Princes of Paradise
(M.A.G.E. #1)
Magical Academy of Gods and
Elementals
kailin gow
KAILIN GOW
Princes of Paradise
Published by Romance on The Go, an Imprint of
Sparklesoup.com
Copyright © 2020 Kailin Gow
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Second Edition.
Printed in the United States of America.
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
DEDICATION
For those who believe doors open when you
take a leap of faith.
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KAILIN GOW
Prologue
The stones glowed brightly, seeming in their
otherworldly light to mirror the gleaming of the stars. The
night was black, as black as a squid's ink, but she was not
afraid. She had the stones – their ancient power calling to her
as she held them in her hands. She had the book, its pages
seeming to grow warm upon her fingers as she turned them.
And she had her love – and she knew that he would keep her
safe.
The crimson sunset had vanished into the black
waters, and now all was still. They stood at the top of the
volcano, a volcano that had not erupted in many centuries –
since the old days. Since long before the Erosion had come
to change the shape of the world.
But she felt its power. She knew that deep within the
volcano, the power of flame lay waiting, like a dozing beast,
waiting for her to harness its strength, to let the force of the
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
fire take over. She knew that she had the power: she would
connect with the molten lava, with its heat, its beauty. She
would make its strength her own.
She was beautiful; she knew it now better than she
had always known it. The stars and stones alike shone down
upon her, casting her dark face and flashing eyes in their
milky pale light. The stones were piled high – green and
blue, yellow and red, precious gems from all corners of the
island. She had found them all herself; they had called to her,
each one, since she was a child. She had felt a connection
with each tiny gemstone as she held it in the palm of her
hand, pocketing it for her collection. Now, staring at the
circle of stones she had made, she knew why. It was for this
purpose that she had been chosen. It was for this purpose that
her abilities had been formed.
She sat cross-legged in the center of the circle, her
book on her lap. It was the book of the Fire King, the god of
fire, its ancient tongue intelligible to the Fire's children
alone. She knew what her destiny was. She would bring back
the Sacred Fire, its purifying force, its flames. She knew
what the scientists knew and did not say – that the Erosion
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KAILIN GOW
was getting worse, that soon the whole earth would be
engulfed in water. The ice caps would melt; the tides would
grow stronger. The people did not know; the Earth did not
know. But she knew.
And she knew it was her duty to stop it. The Sacred
Flame would come, at once creator and destroyer, push back
the waves and call from its molten depths new lava, new
earth.
And she was doing it with her love at her side. She
gazed at him, her heart beating faster. She knew his beauty;
his beauty floored her, as if she were seeing it for the first
time. It was always like the first time. She knew the source
of his flashing eyes, his powerful animal muscles, his broad
shoulders. The power of the flames rushed through him. He
drew his beauty from the source – like her, he called upon
the volcano and its ancient ways.
He was the Fire King, and for thousands of years he
had been searching for his Queen, the goddess from whom
he had been separated. The goddess who had more power
even than he to destroy and to rebirth. The true power of the
twin ways of flame – death and resurrection. And only she
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
could regenerate the earth. Only she could rebuild its lost
lands. He had searched for her, evermore frantic – knowing
that he had to find her before it was too late. Before the
Erosion grew too dangerous. Before the Calypticon. For the
gods of Water would submerge the earth to suit their own
ends – if the fire gods did not strike back.
The girl knew the legends well. After all, she had
grown up on the island. She had not mingled with the other
outsiders, the generations of new settlers who peopled the
island with fast cars and shiny beach homes. No, she was one
with the Veteri – she sought them out. She knew their hiding
places. She listened to their stories. And she knew the Fire
God sought one born of a mortal, who would from her flesh
reveal her powers. And she would win the love of the Fire
God. The Fire God who had spent centuries seeking her, who
had
