章 17: The Darkness calls

A man stood in the darkness smoking. There was no source of light in the room. The only thing that reflected on his shadow was the lights from the moon that fell on his masculine frame.

As he sucked on the blunt end of his cigarette, it flickered in the dark room emitting a few sparks here and there. Beside him was an ash tray that was almost full at first glance. He would occasionally blow the smoke out through his nose and alternatively his mouth just for fun.

A shadow appeared before him and bowed respectfully. He paid no mind to the shadow and continued smoking . A few minutes went by as the silence stretched between them. It was only after he was done smoking that he looked towards the shadow .

" Why are you here ?" he asked in a deep authoritative tone. His subordinates were under strict orders to stay away from him in order to remove any suspicion and doubt from his royal mother. He was a prisoner in his own castle and was not allowed to move yet he knew more than any free man would.

" Sire, there were rumors circulating around in our world. The king of the Djinn is searching for his bride who is believed to make an official appearance six months from now. There were also rumors that the future Queen was already known to the prince and may be carrying his child at present.

These rumors started after the heir apparent to the throne left the witches valley unceremoniously. I believe it was the witches doing. If the rumors are true, the future queen may be in danger.

Additionally, there seems to be a lot of women who are greedy for the title of the Queen. Someone from our world have shared the secrets of the Mark . The mark of the chosen. I am afraid that there would be many fakes before we get the actual Queen."

The man stood up from his chair fury emanating from his body. He was expecting things to go this way but it was too soon. What was the future king doing ? Was he destructed by something or rather someone? He wanted the woman whoever she was to be safe.

His survival depended on hers and her reign depended on him. Fate had been cruel already . Why was it playing games with his life again? The man recalled what had caused his imprisonment.

According to what his mother had told him, a few days after she had given birth to him, she heard a baby's cry as she placed him in the cradle immediately after feeding him the essence. He was born weak but nobody knew the reason until that day.

His mother had appeared beside the baby that had summoned her . No one knew how that happened. On seeing the baby, she had instinctively fed the baby the remaining essence that was meant for her own child.

The kind woman had done so in order to feed the baby since she had no milk of her own. Her clans fed their babies with essence instead of breast milk like the humans. At first she had hesitated but the more she hesitated, the louder the baby cried.

With a heavy heart , she had fed the baby her essence hoping and praying that the baby would survive. And survive, she did. That was the first sign she got from her ancestors. the baby was not an ordinary human child. Upon further investigation, they have later discovered that the baby shared the same birth day with her own child.

On her arrival into the world, her soul was split into two halves as did her son's. Each half of their souls were swapped and they both became one of heart and mind. Being born a royal Djinn, Zain was raised in the Djinn realm while the girl remained in the human realm. That was when the Queen decided to tie the fate of the child to one of her sons for it would be dangerous for any other Djinn to possess her pure soul.

Zain paced around the room as he recalled the story he was told by his mother. He knew for a fact that, no matter how many fakes there would be, he could easily identify the woman for whom the throne awaited. Was it finally time for the world to witness his destruction again?

Will the prophecies come true? What will become of his brother when he comes to know the connection that he shared with his future Queen? Zain knew Shahzad well. His elder brother was a very possessive man. Would he ever agree to let him stay with them? All these Questions swirled in his mind.

He stopped pacing and moved back to his chair. His amber eyes glowed in their sockets as he looked towards the shadow ." Listen to me, from this moment on wards, you have a new mission. Your new mission would be to find the future queen and keep her safe until she is accepted into the kingdom.

My brother has shadows of his own but I don't trust anyone other than Shahzad himself to protect the girl. If anything happens to her, you will be answerable to me. Are we clear? " the man nodded silently. " Good. Additionally, pay my mother a visit and let her know about my intention to break out. I would like to know and watch the enemies myself. "

The shadow disappeared into the air after a brief bow, living the man behind in deep thoughts. Zain liked the darkness and worked best in the shadows. In fact , he was known for being the most powerful Djinn alive with the ability to beat Shahzad and over throw him. Even so, he preferred being a subject and liked it better that he was free.

The other reason as to why he had no need for the throne was because he was not complete without the other person that have half of his soul. He possessed powers that were beyond the other Djinns yet he could not use them without his brother being present. Shahzad was the only one who could subdue him once he ran berserk. 'See you soon brother. I hope you wont mind sharing your bride's love and attention."