Free Possessed by Desire by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

slipped an arm around Kavin’s shoulder when she moved next to him. “Until our little brother calms down, time is all we have.”
    Another string of curses echoed from the dark forest surrounding the house. Claire looked toward the open door again, and her pulse picked up speed.
    “I should go talk to him,” Tariq muttered.
    From the way Ashur had reacted to Tariq’s presence the first time, Claire didn’t think that was a good idea. Plus, she knew the last person he’d want to talk to would be the brother he believed had betrayed him.
    Her stomach grew light. An odd sort of kinship toward Ashur built inside her, one that had nothing to do with the sexual cravings he’d ignited, one that made it hard to draw air. He was djinn; she was celestial. They came from two different worlds and were not supposed to interact. Yet for the first time since she’d been banished—for the first time ever, really—she was drawn to another being. Not because she was commanded, but because she understood exactly what he was going through.
    Tariq moved forward, but she held out a hand, stopping him. “No. Don’t. I’ll go.”
    “But he—”
    She looked back at her friends. “I started this. It’s my fault. And now it’s time for me to make at least part of it right.”
     
    * * *
     
    Ashur kicked a can out of his path from the trash bin he’d a knocked over. He’d walked a complete circle around the house but couldn’t get more than a hundred yards away. That damn opal was keeping him locked in place. And until Claire came out—because he sure as hell wasn’t going back in to that house—he was stuck.
    Footsteps crunched on the forest floor, and relief seeped in. He didn’t need to turn to see it was Claire. He could sense her. Or, at least, he could sense the opal. Which, at the moment, was all he cared about.
    “Let’s go,” he said.
    “We’re not leaving.”
    He swiveled to face her. Moonlight shimmered over her, highlighting her hair and skin, making her look—for the first time—like the celestial being she was. “Yes, we are. You don’t command me either. Remember that, noor .”
    He brushed past her and headed down the hillside toward the water’s edge. With her outside, he could go a little farther without hitting that invisible barrier, and he needed to get as far from this house as possible.
    At his back, she drew in a breath, let it out. A chill from the damp forest slid down his spine, but he ignored it. His head was too full of realities he was having a hard time believing.
    Nasir was alive. He’d taken a Ghul as his mate. And he was now going to be king of Gannah? Zoraida’s henchmen had told Ashur Nasir was dead. Did they not know Nasir was alive? And did he still wear the opal? The same one Ashur wore but which couldn’t be seen in this realm?
    He stopped at the edge of the water, rested his hands on his hips, and looked out over the shimmering surface. All of it, every piece of it, was Tariq’s fault. If he’d done what their father had commanded years ago and taken over rule of their land, he never would have been in that village when Zoraida’s army attacked. He wouldn’t have been taken prisoner. Nasir and Ashur wouldn’t have spent years of their lives searching for him, wouldn’t have been captured by Zoraida’s goons themselves. Life in Gannah would be as it was supposed to be. Safe. Predictable. Empty .
    The last lingered in his mind as an owl swooped low over the water. His life in Gannah as the youngest prince had been easy—too easy—even he knew that. He wasn’t the heir. He wasn’t the spare. He’d done anything he’d wanted, and no one had cared. He’d charmed the ladies, slept till noon, hadn’t once worried about responsibilities or expectations or what tomorrow would bring, like his brothers. The biggest complaint he’d had growing up was that his brothers looked at him as the baby and wouldn’t take him along on their adventures. He’d hated that. Hated