Ch.26 One and the same

Chapter 26

"Joya will be staying with you until you are more familiar with the compound," Ira said as she led Birdie down the narrow halls packed with jinns.

Birdie looked around with amazement at all that was happening around her. There were children, families, soldiers, merchants, cooks, doctors. All packed into a small tiny building underground. The lights were bright, yet the whole place still felt a little claustrophobic to Birdie. The low ceilings seemed to loom over her like falling skies.

"They come here to seek help," Ira said when she noticed the way Birdie watched everyone. "Every single person here has been wronged by the feys one way or another."

"What do you do?" Birdie asked.

"Whatever we can," Ira's eyes scanned her dominion. "We don't have much resources and the feys of Pangea are much more powerful than the ones we had dealt with at home."

"I've noticed," Birdie said, looking at a young boy hiding in his mother's arms.

"What do you mean?" Ira asked.

"We had som-"

You tend to give away too much information.

Wren's words danced around Birdie's head. Her chest tightened as she peered up at Ira who waited for her to continue. Birdie couldn't explain why her lips were reluctant to speak. Maybe because she didn't want Ira to think Hayden or Heyder had anything to do with the fey fiasco they all had to deal with a few years back...and talking about them would only somehow bring up Noor. Birdie wasn't ready to see Ira's reaction to Noor.

"We had some lessons back on Earth about feys in school," Birdie lied, extremely grateful for her skills. "But the ones here seem to be different."

"They are," Ira said. "They are much colder. Sinister monsters."

Birdie remained quiet. She didn't think it was a good time to ask about Wren, even though her eyes bounced around looking for hints of the fey anywhere.

"Come along," Ira said, moving through the crowd.

Birdie followed the jinn until they arrived at the heavily guarded gates of the compound. The guards gave Ira a firm nod before continuing their duties. A few paused and stared at Birdie, wondering what their leader was doing standing next to a fey. Birdie knew that must have been what they were thinking. It was written all over their faces.

"When are we going to go get the key?" She asked to distract herself.

Ira took a deep breath, but her eyes stayed straight ahead, "I'll be sending my men to speak to the collector."

"You know him?"

"Not personally," Ira said. "Just through business."

"What kind of business?" Birdie felt her stomach knot.

"Elijah has no problems betraying his kind for hefty profit," Ira said. "He helps us get in and out of the city undetected."

Birdie remained silent.

"Why?" Ira asked. "Why are you interested in the kind of business I run?"

"The collector bought and sold me when I arrived in Pangea," Birdie said. "I hope that's not the kind of business you're involved in..."

Ira listened to Birdie's words carefully and peered into her silver eyes as if dissecting each word.

"We shouldn't ask questions to answers we do not know," she said after a long pause.

"What does that mean?" Birdie felt a hollowness creep up into her chest.

"Questions, questions, questions," Ira shook her head with a light chuckle. "You know, you baba used to be the same way. He drove everyone mad with his questions."

"He still drives people mad," Birdie muttered.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Heyder."

Birdie turned to find Azad walking up towards them with a playful grin on his face. His dark hair was messy and his olive skin looked darker with a golden tan.

"I can't get over the fact that she is Heyder's daughter," he said to Ira with his eyes on Birdie. "The boy was like five when I last saw him. And now he has a daughter."

"And a son," Ira announced.

"Get out of town," Azad laughed. "Damn, we're missing out."

"Not for too long," Ira smiled down at Birdie.

"Where's your friend?" Birdie asked, looking over Azad's shoulder for Omar.

"Don't be mad at him," Azad said. "He's rough on the edges but has a good heart."

"And a good fist," Birdie scrunched up her nose. "If this was Earth, I would sue him."

"You can always poison his tea," Azad grinned.

"Azad," Ira warned.

The jinn laughed once more before turning to face the older woman. He ran a hand through his hair and took a step closer until he was able to whisper into Ira's ear.

"Our guest is waking up," he said.

Ira nodded. She felt Birdie's eyes on them as Azad took a step back and cleared his throat. Opening her mind-link, Ira called to Joya to come and take Birdie to her room.

"Why?" Birdie asked as soon as Ira let her know she was being taken to her room to rest.

"Because you hit your head," Ira said.

"Your men hit me," Birdie reminded her.

"You need to rest," Ira said firmly as she nodded towards Joya. "Now, go. I will see you at dinner."

With suspicious eyes, Birdie hesitated. She shifted her weight around and stared at her grandmother as joya reached out and touched her arm. Flinching, Birdie stepped back and turned.

"Come along," Joya said.

Ira stared at her granddaughter walk away. She waited until Joya guided her through the halls and disappeared before looking at Azad.

"So?" the young jinn arched his brow. "Why does she look like that?"

"Something about her witch mother having fey magic in her," Ira began to head towards the back of the compound.

"How does that work?" Azad asked.

"I don't know," Ira said, moving swiftly through the halls. "But I intend to find out once I am home."

"And how are we getting home?" Azad followed behind.

"She brought the key with her," Ira said. "That's how she was able to get in."

"So why are we not at the gates right now?"

"Because the foolish girl had no idea what she was in possession of and lost it," Ira shook her head. "Once we're done here I need you to go see the collector. He might have the key."

"How did he get it"

"You ask too many questions, Azad," Ira's lips pressed into a thin line. "Just do as you're told."

"Don't I always?" Azad said under his breath before stepping forward and opening the door to the small room.

The high cinder walls drank up most of the light that poured in through the small narrow windows near the ceiling. The shackles littered the floor as beams of light came in through the glass, filling the room in a muted golden glow. Ira stepped in and her eyes immediately fell on the prince on the floor.

"Wake him up," she said to Omar who stood in the corner.

Grabbing a pitcher of water, the jinn walked over to the fey and poured it over his head. Wren's eyes flew open as the icy cold water jolted him awake. With a loud gasp, he rolled to his side and began to cough. The water that had rushed into his nose burned like fire down his lungs as he shook his head to clear his vision.

"Good morning," Ira said, taking a step forward and looking down at the fey.

The muscles in Wren's jaw tensed as he closed his hands into fists and took in a deep breath. His knuckles pressed into the cinder floors as his senses grew alert. In one quick swift movement, he was on his knees and holding up his hands to blast Ira and her men.

But as Wren pulled on his magic, his insides felt as if it was being torn apart by a dull hot knife that had been lodged into his chest. Groaning, Wren bit down on his jaw and tried once more despite the pain.

"It's not going to work, your highness," Ira said. "Look at your wrists."

Wren's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the iridescent cuffs around his wrists.

"Dragon scale," Ira said. "The more you try to pull at your powers, the greater the pain will be."

Wren looked up at the jinn with fire in his eyes. His insides still shook from the pain he had just experienced, but he wasn't going to let that show on his face.

"Where is she?" He asked instead, climbing to his feet. "Where's Birdie?"

"She's safe," Ira said. "And away from you."

"What did you do to her?"

Ira's eyes narrowed, "Noting. I'm her family."

Wren scuffed. He looked around the room and shook out his dark hair, making the small droplets of water in them rain down.

"You should really be asking what I'm going to do to you, Tamzin," Ira's callous voice was as cold as the cinder walls.

"You're not going to do anything," Wren gave a chuckle as he spun the cuffs around his wrists. He had only ever heard of dragon scale before. It was his first time seeing it in person. "If you really had any intention of hurting me, I would be dead by now."

"Maybe I wanted you to see the face of the person who was going to smile down at you as you took your last breath."

"You're not her," Wren shook his head. "I've already decided who that's going to be."

"There's a very generous bounty over your head," Ira reminded the prince.

"I bet," Wren said. "But you're delusional if you think Darrian will hand you the prize."

"Then maybe I should just kill you and get it over with."

"Why haven't you already?"

Ira paused for a few seconds. Her eyes moved over the fey as he stood with his emotions guarded.

"Why were you with my granddaughter?" She asked.

Wren felt the corner of his mouth curve up mischievously. He couldn't help himself as the smile grew wide into a grin.

"Because she belongs to me," he said, locking his gaze with Ira.

Seeing the lack of reaction on Ira's face, Wren felt a bit disappointed. He was hoping to get under her skin. But she wasn't like her granddaughter.

Instead of mouthing off like Birdie would have done, Ira held out her hand as Azad placed a dagger in her palm. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt as she took a step forward. Wren didn't dare look away from her eyes.

As the jinn neared the fey, Omar and Azad grabbed Wren by the neck and pushed him down onto his knees. The broken shards of glass and stones dug into his knees as Wren groaned and tried to push off the jinns. Ira watched him before crouching down to eye level and grabbing a fist full of Wren's dark hair.

"She does not belong to you," the jinn said, her poisonous glare piercing into Wren's navy blue eyes. "I will cut out your tongue if you ever speak of her in that manner."

Wren grinned as he found the button he was hoping to press to get under the jinn's skin. Maybe Birdie and Ira weren't so different from each other after all...

"I have cherished every part of her," he said, his dark sinister eyes dancing with mischief. "You best believe she belongs to me."

Ira's eyes hardened as she raised the dagger in her arms and sliced two deep cuts along Wren's upper arms. The fey groaned and thrusts but Omar and Azad did not budge. Warm blood seeped out at rapid speed, soaking into the black shirt Wren wore and sliding down his forearm.

"Bring me the glass salt," Ira said.

A jinn who had been standing by the entrance to the room pulled out a small black pouch from his belt loop and handed it over to Ira.

"I'm sure you know what happens when salt is rubbed into a wound," Ira said, pouring out the pink substance onto her palm. "But do you know what happens to a fey when glass salt is rubbed into their wounds?"

Wren bit down hard as he realized what the jinn was about to do. He accidentally pulled at his magic to only have the agonizing pain return inside of his chest. But that was nothing compared to the bone chilling pain that shot through his arms as Ira rubbed the salt into Wren's cuts.

Wren tried to hold in the growl as best as he could. But as the glass slat began to heat up against his blood and melt into his skin like metal, he couldn't anymore. The small room filled with his scream as Omar and Azad threw him down onto the floor. Wren grabbed his cut and rolled onto his back as he tried to catch his breath from how his skin burned.

Suddenly, as Ira watched the fey on the floor, she felt her mind-link open.

Ira, Joya said in a panic.

What is it? Ira asked.

It's Birdie, Joya said. I don't know what happened.

Ira's eyes narrowed. She jumped to her feet and rushed out the door, knowing Azad was following closely behind.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" The young jinn asked, trying to match Ira's speed. "All that about Birdie....and him.."

"Not right now," Ira said, rounding the corner and running up the steps without alarming the people in the compound. She did not want to raise panic.

"Ira, it's important," Azad said. "If she willingly-"

"She wouldn't do anything with him willingly," Ira spat out through her teeth, stopping and spinning around to face the jinn. "She was captured and sold."

"She protected him and wouldn't leave him behind," Azad reminded her.

"That doesn't mean anything," Ira said.

"You can't bend the rules for family."

Ira's brown eyes lit up with raging flames.

"You made the rules," Azad said, taking a small step back in caution. "I just hope...you will remember them."

"Do not teach me how to follow rules," Ira said, raising her dagger towards Azad's throat.

Ira! Joya's voice came through the mind-link once more.

Throwing one last glare at Azad, Ira put away her dagger and hurried towards the room she had placed Birdie in. As she entered the room and found the young girl on the floor screaming in pain, Azad's words stung a little harder in her mind.

"What's wrong?" Azad looked up at Joya. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Joya shook her head. "She was fine but then she just collapsed."

Ira rushed over to Birdie and picked up her head. She laid it down on her lap and pushed the silky silver hair out of the way. Birdie cried out in pain with her hands over her forearm. She tried to bite down on her lips but she couldn't stop the painful sobs.

"That bastard," Ira said, the muscles in her body tense and on fire.

"What is it?" Azad moved closer.

"They share an autura," Ira said bitterly.

Will Ira let Wren go?

Thank you for being so patient with me :)