Passion (3 page)

Rowan
and General Adar both looked at me, the answer clear in their regretful gazes.

“I
wish the power you have was that consistent and that predictable.  Sometimes
things are beyond our control, like my inability to enter the Coliseum despite
my great powers.  Evil can often be a formidable foe, and our greatest wishes
simply can’t overcome it.”

“Does
that mean Torrid is doomed?”

“No,”
Rowan was quick to say.  “It simply means that our magic has been curtailed. Catchers
have the ability to paralyze our magic for a moment to capture us. There are
limits to our magic, and unfortunately, Pim Seer and his Catchers and Magical
Ones know how to block it, defend against it.”

“Our
reunion must come to an end, daughter,” General Adar said with sudden urgency. 
“The structure is about to yield under our feet.”

Indeed
it felt like the world itself was crumbling.

“Rowan,
I put my daughter’s life and wellbeing in your hands.  Take her away from
here.  Bring her to the encampment and make sure her every need is tended to.”

“Absolutely,
sir.”

General
Adar turned to me.  “My daughter, Kama, it’s unfortunate that our first
encounter had to be surrounded by ugliness and destruction.  With much afterthought,
perhaps it would have been preferable to introduce myself when I was your
drugstore clerk or school janitor, but, alas, I am just a man; a man with the
quest to make the woman he loves happy, and my secrecy was what your mother
wanted.”

“I
understand that now.  I understand her need to protect me.”

Pleased,
he nodded.  “I can only hope our next meeting will be under more pleasant
circumstances.”

“Somehow,
I feel certain it will,” I said with assurance.

He
chuckled and cupped my cheek.  “Good.  I must leave you now.  I’m needed south
of here.  Sanz is already gathering more Rogue djinns.  He’s also trying to
persuade honest Magical Ones to go Rogue and follow him.  While I detest the
man immensely, I have to give credit where credit is due.  He is a very
powerful and influential, if not manipulating little man.  His tongue is his
most powerful tool, always with a promise of better things to come for those
who follow his lead.”

“So
I’ve noticed.”

“I
must stop him before too many good Magical Ones are turned.”  He gave Rowan a
final nod and warning.  “Take good care of her.”

“I’ll
keep her at my side at all times, General.”

General
Adar soared away and was soon little more than a speck of gold in the darkening
sky.

“Let’s
get you out of here,” Rowan said as he slipped his arms around me.  We soared
through the air while the earth thundered under the crumbling Coliseum.

Cries
of the dying faded away, and the crashing concrete and shattering glass was
soon a gentle but constant rumbling. 

When
Rowan set me down in the same fields where Torrid had taught me lessons in
magic, I looked at him, grateful, but longing more than ever to see Torrid
again.  Rowan was a painful reminder of Torrid.  They looked so much alike,
though Rowan was older by a few years. They both were incredibly handsome with
that thick bluish-black hair and intense blue eyes that were bright enough to
shine like sapphires. Torrid was powerfully built with strong muscular arms and
a chiseled body, while Rowan was slightly taller and leaner. He was the Crowned
Prince, unlike Torrid, the Warrior Prince, and his bearing was more formal than
Torrid’s. However, when Rowan smiled into my eyes with reassurance, his grin
was wide and his eyes gentle, I instantly felt comfortable with him. “Wherever
Torrid is, he would be glad you are finally safe and out of that hellhole of a
place…the Coliseum.”

“But
I’m worried about him. If the Catchers have him…what would they do to him? 
He’s a Prince, like you, and a close friend of General Adar, their biggest
enemy.”

“Don’t
worry,” Rowan said.  “I know your thoughts must be with Torrid, but he’ll be
fine.  I’m certain of that.”

“Thanks
for the reassuring words, but I’ll only feel better when I can actually see him
with my own eyes; touch him with my fingers.” My voice was husky with emotion
as I thought about how much I longed to touch him again.

“You
must care for him very much,” Rowan said with a touch of envy. His eyes
darkened a little, revealing his attraction to me.

“He’s
come to mean a lot to me,” I admitted.

He
licked his lips and said, “You wouldn’t happen to have an older sister who’s
just as beautiful as you; a girl just as sweet and captivating that you could
introduce me to?”

I
laughed. “I hardly think you need an introduction to any girl.  They’re
probably lined up eager for a chance to talk to you.”

A
slow smile lit up his face. “You’d be surprised.  While Torrid has his natural
charm to get him by and a little more leeway, I’m a little more restricted.”

“Because
you're the Crown Prince?”

“Pretty
much.  Funny, isn’t it?  I’m, in a sense, a Prince Charming, yet I’m a man who
doesn’t have time or the opportunity to charm a woman into a romantic
relationship.  Torrid, on the other hand has much more freedom.”  He winked at
me.  “I know he’s been enjoying his time in Arcadia.”

Smiling,
I looked at him, wishing him a woman who could love and appreciate him just as
I did Torrid.  “I like to think he enjoyed his time in Arcadia.  He certainly
seemed to have a good time when he was giving me lessons in magic.  Even more
so when I no longer really needed the lessons.”

“Are
you telling me he used these magic lessons as a premise to spend more time with
you?” He said with a mocking grin.  “He must really like you.”

I
certainly hope so, I wanted to say.  Instead I opted for the cowardly maneuver
of changing the subject.  “You're very much the charmer Torrid is.  I guess
charm runs in your family.”

“Social
manners are a big thing among royal djinns.  I guess a certain degree of charm
just naturally follows.  In Torrid’s case, however, well, let’s say he got a
larger piece of the charm pie than I did.  Even as a kid he could talk his way
out of anything.  Any time he got himself into trouble, all he had to do was
grin and look at my mom or dad with those big doe eyes and he’d get a pat on
the head.  On top of that, more often than not, I’d be the one who paid the
price.”

Torrid’s
warm smile and penetrating gaze instantly came to mind, filling me with a
strong physical ache for him.

“One
time,” Rowan went on, “when he was nine, he decided to play hide and seek with
my parents’ crowns… right before an important royal ceremony.  My parents were
incensed by the missing crowns and the entire household staff was put in search
of them.  They searched every room, every cupboard, every drawer and every
box.  Only after the ceremony, however, did they find the two crowns; one in my
bedroom closet in a box that otherwise housed a play warrior helmet, and the
other in the kitchen pantry.”  He chuckled with wry amusement.  “Can you
imagine?  A crown glistening with the finest jewels amidst bags of flour,
wheels of cheese and jars of pickles?”

“I
imagine your parents weren’t too happy about that,” I said, imagining a naughty
young Torrid.

“Not
at all.  And guess who paid the price.”  With mock anger he pointed to his
chest.  “Older brother and heir to the throne Rowan.”

“Were
you punished?” I said, holding back an amused snort.

“Of
course.  My parents couldn’t let a thing like that go by unpunished.  I was
banned from the next three royal ceremonies, the thought being I needed to find
greater respect for these occasions.”

“How
horrible for you,” I said, aghast at the punishment he had to endure for
Torrid’s naughty deeds.

But
Rowan’s mischievous grin told me there was more.

“Actually,
those royal ceremonies were a real bore.  I mean, they’d go on and on.  A lot
of formalities.  A lot of small talk.  A lot of kissing up to people I didn’t
even know.    Think about it; I was, what, fourteen?  I had better things to do
with my time than chat up a bunch of blue-haired bores.”

“What
an awful thing to say,” I said with an understanding chuckle.

“Well,
I’ve grown out of that disdain for idle chatter and endless formalities, and
have come to be quite a distinguished prince when it comes to royal
ceremonies.”

“And
has Torrid grown to be more respectful of them?”

“Hardly.”

Though
I managed to smile at him, the longing to see Torrid increased, almost to the
point of incapacitating me.  I sat on a small wooden chair set up before the
larger of the tents and stared down at my feet.  The blood that had trickled
from the bite wound on my ankle was dried and caked on my sock, but I didn’t
feel an ounce of that pain.  All I felt was the emptiness in my heart.

Rowan
grunted and came to face me, taking my hands in his. His touch was firm, yet
gentle. “I’m sorry.  Please forgive my nonsensical ramblings.  Here I am going
on and on about my childhood with Torrid while you're obviously aching, both
physically and emotionally.  My reminiscing must make missing him all the
worse.”

“Don’t
apologize, Rowan.  I enjoyed your story very much.  To tell you the truth, with
or without that story, I miss Torrid.”

“And
your ankle.  I’ll go get a Healer.”

“I’m
fine, really Rowan.  The bleeding has stopped and I feel no pain.”

“You
don’t understand.  You're part djinn.  You need to see a Healer. You’ve been
locked up in that place for too long and probably haven’t had anything decent
to eat. You have to get better before we set out to find Torrid.”

“So
we are going to get Torrid back,” I said, filled with sudden hope.

“Yes,
but you need to see a djinn healer now to get better in minutes. I need you to
be in top shape for what we’re about to do.”

Chapter
3

P
rodding and probing, the healer checked for
broken bones, abrasions and any hidden lacerations. He was thorough, almost too
thorough.  After placing his hands over the area where the feral dog bit me and
using magic to heal the wound, washing out any infections from the bite, he
gave me a canister filled with refreshing water. 

“I’m
impressed,” the djinn healer said.  “Most humans show more fragility than
this.  Despite what you’ve been through, you're remarkably healthy and well…a
bit dehydrated, but other than that, you will be fine in no time.”

“I
told you she was part djinn,” Rowan said beside me.

“Yes,
yes,” he said, almost absentmindedly.  “So you say.”  He peered into my ears. 
“But her sturdy build, though one wouldn’t guess it by looking at her delicate
features, are not simply explained by the fact that she’s part djinn.”

Rowan
grinned at me.  “Yes, well I guess she is a rather special specimen.” Again, he
appraised me with his eyes.  If I wasn’t so into his brother Torrid, I would
have felt a flush go up my neck to cover my face.

“Indeed.” 
He stepped back and looked at me.  “All you need, young lady, is to drink up
your canister of water and a hearty meal and you're good to go.”

“That’s
good to hear,” I said, flattered by his assessment of my health, but feeling
more tired than he seemed to think I should.

“Well,
my work here is done,” he said as he collected his odd assortment of devices
and tools and packed them away in a multicolored cloth bag.  “Should you
require my services again, my young lady, it would be my pleasure.”  He turned
to Rowan and nodded before leaving us.

“Somehow
I don’t feel as impressive as he seemed to think.  In fact I feel rather
overwhelmed.”

“Not
that I doubt you're healthy and strong, but I think he was more taken in by
your beauty than anything else.”

I
felt a rush of heated blood come to my cheeks.  “Well, that’s very sweet, but I
hardly think a doctor would be so taken in.” I snorted and made a face. “Puh-leeze!”

Rowan
lips curled up in amusement. “You’d be surprise.”

A
djinn entered the tent and set a lunch tray nearby. After thanking him, Rowan
brought the tray to me.

I
finished my canister and grabbed a big glass of water and gulped down half of
it, then stood.  “We have to hurry if we’re going to find Torrid.”

“Eat
first,” he ordered.

“And
I think the best way to find Torrid is to find Liam first.”

He
pushed the lunch plate toward me and was about to insist I eat, but his eyes
darkened.  He pursed his lips as though he’d eaten too many lemons while his
fingers lingered over the edge of the plate.  “Liam,” he echoed.  “That’s the
little human being you had a relationship with before Torrid, right?” I was
surprised by the jealous expression on his face.

I
resisted the urge to glare at him and simply gazed at him calmly and with as
much maturity as my eighteen year old self could.  “Liam is not ‘a little human
being.’  He’s a lifelong friend who has always been there for me.  And, yes, I
did have a romantic relationship with him.  Is that a problem?”

“I
apologize.  I didn’t mean to sound judgmental.  From what I’ve learned, Liam is
related to the man who is behind all this.”

“And
would you condemn him for that.”

He
straightened his shoulders and seemed at a loss for words a long moment. 
Shifting back and forth, then from one foot to the other, he parted his lips to
speak, then clammed shut, opting to remain silent.  “Okay,” he finally blurted
out.  “Let’s start over.  So you want to find Liam in order to find Torrid. 
Fine.  Eat and we’ll go looking for Liam.”

I
laughed, charmed and amused by his awkward moment.  “Look, Liam is Pim Seer’s
son and, yes, Pim Seer is the governor of Arcadia and, I guess, to a certain
degree responsible for what’s happening, but Liam isn’t a part of it.  He’s
innocent in all this and deserves my help.”