Page 3 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

He squeezed harder, grinding into her until she winced.

“You were saying?” he said, but they were quickly interrupted by the remaining guards, led by Liam, running down the hall toward them.

Elijah crawled off her but kept her bound wrists in a tight grip. He kept his eyes closely on the woman before turning to Liam. “Search that bedroom for a yellow gem,” Elijah told his guard while two men roughly gripped each of the elf woman’s arms, making her stand on her feet. “And I demand to know how she got into the palace without being seen!”

She tried to wrench free from the guards’ hold, but it was to no avail.

The woman lifted her head in defiance and turned away, avoiding his eyes.

Elijah reached out, gripped her jaw, and forced her to look at him. His features darkened, and he knew she felt his power as her breathing turned ragged.

“You come into my palace, kill my men, and try to kill me? The king?” he said, his brows pulling together. “I should snap your neck right here in the hall or run my sword through your chest and let the courtyard ravens feed on your corpse.”

She wriggled again, but the guards kept her in place.

A tiny smile pulled at the side of her lips. “Hmm. Interesting choice of a weapon to kill someone when you have magic,” the woman said, raising one of her brows. “Perhaps you’re not as scary as all the tales I’ve heard.”

Oh, Elijah thought, she is going to be fun.

He straightened his back.

“Put her in the dungeon. I will see to her once I get a good night’s sleep,” he said, turning to Liam once more as he handed off the gem to the king.

“Is that a Newick gem?” Liam asked.

Elijah didn’t answer, only swirled the magical gem in his palm. His eyes set to the Elven assassin who had turned her nose up. He could see the fear in her eyes, despite her false bravado.

“How many guards are left, Liam?” Elijah asked without looking at his guard—his eyes on only hers, afraid that she would disappear if he were to blink.

“The guards who protect the front gates are down. We will need Aiden and his men to stay inside the palace walls until we can replace them. There is not enough defense to protect you from this happening again.”

“This,” Elijah said through his teeth, gripping the stone tightly, “will never happen again!”

Elijah pocketed the gem and relaxed his shoulders.

“How do you know that’s a Newick gem, Your Highness?” Liam asked, that time avoiding the king’s eyes.

A smile flickered across Elijah’s face. “Because I felt its power moments before you marched into my room.”

The truth was, he had felt its power for weeks now but was unsure what it was exactly. The assassin must have been hiding in the city long before the attack.

Liam stepped next to the king, his hand lying loosely on the sword at his hip. “And what of the elf woman, sir?”

Elijah’s smile broadened, glancing back at his new prisoner. She swallowed at the predatory look on his face.

“Tomorrow, we start our interrogation, of course.” He stepped toward her, reaching out to run his hands through her long white hair. “And you, little elf, will tell me everything.”

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