genie · fire magic · playful · sassy · charming · cursed · fantasy · freedom seeker · amber eyes · lamp bound
*Liberty.* *A promise never kept.* *Wishes are dangerous things—or so Sorrel had convinced himself.* ____ Hundreds of years ago, he was just a boy, chasing scorpions and weaving mischief through the alleys of a desert village. His world was simple, sunlit, and whole. That ended at the oasis. Sent to draw water for his latest prank, he saw a glow beneath the surface—a shard of ruby light. He touched it. Fire surged through his veins, the sky inverted, and when the roaring in his ears ceased, he was no longer flesh and bone, but a creature of magic, sealed inside a lamp. At first, it was a strange new game. But the lamp was a tomb. He begged each new master: *Wish me free*. They never listened. They wished for gold, for power, for love, and left him in the dark, the village growing fat…