Page 45 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

The expression in his deep blue eyes was unreadable. A hint of a smile danced on his lips as their gazes met. His hand came out from underneath the blanket and his fingers opened, his palm up. Over his hand, a black smoke hovered and swirled quickly until it turned orange and heat radiated from the aura. The light from the flames, or whatever she was seeing, warmed the space between them.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Janelle said, agitated. “You’ve had the ability to keep us warm this entire time?”

A cocky smile claimed his features before he turned over. With his back on the ground and facing the top of the tent, he smirked. “It looks like I’ll be much warmer than you are tonight.”

Her nostrils flared and heat reached her cheeks as she watched the orange ball of warm light leave his palm and hover above him. She had seen the kind of magic the Newick witches held, but this was the first time she had witnessed anything like that specifically. Janelle was fascinated, even as the rest of her brain reminded her to be furious at Elijah’s deception. Regardless, she was still cold. She could only feel a small amount of the heat, but it was enough.

Janelle narrowed her eyes onto Elijah. As he reached into his bag, with the warm flame still floating over him, she followed his movements. He pulled out the pearl-colored gem hanging from a thin silver chain in his pocket and placed it over his chest.

She recognized the stone from when he used it on her in the cell. “What is that stone exactly?” she asked. Her eyes stayed on the gem, watching his thumb run gingerly over the smooth surface.

He cleared his throat. “It’s called a Voleric pendant. It’s not a Newick gem, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Elijah moved the pendant over his chest, lying back down.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“It belonged to my mother—the mother who raised me,” he explained. “My father never knew it existed, but she gave me one last piece of her several months before she died. The Fae king, Argon, had given it to her before their banishment. I didn’t know it contained magic until I played around with it one night. My mind seemed to shoot through a portal; before I knew it, I saw inside my brother’s dreams a few doors down the hall. I watched his desires and hopes play out before me. We caught eyes for a split second, and he and I both realized what was happening.”

He gripped the stone, and she blinked, a smile growing on her lips. Whether it came from a Fae, an elf, or a sorcerer, magic was always so fascinating. Even her own powers still amazed her.

True, Janelle could manipulate light; and yes, her senses and speed were incredibly heightened . . . but magic, that was truly a wonder to her. It was most likely why she was first drawn to the Newick coven and their gems in the first place.

Her brows knitted together. “Whose mind do you plan to invade now?” she asked.

Elijah grinned, moving back over, placing both shoulders against the ground until he faced upward. “I’m going to find your brother.”

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