” I ran those groceries up, tossed them on the table, and slowed down only when I got close to the last corner before she could see me. Trying hard ...to play it cool, I popped around the corner, and she gathered up her stuff. As we walked down the street, we made the awkward first steps in any conversation where you are trying to get to know someone. No, I live alone, I’m single. So sorry to hear you aren’t close to your dad. Yeah, it is nice, a great location for apartments. It’s great to see. After I broke the connection, I took a cup of coffee to the second floor and sat by the front window so that I could see the town traffic move along. I could also see directly into the windows of the second floor Drugstore Condo. Vlad and Anya seemed to be having lunch by their front window. The beauty of their space was that there were almost no interior walls. The front could be a sitting room, a dining room or even a bedrooms. It was just a matter of taste."The other windows were empty. Too. ”The third, with eyes of sapphire, threw back her head and laughed for joy.Other voices echoed through the room. Four different corridors, all made of the same plain stone, led into this room. And women stumbled out of them, a mix of jinn with a few human women. They were all crying.“My queen!” Sophia shouted, throwing herself into me. She trembled, hugging me tight. “My queen, you came for me. I...I...”“He tricked you,” I whispered. Please, let me have been in time, Saphique. “Did. Instead she snatched the keys to her pink SUV from the end-table next to me and walked on by.“I love you, my queen!” I cried, but the door had already slammed shut behind her.I teetered on the edge of the sofa and switched on the TV. The roar of Lucy’s SUV resonated throughout our peaceful suburban street, and with one eye I followed her as she backed out of the driveway. My heart was pounding. The moment her rear bumper was out of view, I leaped up and rushed upstairs to our bedroom.Harsh.