EXQUISITE CAPTIVE

Nalia, a powerful jinni, battles for her freedom and her kingdom against two magical, magnetic adversaries.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power and the heir to her homeland Arjinna’s empire—until the revolution. Captured and sold to a rapacious human master, Nalia is literally bound to obey Malek’s wishes and his commands. Otherwise, her punishment is the torture of the bottle, which even she can hardly bear. Now an empress in hiding, Nalia would give anything to go home to Arjinna. Her brother is wasting away in a work camp, and Nalia must free him before he perishes at the hands of the Ifrit, a violent faction that has taken over the kingdom. But her master Malek is no ordinary human, and he refuses to make the third wish that would set Nalia free. Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution who promises to help Nalia—for a price. Though Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, Raif is her only hope to return to her homeland and restore peace. But for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must convince Malek that she truly loves him, even though she is repelled by his evil. Battling a dark past and harboring a secret that could turn the entire jinn race against her, Nalia must make terrible choices that put her life and her nation at risk. This trilogy of high-action, romance, and adventure follows Nalia on her perilous journey from the decadent parties of Hollywood to a lost enchanted city in the Egyptian desert and ultimately, the magical kingdom of Arjinna. Heather Demetrios won the PEN New England award for her writing. She received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. While writing this series, she is also publishing a teen novel, Streaming (Holt for Young Readers, 2014).