Read Online As You Wish by Jackson Pearce - Free Book Online Page B

that. The rules are in place for our own protection, you remember.”
    â€œOf course. You know teenage girls, though. They’re not the easiest masters. Besides, you’re one to talk about protocol.” I grin to distract him.
    The ifrit laughs. “Just because they don’t monitor protocol for ifrit doesn’t mean I don’t try to follow the rules. It’d be impossible to complete some presses without breaking them.”
    â€œExcuses, excuses,” I say.
    â€œYeah, yeah. Well, so long, my friend,” he says. I nod in return, and the ifrit vanishes.
    I exhale in relief—what if he’d asked why I don’t want to press her? I would have had to…lie? Admit the truth? Punch him in the nose?
    Wait. Why don’t I want him to press her? She’s just my master. Just the person whose wishes I happen to be granting. We’ve known each other only a few days. Yet something about the idea of her being pressed makes my muscles tense and my stomach flip.
    Think of Caliban. This never happens in Caliban. No one ever makes you feel this way there. The Ancients make sure of it. You’re one step closer to going home and leaving all this weirdness behind.
    I sigh and drop to the ground, leaning against the oak tree. One step closer.

nine
Viola
    SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT.
    The hallway isn’t spinning. Jinn is gone—I grope for his arm in the dim light. I’m sitting on the floor. But it’s something else, too. Like I’ve just woken up from a nap, only while I slept all my worries and concerns and fears fell away. Now I feel refreshed, and there’s a shiny, almost crystalline feeling in my chest that makes me certain I can do anything —
    â€œViola?”
    I turn around—the name doesn’t sound normal, not at all the way it sounds when Jinn or Lawrence say it. Then I see why.
    Aaron Moor is standing beside me, looking down at me with a confused smile.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
    He reaches down and pulls me up so fast that I get dizzy, then wraps an arm tightly around my waist. I lock my knees and try not to breathe. Surely this is a mistake. It’s dark. He thinks I’m somebody else.
    â€œViola. I’m Vi—” I swallow my breath midsentence. I know what’s different.
    I wished. I wished to belong, like Aaron and Ollie.
    â€œNo…I didn’t mean to…,” I begin, but the feeling of dread I’m anticipating never comes. Instead, I feel…happy. Relieved, even. Aaron swipes my hair from my eyes and grins at me.
    â€œCome on,” he says. “Let’s go back downstairs—I wanted to introduce you to some people.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œSome friends of mine—I don’t know if you know them.” Aaron studies me for a moment—I’m sure my mouth is hanging open. “You look amazing, by the way. I can’t believe I didn’tnotice sooner. I guess I was too preoccupied with Ollie…. Not anymore though—we broke up. How could I stay with her when there’s someone as beautiful as you here?” he finishes with a gentle grin.
    I look beautiful. I look beautiful? I feel…I feel beautiful. And carefree, and reckless, and confident, and all the other things I felt before Lawrence, only more so. Aaron lets go of my waist, takes my hand in his, and walks forward—I stumble to follow him down the steps and into the living room, where the main party is still raging. Some part of me wants to drop my head in shyness, but some greater power forces me to keep my chin high, my shoulders back, my hand firmly in Aaron’s. If arriving to the party before was like showing up to a Hollywood premiere, walking downstairs is now like being a red-carpet starlet, all kind smiles and people calling my name.
    Aaron shouts for the music to change, and in the shuffle to switch CDs, people rise to grab drinks and new seats. Aaron and