressed the witches. “You can transport us above ground,” he said. “But only above ground—not beyond the boundary yet. All right?”
I was confused why Ben would request this. If we had been given permission to leave, why didn’t we just get right out of The Oasis and return straight to The Shade before the jinn changed their minds? I didn’t understand why he wanted us to hang around in the desert upstairs. Still, Ben appeared too sure of himself for any of us to question it.
And so each of us gathered together and formed a circle. The witches magicked us out of the atrium and we reappeared up in the desert. The heat was stifling. Compared to the chambers below, it hit me like a wave. Although I was grateful for the change. My bones had begun to ache again while down there. It was too cool for my comfort.
I caught my mother’s and siblings’ eyes. They looked at me as though they were dying for an explanation, but mostly, I saw sheer relief in their eyes to be away from the underground and out in the open.
“All right.” Ben spoke up. “We’ve been given permission to go outside the boundary…” He paused. I was surprised when his voice caught in his throat. For the first time, his calm demeanor wavered, giving way to a look of… sadness? His gaze passed from his father, to his mother, to his sister, uncle, and then traveling over everyone else who was present.
His hesitation was leaving me ill at ease.
“What is it, Ben?” I whispered, tugging on his arm.
Finally his eyes fell on me. And something sparked in them. His gaze increased in intensity and there was a look of urgency in his green eyes as they dug into mine.
I frowned in confusion. I parted my lips, once again about to ask him what was wrong.
But before I could utter a single word, his lips were on mine. His kiss was hungry, passionate, more demanding than ever before. All-consuming. He claimed my mouth so entirely, I couldn’t even gasp for breath. His tongue pushed between my lips, his hands gripping my hair roughly as he held my face against his.
By the time he pulled away, I was breathless and my lips felt swollen and bruised.
But more than anything, I felt panic.
I didn’t even understand why, but I wanted to stop everything that was happening. I wanted to freeze time, stop Ben when he turned to the crowd and said, “Okay. Let’s form a circle.”
Something was wrong, very wrong with Ben. And I didn’t want anything else to happen until I figured out what. But he didn’t give me a chance to say anything. He grabbed my hand, holding it firmly, and hurried everyone into a circle.
He shot a look at Ibrahim and nodded sharply.
I didn’t know how I realized what was about to happen next, but all at once, I just knew.
Ben was going to let go of my and his mother’s hand a split second before we vanished.
I had barely seconds to process the thought after it entered my head. But when Ben’s hand loosened from mine just as we were on the cusp of vanishing back to The Shade, I didn’t even need to think what to do.
As though it was instinct, my own hand loosened from my mother’s.
Chapter 14: River
I’d never seen Ben look so horrified as the moment he realized what I had just done.
“River,” he gasped.
Then his expression turned to anger. He grabbed my shoulders, painfully, and shook me. “What the hell did you just do?”
His own anger ignited a fire within me. Planting my palms flat against his chest, I pushed with all the strength I could muster, forcing him backward a few steps.
“What do you mean what the hell did I just do? What the hell did you just do?”
An unexpected fury was boiling up within me. The thought that he was just going to leave us all like that, without so much as an explanation… Leave me.
My throat felt tight as I grabbed hold of his shirt and twisted its fabric in my fists.
“Why, Ben?” I croaked.
His hands closed around mine, detaching me from his shirt and lowering my hands until he was just holding them in his.
“You shouldn’t have let go!” he said, anger and shock still shaking his voice.
“What did you expect me to do?”
He looked at me like I was a fool. “Hold on! What idiocy possessed you to let go of your mother’s hand?”
I glared up at him, wanting to shoot back a retort, but finding myself asking the same question. What idiocy did possess me? Why did I let go of my mother’s hand?
I still didn’t know why I had reacted the way I had. It had just seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Like putting one foot in front of the other. There was no way I could explain. Except…
“That idiocy would be you,” I replied, my voice quieter this time.
I sensed his temper take a dip. His brows furrowed, a flicker of confusion playing across his face as he stared down at me.
I lowered my eyes to the ground, finding his gaze suddenly too intense, too exhausting, as he studied me. I felt my cheeks grow hot, my breathing shallower.
I still had no idea why he had hung back. But in that moment, it became clear to me that the feelings I held for Ben were far deeper than I had ever thought.