Read Online The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury - Free Book Online

of—”
    â€œA gold on the girl!” Aladdin calls, catching a bookmaker’s attention.
    I sigh and turn back to the fight.
    Around and around they dance. She is a mouse desperate to avoid the stamping feet of an elephant, and the longer she evades, the more tired she gets. The crowd is frantic now as more money is thrown on the Bull. Aladdin leans in and mutters, “Come on, come on . . .”
    I notice a few faces across the arena that watch with silent intensity, their eyes filled with worry. All of them are girls the age of the young warrioress in the arena, and they are all dressed similarly.
    Then the Bull hesitates, stopping to catch his breath, and the girl takes the chance to rest as well. She is standing directly in front of Aladdin and me, within arm’s reach. Bent over, her hands on her thighs, she gasps for air and drips sweat onto the sand.
    Aladdin leans over the rope and whispers, “His right leg is slow. There’s a hitch every other step. If you’re quick . . .”
    She looks over her shoulder, through strands of sweaty hair that have escaped her braid. “You betting on me, handsome?”
    Aladdin grins. “You busy later?”
    She shrugs and pops her knuckles, her eyes traveling over his shoulders and torso. “I think I could spare a minute.”
    His grin widens, and the girl suddenly springs forward, sprinting toward the post behind the Bull. He snorts and moves tointercept her, but she is too quick for him. With a cry she leaps into the air, plants a foot on the pole, and pushes off, vaulting through the air toward her opponent. Before he can make a move, she connects feet-first with his face, snapping his head around with an audible crunch. As he shakes his head and sways on his feet, she bats away one of his halfhearted punches and throws her bare leg up and around his neck, the other leg following. With her ankles locked behind his head, she arches and twists herself, her momentum bringing the Bull crashing facedown to the ground. Quick as a snake she rolls free and rises, then plants a foot on the back of his meaty neck.
    Aladdin nearly falls into the arena as he whistles and cheers, more than a little drunk, and the rest of the crowd descends into chaos as the fight concludes. The gamblers settle their debts, and the few lucky ones who bet on the girl grab their winnings and then wisely disappear before they can be mugged. Aladdin wins back his gold piece and a pile of silver.
    â€œI’m going in! Wish me luck!” he says breathlessly, and he climbs over the rope and joins the small crowd gathered around the girl, cheering her on and offering her drinks. I lean on the post and watch, shaking my head. Aladdin’s sorrows seem entirely forgotten.
    Dal appears at my side, her hands full of empty cups. She gives me an appraising look with one eyebrow arched. “I know that look.”
    â€œWhat look?”
    â€œDon’t sweat it, sister. We’ve all had it.” She sighs. “The girls he loved and left.”
    Irritably, I look away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œSure you don’t.” Dal smiles sadly. “You can either hate him or accept that that’s just who he is. When Aladdin sets his heart on something—or some
one
—nothing can stop him from gettingit. And when he does have it, he realizes it’s not what he wanted after all, and then something else will catch his eye, and off he goes again. Over and over. And here we are, the casualties.”
    â€œI’m nobody’s casualty.”
    Aladdin has made his way to the girl’s side and is chatting in her ear, crossing his muscular arms for her benefit. I can’t help rolling my eyes.
    â€œShe’s pretty,” says Dal. “And she’s tough. But she’s not what he wants. Not that he’ll believe that until after he’s won her.”
    â€œAnd what
does
he