The Forbidden Wish(56)

Aladdin glances up and down the hall, then nods and stands back. Caspida slips inside, and just before he shuts the door, I dart through. Aladdin notices and watches me warily. I sit in the corner, my tail curled around my paws, watching impassively.

Caspida stands in the grass courtyard, looking small and lost. Her loose hair is tangled from running, and her feet are bare. Aladdin approaches her slowly, his face etched with concern.

“Are you all right?” he asks.

“My father has died,” says Caspida flatly.

Aladdin stops and shuts his eyes, exhaling softly. “I’m so sorry.”

She shrugs and looks away, her jaw tight.

Hesitantly, Aladdin walks to her. “Is there . . . anything I can do?”

She blinks rapidly, holding back more tears. Her body is rigid and tight, as if she’s poised to flee. “I came to accept.”

“Accept?”

“Your offer of marriage.”

Aladdin’s mouth opens and shuts. He blinks at her, stunned.

“Well?” she snaps. “Are you going to gape, or are you going to say something?”

“Um. I don’t think . . . I’m not sure you’re in a frame of mind to really make a decision like that. Your father just died. You should be mourning him, not—”

“Sulifer made my father sign a decree just moments before he—he passed. It says that I must marry within two days, before I am crowned, or I must abdicate.”

Aladdin’s lips form a perfect circle. “And . . . you’ve come to marry me instead of Darian.”

“The decree doesn’t mention Darian by name—only that I must marry a prince.”

Aladdin chews his lip, his eyes creasing. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“You said you wanted to help me! Well, this is it. This is me asking for help!”

“Okay, okay,” he says, holding up his hands. “Of course I’ll help you. I just want you to be sure this is what you want.”

“I want you to marry me,” she says firmly. “And then I want you to summon your army.”

Aladdin’s face goes still. “My army.”

“You have an army, right?” Her gaze darkens dangerously.

“Uh . . . sure. I mean, of course.”

“Well. How soon can they be here?”

“Um. I don’t know. A month, maybe?” Aladdin glances anxiously at me, and I look down at my paws.

She nods. “Good. We must begin drawing up battle plans.”

“Battle plans,” he echoes tonelessly.

“My scouts report that there are jinn gathering in the hills—more than we have ever seen.”

I straighten, my cat’s ears alert.

“Something is brewing out there,” Caspida continues. “And it can be nothing good if there are jinn involved. We fear they are going to launch an attack, and we must be ready. Your men can help, can’t they?”

“Of course.” Aladdin glances at me in a silent plea for help. I remain right where I am, sitting on one of the cushions he’d kissed me on just minutes earlier.

“Princess, perhaps I should walk you back to your chambers. Your friends might be better able to comfort you.” He hesitates, then adds, “I’m really sorry about your father. I lost mine when I was twelve. I know what it’s like.”

“Do you know what it’s like to feel an entire kingdom suddenly fall on your shoulders?” she asks sharply, and then she squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m sorry. That was rude. You must think I’m pathetic, running in here like this.”

Aladdin gently catches her hands and lifts them. “You’re not pathetic. And you’re right. I don’t know what it’s like. But I do know that you can bear it. I know that you are strong enough and that you are surrounded by people who will stand by you through every moment. You aren’t alone, Princess.”

Her eyebrows pinch together, and she draws a steadying breath. “I should go back. My father . . . I must make arrangements.”

Aladdin nods. “Let me help.”

“Later,” she says. “Tonight I must keep the death watch.”

Suddenly she rises on her toes and brushes her lips against his, awkward and hesitant. His brows lift in surprise, and his eyes dart briefly to me. Envy flares in me, but I stamp it down ruthlessly.

All I wanted was for Caspida to accept the marriage proposal, and here she is, not a moment too soon. Usually I am the first to dismiss the idea of destiny, but perhaps in this case I would make an exception. Aladdin got his princess after all. Perhaps this once, a wish won’t end in misery and loss—at least, not for the humans. The prospect should make me glad. But I am a selfish spirit, and it doesn’t.

Caspida rushes away as quickly as she’d arrived, leaving Aladdin dazed in the grass. He stands there for a moment, his shoulders drawn tight as a bow. Then he walks inside, takes a clay jug from behind a pillow, and drinks long and deep. When he lowers the jug, he totters toward me and collapses on the cushions.

“Well.” He lifts the jug to his lips, his eyes wide and unfocused. “I guess I win after all.”

With a ripple of smoke, I shift and am human once more. I sit by him and stare at the floor, trying to feel a sense of relief.

“Congratulations,” I say.