Page 47 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

Aiden shook his head. “I can’t tell you, but trust me when I say she’ll be safe. Keep her protected in your palace. Tell her I love her and—”

“Don’t be a fool!” Elijah fumed. “You honestly believe she’s going to allow you to venture onto Newick land, knowing you’re about to sacrifice yourself for her life.”

Aiden held up his hand. “Right now, I’m more concerned about that creature out there. If you’re at the bottom of that mountain, Elijah, be wary. I don’t know where that creature went after I stabbed it with my father’s sword, but I didn’t kill it.”

He watched Elijah go still.

“We have bigger problems than a villainous sorcerer,” Aiden added.

Elijah stepped forward and the trails shifted, moving in different directions, altering the dreamscape. The shift seemed to have startled the king as he suddenly lifted his hands, guarding himself against something that might appear and attack.

He turned back to Aiden. “Aiden, your sister was willing to die at my hand to protect you from Kieran. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s preparing to slit my throat as we speak. If you go to him, he’ll capture you and use you to get her to come back. Whatever you’re about to offer him for her life, please reconsider. I’ve prepared the pirates and my army to strike at my command. Come home!”

Aiden held up his hand, confusion and shock radiating through him. “Wait. She’s with you now?”

Elijah pressed his lips together. “Your vengeance will get her killed. Stop being a hero,” Elijah said. “He’ll take you both, and you’re a fool to believe otherwise—”

“Take her back home, Elijah!”

“She’s safe with me, but she won’t be if you piss off Kieran. He’s clearly obsessed with her.” Elijah’s tone stayed level, but Aiden noticed a tightness around his mouth as he said it.

Aiden’s eye twitched.

“Come back to Zemira and we’ll send my army,” Elijah said. “You cannot do this alone.”

“How could you bring her?” he asked angrily, no longer listening to Elijah’s words.

“She insisted,” he said. “But don’t worry; I have her trussed up nicely, right by my side.”

He had to get Elijah out of his head.

Aiden closed his eyes, using his Elven gifts to shut out the king. He felt violated having Elijah inside his head to begin with. The less control he had, the more Elijah would be able to manipulate his thoughts from within his head. His mind reached out into the projection, trying to find a way to push Elijah back.

“Get out!” Aiden shouted.

A giant, lumbering troll appeared at the edge of the trees. It roared before rushing forward full tilt, charging at them. Aiden shoved Elijah roughly out of harm’s way, and then the world around him fell away. He opened his eyes to see Tegan looking down at him with wide, worried eyes. A warm rag was draped over his forehead, and his broad shoulders were cradled in her arms.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Aiden! What the hell happened?” she asked him as he lifted himself slowly from her lap. “I thought you died.”

A tiny smile flitted across his lips. “Not quite. More like dreaming.”

“You simply passed out and started dreaming?”

He shook his head, unsure how to explain Elijah’s little tricks to an average human. Not everyone knew the King of Zemira was half sorcerer. Perhaps there would be more assassination attempts if they did, as those who governed nearby lands would come to fear him.

“I need to keep moving tomorrow morning,” he said. “To Newick.”

Tegan backed up, practically dropping Aiden to the ground.

“Are you crazy?” she said. “You think I risked my life for you for nothing, just so you can—what? Trot my little horse to the Newick coven? Nobody sets foot on their grounds. Don’t be a fool. You should go home.”

Aiden stared at her. She was kind, certainly, but also seemed ruthlessly practical.

Why would she even care whether I lived or died? he wondered. Let alone risk her life to help me.

“Tegan, I appreciate that you’re helping me, but this isn’t your fight. The coven leader, Kieran, is going to hurt my sister,” he explained. “I don’t have a choice.”

He hesitated to share the details of his mission. He didn’t know the woman, but he wanted to trust her.

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