
The snippet is from WILDFIRE'S HEART, Book 1 in the Elemental Hearts series. This tale is a M/F paranormal romantic suspense. Raihana and Saif have been dating a week or so and she learns just what kind of djinn he is.
“Cold?”
“Just a little bit of a chill. It might be summer, but the rain today was relentless.” She hunched her shoulders as she settled back in the deck chair beside the fire pit dug into the yard.
“We can’t have that.” Saif reached out his hand, and her neck and arms prickled just before flames had erupted into a cheerful blaze on the wood left the pit. “There.”
Raihana stared at him. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“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.”
Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise. ;) 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, J.D. Walker, Addison Albright, and Iris Blobel.
Here's the blurb to WILDFIRE'S HEART:
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.
If you'd like to read more, this novella is available here:
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