Page 73 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“What?” Jasper’s head snapped up from where he’d been trying to assist Binx in making what looked to be a nest of leaves and soft flower blossoms.

“What the hell happened in Ulmenor? A building blows up, and you’ve got a wizard chipmunk in your hair. That might be a normal day for you, but that’s still a bit out of the ordinary for me.”

He swallowed and dropped his gaze to the chipmunk, who was moving things around to where he wanted them. “Oh…yeah…not an ordinary day for me, either.”

“Are you okay? Do Nylian and I need to go to Ulmenor and beat someone’s ass? Or should I step on the rodent for you?”

A series of high-pitched chirps left the tiny furry creature, its short tail standing straight up and twitching in its agitation. With a small grin, Jasper scooped up the chipmunk in one hand and stroked his fur with the other, calming him. “No, that’s unnecessary. I…” He paused and let out a sigh that sounded as if it had come from the very depths of his soul.

I held up a hand to stop anything else from slipping out of his mouth. “Jasper, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just wanted to make sure you and Adeline were okay.”

“No, it’s okay. Bad day.” He huffed a sickly laugh. “Really bad day. We got off the boat okay and across town, where I’d heard rumors of Master Binx. That he was willing to help new wizards in their studies. He wasn’t too keen on taking me, but I convinced him. Unfortunately, Master Binx wasn’t the only wizard in the workshop. There was also Master Kolman. While I was working with Master Binx, Adeline was catching up on some sleep. I ran to the room where my stuff was stored and found him…bothering…my sister. Except she wasn’t kicking his ass like she normally would. I…I…”

“And you were afraid that she was holding back because of you. That she was afraid of ruining your chance to get a mentor,” I filled in for him.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. He put the chipmunk on the ground, only to have it scramble up his pant leg again and rest on his knee. “I’m not exactly sure what happened next. I lost my temper. The building exploded. Master Kolman was gone, Master Binx was a chipmunk, and we were running for our lives.”

“That is an impressive day you had.”

“I never meant to hurt anyone or blow up an entire building,” Jasper said.

I reached out and put a hand on his too-slender shoulder and squeezed. “You did it to protect your sister. Sounds like Master Kolman got what was coming to him.”

“Yeah, but Master Binx got caught in the crossfire somehow, and I don’t know how to fix him.” The young wizard sighed at the chipmunk, who appeared surprisingly happy and chipper for being a wizard trapped as a tiny rodent.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Or maybe we can find another wizard to help.” I dropped my hand from his shoulder and picked up a long stick to poke at the logs in the fire. “For now, he gets the luxury of riding on your head or in your pocket while the rest of us get to walk.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Jasper’s shout had me jumping almost to my feet. As it was, the stick in my hand swung wildly around as I searched for the would-be attacker lurking at the edge of our camp. “You and the prince were trying to sneak into the palace and get information about his brother’s killer. Did you learn anything? Did the king and queen have something to do with Prince Orian’s death?”

I slumped on the log serving as my seat and willed my heart to return to a somewhat normal rhythm. This kid was gonna be the death of me. Or he was just going to change me into some animal. Either way, not good.

“From what we could learn, they had nothing to do with the poisoning. However, it sounded like Queen Sumina wished it had been her. She pointed the finger in Lockeheim’s direction, since that country is where all the world’s poisons are made.”

Jasper made some sounds of agreement as he moved the chipmunk off his leg and to its little nest. “That makes sense. They do have some fabulous poisons, and not just for killing. They’ve got plenty that will raise the dead and control your mind. There’s a rumor they can make a poison that if given to two people at the same time with a drop of their blood in the mix, their souls will even swap bodies.”

“Child,” I groaned and scrubbed a hand across my face.

“What? It’s important for all wizards to be versed thoroughly in poisons, because they’re used in a lot of potions and even some amulets. And thanks to the incredible skills of the poison makers in Lockeheim, most wizards won’t bother to make their own poisons. They’ll purchase them from Lockeheim.”

That didn’t help to put my mind at ease. “So anyone could have purchased the poison that killed Orian. We’re stuck trying to track down the source and from there, locate the person who bought it.”

Jasper shrugged. “It depends on what the poison was. Some are impossible to get your hands on. Some are so rare that even if you are allowed to buy it, you have to be as rich as a king to get it. Do you know which poison it was?”

I shook my head. “Nylian has someone researching it, but he hasn’t heard yet.”

“Nylian hasn’t heard what yet?”

Speak of the devil. Just say his name, and the evil elf magically appears with a brace of rabbits in one hand and a branch of what looked to be blackberries in the other. He handed the berries over to Jasper. “I thought this might work for your wizard master.”

“Thank you! I was worried about what he was going to eat tonight. I don’t think a chipmunk’s digestive system can handle rabbit.” Jasper plucked the berries off one at a time and placed them in front of Binx. As soon as they touched the ground, Binx popped them into his mouth, extending his cheeks out farther and farther until I was barely keeping myself from poking those bulbous cheekies. He was so freaking cute!

It was hard to remember this was a wizard trapped in a chipmunk’s body. I wanted to pet him, but I was afraid if I did, he would bite me or turn me into something the second he was back in his elf form.

“I was telling Jasper the result of our time in Ulmenor,” I answered as Adeline dropped some more wood by the fire.

Adeline straightened and dusted her hands off against each other. “Nylian told me as well. Not a total loss, I guess.”

“It could have gone better,” Nylian muttered.

---