Queen of Fate (Fae of Woodlands & Wild #3)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

The second the supper meal was over, Jax was up from his chair and striding toward me. He ignored everyone else, even when some of the House nobles tried to engage him in conversation on his way past.

His focus had settled on me, his intent clear, and from the rising tide of anger in his aura, it was apparent he wasn’t happy with his parents’ treatment of me.

I sighed. I wasn’t exactly happy about it either. They’d ignored me all night and had sent sharp looks to any House that had tried to engage me. Their snub hadn’t even been subtle.

It’d reminded me of what Jax had told me of them. He’d suffered abuse at his father’s hand, and his mother had always turned a blind eye to it. These fae were to be my future family despite that. Granted, I’d never known a loving family either, but the Stonewild royals certainly weren’t a family I would have ever chosen willingly.

Yet, they were still the king and queen. They were still Jax’s parents, as much as I didn’t like it. So, not wanting to make a scene, I bid goodnight to the girl I’d sat beside—literally the only fairy who had talked to me—and took Jax’s outstretched hand. His warm, smooth palm closed over mine, and his thumb brushed against my knuckles.

Everyone watched, and a hush fell over the hall.

Stomach tumbling, I rose from my seat.

At the front of the table, the king and queen were still sipping their wine, but their gazes tracked our movements. The slight flare to his mother’s nostrils and the king’s curling lip told me they were not impressed with their son’s behavior.

But Jax said loudly enough for everyone in attendance to hear, “Elowen? May I escort you from the hall back to my tower?”

His devotion was so fierce. So purposeful. My mate bond hummed with love, and his lips curved in a satisfied smile.

Despite the royals’ rebuff, we would find a way to make his parents accept me. But that obviously wasn’t happening anytime soon.

I dipped into a curtsy and snagged a quick look at Alec, Bowan, Lander, and Trivan. They were still seated, but I had a feeling eventually they would all make their way out to join us at ten when we met with Quinn.

Fatigue made my legs feel heavy when Jax and I walked from the hall, but the second we were released from prying eyes, the prince stopped and tugged me into a dark corner.

“Gods, my love. I’m so sorry. It was atrocious how my parents treated you.” His aura billowed around me, and his arms slipped around my waist. “Please forgive me for allowing that.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t allow anything. We expected as much, right?”

He huffed. “It doesn’t make it any better.” He brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “Are you going to tell me now what’s going on with you or why I found you outside earlier when I could have sworn you’d been walking at my side on our way to supper?”

I nodded. A chill swept over me at what I’d done, but then I reminded myself that nothing adverse had happened. I’d simply used my lorafin magic to the extent of my capabilities. Nobody was any the wiser. And no innocents had been harmed.

I squeezed his hand and tugged him back to the center of the hall. “Let’s go to your tower. This conversation is best held behind a warded and locked door.”

My eyes were drooping so badly by the time I finished telling Jax everything that had happened in the past six weeks that I was nodding off.

We were in his suite, and I was lying on his bed. Jax, however, jumped up from where he’d been sitting beside me and began to pace. “Guardian Alleron broke free and reported me to the kingsfae, and all of us were arrested and likely to be executed?”

I nodded. “His accusations worked, and the kingsfae began an investigation. I don’t know all of what they uncovered, but they said they had irrefutable proof. Your trial was still ongoing when I twisted fate, but both Lars’s and Phillen’s had ended. They were set to be executed the week following. There was no way to free any of you, so I did the only thing I could think of to ensure your freedom.”

“Gods.” Jax raked both hands through his hair. Behind him, the night sky shone through the window. “ I did that to you. I’m the reason you had to go through all of that agony, and spend all of those weeks on the Isle of Song, and change the course of our realm, putting yourself at risk in the process.”

“What? No, you didn’t.” I straightened more from where I lay on his bed. “You didn’t do anything to me. My guardian caused that mess. Well, him and Lady Aerobelle.”

Jax returned to my side, his brow furrowing as a look of pure anguish covered his features. “No, Elowen, as much as I would like to blame the both of them too, I can’t. If I wasn’t the Dark Raider, none of that would have happened. It’s exactly what I’ve always feared—that I would be caught, and you would be the one to suffer because of it. It’s why I knew I needed to let you go when we first met.” He ran his finger along my cheek. “But I was too weak. I couldn’t let you go.”

I forced myself to shake off my fatigue and face him more. “I don’t want you to let me go. If needed, I would twist fate a hundred times over to save you.”

A low snarl rumbled in his chest, and he jumped up from the bed again. “No, that’s never going to happen. I will never put you in that position again.” His movements grew more agitated, his strides even longer.

“What are you saying?”

He paced a few more times, then returned to my side, sitting on the bed again, but energy streamed out of him. “I’m saying that I think the time has come for me to no longer be the Dark Raider.”

My eyes widened. “Are you serious? But you’ve been doing it for so many summers. It’s who you are. It’s how you feel you’re making a difference and helping others.”

“True, but I’m also a crown prince. There are other ways I can help those in our kingdoms who don’t have a voice. It’ll be harder and require more political dealings and will probably have fewer rewarding payoffs.” His look turned dark, and I couldn’t help but think that he was imagining what he’d done to Lordling Neeble. “But if that role puts you at risk, I’m hanging up my mask tonight.”

My chest tightened, and his love for me flooded toward me on our bond. “You would really do that for me ?”

Blazing devotion shone in his eyes when he met my gaze. “I would do anything for you, my love.”

I lay back, and he followed me. His large body pressed into my side.

“Whatever made you become the Dark Raider anyway?” I asked. “You told me once that something specific had set it off. What was it?”

A sad smile lifted his lips. “It was Bastian.”

“Your brother?”

He nodded. “Seeing how my father treated him, watching him struggle, and knowing there wasn’t a greater life for him”—he paused—“it made me feel hopeless. I couldn’t do anything to change that, so I thought of things I could change. I may not be able to change the laws as a prince, but someday I’ll have more sway as the king, but in the here and now, I could take action if I developed a plan to avenge those who had no voice.”

“That’s what brought it on?” Of course, now that he’d voiced it, it made sense. Jax loved his brother so fiercely. I could only imagine how gut-wrenching it would have been for him to see his brother mistreated so egregiously season after season.

“But now, I’ll find another way.” Jax traced his finger along my jaw and down my neck, then kissed me softly.

“You’ll really give it all up? Just like that?”

“For you? Yes.”

“But what about everyone else in your band? What if they want to continue?”

He shrugged. “I’ll ask them, but I highly doubt they will. Several have been having second thoughts about it, especially Phillen, and it was me who was the driving factor behind it to begin with. If I tell them I’m done, my guess is they’ll all follow suit.”

He kissed me again, and I closed my eyes, savoring his taste and feel. He rumbled in pleasure and kissed along my neck. “My mate. So strong. So fierce. You never cease to amaze me,” he murmured. “You twisted fate for me. All because of your love for me.”

“And I’d do it all again,” I whispered. I arched into him, loving the feel of him after being parted for so long, but I pulled back, placing my hands on his chest. “But what I did isn’t to be taken lightly. I learned that much on the Isle of Song.” A heartbeat of fear pulsed through me. “And if you’re going to change your ways and no longer be the Dark Raider, it’s important that I change too. I can never twist fate again. It’s incredibly dangerous to do so and could carry lasting effects that I can’t foresee. Not to mention, if anyone were to ever find out that I’ve already done it once, I would be arrested.”

His nostrils flared, and his aura rose in agitation, but I pushed on.

“Having the ability to do what I did...that’s exactly why I was allowed to be enslaved. The amount of power I wield in the Veiled Between, and now being able to command the semelees fully, it’s not natural, and it scares fae. It’s not unlike how half-breeds are treated. They’re punished for just having the potential to be powerful and able to breed faster than siltenites. Imagine the fear fae would have if they knew what I’d just done.”

A thunderous expression grew on his face, and Jax’s aura wrapped around me. “Their fear is their problem. The gods gave you that much power for a reason, and anyone who tries to control you because of it, or hurt you, will meet the end of my blade.” A glow filled his irises, and his potent protectiveness swirled around me and strummed along our bond.

“That’s all good and well, my love, but if the supernatural courts ever found out?—”

“They won’t .” He ran his hand down my side, cupping my waist and pulling me closer. “The only fairy who’s truly a threat to you is your guardian, and I still have him, which means that I can do what I want with him. But nobody knows that you twisted fate, only you and me, and we’ll keep it that way. We tell no one what you did.”

“You’re not going to tell your friends?”

“No, not even them.” He kissed me again, his lips firm and warm. “The less that know, the safer you’ll be.”

I was breathless by the time he finally pulled back. “What are you going to do with Guardian Alleron?”

He smiled, the look dark, but his eyes gleamed. “Consider it my last act as the Dark Raider.”

I held my breath, certain that my guardian’s death was coming. But not an ounce of me cared. After all, in my initial reality, I’d killed him myself, and I had yet to regret it.

“Meaning...” I said, waiting for him to continue.

Jax ran his hand up my side again, his fingers dancing across my skin. “I’m not going to end him, my love. Death is too easy of a punishment for all that he’s done to you.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“That’s a very good question.” He glanced at the clock. Ten bells were nearly upon us, and night had fully set in. The three moons glowed in the sky, and our galaxy was awash with color.

“I’ll talk with the boys about that tonight, and we’ll work out a plan.” He leaned down and kissed me again. My body thrummed, and he hardened against me, but he still pulled back. “As much as I want to rut with you here and now before I meet with them, you look beyond exhausted, my love. And you’ve been through so much, more than you should have ever had to deal with. Go to sleep. By tomorrow, this will all be fixed.”

Exhaustion claimed me so fully that despite wanting to join Jax and our friends, I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes open. A dreamless, heavy sleep had pulled me under all night, but I awoke in the morning to Jax’s heavy arm around me.

Soft puffs of his breath filled my ear, and the distant morning bells in the capital filtered quietly through the window.

It was just past seven. I’d slept like a stone, so exhausted from commanding the semelees and the chaos of Jax’s arrest and the past six weeks that I’d been dead to the realm.

Stretching, I rose. Or rather, I tried to.

Jax’s arm tightened around my waist, his fingers dancing across my skin. I thought he’d been asleep, but his aura strummed higher with every breath.

“Good morning, my love,” he whispered in my ear.

“You’re awake?”

“I have been for some time. I didn’t want to disturb you, but now...” A smile entered his voice, and he lifted the hem of my shirt and splayed his palm across my belly. Warmth billowed from his body, and he shifted closer until his broad chest brushed my back.

I snuggled into him, loving the feel of his heat taking the morning chill away. And loving that he was here with me and safe . I’d been dreaming of this moment for so long. Aching for it. At times during the previous weeks, I thought it’d never come true.

“Stars, I want to wake up to you every morning,” I murmured.

He kissed my neck, then nipped at my skin. Behind me, he hardened, growing thicker and longer with every breath, and I pushed my backside into him. A low growl rumbled his chest. “You will. From now on, this is where you wake. In our bed. With me.”

“Where’s Guardian Alleron?” I asked quietly, my eyes closed when his hand trailed across my skin, over my hip, and down my thigh. His movements were soft and lulling, yet arousing too.

“He’s no longer in the palace.”

His hand danced up my side, and a smattering of goosebumps broke out across my skin. “Where did you take him?”

“Away. He’s currently without a tongue or fingers, and he’s en route to one of the Lochen islands.”

I flipped over to face him, my eyes flying open. “ What ?”

Jax smiled lazily at me, his dark hair tousled and his eyes bright despite the early hour. His chest was bare, his tanned skin beautiful and smooth in the morning sunshine. The scar that had once grazed his skin right below his breastbone, from Lordling Neeble’s attack, was now so faint it was hard to see. “Quinn’s had a few run-ins with the Lochen. He knows some of the more unsavory individuals who inhabit their isles, and he sold your guardian to one of them.”

My jaw dropped. “Sold him? Like a slave?”

“Exactly.”

“But slavery is outlawed, not only on our continent but the other continents too.”

Jax shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just because slavery is outlawed doesn’t mean that it doesn’t occur. Slavery will always exist in the darker parts of society. You just don’t see it.”

His finger trailed along my jaw, and he tugged me closer. I breathed in his scent. Pine and spice tickled my senses, helping to alleviate some of the panic coursing through me.

“So my former guardian is now a slave?”

Jax dipped his head to kiss my neck. “He is. It’s a fitting end for him, don’t you think?” His lips trailed along my collarbone, and with his other hand, he worked my shirt free until it was up and over my head. “My Ironcrest magic has kept his voice robbed and will continue to do so. But even if it wore off—or an Ironcrest spellcaster dissolved it like you said happened initially—without a tongue, he’d be hard pressed to talk, and without fingers, he’ll be unable to write. Besides, as a slave, nobody will listen to him anyway. Even if he could tell the entire realm that I was the Dark Raider, nobody would believe him.”

A shudder ran through me. It was so cruel. So vicious. Yet the fierceness billowing along my mate’s bond told me he’d do it all over again. Jax’s ruthlessness, especially when it came to protecting those he loved, had no bounds. And even though his dark nature might disturb some, it’d never made me feel anything but safe. It was who he was. Dark and light. Vengeful yet capable of breathtaking kindness. He was my mate, and to me, he was perfect.

“I’ll never see him again.” I tilted my head back when his mouth returned to my lips.

He kissed me deeply, then pulled back enough to say, “No, my love. He’s gone for good.”

“And now that King Paevin’s dead, Bastian can return home.”

Jax’s lips found the soft spot on my neck that always caused a stirring to inflame my core. He kissed there, grumbling in pleasure when I gasped. He kissed me again softly, reverently, then nodded.

“Yes, we’ll take Bastian home today and take you back to the Isle of Song so you can report the knowledge they require, and then we’ll return to Faewood to ensure the other half-breeds are freed. They’re still wearing those anklets, although without the king commanding them, I’m unsure what state they’ll be in. But once we save them, we’ll return here, and then we’ll find a way to make my parents accept you.”

I wrapped my arms around him, allowing myself to get lost in his touch. In a flurry of magic, all of my clothes were off, and then Jax’s hard naked body was atop mine.

And when we began to move together, his hard length filling me in the most perfect way, a flicker of hope burned inside me. Maybe, just maybe, all of this would end up as we’d always hoped it would.

Maybe everything finally, truly , would be okay.