Page 92 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

Thirty-Three

ELIJAH COULD SEEthe Sybil Curse rocking a mile off the coast of the Mylorian Sea. According to the plan, they were not to set foot on the Newick shore—not yet, anyway. Only Lincoln and Nola were to rendezvous with Elijah on the docks to discuss the next phase of the plan and hand over the Kroneon.

“I promised you I wouldn’t kill them, Elijah,” Kieran said, walking up from behind.

Elijah glanced over his shoulder. “I know you promised. But I’d rather trust the loyalty of street thieves than your own word.” He smiled to himself. “So, kindly fuck off.”

Elijah stilled as a sharp point of metal pressed against his back.

The power in Elijah’s hands trailed from his fingertips.

“Are you threatening me?” Elijah asked slowly, trying to refrain from releasing his magic. If they were to try and kill each other now, their armies would turn on each other, and he would then have a bloodbath on his hands. Not to mention, Elijah was sure Kieran had given the order to his people to kill Janelle if anything were to happen to him.

However, Elijah had his own leverage.

“Let us not forget,” Elijah said, “if you kill the crew or me, that massive dragon in the sky will swoop down and scorch that pretty face of yours.”

Kieran twisted the sword, digging it into the fabric of his shirt, causing Elijah to wince.

“This sword once belonged to Hagmar,” Kieran said. “And now it belongs to me. I will save us all from that monster in the woods, Your Highness.” He nearly spat the words. “And I will be the one to lead Zemira into the future—uniting our people.”

Something about the tone of Kieran’s voice sparked a new understanding of their situation. Elijah realized, at that moment, that Kieran truly believed he was the hero of it all. That this was his story, and he was the one that history would remember as the man who saved them all from destruction. Elijah would have laughed at how delusional it was if Kieran weren’t so close to completing his plan.

Aiden had shared with him the night before that he had given his sword willingly to Kieran. It was the darkness that compelled Aiden to hand over that weapon. The real Aiden would never give that up without a cause. That sword was ancient, powerful, and all he had left of his father.

Elijah mumbled obscenities under his breath. “I’ll get the Kroneon,” he promised. “Don’t forget—that is my family out there. If you so much as touch them, I’ll slaughter every last one of your hybrids, including your precious Tegan. I’ll leave you all to be devoured by that shadow.”

The sword eased off his back, and Kieran chuckled quietly.

“So touchy,” Kieran mocked before clearing his throat. “What time tonight will your soldiers arrive?”

“Dusk. They’ve been ordered to stand down at the gates until nightfall,” Elijah said. “Once they arrive, I expect you to follow through with your end of the deal and release Janelle from that room. Then, and only then, after you hand her over to me, will they be ordered to follow you.”

Elijah turned as Kieran sheathed the sword.

“I do like obedient King Elijah,” Kieran said. He felt his blood heat, resisting the urge to snap the sorcerer’s neck.

“You want to kill me right now, don’t you?” Kieran said with a lopsided grin. “I’ve got to say, Elijah, having you in the palm of my hand, doing whatever I want, has been the highlight of my week.”

Elijah never bowed to anyone, especially someone as pathetic and twisted as the man before him. He had no choice, and Kieran knew he’d do whatever was asked of him to keep Janelle alive.

“I expect you to hand over the Kroneon the moment you have it in your hands,” Kieran commanded. “Those pathetic pirates can head back to their ship and get as far away from my shore as they can sail. Unless they’re also willing to help, as we discussed last night. It will all be under my order. Understand?”

Elijah didn’t answer or pay him any more attention. Instead, his eyes stayed on Anaru, circling the ship from afar.

Kieran huffed when he didn’t reply, turning on his heel and heading back into the city. Once the sorcerer was out of sight, Elijah took one steady breath to calm his anger. As he walked toward the docks, Anaru powerfully descended from the skies.

A few moments later, the beautiful creature landed on the grass by the docks, and Lincoln helped Nola off the dragon. She roared loudly before extending her wings, strategically blocking the three of them in for protection.

Nola was the first to step forward with the Kroneon sitting at the center of her palm.

“We’re taking a risk by handing this over, Elijah,” she said, carefully placing the Kroneon in his hand. “I don’t care if his people created this weapon. He’ll use it against us the first chance he gets.”

“It’s only for a few hours, Nola, just to buy us some time. Tegan will wait until Kieran’s too distracted to notice when we take it back.” He smirked at the thought, but that smile turned to a frown. “He’ll kill Janelle if I don’t hand it over. So, until she’s safe in my arms, we’ll let him think he’s won.” He looked to Lincoln. “She’s not to know about any of this. Understand?”

They both nodded.

“Let’s get back to the ship,” Nola said to Lincoln. “Mazie’s preparing the weapons. One call, and we sail this way with cannons aimed at the city and dragon’s fire to engulf your enemies. Just say the word.”

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