djinn wars 04 - broken Read Free Page A

had never mentioned him pairing off with anyone, so Julia had no reason to think those particular circumstances had changed.
    Not that it really mattered one way or another. For whatever reason, he seemed content to live his life alone, but that didn’t mean she had to.
    “Sure,” she told Shawn, summoning a smile from somewhere and putting it on. He looked pleasantly relieved in response, which meant her smile had to have appeared at least somewhat genuine. “I think I’d like that.”
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    Zahrias pushed away from the desk where he’d been sitting and strode out into the hallway. On this mild autumn day, most of the windows in the house were open, along with the doors that allowed access to the interior courtyard of the structure. The building’s design was one of the reasons he had chosen it for his own; his people often constructed their homes around central courtyards, and that similarity made this alien place seem a little more familiar.
    Even so, he felt an unwelcome uneasiness thrumming along his veins. Whence it had come, he couldn’t say, except that he found himself strangely unable to concentrate, restless. Boredom was not an emotional state the djinn usually experienced, for their lives were so long that they were used to the ebb and flow of excitement and calm, stimulation and silence. If it still seemed strange to him that his home was now here, in this world his people had coveted for so long, he supposed he would get used to it in a decade or two.
    All was at peace. A peace hard-won, and not without its sacrifices, but he knew the community here was safe, and would remain that way. The elders who nominally ruled over his kind would not allow themselves to be circumvented again. His fellow djinn could continue to ravage and raid, hunting down mankind’s last survivors, but they would never dare to come here.
    Perhaps his unease merely arose from the impending birth of his brother Dani’s child. Lauren, Dani’s Chosen, could no longer assist Zahrias in the running of the Santa Fe community, since she was due any day now, but Zahrias hadn’t yet selected her replacement. He could muddle on for another week or so before making a decision. Indeed, while he had thought Lauren indispensable at one time, now the djinn and their Chosen had all settled into an easy enough rhythm, enjoying the beauties of this world and its bounties, and he wasn’t sure if his people needed all that much management anymore. No one took more than their due, and so far any disputes or quarrels had been few and far between.
    He wouldn’t attempt to explain such unprecedented harmony, for in general, the djinn tended to be quick to anger, easy to take offense. The peace that had settled over Santa Fe could be the result of realizing how close they had been to losing everything. If that was the truth of the matter, he knew he would not argue with it.
    For some reason, though, Zahrias could not find that peace within himself. He had hoped that acting as leader here would give some shape and form to his days. Unfortunately, all he had done was surround himself with people who appeared to be infinitely happier than he.
    The trees in the courtyard were just starting to turn, the leaves at their crowns beginning to ripple with deep gold. For some reason, seeing that warm shimmer in the wind made him think of her hair, the way it had blown around her face with the glinting shades of old gold coins.
    No, he would not allow himself to think about her. He had done his best to banish her face from his memory, but thoughts of her would still come to him unbidden, as they did now. And with those thoughts, as always, a wave of guilt.
    I saw her, when all the others were selecting their Chosen. I saw her, and wanted her, and did nothing, because I would not allow myself to be wounded by a mortal woman again. And because of my cowardice, she has suffered the kind of hurt that no woman should ever have to endure.
    When Julia revealed to