Elements & the Fae
Jillian Beane
(The Elemental, #2)
Publication date: August 12th 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Dirrin is gone, but who took his books? And why?
Cleaning up after the last battle and establishing the newly formed Council of Erist is hard enough, but when Dirrin’s books turn up missing and a chunk of obsidian with a strangely familiar magical signature is found, how will Suleima and her friends figure this out?
When new information about Suleima’s past comes to light, how will her dynamic with her found family change?
Rejoin Suleima and her friends as they face a new threat and discover that Dirrin may have only been the beginning.
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“What is the matter?” he asked.
“There’s so much here, but nothing I am looking for!”
“Let’s take a break. Go for a walk, clear your head. We can talk about what you’ve read or talk about nothing. You decide.”
She nodded and rose from her chair, heading for the door. Suleima didn’t venture far, content to sit on the porch, looking out into the woods beyond her house. Gage sat next to her, their legs touching, his arm behind her, sitting silently. After yawning, she laid her head on his shoulder. He tilted his head down to touch hers and held her hand.
They hadn’t had time to define what was happening between the two of them. She knew she enjoyed his company and wanted to spend more time with him. But things had been so chaotic since the two of them met. Gage’s friendship and strength were things she was beginning to rely on, and it was scary and wonderful at the same time. She thought he felt the same. It was usually Gage who initiated the first touch, and it had never gone beyond holding hands or sitting close. She certainly didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship, and danger was never far in all of their time together, it seemed.
Suleima drifted off to sleep like that.
She was sitting in her house again, going over and over the journals lying on the table. There was nothing. Nothing. Nothing! What good was all of this journaling and documenting of EVERYTHING, if it wasn’t going to be helpful to her situation?
Damnit, Erist!
Suddenly, she felt weightless and woke with a start. She was in Gage’s arms as he jumped the railing of the porch and took off in a full sprint into the yard beyond. “What happened?” she cried out.
The growl in his voice raised the hairs on the back of her neck. “I don’t know!” He set her on her feet and put himself between her and her home. “Don’t move. I’m going to shift. Stay right here!”
“Gage, my wards….”
“Shtay heree!” Gage’s words were a guttural growl and his elongating jaw distorted his words.
She shifted her weight, and his growl sounded again. “Okay, I’ll wait for you.” She raised her arms in surrender. “My wards are in place and intact. Whatever you heard is not a danger.”
He growled once more, and she sensed him pulling from the pack to speed his shift.
Her next move was to sit and patiently wait him out.
A few minutes later, Gage shook out his fur and turned to her.
“Can I go now?” she asked.
Gage showed her his large, white fangs.
“I’m telling you, nothing got past my wards.”
He grumbled next to her and kept his own body between her and her home, but he allowed her to follow.
Walking up to the porch, Suleima saw nothing out of the ordinary. She approached the door, but Gage put himself in the doorway and wouldn’t move. Despite his grumblings, she leaned into the doorway above him to survey her home. Tea dripped from her ceiling onto the table and floor below. Her tea kettle seemed to have…exploded.
“What the…?” She again tried to push past Gage, but he was immovable. “I need to go in and clean up this mess. I don’t sense anyone else in the area. But I do need to look and find out what happened.”
He planted himself in the center of the doorway and refused to budge, sitting in the way as if he were bored.
“Fine!” She stomped her foot and sat on the railing of the house. “Go satisfy this neanderthal need to clear the house, while the little weakling woman sits on the porch and waits alone for the boogeyman to come while you are inside. And watch where you step. I don’t want to clean blood off my floor as well.” She waved her hand dismissively at him.
I have been writing since I was in high school and have finally found the courage to put some of that writing out for all to see. I have a love of all things artistic and crafty. Reading books, watching movies and listening to music makes my heart happy. I am a self-proclaimed Jack of All Trades, Master of None. I live in the mid-west with my husband, two amazing and crazy kids, and a cat who we think is part squirrel.
