47. The Goodbye Party

{Naya}

"No way! He said that?" I laughed in disbelief while tossing a pillow at Portia's head.

She expertly evaded the blow and giggled, "Yes, girl. Why would I lie? Ugh! You have no idea how badly I wanted to kiss him."

I thought about how many near miss kisses Uri and I had shared. "Oh trust me, I know the feeling."

Portia swallowed the rest of the wine in her glass and handed it over to me. "Will you pour me another?"

The two of us carried on with our exchange of tipsy dating advice while we relaxed in our pajamas on my king sized bed. The nightstand supported an endless supply of booze from Zayn's wine cellar.

After drunkenly modeling our new dresses for each other, we finally decided to call it quits.

+++

{Ritsu}

The monkey found the magus alone in his office filing papers. Ritsu glanced in every direction before using all of his weight to tug the door completely shut.

Zayn lifted his head at the click of the lock. He raised a curious eyebrow. "Ritsu? What are you doing here at this hour?"

The little monkey's eyes darted towards the closed door. He angled his head as if to listen for something on the other side. When he was satisfied by the silence, he crossed the room and helped himself onto Zayn's desk.

Ritsu smoothed down the fur on his chest and assumed a serious tone. "I think you know by now that Uriel is an unstable djinni."

Zayn's curious eyebrow dissolved. He took a seat across from Ritsu. "Aren't all djinn who are attempting to become human?"

Ritsu nodded. "Yes. And normally I wouldn't care, but we are about to enter the desert. Would I be wrong to assume that such a place holds many dangerous triggers for Uriel?"

Zayn lowered his eyes and gave a respectful shake of his head. "No, you wouldn't. The desert is home to plenty of unpleasant memories for him. And trust me, I've thought all of this through, but given our circumstances, we don't have any other choice."

"Did you ever think about a backup plan in case Uriel gives into his suit of fire?"

Zayn smiled. "Of course I have. The answer is Naya."

Ritsu sighed. "I'll admit that Naya and Uriel's bond is strong, but what if it's not enough to keep him grounded? I fear that you've let your confidence in Naya cloud your better judgement. I've seen how Naya responds in the face of extreme conflict. She's not what you call a pillar of stability and patience."

Zayn held up a finger. "Not yet she isn't. If I had more time to train her –"

"But you don't," Ritsu blurted.

Zayn lowered his hand onto the desk. "You're worried about her. That's why you came to talk to me, isn't it?"

Ritsu folded his arms over his white chest. "Like I said, normally I wouldn't care whether or not Uriel could control his inner fire, but since Naya is involved . . ."

"To you, she's more than just someone who gives you commands."

Even though Ritsu was incapable of blushing in his primate form, the answer to Zayn's question was clear.

"I see." Zayn said as he pushed his chair back and stood up.

"You have to have a plan B if something goes wrong out there. And I can help!"

Zayn stared down at the desperate monkey. "What is your solution?"

With his tiny hands, Ritsu grappled with the fur on his chest. "I lost touch with my true form long before Uriel found me. Still, I know that there's got to be a way that you can restore it to me. What if we used Uriel's temper as a meter? Can't you use sorcery to somehow link it to my true form? Then if Uriel ever gets out of control . . ."

Zayn folded his arms and took a moment to scrutinize Ritsu's current form. "Hmm. It wouldn't be impossible . . ."

Ritsu looked up hopefully.

Zayn gave a slow nod. "I'll do what I can."

Ritsu loosened his small fists and exhaled. "I never thought I would ever say this to a magus, but thank you."

+++

{Naya}

My party had started over an hour ago. Three and a half drinks, an elephant ride, and dozens of formal introductions later, there was still no sign of Uri. Who knew it was possible to feel so lonely in a room full of music and people?

Zayn's ballroom was bursting with guests that spilled onto the open courtyard. Divinely dressed party goers mingled and danced around the glistening fountains. They took turns hitching rides on the imported elephants.

If I wasn't having such a great time I probably would have been embarrassed by all of this opulence and refinement in my honor. Yet, standing there under the stars in my designer red dress, I wondered where Uri could be hiding. I wanted to spend the night with him rather than by myself with glimpses of Portia, Sinbad, and Zayn.

"That dress really suits you."

I spun around when I heard the voice, but there was no one behind me.

"Ahem."

I looked down to see Ritsu crouched on a mosaic tile, his lithe tail swishing from side to side.

I groaned, "Don't get any ideas, you little pervert."

Ritsu used my arm to climb and hoist himself onto my shoulder. "People have been showering you with compliments all night – all of which you have accepted. I make one polite observation about your exquisite attire and suddenly I'm a pervert?"

I narrowed my eyes at the monkey. "Yes. When you have a history of groping my boobs not once but twice without my permission, it earns you the reputation of a perv."

Ritsu took his tail in his hands and wrung it. "Is there ever a possibility that I could clear my name? I don't want you to think of me that way anymore."

I snorted and took a sip of my drink. "Ritsu, since when do you even care what I think? By the way, have you seen Uri around?"

Ritsu let go of his tail. "You haven't figured it out by now?"

Before I could answer, he leaped down from my shoulder. "He's in the kitchens," he said. Then he scurried off in the other direction.

"The kitchens?" I repeated to myself. Suddenly, Uri's behavior from yesterday made sense to me.

Of course! The dinner for tonight must have been part of the surprise.

I was relieved to learn that Uri had been just around the corner all this time, but I still wanted to see him. So I downed the rest of my drink and dropped the glass off with a waiter. Then I gathered up the ends of my dress and booked it for the open ballroom.

"My dear flame princess! Where are you going so fast?"

Mr. Naim came into view and swiftly hooked his arm through mine. I came to an abrupt halt and nearly fell over. Zayn chuckled good naturedly as he helped me regain my balance.

"I apologize," he said, "I didn't mean to catch you off guard. I don't know why you are in such a hurry, but dinner is about to be served."

I didn't have time to protest or ask about Uri. Zayn was already calling out to his other guests while simultaneously herding me into the mansion. Somewhere in the crowds I saw Portia and Sinbad, their arms linked and happy, intoxicated grins plastered on their faces.

I sighed.

At least they're enjoying each other's company.

It appeared that the kitchen staff had taken the liberty to arrange a series of high and low dining tables with what seemed to be small apparatuses of wire art decorating each table top.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that these wiry sculptures actually had food attached to them. Zayn guided me, Sinbad, and Portia to a table elevated from the rest of the guests. We also had a breathtaking view of the courtyard at our backs.

At this time, I felt something hop onto my lap. Knowing it could be none other than Ritsu, I began to absently stroke him in an attempt to calm my nerves. He dozed off, but there was no doubt that as soon as the food arrived, he would be tugging on my dress, begging for scraps.

Once the entire room was seated, someone emerged from the corridor that led to the kitchens. As soon as I recognized the crisp chef's uniform, I craned my neck and eyes to see if it was Uri. Instead, the man who appeared was Armand, Zayn's executive chef.

Armand gave a gracious bow and some words on my behalf. He spent a few seconds previewing our eight course menu for that evening and prompted us to try the amuse-bouche to start off the meal. Then he gave another bow and disappeared back into the kitchens.

I assumed Armand was referring to the colorful bite-sized morsels clinging to the wire sculptures. I followed Zayn's lead and plucked one of the instruments from the display. We ate off of them like they were dainty shish kabobs.

I sat back and fiddled with the tiny kabob sticks while my host and my best friend chattered about the party. I yawned during another announcement regarding the meal courses. There may have been a toast or something – I was too bored to care.

"Pardon my reach."

I nearly knocked over my wine glass at the sound of the new voice in my ear.

"Uri?"

All of the tables were surrounded with servers. Most of them wore neat black attire, but a few, like Uri and Armand, sported their chef uniforms.

After Uri served the first course, he drizzled some white sauce over the plate at the same time as the other waiters. From where he was standing behind me, I could not see his entire face – only the lower half of his jaw. And I could smell the faint scent of smoke that tended to linger on his skin.

I held my breath while Uri performed the course serving. I wanted to ask him when he was going to be off duty or why the heck he volunteered to work in the kitchens all night instead of spending it with me.

By the time the rest of the waiters were straightening their spines, I had lost my nerve. It became clear when the dinner was over, the guests would most likely leave. We might not get a chance to dance or go for a ride on one of the elephants.

Right then, something papery was pressed in my palm under the table. I folded my fingers over it and briefly brushed against Uri's warm skin. After he left, I did my best to not draw attention to myself. Once I was sure everyone was focused on the food, I looked down at my hands, ready to unfold the slip of paper.

I moved aside the tablecloth to see Ritsu glaring at me. "You know the only reason I'm here is for food, right? Quit passing notes and feed me!"

I swiftly pushed him off my lap and unfurled the note.

It said: Meet me in the library after the fourth course.

I tried to hide my smile as I folded the paper up and returned to the food. Each time a new course was served, Uri was the one who brought me my dish. Surprisingly, I did not rush through my meal. By this time I had realized that Uri was the one responsible for putting together my dishes. I could pick out slight variations between my plate's presentations and the rest of the dishes at the table. Plus, the food was to die for.

Even though I could have happily gone on eating, at the end of the fourth course, I excused myself to the restroom. Zayn, Portia, and Sinbad were too engaged in their dining experience and conversation to notice that I would be gone longer than normal. However, I did spot Ritsu following me with his tiny dark eyes from under the table.

There was something in Ritsu's glare that was more unsettling than usual. Not to mention that he had been acting weird and grumpy all night.

I rolled my eyes. Whatever. I'm not going to let anyone ruin the rest of my night. Especially when it is about to get so much better.