Heir of Amber and Fire by Rachanee Lumayno (non fiction books to read TXT) 📗

least not any of the ones I know. Certainly not anyone in my immediate family. What animal are you?”

“A grey wolf,” Pazho told her. “Denaan is an elk.”

“Elk logic,” Farrah said. Pazho grinned. She turned to me. “Were those the animals you kept seeing when we first entered Annlyn?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“But why were you able to see them, and we couldn’t?”

“There is a spell on the town masking us from outsiders,” Pazho said. “But I believe your friend saw through our illusion because she is one of us.”

Now my friends were gaping at me. “First you set people on fire, now you can turn into an animal?” Rhyss said. “That’s incredible. How can I learn how to do that?”

“You’re a shapeshifter?” Beyan said simultaneously.

Farrah overlapped with, “What do you turn into, Allayne?”

And while she was talking, Pazho asked, “You set people on fire?”

“Stop, all of you!” I said. Everyone stopped talking.

Denaan came by our table en route to the kitchen, his arms full of dirty dishes. “Dessert, anyone?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

THE TALK AT THE TABLE stopped long enough for us to eagerly devour a heaping plate of honeyed crispel, which Pazho proudly informed us was a specialty of Dennan’s. After I told my friends, repeatedly, that I didn’t know much about my supposed abilities, they shifted their questions to Pazho. We were all eager to learn more about this mysterious land of shapeshifters.

Pazho repeated much of the things he had told me on our earlier walk in the market. My mind began to wander, since none of the information was new to me. But then the conversation turned in a direction that caused my attention to snap back immediately.

“I saw the most beautiful jewelry in the market,” Farrah said. “I wanted to purchase one of the pieces, a bracelet of lapis lazuli, but the merchant refused to sell it to me. He kept saying it was not meant for me, and tried to entice me with other options instead.”

“That’s odd,” Rhyss commented. “Money is money; you’d think he’d be happy for a sale, no matter who was buying or what they wanted.”

“He wasn’t refusing to sell to you for the reasons you may be assuming,” Pazho said.

“But I thought Annlyn was famed for its jewelry,” Farrah said.

“Although after everything you’ve just told us, I don’t know if I should believe that anymore,” Beyan said.

“We are master craftsmen, it’s true,” Pazho said. “But the reason we’ve become such is that our creations are linked to our abilities.”

Pazho held up his right hand. On his index finger, a lone ruby set into a silver band caught the glow from nearby lights and winked at us.

“It’s exquisite,” Farrah breathed.

“Thank you. It’s also a part of me, as much as my wolf form is. I rarely take it off. It... hurts too much to be without it for any length of time.” Pazho absently rubbed the ruby with his thumb.

“A soulstone.” There was no question in Beyan’s voice.

“Yes. They are created here in Annlyn.”

“So, everything in the market...?”

“Not necessarily. Sometimes a gem is just a gem. But soulstones are rare finds, made even more powerful when infused with our magic. We receive them at birth, and they help us shift until we reach a certain age. Up until that point, transforming into our animal selves can be painful, both physically and mentally. Our soulstones protect us against that potential harm. Of course, the more we use them, the more our soulstones become part of us.”

Thinking of the necklace now safely hidden again under my dress, and of King Hendon’s theft of my father Joichan’s soulstone, I asked, “But what happens if you did lose your soulstone? Or if it was destroyed? Are you unable to change forms? Does it cause you to weaken, or die?”

“It depends,” Pazho said. “Only the very young would die without their soulstones, because they haven’t yet mastered their abilities. Anyone in their prime and in good health should be fine without it. But the longer one is separated from it, the weaker their powers become. If it’s never returned, or destroyed, then the person who is linked to that stone would eventually become their animal form completely, with no memory of their human self. And no way to change back.”

My blood chilled. My father had been without his stone for at least twenty years, possibly more. My mother hadn’t told me how long it had been in Hendon’s possession before her abduction, only that the king had stolen it.

“Are you all right?” Farrah asked me. “You look a little... unsettled.”

“I think I had one crispel too many,” I lied. “If all of you will excuse me... I think I’ll retire for the night.”

My friends murmured their goodnights and wishes that I’d feel better. Pazho said, “I’ll see you in the morning, then. Dennan and I couldn’t possibly send you on your way without a good breakfast.”

I smiled at him weakly and made my way to my room. Once safely inside with a quick locking spell on the door, I sat down on the bed and took off my necklace. The moonstone seemed to glow in my palm as I rubbed the jewel, reassuring myself that it was still there. What would I find when we finally found my father?

The delicate piece of jewelry held no answers. Sighing, I refastened it back around my neck and crawled under the covers. Soon, I was deep asleep, my hand resting lightly on the pendant in a poor attempt to hide it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

BREAKFAST THE NEXT morning was a surprisingly lively affair. As we were the only guests at Dennan’s inn, he sat and ate with us. Pazho joined us later than we expected, looking rumpled and grumpy.

“Wolves are nocturnal,” Pazho said as he slid onto the bench next to Rhyss.

“You mean, wolves are lazy,” Dennan corrected cheerfully, piling food on Pazho’s plate.

“You’re one to talk,” Pazho countered, rolling his eyes. The rest of us just kept eating, trying not to laugh.