Page 69 of Bewitched By the Djinn
Bennet’s brow furrows. “But he told me to bring you home. Why did he help you leave, only to send me right after you?”
She bites her lip. “I don’t know. He knows I don’t want to marry Lord Wallace. I want to be with Delores.”
Delores reaches over, covering one of Helen’s clenched hands with her own.
Oohh. That makes a lot more sense. “Is that not allowed?” I ask. “I mean, in Aetheria? Are queer people looked down on? We have a lot of homophobia here too, it’s a real problem.”
“Not exactly. There’s no real stigma against who you love. It’s not like here, not the same kind of judgment.” Helen shrugs. “But I’m a royal. The heir. I’m expected to marry someone with standing, to form alliances, to produce heirs. It’s not about who I love. It’s about duty.”
Delores’s thumb strokes over Helen’s knuckles. “But you’re not just an heir. You’re a person. And you shouldn’t have to choose between duty and your heart.”
Helen releases her death grip on the chair, turning her hand over to weave Delores’s fingers with her own. “I don’t know why Uncle told you to come fetch me. He gave me the lamp to return to Aetheria with once he was able to scuttle the marriage. I was going to use it myself to come home because we weren’t sure how strong my magic would be here and if I would be able to generate a portal back. That’s the only reason I used it on you, to send you home.”
Bennet shakes his head. “Except the lamp didn’t send me to Aetheria. It took my powers and trapped me. If it wasn’t for Cassie, I don’t know how long I might have been stuck in there.”
Helen’s face drains of color. “I—I didn’t know, I swear. Honestly, I had no idea that would happen. I wouldn’t have used it if I had.”
Bennet doesn’t say anything, but the silence stretches through the room as the weight of everything that’s happened sinks into place. Their uncle orchestrated so much of this. It’s like he’s been moving pieces on a board, playing a game none of them knew they were a part of. Did he mean for Helen to get trapped in the lamp when she attempted to return? Did he send Bennet right after her, to be stuck here on a fool’s errand or knowing Helen might use the lamp on him? Were the ifrit meant to find him—just in case? Why? So he can take over in their place?
“This isn’t a normal spell. It’s a curse,” Bennet finally says. “We are tied together.”
Helen straightens, like she’s ready to latch on to something she can fix. “Maybe I can help with the curse. With my magic.”
Bennet nods slowly. “Yes. We can have you test it, but later. First, tell me why you came in search of your mortal father.”
“I wanted to know where I came from. I’ve always wondered, since the moment I realized the truth, and I intended to come here as soon as my duties allowed. Then Uncle convinced me this was the perfect time. I could leave and find my father, and in the meantime he could sort out the impending wedding, take care of everything at home.” Helen searches his face. “I would never hurt you. I wasn’t intending to leave forever, I was going to return. You understand why I could not marry Lord Wallace.”
He blows out a breath. “I am beginning to.”
Helen straightens, her mouth twisting. “You honestly didn’t know? About Delores and me?”
Bennet rubs the back of his neck. “How would I?”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe the fact that we’ve been in each other’s pockets for months, or that one time you walked in on us leaving the bathing room together and holding hands?”
“Women are always doing those things.”
She gives him a pointed look. “Kissing in dark corners?”
Bennet rubs a hand down his face. “Okay, okay, I should have known.”
Helen and Delores exchange a glance and burst into laughter.
A reluctant smile tugs at Bennet’s mouth and then he laughs too. With the humor, the tension in the room finally breaks, dissolving like steam.
After a moment, Bennet leans forward in his seat, elbows on his knees. “Will you tell me about him? Your father?”
Delores squeezes Helen’s hand and then stands. “Cassie, would you like something to eat or drink?”
Reading between the lines, I stand. “Absolutely. I would love to see more of the house, it’s beautiful.”
“Yes. Come right this way.”
I follow her to the door. She eases it closed behind us and gives me a knowing smile. “The tension in there was thick enough to swim in.”
I let out a laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”
She slips her hand in my arm with a sunny smile. “Come. There is a lack of magic in your realm but the kitchens are marvelous. You must tell me what is going on with you and Bennet.”
