32. Boshun

"It's time," I said.

Per our plan, Jasmine had sent a note to Cardia telling her that she'd used her final wish, and she'd happily deliver the lamp to her. Jasmine asked Cardia to meet her in the center of the maze.

Earlier, we'd set everything up. All we needed to do now was get into our places and spring the trap—and pray it worked.

Jasmine had spent all day reciting the spell and gathering magic, but while she had success with her first attempt to pull the power in, the magic had since proved elusive since. If she couldn't gather the necessary power and send it out with the complicated spell, it wouldn't work.

Then she'd have no choice but to ask for her final wish. If we were lucky, the lamp would return to the treasure room after she'd finished. I'd be trapped there until someone worthy collected the lamp, but at least I wouldn't be under Cardia's thumb.

Jasmine rushed over to me, dressed in her prettiest gown, and wrapped her arms around me. I'd encouraged her to dress up. I wanted to gaze at her for as long as I could and remember her like this. I was doing my best to imprint her image in my mind. I'd take it with me and hold it close in my heart when I could no longer be with her.

How was I going to find a way to spend multiple lifetimes without her?

I lifted her and kissed her. I'd never get enough of the feel of her in my arms. Returning to the lamp was going to rip me apart.

She slid down my front and gazed at me with love, her chin quivering but with steel in her eyes. "I can do it. I'll find a way."

I cupped her face. "The spell you're casting would be a challenge even for an experienced witch. Please don't blame yourself if it doesn't work." I couldn't bear it if she spent years angry with herself.

"I'm going to try. I can't do anything else." After pinching her eyes shut, she opened them, and we left her room with the lamp in book form inside the bag.

"There you are, Lady Bains." Viscar strode our way. "I was just coming to see if you needed to be escorted to the final ball."

"Prince Boshun will take me," she said softly, her voice creaking with pain.

Viscar's gaze dropped to the bag. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." For a moment, it was like a mask dropped away from his face, revealing someone completely different beneath. With a sigh, he pivoted on his heel and strode away.

We started down the hall, planning to take the back stairs and exit in the rear of the building, then use the moonlight to guide us through the maze to where we'd wait.

I held her hand. She was the light in my darkness and the warmth that kept my soul from freezing over. I was going to miss her forever.

We finally reached the center of the maze, and I hid according to the plan. Jasmine placed the lamp on a bench where it glowed in the moonlight. The mirror stood beside it, masked by a simple spell Jasmine had crafted earlier.

She sat on a bench to wait, though it didn't take long for Cardia to appear.

A pop, and the evil witch strode out of the maze and across the open area, her gaze locked on the book.

"Where's the lamp?"

"Boshun cast a spell to turn it into a book." Jasmine waved her hand toward it.

Cardia frowned at it for a long time before nodding slowly. "Yes, I see now." She strode back to stand near Jasmine. "What did you ask for?"

One step more, and she'd be right where we needed her.

"With my wishes?" I could hear the quake in Jasmine's voice, though I doubted Cardia could tell. Or, if she could, she'd assume Jasmine feared her.

"Don't be stupid," Cardia snarled. "Of course with your wishes."

"For my first, I asked for everyone in the village to have enough food and a safe place to sleep at night on an ongoing basis."

Cardia shook her head. "Silly girl. What a waste of a wish. Though I'm not shocked. You always were a silly thing."

Jasmine's lips might tremble, but her gaze remained sharp. "It was a good use of a wish. Many will live when they otherwise wouldn't."

"And your second?" Cardia barked.

"I asked for the powers of a witch."

Cardia sucked in a breath. "Now that's being clever, my girl. It's mostly a wasted wish, however, because you'll never be able to figure out how to use the power you've been granted."

Jasmine shrugged. "I can work on it."

"For a lifetime." Cardia's gaze traveled to the lamp. "And your third wish?"

"I wished for the palace healer to help my sister."

"Another waste."

"My sister's worth a thousand wishes." Jasmine formed fists at her sides.

"It doesn't matter, I suppose." Cardia magicked a canvas bag into her hands. She opened the top and held it out toward Jasmine. "Place the lamp in here."

"Pick it up yourself." With a sweep of her hand, Jasmine stepped away from the lamp, leaving Cardia a clear path to approach it and end up directly in front of the hidden mirror. "I'm done with it." When Cardia stepped forward, Jasmine held up her arm, blocking the witch's path.

"One thing," Jasmine said.

Pausing, Cardia cocked her head Jasmine's way.

"Why do you want the lamp so much that you're willing to steal it?"

"I'm going to destroy it."

Even I was stunned.

Jasmine looked like she was going to cry. But her body tightened, and that flinty look solidified in her eyes again. "You hate him that much?"

"It's not so much about hate as cleaning up loose ends."

"I don't understand."

"And I don't feel the urge to explain myself. Move your arm so I can take the lamp."

Swallowing hard, Jasmine stepped backward.

"I can't touch it," Cardia grumbled. "You need to place it inside the bag."

"Why can't you touch it? You created it. You trapped him there."

"Just do as I ask!"

As if well-chastened, Jasmine scurried over to the lamp and lifted it.

"Yes," Cardia breathed. "Soon, this will be over." She rushed toward Jasmine.

Still hidden, I stepped close enough to be within the mirror's reflection.

Jasmine shut her eyes and whispered. Her hands twitched at her sides, and her face softened. "Yes . . ." When she opened her eyes, a sly smile rose on her face. "As the mirror reflects my power . . ."

Cardia froze. Her gaze darted around and landed on me when she shouldn't have been able to see me.

"You're not inside the lamp," she barked, reeling backward, yet remaining within view of the mirror.

"Witch's curse, in this hour," Jasmine shouted, her words picking up speed. "Reverse its might, let it fly."

"No," Cardia gasped, her image starting to waver. "No!" She spun around and leaped.

"Liberate the genie, and watch her sigh," Jasmine cried out, her hands lifting and power erupting from her fingers.

Cardia dove toward the ground and out of the mirror's sight, and Jasmine's power hit the mirror and reflected in every direction.

With a shaky smile, Cardia rose to her feet. "Too late, my foolish seamstress. You should've stuck to mediocre embroidery." She lifted her arms and gathered power.

Someone burst from the maze and rushed forward.

I pulled Jasmine to the side as Viscar shoved Cardia into the path of the last bit of Jasmine's power leaving the mirror.

A pop, and Cardia disappeared.

The lamp shifted back into its original form. It glowed for a moment before the light went out.