Borrowed Ember Read Free Page B

victim and Ari had to grab hold of it, slamming her eyes shut and gritting her teeth to stop herself from commanding White to be suppliant to her for daring to use Charlie’s predicament against her. She reined in the darkness and shoved it back down, her hands trembling so much she had to clench them into fists.
    She could say yes and Charlie could walk away unscathed. But she’d be here at the mercy of White, who wanted to bring Azazil to heel. Had it been so long since his talk with his mother that he’d forgotten what such a thing would do to the world? Or was that what he wanted now?
     
    Praying Charlie would never find out that she’d walked away from a chance to save him, Ari shook her head. “I’m never going to trust you, you know. Your deals, your seeming patience… it’s al hiding the truth. You’l destroy us.”
    She thought she caught a note of wonder in White’s eyes before he cocked his head to the side in that alien and disturbing way of his. “Your stubborn determination to ignore me is going to get one of your friends kiled, Ari. I am surprised at you.” His eyes narrowed and then he looked at Jai. “Or maybe I am targeting the wrong friend.” Jai glared back at him, unflinching. “Is that what you want? Me, to hurt him ?”
    “As stupid as this may sound to you, al I want is to be left alone.”
    White shook his head, his eyes finding her again. “I made you, Ari. I made you for a purpose. I am not going to walk away.”
    “Why?” She took an unthinking step towards him, and at Vadit’s growl, she felt Jai’s strong hand wrap around her wrist and pul her back. “Do you realy think commanding your father to your bidding is in line with your supposed wishes to return things to the way they should have been; to maintain the balance? According to Red, commanding Azazil to your every whim could bring destruction to the realms.” Okay, maybe Red hadn’t said al that, but Lilif had.
    The White King froze at the knowledge she had acquired, and then he sighed as if deciding it didn’t matter. “I do not want to command my father for every little whim, Ari. I just want one thing from him. Something he wil never hand over unless I force it from him. One thing.”
    Ari shook her head, disbelieving. “You said yourself you want to be Sultan.”
    “Did I? I do not remember ever saying that. I said I want to return the order. Everyone else believes that my purpose is to dethrone Azazil. Let them. My father knows better. He knows exactly what I want, and he wil play my brothers off of each other to keep me from getting it. But he knows you can get me what I want. He knows, Ari, and he wil do whatever it takes to stop that from happening. So you should think very carefuly before you trust him.”
    Trying not to let him play mind games with her, Ari shrugged. “What thing? What’s the thing you want?”
    “Something that wil restore the Jinn world. Something that wil insure that chaos remains within its own space and does not intrude into others and bring the destruction you have spoken of.”
    For a moment, Ari was lost in the unusual sincerity in White’s gaze, but the sound of Jai clearing his throat made her shake her head, spiling the strange and unwelcome questions out of it. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I don’t trust you, and I want nothing to do with the power within me. I’d quite happily spend the rest of my life pretending it doesn’t even exist.”
    White’s features froze and a grim determination etched into the hardness. “That is foolish and naïve. Soon others wil discover what you are. You are going to spend the rest of your life running and fighting unless you let me help you. Unless you help me.”
    “Here’s the thing… Red is just as powerful as you are and he’s protecting me with no apparent strings attached. I don’t need you to protect me.”
    “My brother is my father’s puppet, Ari. He protects you as long as Azazil wishes him to protect you. You