I rose a hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "We should get moving." Briskly walking past him, I hoped he hadn't noticed what I was doing.

"Quit changing the subject!" Hakim exclaimed. "That's all you've been doing since you got back last night!" I risked a glance at him. He was hurriedly combing his hair with his hands. I looked away when he caught my eye. "Asmira, I'm worried about you! Where were you? I thought bandits had gotten you or something!"

I chuckled, patting his shoulder. "I'm fine Hakim." I paused, flashing back to the night before. Although the sun beat down upon me, I shivered, my heart starting to race. Against my conscious will, a small smile played on my lips. "I'm better than I've been in a long time." I said truthfully.

"There you go again!" He accused.

"What?"

"That look!"

I felt my ears redden, and I pulled at my head scarf to make sure he couldn't see. "What are you talking about?"

Hakim threw his hands up, letting out an aggravated shout. "Asmira! Stop it! Just tell me what's going on."

I turned to him, hands on my hips. "Why is it such a big deal?"

He threw his bag over his shoulder. "Nothing." He grumbled. "The fact that my guard isn't focused on the bandit and demon invested desert around us doesn't worry me at all. No, I'll start worrying when my bones are being used as a toothpick for Djinn!"

I rolled my eyes. "Hakim. I'm not going to let that happen." He didn't respond. Instead he climbed onto his camel, flicked the reins and started off toward the sun. I uttered a curse and jumped into my saddle, quickly catching up to him. When he refused to look at me, I knew I'd have to give him an answer of some sort. I took a deep breath. "Fine…I got lost."

A short laugh emitted from him. "I'm supposed to believe that?"

My shoulders fell. "Very well…I…met someone."

"Wait-what?"

Keeping my eyes on the desert hills in front of us, I hoped the conversation would be over soon. "I met someone." I repeated. "I haven't seen him for a few years…and well…we caught up."

"…In the desert?" I could feel the full force of his gaze, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "Asmira, don't you think that's a little odd?"

I shook my head. "Not for him."

"Alright, then." He paused. "So…What's his name?"

I cursed under my breath, trying to come up with a name I was sure he wouldn't know. For some reason, not a single name came to mind. I panicked. "Bart." I felt the confusion and suspicion pouring off him, but -thank the Sun God- he didn't ask any more questions.

I smiled, ready to change the subject for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. "That was a well played exit back there."

"Mmhmm." He was still fuming under his tent.

"Except for one little problem."

"What?"

"We're going the wrong way," I chuckled.

He righted his camel, almost making it stumble with his jerky movements as he stammered, "I-I knew that."

"No, not that…He can just be a little…" I sighed in exasperation. For the past half hour I had been attempting to describe Hakim to Bartimaeus, and to no avail. Every word I searched for, it seemed, I could never find. I bit my lower lip in thought. "He's very…eccentric." I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head. "No, that's not right either."

Bartimaeus chuckled. "If it's that important, just describe him- and it doesn't have to be one word this time."

I let a small smile tug at the corners of my lips. "I don't think I could cover it in a million words." I said doubtfully.

I glanced over to find him with his arms folded across his bare chest, eyebrow raised and a smirk growing quickly on his features. Over the past several days he visited frequently, and this expression became familiar to me. The djinni made it so often I found it almost comical. After a moment, the look intensified and I gave in, trying to give him an idea of Hakim's appearance. Nothing came out right, and in the end, Bartimaeus stopped me, a hand risen to stop my rambling.

He paused, then shrugged his shoulders. "He sounds like a gay Arabian to me."

I gave a well aimed kick to the hot sand and a shower of dirt came flying toward the demon. "Be nice," I scolded.

As soon as I turned away, the sand came right back at me.

My cheeks reddening, I whirled away, trying to move silently across the sand. Things didn't go exactly according to plan. The moon provided almost no light at all, making the desert seem vast and empty. The darkness distracted me- I wasn't paying attention, and accidentally tripped. In an effort not to fall into the fire, I grabbed onto Bartimaeus, and we both fell to the ground, crashing into the pots and scaring the camels. I landed on top of the Djinn with an "oof", banging my forehead on his. The demon cursed, then laughed when he saw my expression. A wide grin spread across my features and I joined him. I sat up, brushing a piece of hair out of my face.

Bartimaeus touched my knee, a wicked gleam in his eyes. My heart thudded unevenly as I leaned down…

"A-Asmira?"

Whipping back to reality, I scrambled off the djinni, realizing immediately what that must have looked like. "Hakim!" We must have woken him when we crash-landed.

"Who is this?" He demanded, completely furious.

I stood, dusting off my hands. "Um…that's Bart."

Bartimaeus was climbing to his feet, pulling a surprisingly undamaged pot off his head. I must've pushed him into it on accident. "You gave me a nickname?"

"I panicked!" I shot back, my feet digging into the sand, wishing it would pull me under and save me from this mortification.

He snickered. "I thought you never-Merciful Anunna!" He exclaimed as he saw Hakim. "He is a gay Arabian!"

Needless to say, everything went downhill from there.

I closed my eyes, expecting a kiss, but instead felt something loose slide over my head and around my neck. Something cold settled on my chest, and I touched it with tentative fingers. It felt like…I blinked open my eyes as Bartimaeus stepped back, arms crossed in the familiar pose. He shook his hand horizontally. "Eh," he critiqued.

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, then looked down- I gasped in awe. A beautiful necklace rested on my chest, golden twisting chain links stood out against my dark skin. The amethyst gemstone winked in the bright light, tiny golden leaves and flowers bordering the brilliant purple. For a moment I was speechless, a faltering hand raised to it, almost afraid to hold it.

No one had ever given me something so wonderful…

I leaped forward and wrapped my arms around Bartimaeus's neck. The surprised djinni stumbled back, then suddenly remembered how to stand. "Thank you," I breathed. He wrapped his arms around my waist, patting my back gently.

I sighed, Bartimaeus pulled back. He brushed a piece of black hair out of my eyes. And for the first time since my mother died, I felt tears prick at my eyes. The touch was so gentle, it seemed to go right through my skin and straight to my heart. For the past nineteen years, no one had given me so much as a passing glance- at least until I fought. But even then, people stayed away. I was treated like dirt by my "Queen". Villagers whispered awful things about me in the alleys. Every passing man would look at me as if I were just a pretty little trinket, wondering if I were worth their time. And suddenly, in the midst of my damaged world, this demon came along and changed everything. He showed respect for me (even if it was grudging- it was still there). He saw me for who I was. He even saved my life…He did the first nice thing for me in my whole life. And honestly, if what Hakim said earlier was even remotely true, I wouldn't care. Because Bartimaeus already had me sold. There would be no other. I was his, for as long as he would ever want me. And truth be told, I was utterly and completely in love with him- in every sense of the word.