Chapter Twenty.

Thursday morning Cara ran her hands over the fabrics she wore. The head scarf, done in a soft turquoise pattern, highlighted the turquoise trim in the outer dress. It felt very strange to be in the desert, draped in so many layers of fabric.

"Thank you for this...uh, what is this called again?" Cara asked Malik as she stroked the head scarf. He'd been nice enough to give her something to wear, since she didn't want to be naked in this djinn's lair. Hidden in a cave, the lair went on for at least a good mile, layers of rock that sort of gradually went down into the earth. The stone glittered with all sorts of veins of gems, giving the walls a sparkle.

The furnishings were elaborate carvings, some covered in gold. She didn't want to think that some of the shiny furniture could be pure gold, but she wouldn't doubt it. Malik moved through the items as though they were nothing but trinkets, yet Cara knew she'd live her whole life and never have any furnishings this expensive in her home.

It was like living in a museum.

"The head scarf is a hijab," Malik said as he poured himself a drink, his blue legs covered in a pair of flowing pants. He didn't bother to wear a shirt.

While Cara didn't particularly find him attractive, it was still hard to take her eyes off the blue skin and how the light caught his physique. Or maybe that was how the shadows painted the lines of his muscles.

Either or. It was unusual to say the least. His black hair hung to his shoulders, not exactly wavy, but not straight either.

Bed head, almost. Sexy bed head.

Her mind darted to some acquaintances, wondering if any of her friends would have been attracted. She didn't find him that handsome-the hair turned her off.

She liked short hair.

Like Duncan.

Just thinking of him made her smile. His face, his eyes, all of it brought a light inside her. Not to mention his touch-he'd been so amazing with her, it had brought tears to her eyes. Sure, she'd fantasized about being with him over the years-what girl wouldn't? He was hot. But she'd never actually expected to be with him.

"That is a lovely smile," Malik said, jarring her out of her thoughts. He came over to her and tipped his head to the side.

"I was just remembering."

"Good things, I assume."

Her cheeks warmed. "Yes," she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow, a knowing grin on his face. "How are you feeling, little screamer?"

"Finally feeling better," she said as she started to rise from the elaborate couch he'd laid her on. Though it had more to do with getting away from the creepy little carvings in the wooden edges than actually moving.

"Be careful. Your strength is still wiped out."

Well, that wasn't too far from the truth, Cara thought. She still felt like she'd been run over by a truck. "I should contact my family. They're probably worried."

How many days had it been? Two? Three? She'd slept for at least a day, maybe longer after Malik brought her to his cavernous home. He would bring her out to the couch to get her out of bed, but she'd wind up nodding off again.

In her dreams, though, it would be Duncan who carried her around. Duncan who took care of her.

But how come he hadn't found her yet?

"Did anyone come for me today?" she asked Malik.

"Not today. Nor yesterday. Nor the day before that." He leaned back in his chair. "You seem certain that someone would look for you. Why?"

"Because." She ran her hand over the fabric. "I'm a fairy in distress."

"You do not seem too distressed to me. You're lounging around my cave like you belong here."

She looked around at the glittery cave walls. "I don't belong here."

Where was Duncan? Shouldn't he be out there looking for her? She should contact him, let him know she was okay.

Or did he think she was dead? That she'd died?

She couldn't imagine what he must have seen-when that scream ripped her away from him, she tried reaching for him. She thought she saw him coming after her, but that might have been wishful thinking.

After all, that was a powerful scream-stronger than anything she'd ever experienced, or heard of, for that matter.

She could have killed him...

Her stomach started to roil. What had happened to him? Had he been hurt? Or worse? Was he lying in the dunes himself, dead because of her?

She covered her mouth, afraid she'd throw up.

Malik brought her a cup of tea. "Your stomach upset?"

"I just..." She met his gaze as she accepted the tea. "I wasn't alone in the desert before the storm. I'm afraid of, well, what happened to my friend." Cara sniffed the brew. It wasn't Fairy Tea, but it did smell good.

"There was no one else in the desert," Malik said as he stirred his own tea.

"You looked?" She sipped the tea.

He smiled. "Whoever you were with left."

The words stabbed her hard, and she choked on the liquid. Malik watched her, but he didn't move.

Didn't seem to realize how painfully hard those words hit her.

Had he? Had Duncan left? Not even bothering to look for her? Just assumed she was gone?

The tea didn't set well in her stomach. "I need to contact my family." And Duncan. Tell him that she was okay.

But if he left her...

That was the thing he'd said he would never do.

Her head started to hurt, but not from what happened. From the warring emotions inside her.

"You can soon," he said. "I find it very interesting, though, to know what a little screamer like you is doing out here, in the middle of the desert."

She took a few deep breaths as she tried another sip of tea. "A long story."

"I like long stories." He crossed his legs and rested them on the coffee table that separated them. "Tell me yours."

"What would it hurt now?" Cara muttered and began the tale of how she wound up in the desert and hoped it was enough to convince the djinn to still help her.

Duncan should have found her by now.

And if Duncan wasn't looking for her, then this djinn was her only hope to get back to Avalon.

When she finished, Malik stared at her, like he wasn't sure what to believe.

"I speak the truth," Cara finally said. Certain details, of course, were left out. Like the ones about how important Duncan was to her.

And how important she assumed she was to him.

But if he'd left her here...

Maybe she wasn't that important after all. After what they'd been through-what they'd shared-she didn't want to believe that he would just abandon her in the desert to die.

Or assume that she was dead and not bother looking for her.

Could she have been wrong? Misled somehow?

Did he not want to be with her? Is that why he wasn't looking for her? Because surely he would have found her by now if he'd been looking. They were just in a cave-it wasn't as though they were hiding. It was just this djinn's home.

She wanted to be with him. Of that she had no doubt-she could never not be with him again, it would destroy her. She loved him.

With everything she was-she gave him all she had. Surely with all his magic, he could find her, like he had before. Why wasn't he out there, searching? There were spells he could wield, she'd seen him do it.

He was FID. His magic was limitless, wasn't it? He would have found her by now.

Yet he hadn't come.

Malik cleared his throat. "I believe you. And we had a bargain. I will help you." He steepled his fingers together and pressed them to his lip.

The way he looked at her made her shiver.

Something wasn't right.

She could feel it.

But what, she had no idea. She took a sip of the tea. "What do you get out of this?" That was the big question-what in the world could she, a little banshee, do for a djinn? After all, they were all-powerful beings. There were very few restrictions on djinn magic-they couldn't make anyone fall in love, bring people back from the dead, or go back in time-but that was about it.

Cara, on the other hand, had such limited powers. What could he possibly need from her?

"That is my boon. I do not have to know right now. I may need you in a year or two. Or a decade. Or I may not need you at all."

"So I'll just be in your pocket?" Cara asked.

He smiled. "When you accept a deal with a djinn, not only are you obligated to it, your family is obligated to it. Until it is satisfied, your family is obligated to me."

She blinked. Oh shit. "You could have mentioned that when I agreed to accept your help."

"It is common knowledge."

"Maybe for some. I never was going to leave the island. I never studied djinn." And the crux of it all hit her hard. She knew her lot in life, and knew she'd never be able to travel the world, so she didn't bother paying much attention to what happened outside of Avalon. Even now, her job on Avalon was at the magistrate's office, helping to make sure that things on the island ran smoothly.

With no time planned out for her to travel, to see the world, the one thing she'd wanted to do her entire life.

To just, well, not be there...

He looked her up and down. "You are not one blessed with the gift of foresight, then."

She snorted. "Nope. I mean, even my own palm-" She held up her hand, looking at the lines on her palm.

Had the lines changed?

It seemed that one line looked longer, that where the two lines intersected seemed in a different spot. Was it possible?

Had her future been changed? For so long, the converged lines were very near the edge, and now they weren't. They were more to the center, like her life had been altered.

Her path changed.

What did that mean?

Before she realized it, Malik took her hand. "You have a lovely lifeline. Long and strong." He met her gaze with his almost black eyes. "Plenty of time to see the world. Why would you ever think you would never leave the island?"

"Because my screams are bound to the Merrow Kingdom. I have no reason to leave." Nor, did it seem, she had a reason to return.

If Malik was correct, and no one was looking for her...

If they thought-if Duncan thought her dead, he'd likely told her family the same thing.

It was like her life had suddenly been reset-a chance to start over, to do things differently.

"And why would you need a reason?" He made a gesture. "You are here now, in the middle of the desert, albeit, in my beautiful protected home, but you are not on Avalon. And you have not exploded. Why would you think you could not leave?"

This gave Cara pause.

Why would she think she could not leave?

Because all her life, she knew she needed to stay close to Avalon, to the merrow, just in case...