They came before dawn, cloaked in shadow and the Lord's authority. The door to the bakery shattered under a boot, splinters flying into the cold air. Lia jolted awake, clutching Maru to her chest as rough hands dragged them out.
Cray Brenner stood waiting in the courtyard, flanked by armored guards. His smirk had returned, stitched back together after the humiliation Lia's first wish brought him.
"You've caused quite a storm, girl," Cray said. "My father wants to speak with you. Now."
Maru screamed and kicked, earning a slap from one of the guards. Lia's eyes burned with rage, but her arms were pinned.
They were hauled to the manor, a structure of black stone and stained glass, perched like a spider's nest above Dustwater. Lord Brenner sat on his obsidian throne, draped in gold and boredom.
"A genie," he said with a dry chuckle. "In this filthy town. Who would've thought?"
Lia stood defiant, her lip split, one eye already swelling. "We haven't done anything to you."
"You've upended the order," Lord Brenner said. "And you carry power no rat should possess."
Cray stepped forward. "She used a wish. Changed me. You heard what I said. She could make us all confess."
Brenner raised an eyebrow. "Then perhaps she should be silenced."
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Maru shouted.
The Lord's gaze moved to the boy. "Take him," he said. "We'll see how long the girl's silence lasts when she hears her brother scream."
Lia struggled as Maru was dragged away. Blood roared in her ears. The genie's voice whispered inside her mind, calm and low.
"Do you wish for escape?"
"Yes," Lia breathed. "I wish we were free. Far from this place. Somewhere safe."
Golden light surged from her satchel, bursting into the chamber with a thunderclap. The guards staggered back as Mister Genie emerged, his eyes glowing.
"As you will it," he said.
The light swallowed Lia and Maru. In an instant, they vanished.
---
They awoke in a moss-covered cave nestled deep within a distant forest. Birds chirped above. Maru sat up, blinking in confusion.
"We're… alive?" he asked.
Lia nodded slowly. "For now."
But the storm they fled had not ended. It had only begun to chase them.
Only one wish remained.