Soul Stone Mage Complete Collection Boxed Set

by Sarah Noffke

  “So does that mean that the wereanimals who choose to embrace more of the animal in them have a higher ratio of that in their DNA?” Gillian asked, jogging next to them.

  “Yes, that’s one of the reasons for their tendency toward animal behavior. We are in essence genetic anomalies,” Laurel said.

  “Please know that while you’re in Virgo you won’t be treated differently,” Azure assured her.

  “But I am different,” Laurel said, her voice rough.

  “As we all are. However, we have a great appreciation for unique individuals in Virgo.” Azure lifted her chin, pride in her chest.

  “That’s only because of you, Your Majesty,” Gillian said, his eyes on Azure. “You’ll remember that not long ago the people of Virgo didn’t tolerate humans and rejected you as their leader. However, you’ve proven to them that it isn’t the genes, but the heart of someone that matters. You’ve brought people together and appointed diverse species to your cabinet.”

  “Man, she’s already got a big enough head. Would you shut up, Shorty?” Monet grumbled from a few feet away.

  “Thank you, Gillian. I’m grateful that you think so,” Azure said, watching Laurel. The werecat appeared intrigued as they passed the stable and the farms.

  “I’ve never seen a place like this in any of the books in the library. Your home has a wholesome feeling about it,” Laurel mused.

  Azure nestled up her shoulders, taking in a happy breath. “Yes, Virgo is a place of peace. I hope you enjoy your time here, and you’re welcome to stay as long as you like while you prepare for your travels.”

  When the turrets of the House of Enchanted came into view, Azure picked up her pace. She needed to see her gran and know that her mum was okay. However, seeing those two people was definitely going to have to wait, because bounding through the grounds of the estate was the happiest unicorn to ever exist. Blister’s bright blue eyes were full of light and he had an actual smile on his mouth.

  He galloped toward them, his rainbow tail swishing back and forth as he ran.

  Monet halted, raising his hands in the air. “Whoa there, buddy.”

  Blisters must have thought this was an invitation, because he leapt into the air and slammed his front hooves into Monet’s hips, knocking him to the ground, and commenced licking his face.

  “Oh, gross. You smell like… Wait, you smell like farts and Cheetos.” Monet pushed the unicorn off him, rolling to a seated position.

  “I know! That’s why I’m so happy to see you,” Blisters said, his squeaky voice full of delight. “I found the Cheetos in your room when I was trying on your robes. They are delicious. That’s where you went, right? To get more Cheetos?”

  “No! Are you fucking kidding me?” Monet asked, his tone heated.

  “Oh well, you and me will set off on a journey to get more Cheetos.” Blisters licked around his mouth.

  “You fucking runt unicorn. What did you do?” Monet stood up.

  “I ate your Cheetos,” Blisters said plainly and then farted loudly. “Oh, and like all good things, they appear to give me gas and a bit of a stomachache. But I found that sleeping in your bed made me feel better. Mine is lumpy and full of holes because of my horn. It keeps tearing the covers when I toss and turn at night.”

  Azure stepped up next to Monet. “You’re the one who wanted to live in the House of Enchanted,” she said to him before turning her attention on the two-foot-tall unicorn. “Hello, Blisters.” She patted his head and combed his soft mane with her fingers. He relished the attention, closing his eyes and nuzzling into her.

  “Queeny! I’ve missed you. Finswick said that you’d died and weren’t coming back, but I didn’t really believe him. He also told me that the well was a hot tub, but I learned firsthand that it was untrue. And your gran invited me to afternoon tea, but Finswick wouldn’t allow me to go. He said she was trying to slip me a mickey, whatever that is, so that she could shave my head. But overall I had a really nice time. The House of Enchanted is the bestest place in the world, but for some reason the wait staff keeps giving me dirty looks when I trot through the house.”

  Azure stared at the unicorn’s muddy hooves. “I’m sure they are just getting used to having a new four-legged friend in the House.”

  At her back, Azure heard Laurel clear her throat. “Ummm… Is this the majestic and somewhat mythical creature, the unicorn?”

  “Yes, but it’s important that you not use him as a basis for these creatures. Blisters is a special version,” Monet said, wiping his robes across his cheek, which was covered in unicorn saliva.

  “Laurel, please meet Blisters. He’s our resident unicorn at the House of Enchanted,” Azure said, presenting the werecat to the unicorn.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Laurel said, curtsying to him.

  “Woooooow!” Blisters said, his mouth hanging open wide. “You’re a cat-person. Or a person-cat. I’ve never seen one of you. Do you have a tail? Do you lick yourself like Finswick does? Wait! Finswick! He’s going to be so happy when he sees you,” the unicorn said, each sentence in quick succession.

  “Who is Finswick again?” Laurel asked, looking at Azure.

  “He’s my familiar,” Azure said, pointing to the feline who was strolling in their direction. His white-tipped black tail was high in the air.

  “Oh, my!” Laurel screamed, jumping behind Ever as if for protection. “What did you do to him? Did you shrink him?”

  Azure’s uncertain eyes fell on Gillian before looking at Laurel. “Uhhh…he’s a cat. You have seen a regular cat before?”

  “Only in books. I didn’t realize they were so small. That’s normal size, right? Or is he like Blisters and has stunted growth?” Laurel said, peeking out from behind Ever, who wore an amused expression.

  Azure picked up Finswick when he was close. “Hey, buddy,” she said, scratching him behind the ears. “And no, Finswick is the size of an average cat.”

  He slid his head onto Azure’s shoulder and whispered, “Sticking me with the idiot unicorn wasn’t enough. Now you’ve brought home another pet. Please know that I will be killing you in your sleep.”

  “I missed you too,” Azure said, squeezing him into her before setting him on the ground.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The crackling of the fire in the cabinet chamber filled the silence as Azure flipped the pages of the Book of Branches. She had called a cabinet meeting, but was hoping to get a glimpse of the book before the members showed up.

  Leaning over, she rubbed Blister’s belly, and he rolled onto his back in his sleep. Finswick had promised to show Laurel around the House of Enchanted, but only if he didn’t have to babysit Blisters anymore. Apparently the little unicorn had destroyed a suit of armor that was over six centuries old, torn up the drapes in the dining hall when he got his horn stuck in a panel, and flooded the bathroom when he did a cannonball into his bubble bath. Still, Azure loved the little guy, even though he’d be the destruction of the ancient house.

  “It’s good to see you,” a voice said from the entrance of the room.

  Azure raised her head to see Richard standing in the doorway. “Thank you. It’s nice to be back.” She stood awkwardly and looked at him uncomfortably. Was she supposed to hug him like she did when she saw her mother? That didn’t seem right, so she merely bowed her head and waved at the closest seat. “Please sit.”

  Richard was dressed in slacks, which were more common to a wizard than the humans of Terran. Before this she’d only seen him in Terran clothes. However, he still wore the button-up shirt that he’d had on when she’d rescued him, although it had been laundered and pressed. His blond hair was pushed back, and he had a curious look in his eyes.

  “I see you’ve decided to formally join my cabinet,” she said, taking her seat again.

  “Yes. I thought it over after you made the offer. It is unconventional, but from everything I’ve observed, you are the unconventional type,” he said, his voice deep.

  “
I’m the first half-human to reign over Virgo. I think ‘unconventional’ should be my middle name at this point,” Azure said, thumbing through the pages of the book but not really reading them. The pages were thick and their edges were worn. Hand-drawn pictures of the dryads could be found on almost every page, and were strangely beautiful.

  “And you have a knack for attracting unique characters to yourself.” Richard inclined his head to the unicorn, who rolled over as he snored loudly.

  “Gran says it was because I was born on Leap Day.”

  Richard gave a fond smile. “Yes, the people of Virgo subscribe to the idea that the events on the day of someone’s birth affect their personality. I only wish I could have been there on that day.”

  Azure kept her eyes low. She didn’t really want to go there with this man. With her father. Still, how could she deprive him of such sentimentality? “Was it hard for you to give me up?” she asked bluntly.

  “Increasingly so. I can’t tell you how many times I thought of you through the years. And Frederick, well, I always wanted him to know his sister. I wanted him to not be infected by the prejudice Phillip harbored. Now I fear that my brother will overwhelm him with it.”

  “Why didn’t you ever stand up to that man?” she asked.

  “He held the knowledge of you over my head. And Phillip has always been stronger than me. More cunning. I did my best, but looking back, I realize I didn’t do enough. It’s easy to be brave when we think about how we could have acted, that the dangers weren’t as real as we thought. But that’s the past, and now I only live in the present,” Richard said, his voice sounding wise.

  “Oh good, you’re back!” Gran called so loudly that she made Blisters jump. He started snoring again after a moment though, and rolled over again. “You need to kick that animal out. I say we offer him to a nice family in Virgo. Tell them they’ve won some prize and he’s theirs to raise.”

  “He’s past the age of maturity,” Azure said, pursing her lips at the old woman. Gran wore a long shimmering red gown, and the front of her lavender bob was braided and pulled back, and secured with her soul stone clip.

  “Do you know how much havoc that beast causes?” Gran asked, pointing at the unicorn, who was still deep in sleep.

  “I’m fully aware, but I’m not pawning him off on someone else.” She offered a tender smile, noticing the expression Gran was giving her. It almost resembled sentimentality.

  “It’s good to have you back, dear child,” her gran said, winking at her.

  “Thank you. It might please you to know that Mage Lenore had nice things to say about you,” Azure said, returning the wink.

  “Why would I care what that batty old witch thinks of me? I bet she looks ghastly. She’s supposedly older than dirt,” Sari said, swatting at a bug flying around her head. It had been buzzing around the room for a while.

  “Actually, you might be surprised.” Azure thought back to the sight of Mage Lenore as a young girl in the morning. What a strange witch!

  “Okay, the meeting can get started. The Chief of Staff is here,” Monet called as he strode into the room and took a seat next to Azure. He was followed by Gillian and Ever. All three looked refreshed, and they were wearing clean clothes.

  “Speaking of pests that we should get rid of,” Gran said, rolling her lavender eyes at Monet.

  “Good to see you as well, you crazy antique witch,” Monet returned. He pulled the Book of Branches away from Azure and began scanning the pages.

  “Have you found anything on the rogue dryads?” Richard asked.

  “No, not yet. Actually, the book is incredibly difficult to understand. Some of each paragraph is written in a strange language that I don’t understand,” Azure said, pointing to a passage.

  “Greek,” Ever supplied, his eyes on the book.

  “You mean the language?” Azure asked.

  “Yes. It’s Greek, I believe,” he said.

  “Oh, well, even the parts that I do understand seem to be written in riddles. And the book is crammed with so much information on the different tribes that I haven’t had a chance to find anything on the rogue dryads. It’s going to take us a while to read through it and decipher it.” Azure pulled the book away from Monet and flipped through it.

  “You know, you’re fucking useless. You’ve had this book for a whole hour and you still don’t have answers. Give up your crown and let someone competent—like me—rule this kingdom.” Monet yanked the book back.

  “I think…” Azure fought him for the book, realizing he was putting up quite a fight to keep it in front of him, “that I should have more information for us tomorrow. I just need some time to review the book.” With a swift jerk she yanked the book away from Monet.

  The queen mother eyed her. “Azure, please know that I mean this in the most thoughtful way. You look like shit and need to get some proper rest.”

  Looking down at her dirty hiking clothes, Azure could only agree. “Right, well, I came straight here to get to work.”

  “Which is noble of you, but no one wants to look at a dirty queen,” Gran told her, her voice soft and full of warmth.

  “Fine, I’ll clean up and then get to work.”

  “Why don’t you clean up and take a nap. You have bags under your eyes that go on for miles,” her grandmother suggested.

  Azure hesitated, but finally pushed the book in Monet’s direction. “Yeah, well, I really want to find the rogue dryads as soon as possible.”

  “And you will, but you need rest,” Richard cut in.

  “Why don’t you share with us what Mage Lenore said about curing the virus,” Gran said, starting to rock. The old witch was never still.

  “Oh, that was a huge waste of time. She said that humans were key to healing the virus,” Azure said

  “Like the humans of Terran?” Richard asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe she meant the humans on Earth. Honestly, the trip up the Mountain of Truth was a complete waste of time,” Azure said.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Sari said, sliding back in her seat and pointing at Monet. “This one learned he can’t have dairy.” She swiveled her finger to Gillian. “And the gnome learned information that will put him in esteem with his people.”

  “Knowledge is power to the gnomes. The Mountain of Truth has been cloaked in mystery for so long,” Gillian said.

  The queen mother pursed her lips and nodded. “And this one, I believe, took a souvenir.”

  “What?” Azure asked, leaning forward. “What did you take, Ever?”

  The Light Elf’s blue eyes narrowed at the queen mother. “I think your witchcraft has failed you. I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, I think you do, but let’s pretend that I’m senile to protect you for the time being.” Gran stood and strode for the exit.

  “Where are you going?” Azure asked to her retreating back.

  “I’m going to go meditate on this human idea for the cure. I can’t think around you all. The racket that goes on in your brains is very distracting.” Gran swept from the room just as Blisters farted loudly.

  “Well, that’s my cue to leave.” Monet pushed up and clambered for the exit before the gross smell of the fart assaulted his nostrils. Apparently the unicorn could clear the room.

  “Okay, let’s adjourn for now, but we’ll meet tomorrow after I review the book,” Azure said.

  Gillian and Richard didn’t seem to need any more encouragement. They headed for the exit, pinching their noses.

  Azure pressed the book to her chest and walked to the exit, her eyes on Ever. “Is everything all right?” she asked him, reading the hesitation in his eyes.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I just want to be more helpful to you. I don’t think I’m doing enough.”

  “What do you mean? If you hadn’t been with me in Lancothy, I would have been eaten by Lorde.”

  He nodded, his eyes on the book in her hands. “I actually know some Greek. What if you leave the book with me for t
he night while you clean up and rest? Tomorrow morning you and I can get together first thing, before the cabinet meeting. I’ll tell you what I discover about the rogue dryads.”

  Azure considered it for a moment. Honestly, the book was probably only going to sit on her bedside table for the night. She really didn’t have the stamina to stay up much longer. “Okay,” she finally said, handing the book over to him. “And thanks. You have been a huge help to me ever since the very beginning. I’m not sure what I’d do without you on my team.”

  Ever started to smile, but shook his head instead. “The pleasure has always been mine, Queen Azure,” he said, bowing to her.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Azure reached for her wand just as a set of hands pinned her wrists at her back.

  “First the woods, and now I find you here.” The Duke of Terran’s small brown eyes narrowed.

  “This is Candace,” Heidi chirped from immediately in front of Azure. “She’s new, but I can vouch that she’s a good human. Actually, she might be able to help us with things about Earth.”

  The Duke seemed to measure Heidi with his eyes and then smiled slightly, his gaze returning to Azure. “A good human, is she?” he asked, raising a hand at Azure. She was fighting the restraints at her back, but the guard had gripped her tightly and her words were momentarily locked in her mouth. The crowd around her had turned to stare, distracted from fighting each other for broken objects now. “I suspect no one here in Terran knows who this girl is,” the Duke snapped and flicked his hand in her direction. She felt the cold splash of magic on her face. It was human magic, and it had been used to power a charm, one she recognized. It was a revealing spell.

  The gasp that emerged from Heidi’s mouth was echoed by the people around them. Azure looked down to see her long hair turn blue. She guessed her eyes were again bright blue, her contacts having vanished.