Page 18 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

When Prince Elijah was only ten years of age, his father told him a secret—Queen Serena was not his biological mother. He was too young at the time to understand much of what his father meant. The little boy was not angry or happy to learn such news. Despite his age, he did not dismiss the truth. On the contrary, he was somewhat interested in why his father kept it a secret for so long. The young prince listened intently to the story of how he came to be.

Elijah’s birth mother, Gal, was a powerful sorceress. He had always known he had magic in him, yet never understood why he did and his eldest brother, Tristan, did not. It was a gift that his father forced him to keep hidden from the outside world.

“The people of Zemira would hate you,” his father had once said.

Matthias told his son how beautiful Gal was. Her hair was the color of night, and eyes the color of deep cerulean blue, hypnotizing any man whenever they locked in on her unrelenting gaze. The king’s affair with the gorgeous temptress lasted for months. Matthias was pleased as he was, having his way until Gal wanted more than just a love affair. She wanted him for herself, but Matthias loved his queen.

He tried to make his wrongs right by breaking off the affair with his mistress; however, Gal threatened to reveal their relationship to the queen by sharing she was with child. That child was to be named Elijah, and because she held great power, the sorceress would pass that same power to her child.

The king did all he could to hide Gal and the pregnancy from Queen Serena. He would not risk his reputation among his people. If they found out about it, they would reject that child. He begged Gal to stay away from the palace, and in return, he would shower her with riches if she kept the child a secret.

Nine months later, Elijah was born in a small village of Heyerberg, one hundred miles from the palace. The king looked into his child’s eyes and decided he would not be raised in a poor town. After all, a son with magic running through his veins could be an advantage to his reign.

Gal implored Matthias not to take baby Elijah from her. She fought him with every spell she could, but her body was left weak and fragile after childbirth and did not have the strength to destroy him.

“You need to protect his magic,” Gal had pleaded, accepting her fate. “Please, Matthias. Use this to protect his magic.”

The sorceress handed the king a beautiful emerald crystal and shared with him the power it held. Matthias could hide the child’s magic from all who look upon him with a mere touch of the jewel.

“Fascinating,” he had said, while holding up the gem into the light.

That was when the king remembered that the Newick witches enchanted many crystals in their time. One of those crystals being a key to a weapon. The weapon, a compass, could be used to defeat any kingdom in times of war. And the ruby was the key to unlock its power.

Unfortunately, someone had hidden that weapon and key in the sea, where no man could find them.

He looked one last time into Gal’s blue eyes. Her weak and defeated body did not bring Matthias to feel loss or sadness at all. Relieved—that he was.

“Thank you, Gal; I will use this emerald to protect our child,” the king had said. A lie.

Those were the last words she heard before he smothered her in her bed, taking the baby with him.

Queen Serena forgave the king for his deception and raised Elijah as her own.

All will be well,he told himself.

However, King Matthias did not use the emerald. Instead, he taught Elijah to hide his magic and only use it when he ordered him to.

As the years went by, Elijah did just that. He suppressed the power that he wanted so desperately to release, and he resented his father because of it.

One evening, Prince Elijah entered his father’s chambers, drawn to the chest sitting in the corner of his closet.

“What are you doing in here, son?” he heard his father ask from behind him. The boy startled and stumbled back.

“Father, what is in that chest?” he had asked him.

“Not anything of your concern, child,” he replied, “Go back to bed.”

“But, Father,” he started again, “it’s calling to me.”

That was when the king understood. The emerald’s power was connected to his child, and if that were true, then the power to the hidden ruby would draw him near, too.

The king told Elijah that night about his mother, his connection to the gems, and the weapon that would win all wars. No one knew where the ruby and compass were, but if he could use his son to find it, then perhaps, he would become almighty.

* * *

That morning in the market, Elijah could have sworn he felt a similar power. However, it did not come from the sea, but a siren girl, right outside his palace walls.

He was drawn by the ruby even though he did not see it with his own eyes. It was hidden somewhere on her, and being a siren, he was not sure what could happen if he tried to snatch it from her in front of the other vendors. The king could not know what she was, or his plan would not play out as he would like.

---