79. Hunger

{Ritsu}

"So," Naya whispered, her eyes glowing in the dark, "how does this work?"

Ritsu leaned in, finding her neck. He let his hands coast to places he would have never dared to go before. Even under the denim fabric, he could feel Naya's legs tremble as he spread them apart and angled his hips between them.

Without being coaxed, Naya crossed her legs about his waist, knotting her ankles against the small of his back. Their breaths shuddered in unison. Ristu let his hands naturally wander, his reactions to her body magnified in the dark.

His lips had drawn a short path from Naya's neck to her collarbone when she spoke up.

"Ritsu, I really like where this is going, but at this rate, Aqua is going to burn a hole through my intestines."

Ritsu stood up straight. "Right. Sorry. What should I –"

He fell silent when Naya claimed his wrists and slid his hands under her shirt. His mind raced as he tried to process the planes of her torso and the shape of her individual ribs.

"Oh," Ritsu whispered, understanding.

Naya kissed him earnestly. "I trust you." Then she leaned back until her spine connected with the bathroom mirror.

Ritsu steadied his breath as he guided the hem of her shirt as high as it could go without removing it completely. Then he closed his eyes and let his face drift below her neckline. Naya's fingers massaged his scalp as he explored the center of her chest. Then he remembered that he had a job to do – slowing down that inner fire.

Ritsu kissed the soft underside of Naya's breast, directing his magic to her core. She hissed when he found her nipple and activated it with a wet, cold suck.

"Ngnnn."

With his tongue, he drew a slow circle around the small tack of flesh. His hand wandered up and claimed the other one, his thumb rotating counterclockwise against it.

Naya's breathing increased as she gripped the wrist of his free hand and guided it below her navel. Ritsu deftly freed the fastenings and dipped his knuckles past them. She was so warm against his fingers. He gave a soft laugh any time her skin twitched at the contact.

Naya bucked a little when his cold fingers slid inside her. She made a fist in his hair and jerked his head back. The sudden release of her breast created a delicate pop.

Naya held fast to his hair while she attacked his face with rough, wet kisses. Her body continued to shiver and her magic sparked as he teased his ice-coated fingers in and out.

It wouldn't be long before her suit of fire became a distant memory.

+++

{Naya}

When Ritsu and I left the bathroom and entered the hallway that led to Portia's living room, everything seemed quiet. The only ones occupying the living room were Portia and Usher.

I cleared my throat and folded a lock of hair behind my ear. "Where did Mom, Zayn, and Sinbad go?"

Portia glanced at me in surprise. She approached me cautiously. "Usher sent them away. She said that this whole bond-breaking process will be easier if they aren't here. Girl, are you okay? Can I hug you now, or will it melt the skin off my face?"

I breathed in deeply. "It's okay now." I embraced my best friend. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you for so long."

Portia chuckled as she squeezed me. "Girl, please. Mr. Naim told me everything that's been going on with you. If that were me, I definitely wouldn't have handled it as well as you have."

"Trust me," I said, "I'm barely hanging in there."

If it wasn't for Ritsu . . . I don't know if I could have made it this far after what happened in the desert. I thought back to where we had just come from. Guilt began to creep up my spine, but I shook it off. I promised Ritsu and myself that I wouldn't feel any more shame about what happened. Besides, even though we could have, Ritsu and I didn't have sex. We just came very . . . close.

Portia led me to the sofa. I sat down across from Usher. Ritsu took up a seat directly behind me. Portia sat on the ottoman to my right. After taking a few more steadying breaths, I said, "I'm ready. Show me how to break my bond with Uri."

Usher's glowing yellow eyes cut through me. "Are you sure? There is no going back."

I nodded. "I've made my peace with it. If severing our bond and exchanging my essence for yours means we can save him then . . . I have to do it."

The sila purred, "Very well then."

I grabbed Portia's hand and leaned against Ritsu's chest as I braced myself for the worst.

+++

{Uriel}

Six days.

Despite Janus's temptations and Sabur's taunts, Uriel had managed to keep the embers inside him from blazing for a total of six days.

Uriel didn't know how much he had left in him. He knew that Janus was close to ordering his ifrit to punish him for resisting.

So far the only physical discomfort that Uriel experienced came from being strung up by his arms. Throughout the days, he could hear Janus arguing with his alchemist or Sabur on the other side of the glass. Sabur's idea of breaking Uriel was to pummel him into submission. Janus refused, but Uriel was certain that his patience would run out and he would soon be at the dark ifrit's mercy. The alchemist wanted to take a different, more humane approach. But it appeared that Janus wasn't open to that either.

The only way Uriel could drown out the noise was to think of Naya. Relieving the memories with her brought him comfort as well as served as the most efficient way to keep his suit for fire from springing back to life.

The imprisoned djinni closed his eyes, made himself numb to the pain in his joints, and eliminated the arguing and bickering of his foes by imagining himself at a bar in a nightclub, waiting for Naya to show up.

The energetic desi pop music blared from the speakers hidden in the glittery dark interior. Uriel took deep, steadying breaths and tried to appear as cool and confident as possible. As soon as Naya was visible, he locked eyes with her. Though he never waved his hand or inclined his head, he beckoned her. Naya whispered something to her friend and made her way across the dancefloor of entangled, sweaty bodies right to him – Uriel. And that was where it all began.

Memory after memory paid him visits. The morning Naya had tried to wake Uriel up and she somehow ended up wrestling him to the floor. The morning Uriel first made her banana pancakes. Naya playing guitar for him when she was at her most vulnerable. Every flirtatious moment or memorable tease. Their first kiss.

Uriel was in the middle of reliving the time when Naya let him suck cake batter off her finger when something interrupted his ritual meditation.

Uriel opened his eyes.

What happened?

Something was gone. Something that had been with him just before. Something that should have never left.

Uriel moved his fingers and wrists. They tingled with pain.

"Come back. What's happening?"

His eyes flashed around, searching for it. Where was it? Where could it be hiding? It was just here.

She was just here.

Uriel roared, "NAOMI!"

His suit of fire stretched. It grew.

<Well. How unfortunate. I suppose it was only a matter of time.>

Uriel writhed. What did he want? How could he awaken so soon?

As much as Uriel hated relying on his suit of fire for answers, he couldn't help but ask, What is happening to me? Why can't I remember her face? Why can't I remember her name?

He just spoke her name and yet he was forgetting it. What was it again? Nadia? Nayari?

The recharged suit of fire chuckled, <Something has severed our bond with the djinniyah. She is either dead or she has willingly abandoned you.>

The chains holding Uriel above the ground rattled.

No. She wouldn't. And there's no way she could die. She should be safe. Zayn. Ritsu. They would keep her safe . . . Wait.

Uriel glared inwardly at his fire.

Why aren't you upset? We were both bonded to her. Yet you laugh.

The suit of fire rolled his eyes. <Childish vessel of mine. She was but one of infinite djinniyah. Yes, she was remarkable and irresistable. But there are more. And look where we are. Inside the den of a collector. I bet we can find a dozen like her. And we wouldn't have to share with any monkeys this time.>

"Let me out!"

Uriel thrashed against the chains. With his eyes, he begged the figure on the other side of the glass.

The collector came into view and smiled a horrific, triumphant smile.

"You know, he's right, changeling. You can have all the djinniyah you want. I can even make them look like the one you lost."

Uriel's chains dissolved. Instead of hitting a cold dungeon floor, he landed on a sea of pillows. His dark, unwelcoming surroundings softened. Incense clouded the air. Uriel took a breath and immediately regretted it. In doing so, he had allowed his suit of fire to emerge. The eager, aroused flame sprang from his belly and secreted through his skin.

Organic armor formed where the skin on his wrists went raw from the shackles. His horns grew in full. Grenadine blended with the brown of his eyes. Four extra arms unfurled from the growing muscles in his back. Lastly, the veins along his chest flashed and sparked.

"No," Uriel wheezed, smoke snaking from his lips. He was not alone. Bending down onto the pillows were women. They all looked like that girl. The one who he had been bonded to just moments before. The one whose name he could not remember, but he knew he loved her. And she him.

She loved him, right?

"Yes," sighed one of the bondmate clones. She was barely wearing anything. All of them were a couple of degrees away from total nakedness.

The one who spoke knelt before him and traced his ribbed horns with the back of her hand.

"We love you," She said, her voice belonging to not one, but many.

This should have put Uriel's fears to rest, but he hesitated.

I remember, he faltered. The girl tried to kiss him, but he pulled back.

"You . . . you said you didn't want this – the suit of fire. You wanted me. Without the fire. You said you loved me without my fire."

The cloned bondmates tilted their heads in unison.

"What do you mean? How can we love you without your fire? You are fire, ifrit."

They all bent towards him. He felt one, two, three mouths. Tongues against his. In his ears. Tasting his nipples. Licking his cock.

Wasn't there only supposed to be one of her? Wasn't he supposed to be separate from his suit of fire? He wasn't a full ifrit yet. Right?

The bondmates drew back. "We love you. You are an ifrit – our ifrit. And we love you. Because we love powerful, hungry djinn."

And that was when he truly felt it. The hole that the loss from earlier had carved out. It made him so hungry.

Could he eat all these djinniyah, he wondered? Would that satisfy this ever growing hunger?

"Yes," the bondmates whispered as they undressed for him. "Eat us."

"First," Uriel said, getting on top of one. "We play."

The bondmates shrieked and giggled, and sighed, and smoked.

"Yes. We play. Then you can eat. Eat us all."