It’s time for Snippet Sunday and today I’m showcasing an older book (came out in 2017) as I’m working on the sequel that should be out in June. It’s part of an unusual anthology that I can’t spill on just yet, but my tale will be a sequel to WILDFIRE’S HEART, Book 1 in the Elemental Hearts series. We’re in Raihana’s POV and she’s just learning which kind of djinn he is.
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“That.” She pointed at the fire pit. “How did you do that? Magic?”
He shook his head. “No. That was all talent. I’m an Ifrit, a fire elemental. I can ask it to perform as I wish. We are akin, fire and I.”
Ifrit. “The fire djinn?”
“Yes.” He gazed at her a few moments. “I’m sure your parents mentioned my people.”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, they did.”
The word echoed through her mind with a sense of unease. Her people had reviled the fire djinn, calling them evil demons sprung from an unholy connection between the Windborn and fire. Her whole village had taught the children to avoid and guard against Ifrits because they would lead the other Windborn to certain death. Her own father had once threatened a cousin who’d befriended an Ifrit on his travels, forbidding him from seeing his friend.
“Not complimentary, I suspect?” Saif sat with a self-deprecating smile on his lips.
Heat suffused her face. “No.”
He nodded. “I figured. Most of the Windborn have labeled us demons because of our connection to fire, but in truth, we’re fire elementals rather than wind elementals. The only difference between your people and mine is the element we manipulate.”
Raihana bit her lip, thinking about his words. While her father spent hours railing against her cousin and his association with an Ifrit, he’d never met her cousin’s friend though he’d tried to convince her father to do so. What would village say now that I’m fucking one? Her people would be livid, but Saif had done nothing to harm her. Instead, she felt like she’d come home each time they’d made love.
“I’d never hurt you, Raihana.” Saif’s expression had turned serious and he held something hidden in his hands on his lap.
“I know that.”
~~~~~~~
Oh my, even among the djinn there are rifts. 😉 There are several great authors on the Weekend Writer Warriors list, the Snippet Sunday Facebook group, and the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group. A few of my favorites are, P.T. Wyant, Karen Michelle Nutt, Veronica Scott, Jessica Subject, Kathy Griffith Karysa Faire, and Iris Blobel.
Here’s the blurb for WILDFIRE’S HEART:
Available everywhere now!
When you wish upon a wildfire…
Hot Shot Saif al Nar is a natural when it comes to fighting fires. As an Ifrit—a fire djinn—there’s no one better. But he doesn’t anticipate the local residents being suspicious and afraid of his ethnicity when his crew comes into town from the fire line for some R&R. Add some unexpected backup in the form of a lovely djinn and Saif is ready to set the town on fire.
A djinn might get burned…
Raihana Nejem retired from being a genie in a lamp centuries ago and now works for the U.S. Forest Service. Fires are devastating her field area, but the sexy firefighter djinn might just be more dangerous. Her people believe Ifrits to be evil demons and Raihana can’t be sure Saif isn’t responsible for the arson fires cropping up in town.
Or they could set the night on fire…
Is Saif behind the arson or is something darker and more dangerous going on? With hearts and lives on the line, Raihana must decide if she can stand the heat that comes with loving a man like Saif.
Prejudice and intolerance are the same everywhere. I hope she learns to trust him.
Let’s hope her father never finds out.
(Secretly thinks it would be cool if he’s her cousin’s friend.)
Her father will find out. I’m curious to know what is in his hand. 🙂
It is always a positive thing to find out more about people we’ve considered enemies or lesser beings. It’s good when common ground can be found.