Page 84 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

He turned, watching her climb back to her feet, and a painful ache filled his heart as he watched her wince from the fall.

“Elijah, what are you doing?”

He looked back at the Oracle, who nodded yes.

“Your powers are drawn to each other,” she said. “The balance of light and dark.”

The Oracle reached out another branch and circled Janelle, helping her to her feet and encasing her in a shield of leaves and twigs.

His eyes looked up again at the creature. “Janelle is my destiny. Isn’t she?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. The echo of her voice was low that time, shaking the walls around them. The Oracle lit up even brighter.

Exhaustion hit Elijah like a brick wall, and he sighed out a breath. Since the moment his magic had latched onto hers without him even realizing, he had questioned it. A part of him had always known the answer but having the Oracle confirm it made everything seem to click into place.

They were linked cosmically. But a profound connection wasn’t the same thing as love. Elijah had hated Janelle when he met her, truly and deeply hated her. And he had no doubt that her hatred for him had burned just as bright. Despite their hatred, neither of them had been able to resist the pull they felt to be in the other’s presence.

Now that his feelings had morphed into the opposite of hatred, Elijah questioned himself. Were they destined to love each other, but that initial hatredhad reflected their true feelings before the bond had taken them over? Or was Elijah destined to hate her, the one thing that opposed his own dark magic, but his love for Janelle had been too powerful to be kept locked up?

It was difficult to know how much of their feelings were their own and what was fate’s design. Either way, their connection was undeniable. Elijah and Janelle would be drawn together forever as the sun rose and the tide came in.

His hair stood on end. “Heartmates?” he asked hesitantly.

The Oracle slowly shook her head. “No,” she replied. “Heartmates do not exist in our world, Elijah. You still have your free will. You choose your mate. However—”

The Dryad ripped her branches that had grown into the walls and moved with grace toward them. Her long limbs dragged across the floor until she stood by their side. She closed her eyes and let out a screech so loud they had to clap their hands over their ears to drown out the piercing cry.

A rush of heat flooded Elijah’s body before his eyes turned white, and a vision blanketed his mind.

Elijah knelt beside Janelle. His hand pressed over a bloodied wound on her chest, with a dagger protruding at the center. She looked up at him and touched his cheek, but her palm slipped, eyes shut, and body went still. Then, suddenly, Elijah’s mind pulled back from the brief image. The thought of Janelle dying made him feel as if his soul had been ripped from his body, even within the vision.

He looked up at the Oracle. “What was that?” he asked. “What did you show me?”

“Her future if you do not kill Kieran,” the Oracle said, then turned to Janelle. “Your magic is fated to be connected to Elijah’s, but so is your life. It is only Elijah who can save you.”

“I . . . I die?” Janelle asked, then looked to Elijah. “How? When—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said softly, turning to her. “It won’t happen.”

“Elijah!”

“Your powers have created a balance between light and dark,” the Oracle continued, drawing their attention to look back at her. “Just because you carry darkness, Elijah, does not mean you are darkness.”

Janelle threw her hand out. “Show me more,” she said. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to know everything.”

The Oracle shook her head. “I cannot see yours, Janelle. Because of the path you are both already on, you have no future for me to show you.”

Janelle clutched her hands into fists. “Because I die?” she hissed. “Oh, that’s rich. Fuck Oracles. Don’t you give us guidance on how to change our destinies?”

The Oracle bowed her head, and the light around her dimmed. “Janelle—”

Janelle raised her hands, and her light magic blasted out of her fingertips, but the moment the light hit the bark of the Dryad, it bounced back, hovering on the surface of the tree in circles. She dropped her magic and stepped back.

“You aren’t going to die,” Elijah fumed, raising his hand to calm her. “Is it Kieran who does this?” he asked, turning to the Oracle. “Is that all I must do? Kill Kieran with my magic, and she lives?”

“No,” the Oracle said. “You must shut off your power when he uses his to kill you. Do not fight back.”

“Not fight back?” he said distastefully.

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