35.

"Are you sure? My brothers will be bringing pizza soon. You probably haven't had time to eat." Dan slid a hand down Farren's chest in an unfairly manipulative move that had Farren ready to drool.

"I don't think it's pizza you're in the mood for."

Dan grinned. He stood and slid on his pants and shirt. "I'll walk you back. I don't want you to feel pressured, even to stay. I respect your need to be ready for class even if I wish you wouldn't leave."

"Thanks." Farren wished that were the total issue. If the truth came out and Dan ended up hating him, he wanted all their memories to be good.

He waited while Dan put his shoes on. Farren had slid into his while Dan dressed.

Farren opened the door to find Dean and Devin outside, both carrying large pizza boxes. Wow, the hour had passed quickly. "Hey guys, I was just leaving."

Dan wrapped an arm around Farren. "I'm going to walk him to his dorm. I'll be right back."

Farren resisted rolling his eyes. He could easily take down anyone who gave him any problems. He didn't need his big, bad boyfriend to see him to the other side of campus. "I can make it on my own, you know."

Devin snorted. "Let him walk you. Otherwise we'll hear about it for the next twenty minutes."

Dean nodded his agreement.

"Well, if it will help you guys out." Farren pretended to think about it.

Dan pinched his ass.

"Ouch." Farren rubbed his abused body part and scooted past the brothers. "See you later, guys."

Dan's reassuring warmth beside him had Farren taking his time to stroll across campus.

"I wonder what caused the fire?" Dan asked.

Farren shrugged, gasping as pain shot through his shoulder like broken glass. "It could've been anything. These buildings are older and sometimes their protections break down if they aren't renewed yearly."

"How do you know that?"

36.

"I read a book on the school's early architecture. All of the really good spells have to be renewed yearly, but with the headmaster arrested, they might not have been taking care of the renewals." Farren had done his research before deciding to attend this college.

"Huh. If you're right, someone is going to get their ass chewed out over that. The school board won't take this negligence lightly, especially if anyone was injured." Dan frowned at the smoking building in the distance. "It doesn't look like it spread any farther. They're probably just clearing out the debris now."

If the djinn had spoken the truth, Farren wouldn't need to purge his magic anymore. He should be able to funnel his extra power into the lamp. Luckily, the shrunken lamp shouldn't attract the attention of Farren's nosy roommate. It swung on Farren's belt loop as he walked.

He liked to keep it near. Each time he touched it, the lamp took away the sharp edges of his magic.

"We should check both of our dorms and see when they were last renewed," Dan said.

Farren knew from his research that each dormitory had a renewal stamp on the main entrance to list its certification each time the maintenance crew refreshed the protection spell.

Until now Farren hadn't given it more than a cursory look. "If it's missing, we should report it to Headmaster Candine, and have her take care of it."

"Too bad she's temporary. She wants to retire and live in the mountains or something,"

Dan said.

"Yeah."

Thoughts spun around in Farren's head. Had the djinn started the fire to destroy Farren's practice spot and force him to use the lamp? He didn't like being suspicious, but he couldn't help it. Even with the same magical blood burning through his veins, Farren didn't trust djinns.

Farren planted a quick kiss on Dan's mouth. He couldn't resist. Whenever he stood more than a few feet away he had to touch. Taste. Devour. If he were a wolf, he'd declare Dan his mate and never let him go again. Unfortunately wizards didn't get that automatic mating card. They might find their soul mates, but they only stayed bonded through hard work.

Dan cupped the back of Farren's head and held him still while he devoured Farren's mouth as if Farren were the last sip of water in the summer desert.

37.

A whistle from a passerby had them breaking apart, panting.

"Let's get you to your dorm."

Farren didn't know if he could handle Dan near his bed without pouncing. He needed to put some distance between them. "I think I can make it the rest of the way on my own."

"I have no doubt you can, but like I said, since Dean's girlfriend was killed last year I worry about people I care about wandering around alone at night."

Farren quickly suppressed his hope at Dan's words. As much as he liked Dan, he didn't want to drag Dan into his drama.

"I really like you too." Farren cast Dan a sideways look through his lashes. "I was bummed I couldn't make our date."

Not the least was because he would rather spend time with Dan than with a psychotic djinn trying to convince Farren that he was innocent of all crimes. Farren somehow doubted his grandfather was as innocent as he claimed.

"Me too. I don't want you to think I'm stalkerish, but I am still interested."

Farren let out a big sigh. "Good. I really wanted to go out with you tonight, but I had to practise."

"Understandable. I told Maddox to tell you I stopped by, but I'd be surprised if he does."

"I'd be surprised too. Maddox has a real hard-on for you." Farren shifted the strap of his book bag and gasped.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just my new tattoo."

"It shouldn't still hurt. It looked fully healed. Kevin taught me some healing spells.

Want me to try one?"

"No." Farren's rushed answer had Dan raising his brow. "Thank you, but no. I'll be fine. It's just probably a bruise."

Farren wished he had some influence magic. Unfortunately, djinns were more straightforward creatures-slash and burn, not coaxing and persuading. He didn't know what would happen if Dan tried a healing spell on his djinn mark. The collision between magics probably wouldn't be a good thing.

"What were you really doing tonight? You look like you were caught in a fire."

38.

Farren paled. "I didn't do anything!" He winced as his voice reached a high screech.

Way to make Dan believe him.

"Oh, babe, what happened?" Dan stopped walking and used their linked hands to pull Farren into his arms.

Farren settled his head on Dan's shoulder, taking the brief bit of solace he could from his lover's touch. Once everything came out, he doubted Dan would allow him so close again.

"Nothing. It couldn't have been me. I was in a containment field." Farren refused to claim responsibility for the fire. He'd contained the djinn's flame. The little niggle in the back of his head wondered how the djinn had been able to mark him, but he shoved that thought out of his head.

"Okay. Okay, babe. I'm sorry I doubted you."

Sighing, Farren allowed Dan to cuddle him close.

Dan rubbed his back then jerked his hands away. "Ouch!"

Farren stepped out of Dan's embrace at Dan's shout. "What happened?"

Dan held up his red hand. "Your back is hot."

"Are you burned?" Farren grabbed Dan's wrist to examine the skin. Taking a bit of the coolness from the air around them, he filtered it into Dan's hand until the redness eased.

"Better?"

Dan pressed the skin with his finger. "Yeah, thanks. I thought I was supposed to be the one helping you."

Farren smiled. "You did. I just want to go to my dorm and lie down. Let's go."

He could tell from Dan's expression that he wanted to ask more questions, but his exhaustion must've shown on his face because Dan wrapped a careful arm around him and led him towards his building. Farren's stomach knotted with anxiety. He needed Dan, but how long could he hide the truth from his lover?

Farren's heart stuttered in his chest, a wild and untamed beast trying to break free of his body. They finished their walk in silence. Neither of them must've known what to say.

Farren couldn't force words through his lips. If he held back a lie by not uttering the truth, was that honesty or a slippery slope to deception and the dark side of becoming a djinn? He could almost feel the fiery walls of his genetic cage surrounding him.

39.

Chapter Four.

Farren woke gasping for breath. Fiery pain shot through his shoulder as if someone had stabbed a hot poker into his body and swirled it around, stirring his insides. The mark.

Somehow the djinn had done something to him. Farren closed his eyes trying to get a sense of the mark on his back. He drew in and released long, slow breaths, searching his memory for all the tips he'd learnt regarding searching for curses. Uncertainty over what the djinn had done to him was like a fearful beast, squatting on his chest and crushing the life out of him.

"Fuck!" His back bowed and he clenched his fists, trying to keep the pain inside and not scream. Alerting the entire student body to his predicament wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. He bit his lip. The metallic flavour of his blood filled his mouth. Damn, now he'd have to explain the scab to Dan when they next got together.

Sweat poured off Farren in trickles as if the agony were squeezing the moisture out of his body.

"Relax, mortal."

The words thrummed in his head, echoing through his brain and slithering through his thoughts like a blazing trail. The djinn's voice consumed Farren until all his senses were focused on that one voice and the rest of the world had vanished beneath a blanket of meaningless snow.

"What did you do to me?" Farren asked. He cast an uneasy glance around his room but relaxed when the djinn didn't pop out from beneath his bed or burst out of the wall.

"You need to learn to harness your powers. The stronger you are, the easier it will be to lead."

"What did you do to me?" Farren refused to continue this chat without getting an answer to his question. He had to find out what the djinn had done, to discover if he needed to go to one of those body modifier people and have a brand placed over his djinn mark. It would hurt like a motherfucker, but he wouldn't be mind-controlled by an evil djinn either.

"I've merely made it easier for us to talk. The mark gives you most of the power of a full djinn.

Transformation, fire control and psychic communication across planes. As you aren't truly as *