Soul Mates: Rose (Soul Mates #6): A Paranormal Romance Read online

  Soul Mates:

  Rose

  By

  Elizabeth A. Lance

  Soul Mates: Rose

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Text Copyright ©2020 Elizabeth A. Lance

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by

  EAL Editing

  Cover by

  Elizabeth A. Lance

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  Author Note

  Hello, dear reader! Thank you so much for purchasing! I wanted to let you know that there is quite a bit of French dialogue in this novel, seeing as part of the story does take place in France. Because of that, I have included a Glossary at the back of the book and hyperlinked many of the words and phrases, just in case you want to know exactly what is being said. I did try to convey the meaning of their words in the context of the scene, so hopefully you will not run into too much difficulty. If you are fluent in French and I got something wrong, please feel free to let me know, as I relied on my memory and an online translator for the most part. Please, enjoy the story!

  Love and Light~ Elizabeth A. Lance

  Dedication

  À mon âme sœur, Brandon, je t'aime, toujours et pour toujours ~ Elizabeth

  Chapter One

  "Why can't we go through the Never Never?" I asked as we flashed to New Mexico.

  "It's safer if we stay out of the Never Never right now," Abbey explained. She's my aunt, but she's not that much older than me, so it's kind of weird calling her 'Aunt', so I rarely do.

  "You know the queen is doing everything she can to swing the pendulum back in her favor," my father added.

  "This portal leads directly into the Goblin palace, it's faster, Rosie posey," James explained, one arm around his newly pregnant wife, Mara and the other holding on to Sam. Seth, their other son was holding Mara's hand.

  "Knock it off, Wolfman." I shake my head at him. "I thought maybe Thomas would pick us up." I frowned. I rarely got to go into the Never Never, my parents were adamant that I stayed out of it, too much danger.

  "Thomas had better be brushing up on his rodeo skills," Uncle Daire replied, laughing as we trooped into the cave system that led to the Goblin palace.

  "You just like flying on dragons," my brother Ronny teased. Ronny was short for Auberon because he was named after our great-great-grandfather, Auberon the King of Light and Illusion.

  "Well it's not like we get to do it very often!" I replied. "It's one of the best things about knowing one, you know?" I huffed. "Who wouldn't want to ride on the back of a dragon?"

  "Somebody scared of heights?" Hunter, my other brother suggested.

  "Whatever, fungus breath." I rolled my eyes at him.

  We stepped through the portal and into the palace. Gurtag was waiting for us and showed us to the arena. It was magical of course, created by the Goblins who were holding this particular event. I noticed all of the Fae creatures who had spent the last couple of months training for this affair. There were several chimera locked in bull-riding pens. The huntsmen's eight-legged horses were off to the side, I supposed they would ride those instead of regular horses. There were various other pens that held different creatures, one with the hellhounds, another with manticore and the last one I could see held the perytons.

  "Is this even safe?" I asked.

  "Well the room is full of magic, so probably not, kiddo," James teased. "Come on, munchkin, sit by us. I can't believe you're going to France for two weeks and you think this is unsafe." He eyed me like he was one of my parents. "You know there are riots over there right now, right?"

  "Well, if they hadn't been blinded by glamour, they might not have elected a Dark Fae half Drow Elf to the presidency!" I shook my head. "Why hasn't a Guardian taken him out yet?" I asked.

  "They can't get close enough. Besides Drow Elves are really hard to kill, even halflings like him are difficult to kill, you have to actually decapitate them, or they heal. You just stay with your class and you'll be fine. No wandering off on your own, missy," my dad said, as if I were five.

  "Mon amour, she's seventeen, a shifter with the power of the Fae. I do not think our daughter is incapable of taking care of herself." My mother, who I often called, Maman, laid a hand on Dad's shoulder and shook her head at him, frowning.

  Dad sighed. "I know but—"

  "I wish you would let me train like you and Mom did. I'm not a little kid anymore."

  "That was different, there was a lion who wanted to kill me—" Dad started in on the story.

  "We know!" Ronny, Hunter, and I all groaned.

  Daire and James laughed.

  "Dude, when did we turn into our parents?" James asked, looking at all of us. "We're old!"

  Daire laughed even harder as tears streaked down his cheeks.

  "It's not that funny, dude." James frowned at him.

  Daire calmed down and said, "You don't even know what old is! Talk to me when you hit a hundred!" He grinned.

  "Welcome Goblins and Friends to the first annual Goblin Rodeo!" Gareth announced from the center of the arena. "First up, we have barrel racing!" He strode out of the arena with a cowboy hat between his floppy green ears and over to his wife, Lindsay, who was looking Goblin chic in a ruby red dress and heels.

  I waved to Aunt Elu, Uncle Thomas' new wife, who sat next to Lindsay, her best friend. She rose from her seat, said something to Gareth and Lindsay and pointed to us. Gareth grinned, his sharp pointed teeth bared in greeting. Aunt Elu came over and joined us for the first event.

  The crowd consisted of more than just us and the Goblins, there were other Fae in attendance as well, mostly from the Spring and Summer Courts as well as several nobles from the Light Kingdom.

  "What events are Uncle Thomas participating in?" I asked, looking at Aunt Elu.

  "The only event he's not doing is the hellhound racing, so he should be coming up here pretty quick."

  "He's going to ride a chimera?" I asked, my eyes wide.

  She shook her head. "I know, scares the poo out of me, but they defanged the tails, so at least if he gets bitten it's no longer venomous. Trust the Goblins to come up with this crazy version of a rodeo. You know my brothers are here giving pointers? Dad forbad them from riding though." She grinned. "They helped come up with the course. Gareth wanted to make it more exciting than what he called 'plain barrel racing'. Hence the added obstacles and the double eight pattern instead of the clover leaf."

  "Next up, Thomas Draco on Madden!" the announcer interrupted us.

  A flare went off and Uncle Thomas shot out of the gate on a giant black horse with eight legs. It raced around the arena, zooming past barrels, and jumping over obstacles as we all cheered. As he and Madden skidded to a stop, Aunt Elu stood up and catcalled, "Way to go, Kolowisi!"

  Uncle Thomas bowed from atop Madden and blew her a kiss. Madden also took a bow, stretching his front legs out in front of him and dipping, much to the delight of the crowd. They trotted out of the arena as the next rider was called.

  I looked up at the scoreboard and saw that Uncle Thomas had been the fastest so far. "Think he'll stay there?"

 
Aunt Elu shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. I've been watching them all train and there is a Goblin who was faster the other day, so we'll see."

  "Who?"

  "I think his name is Stiel. He's riding Nightmane and I can tell you, Nightmane is a beast, so fast, seriously."

  Three more riders went and then Stiel's name was called. He was good looking, well good looking for a Goblin. Taller than Gareth, and muscular, but had the same jet black hair. "Is he related to Gareth?" I asked.

  Aunt Elu nodded. "His cousin," she replied as Stiel and Nightmane flew around the course at a lightning speed.

  I glanced at the scoreboard as he stopped. He'd beaten Uncle Thomas by a tenth of a second. "Well, damn."

  "Watch your language, brat, little ones about," James said, nudging my shoulder.

  I sighed. "Sorry. He just got pushed to second."

  "Well, all the events get tallied so while he lost this, he might still pull it out and be on top at the end. He does lasso better than Stiel, it will probably come down to the two of them," Aunt Elu explained.

  The barrel racing finished, and they moved on to chimera riding. Uncle Thomas drew Bourkhar, one of the tougher and bigger chimera. The gate opened and Bourkhar pushed out and started bucking, trying to toss Uncle Thomas off of his back. Bourkhar's snake tail whipped around and caught Uncle Thomas' arm, attempting to bite him, but he still held fast to Bourkhar's lion mane. The chimera let loose a breath of fire, which didn't worry me too much, Thomas was a fire dragon, so it wouldn't hurt him. There was no saddle for the chimera, they were all riding bareback on the lion-like body. Uncle Thomas was sitting in the middle of the broad back, one hand holding onto the mane below the goat horns. The chimera leapt up in the air about twenty feet, and swung to the left and then the right, trying to dislodge him and fling him to the ground. Finally, Bourkhar spun in tight circles, and dumped Uncle Thomas from his back.

  "Uncle Thomas!" I cried as he fell, but I needn't have worried. There were a couple of Fae off to the side, sitting on the railing working air magic to keep him from getting hurt on his landing. "Who are they?" I asked.

  "Senthean and Nisnus Windsinger. They're Sylphs from the Summer Court. Thomas asked them if they'd be willing to help out with the rodeo and they agreed," Aunt Elu answered.

  I turned to Mom and Dad. "Do you know them too?"

  Mom looked at Dad and shook her head. "Non, I do not think so. Mon amour?"

  Dad nodded. "I think I remember them coming to our engagement party, but we didn't really meet them."

  "There were a lot of Fae there that night. It is hard to say," Mom agreed.

  "They are always very helpful, when you need them," Uncle Daire said. "They tend to stick to the Summer realm though and rarely venture into the mortal world."

  While we spoke, several more riders had come and gone, so far none had stayed on as long as Uncle Thomas, not even Stiel. As the day wore on, we watched more wannabe Goblin Cowboys try their hand at chimera riding, manticore riding, which was almost as dangerous as the chimera, and then the hellhound racing. Finally came the last event, peryton roping.

  Uncle Thomas was fourth in the line up behind Stiel. Stiel sat abroad Nightmane's back and when the shoot opened, he raced out, chasing the peryton, who zigzagged around the arena. He spun the rope above his head like you would see in the old west movies and then tossed it, but it missed the peryton's head and he had to do it again. Even still, he was faster than the previous two contestants at one minute ten seconds. The Goblins all cheered because that moved Stiel into the lead.

  "Will they get upset if Uncle Thomas beats him?" I asked, looking at Aunt Elu. The Goblins had been pretty vocal for Stiel, and less so for Uncle Thomas, so I had to wonder.

  "They always cheer hardest for their fellow Goblins, but they enjoy a fair competition. As long as no magic is involved, they will accept it if Thomas wins." She smiled.

  I nodded as the announcer called out Uncle Thomas' name. He and Madden zipped out of the shoot and tore off after the peryton. Uncle Thomas kept the lasso at his side, twirling it, eyeing the peryton and as it swerved to the left, he let the lasso fly, landing around the peryton's neck. He jumped from Madden's back, ran toward the peryton and quickly tied its legs. At the buzzer, he'd accomplished the task in fifty-nine point nine seconds. Over ten seconds faster than Stiel.

  The stadium was quiet for a moment, but then a boisterous chorus of cheers went up and I was relieved. The peryton was quickly released and herded back into its pen. With a bit of magic, the center was reset for the awards ceremony.

  Gareth and Lindsay walked toward the stage. He left her to the side and moved to the center podium and said, "What a fantastic show! My butterbunny just loved it!" He blew a kiss to Lindsay. "Now for the awards! We'll start with individual awards for each event and then the awards for our overall winners!" He nodded to those who participated in the eight legged horse barrel racing.

  Uncle Thomas and Madden, Stiel and Nightmane, and Grimshaw and Howler came forward.

  "In third place for this year's eight legged horse barrel racing, is Grimshaw and Howler!" Gareth called.

  Lindsay moved forward with two medals made of bronze. She looped one around Grimshaw's neck and then Howler bowed his head and she looped the other around his large brown neck as everyone applauded.

  "In second place, Thomas Draco and Madden!"

  Lindsay picked up two silver medals and did the same for them, only as she placed the one around Madden's neck, he whiffled next to her cheek, and gave her a kiss. She pet his nose and grinned.

  "None of that now, Madden, I'll not having you stealing my lovely ladybug from me!" Gareth said as everyone laughed.

  Madden gauffed and stomped his front paws enjoying the amusement of the crowd. He bowed and gave them all a horsey grin.

  "In first place, Stiel and Nightmane!"

  The crowd cheered loudly for them as Lindsay arranged gold medals around each of their necks. Nightmane shook his head, showing off his gorgeous mane of hair and preened.

  After the crowd's cheering died down, he moved on to the chimera riding, the manticore riding, and then the hellhound racing and finally the peryton roping. Once those were handed out, he moved on to the overall winners. This time it was Uncle Thomas who got the gold and Stiel the silver. Bronze went to Charx and Ruffian who had beat out Grimshaw and Howler by three points.

  "Thank you, everyone, for joining us at today's first ever Goblin Rodeo! I look forward to seeing you all again at next year's event!" Gareth waved to everyone and then taking Lindsay's hand, left the stage and disappeared into the palace.

  Chapter Two

  "Children, come here," Auberon, our great-great grandfather said, gesturing for me and my brothers to go with him.

  I looked over at Mom and Dad who were deep in conversation with Uncle Thomas and Aunt Elu. They weren't related to us by blood, obviously, so the 'uncle' and 'aunt' titles were honorary. All of those in Mom and Dad's circle of friends had the honorary titles and their children were or would be honorary cousins. The funny thing was, none of them ever really aged, they all pretty much looked the same as they did twenty years ago.

  I supposed my brothers and I, once we stopped growing, would retain our youthful appearances too, Abs certainly had, though these days she tended to look more Fae than mortal, saving her leprechaun magicked ring for visits to the mortal realm. Still it was just weird that our great-great grandfather looked more like our contemporary rather than the hundreds of years old Fae King that he was. He and Dad actually looked a lot alike, especially when Dad took off his own magicked ring. I had one too, but I kept it on for the most part since, unlike Abs, I spend ninety percent of my time in the mortal world.

  "What can we do for you, Auberon?" Hunter asked.

  Auberon never liked being referred to as 'Great-great Grandfather'.

  "I have a gift for each of the three of you," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  "A gift?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.
br />   "It is not from me, exactly, it is from Fairie herself. Come, I think it would be better given away from everyone else." He led us out into the area they used for training. It looked as if we were outside, but I knew better.

  "First, for the first born." Auberon reached into the sky and pulled out a set of thin blades in sheaths. They looked lightweight and easy to wield. "Artium and Caeli." He presented the silver sheathed blades to Ronny.

  Ronny gingerly took them, looking over their decorative and ornate handles and sheaths, laying one down, he unsheathed the other to see a sharp steel blade. "Thank you, Auberon, and Faerie, I shall cherish them."

  Auberon chuckled. "They are not simply to be cherished, though it is good that you will. You will learn to train with them. Do you know what they signify?"

  Ronny, who had never been good at Latin, looked bewildered. He shook his head. "Er, no?"

  Auberon laughed. "Artium and Caeli, Latin for Artistry and Air, my namesake." He smiled. "While your father was gifted Truth and Justice, because that is what Faerie deemed he needed, you, my great-great grandchild, have been gifted Artistry because of your flare for the dramatic, you will be a very skilled swordsman, according to Faerie. And Air because that is the Fae element you have control over."

  "I do?" Ronny looked shocked.

  Auberon laughed again. "Yes, according to Faerie. Each of you, my great-great grandchildren have control of an element. Shall we see what is in store for Hunter?"

  We nodded and looked at him with wonder.

  Auberon reached into the sky again and pulled down another pair of swords. These were different than Ronny's a little longer and their sheaths shimmered in a strange metallic way. They were more like broadswords, heavier than Ronny's. They were just as decorative as Ronny's though, just with different designs. He laid them in Hunter's waiting hands.