by Leia Stone
“King Ozark gave this to my grandfather?” I asked, looking in the mirror. The chest plate seemed decidedly made for a woman.
Reyna’s brow furrowed, and she eyed me through the mirror. “Yep, Ozark gave it to Geoff for you. Your grandfather talked to him before Rage’s coronation. I didn’t understand why you’d need it then, but, clearly … Geoff knew what he was doing.”
Whoa.
I nodded, thinking of all he’d done to get me here.
“The foot coverings are there,” Reyna said, pointing to two sock-like pieces that lay on top of a circle-shaped piece. “And the cap.”
Holding up the cap, I snickered. “I’m going to look like I’m wearing a body sock. I think I’ll wait and put this on in the pool.”
Reyna gave me a flat look. “Suit yourself.”
We ate a late dinner in silence. I was preoccupied with checking off this box of finding my soul stone, and only toward the end of the meal did I think of all that Reyna had on her plate. No pun intended.
“In case I forget to say it again later, thanks for having my back,” I said as we cleared our plates. Donovan and my aunt had already gone off to bed. “Not just tonight, but all the times…”
She gave me a tight smile. “We’re all working toward the same goal.”
I rolled my eyes. “Would it kill you to say you’re welcome?”
She just grinned. If I wasn’t so stressed, her stoicism would be hilarious. Not.
As we walked toward the spirit pools, anxiety burst from its cocoon within my stomach, and I suddenly wished I’d not eaten dinner.
Reyna stayed outside the chamber, guarding the room and waiting to accompany me on this crazy quest thing. We agreed that once I had my vision or whatever it was, we’d both go out and start the search for my soul stone, cloaked in the darkness of night. I slipped into the steaming water, clutching the crystal Gramps gave me, and closed my eyes.
Nothing.
Not only did I not relax, but my mind raced with thoughts.
Was Justice fully healed? Did Gramps really only have weeks left? What would Rage do about the blood mages?
Stop thinking!
I pictured a lake from my childhood, one Mack and I used to go to with his mom and my dad when we were growing up. The water was mountain runoff and as clear as air, but the lake was over a hundred feet deep and more than a mile wide. Sitting on the shore, I had enjoyed how the surface reflected the light of the sun, and it seemed endless, peaceful. I needed my mind to be still and silent like that lake.
Pushing the thoughts from my head, I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. I let the mountain lake appear in my mind’s eye.
Calm.
Clear.
The only thing I needed to think about … was my soul stone.
No … I needed to relax.
My body floated on top of the steaming pool of water, the warm liquid leaching the tension from my muscles.
Relax…
I let my mind drift, and small ripples appeared on the lake in my mind’s eye, the water lapping at the rocky shore.
Relax…
My gaze rose to the expanse of blue sky above.
Relax…
The dense air, humid and warm, disappeared.
Opening my eyes, I discovered I now stood at the head of a hiking trail with dense trees around me—the evergreens much like the ones we had in Montana. At my side was a large brown wolf who looked a lot like Reyna’s wolf.
Huh…?
I squinted, studying her because all around her body was a bright fuchsia color like an aura. That was something I’d never seen before. Was this my vision?
Wolf-Reyna took off, and I followed her down a trail. Eventually, the trail ended on the shore of a pebbled beach, and Reyna skidded to a halt, her attention seeming to focus out at the clear lake in front of us.
There, in the center, was a deep blue glow.
My soul stone. I just knew it.
Looking at wolf-Reyna, I grinned. “It’s here!” Then, I spun to get my bearings. “Where are we?”
The she-wolf shook her head, backing up slowly.
“What?” I asked, following her as she backed away with a whine.
“Reyna. Where is this?” I asked the vision-Reyna-wolf.
‘On Kian’s Estate. His private lake,’ she spoke into my mind, and her words sent a chill of dread through me.
Well, shifter.
If that wasn’t just the worst news … of the hour.
I lurched out of the vision as fast as I’d been sucked in. As I stood, the spirit pool water trickled down the black armor around my waist in rivulets.
When I stepped out of the spirit pool room, Reyna looked at me curiously.
“That was fast,” she said. “Did you find it?”
I frowned. “Yeah, you helped me. Did you … I dunno, have a vision too?”
Reyna looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Do I look like I have visions?”
Shaking my head, I nevertheless bit my tongue. Pretty much, this spirit power made me question my sanity sometimes.
“Where is it?” Reyna asked.
I took in a deep breath before releasing it. “Vision-Reyna said it was in Kian’s private lake.”
Reyna let several curse words fly. And then a few more. Finally, she huffed and faced me. “Well, come on, we better do this before it gets too late.”
Yeah, sneaking onto my archnemesis’ castle grounds at night was not my idea of fun, but we had no problems getting past the gate, probably because Kian didn’t have any guard dogs. Halle-frickin’-leujah.
It was a good ten-minute hike down to his private lake with a white pebble beach just like the one from my vision. Only, this time, I didn’t see the blue glowing in the middle.
I looked at Reyna and shrugged. “I think I need to go into the water.”
She inclined her head. “Then go. I’ve got your back.”
Was I blindly about to jump into a lake in Kian’s backyard because I thought my soul stone was there? Yes … yes I was. RIP, Nai Crescent. Died trying to steal her own soul stone.
Without another thought, I stepped into the cool water, letting it kiss my feet, and stared at the myriad rocks on the shore. Maybe my soul stone was here somewhere. My gaze skimmed over the pebbles, and I shook my head. None of these were it. It wouldn’t be here … where it could be trodden underfoot. It was in the center of the lake where the blue had glowed in my vision. But … why couldn’t anything be easy?
Raising my chin, I looked out over the glassy surface of the lake, steeling myself. Reyna had my back, so I waded out into the water until it was waist-deep and then dove in. Taking long strokes, I swam out toward the center, cutting through the surface like a knife with the aid of my special armor. I fell into a rhythm. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe. Stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe.
Treading water, I looked down at the bottom and … wow.
Vibrant colors danced on the bottom of the lake. Rich amethyst. Citrine the color of sunshine. Emeralds the color of spring grass, and blood-red rubies. But the one that drew my eye was really tiny, like the size of my pinky nail and the color of a deep blue sapphire. The water rippled, and…
I sucked in a deep breath and then dove down, pulling myself closer and closer to the breathtaking stone.
My chest burned, but I kicked harder, ignoring the pressure building in my ears and all around me. As I drew nearer the stone, the light reflected the edges, and I saw that it wasn’t just a tiny cluster of blue but, instead, a clear quartz with a blue inclusion.
I continued to hold my breath, but I was running out of air. I needed to get my soul stone and get out of here. I kicked my legs and pulled down with my arms, desperately trying to get to the bottom.
Finally!
Reaching the bottom, I grabbed for the point. As soon as my fingers brushed the surface of the stone, something changed. The crystal-clear water went murky. The pressure on my body increased, and my lungs screamed for a
ir.
Magic.
Oh mage! Did Kian somehow know I was here?
I tugged on the stone, but for some strange reason, it wouldn’t come free.
Attracted like a magnet my butt! This thing was glued in.
Grabbing the crystal with both hands, I yanked and tried pushing off the bottom of the lake with both feet. Pain sliced across my fingers, and the brackish water tinged red.
But the stone was free in my hands!
I kicked toward what I hoped was the surface, each frantic beat of my heart carrying with it the desperation for a breath.
Something bumped into me, and I screamed.
Another bump…
Mother Mage!
I needed air!
A dark shadow passed me on my left, a creature at least six feet long. Another shadow—or was it the same one?—passed me on my right, and then something bumped me from behind.
All I could think was sharks, but sharks didn’t live in fresh water. Still, could Kian use his water magic to convert the lake to be shark-friendly?
No way was I waiting to find out.
My heart stopped, and full-on panic seized me.
The dark shadow thing drew closer, and I caught a glimpse of blue fabric … like Kian’s robe. Then with a crushing pain it—he?—latched on to my ankle.
I screamed again. Only this time, water rushed into my nose and mouth. The shadowy-monstrous thing, which I was 98.4% sure was Kian, pulled me deeper down, and I did the only thing I could think of … and punched him as hard as I could. The crystal in my hand bludgeoned the shadowy beast, and I felt bone crunch beneath my fist. The water bloomed even more red, and Rage flooded my mind.
‘What the hell, Nai! Are you okay?’ I didn’t have time to respond.
The pressure released on my ankle as well as the wound, my shields taking my injury. I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, and with a gasp of desperation I sucked in water.
No, no, no!
Something swam under my arms as I started to sink, and a heartbeat later, someone hauled me out of the water and dropped me on my stomach.
“Dammit, Nai!” Reyna snarled. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
Coughing and gagging, I spewed water as she pounded on my back. “S-stop,” I sputtered. “Rey … stop. I’m okay.”
The beating stopped, and I rolled over onto my back, blinking up into the night sky. To my right, a blur of blue robes rose up from the water, and then I heard fist connect with bone. Panting and still trying to catch my breath, I let my head loll to the side…
What. The. Mage?
Soaking wet, Reyna had left my side and was now beating the ever-living crap out of Kian! She held the front of his soaking wet robes in one fist and pounded him with the other. He was well over six feet tall and going limp in her arms as she landed blow after blow into his face. And next to the douchebag of the year, lying on the ground, was someone else, a body who was also apparently unconscious with a horrible head wound.
Still hacking with each breath, my coughs turned into a panicked gasp.
“Hey … Rey…”
Reyna’s attention jerked to me, her fist still poised over Kian’s unconscious face as his body went fully slack and crumpled to the ground.
“Yeah?”
Struggling, I pushed up on my hands until I was sitting upright. “I’m pretty sure killing him is against some sort of rules. Besides, if you do, you’ll only be killing his shield.”
Pointing at the inert body next to Kian, she growled, “His shield is already dead.” Then she kicked Kian in the side, but he was out cold and didn’t even flinch. Still staring down at him, she snarled, “You’ll never have another shield from the wolves again, asshole. Ever.”
Then she trotted over to me.
“Mother Mage, Nai. I’m so sorry,” she said, shaking her head and flinging drops of water. “I … he showed up and blasted me with a crushing wave. By the time I came to…” She swallowed hard and then asked, “Did you get your soul stone?”
I held up the crystal.
“Halle-frickin’-lujah.” She hauled me upright and then ducked under my arm to help support my weight.
Scanning the surrounding area, I looked at the dark waters of the large lake as it rippled in the moonlight.
‘Nai…?’ Rage growled in my head.
‘I’m good. Slight hiccup. Is Honor okay?’ I knew he would have taken the brunt of my injury.
‘I had to give him some mage wine, but he’s good.’
‘Okay. Let’s chat later,’ I told him and then looked at Reyna. “I’m ready to go,” I said, shuffling forward. “Please.”
“You betcha.” As Reyna led me back toward Grandpa’s castle, I looked at the crystal in my hand. Maybe one inch wide and three inches long, it was optic-clear quartz, but the surface was dusted with sapphire blue dumortierite, and deep within the point was a blue inclusion … in the shape of a butterfly.
Gotcha.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, I woke up with the sun, so excited with the prospect of seeing my mom. Not only could she show me how to open portals between realms in case the high mages closed them to keep me from seeing Rage, but we were long overdue for a reunion. The one time I’d seen her in the Realm of the Dead when I went to get Honor, it was only for a moment. I’d never gotten to know her or my bio dad, and I wanted that. A lot.
But as I sat at the kitchen bar with my breakfast, fear crept in. Would I measure up to what she’d hoped for me? Would she be okay with me being mated to an alpha heir from Midnight? The nerves in my belly churned as I stared at my cereal.
“Are you excited to meet with your mom?” Sariah’s voice called from behind me.
I turned in my seat to see her and Donovan shuffle into the kitchen.
“Going to see Auntie Elia?” His face brightened.
I frowned, confused. “He knows her?”
But that was impossible; the math didn’t add up. She died before he was born.
To my surprise, Sariah nodded. “He’s seen about a thousand photos, and we have tons of home movies.”
“Really?” The thought of seeing my mom like that made me smile. “I’d like to see those too sometime.”
Sariah nodded. “Definitely.” She reached out and smoothed a piece of my hair. “I know she feels … a lot of guilt about not being there to protect you and watch you grow up.” Her voice cracked.
I frowned. “Guilt?” I looked at Donovan. “It wasn’t her fault.”
Sariah nodded. “Nevertheless, she wanted to be there for you all this time.”
Now more than ever, I wanted to see my mother and get to know her. She’d been waiting all this time for me to come to her. The weight of the soul stone in my pocket suddenly felt like a hundred pounds.
After wishing Donovan and Sariah a good morning, I left the kitchen and headed for the spirit pools. My favorite part about “school” here at High Mage Academy was that it was mostly self-led. No schedule, no books, just me and my ghostly ancestors.
After slipping into a bathing suit, I let myself submerge into the waters, clutching my soul stone this time, instead of a quartz crystal like Gramps had previously given me.
Taking a deep breath, I thought of the two times I’d seen my mother—the way she’d held my bio dad’s hand and how they’d run for me, her long, silvery-white hair flowing behind her as she looked at me with complete and utter acceptance and love.
Mom.
My entire life, I’d grown up without my mom. I knew she’d loved me but was taken early. In the mortal realm, Mother’s Day had been a painful human holiday I’d mostly ignored.
Something tugged at my navel, and then my soul slipped from my body, and I flew over to the Realm of the Dead. I recognized the white stone castle of the Keeper and spotted the horsemen riding through the jewel-toned orchard. Behind the castle, I spotted the expanse of the lake where we’d found Honor and where I’d seen my parents before.
People wer
e milling about, walking, or having picnics. The sun was setting, and everyone seemed to come out and watch. A beautiful cluster of weeping willows was planted in a circle as children ran about laughing and screaming with joy as they played some form of tag.
There was peace here and happiness, too. I thought of gramps giving his soul stone to me to bargain with the Keeper, and I could imagine him here with family and friends, and I came to peace with it. I hadn’t yet glimpsed much of the spirit realm, but what I’d seen seemed to be an elevated form of this part of the Realm of the Dead. This wasn’t a bad kind of eternity.
I scanned the crowds as I flew above them like some superhero. Then … I spotted her.
She and my bio dad sat on a red blanket, right in front of the lake. Her silvery hair was braided over one shoulder, and she threw her head back and laughed at something he’d said. As I got closer, she spotted me and froze, her entire back going rigid. Merely a thought was enough for me to lower my spectral self to the ground, and at the same time, she stood and faced me.
My throat tightened with emotion upon seeing her face, so much like mine, and she stood, mouth open in surprise.
“You finally came,” she breathed, her voice flooded with emotion.
“Mom,” I choked out and was unable to keep my cool. Maybe I was supposed to be here for a lesson, but right now, that was the furthest thing from my mind.
Her expression softened, and she opened her arms. “Nai.”
That. Was. Everything. All that I needed was for her to open her arms, her permission for me to fall to pieces inside of them with her. I burst forward, colliding with her as our two spirits wrapped each other in a hug. As her energy surrounded me, we both burst into laughter, and an effervescent joy built within me.
“I’ve been waiting for you to come,” she croaked.
“I’m sorry it took so long. Life is kind of crazy right now.”
She pulled back, smiling at me. “Tell me everything.”