Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Hazy sunlight brushed against my closed eyelids. A pounding headache came next. Groaning, I shifted beneath heavy blankets, then immediately stopped. An ache, so deep it penetrated me all the way to my bones, took my breath away.
“Lillivel?” I croaked.
Someone shifted beside me, and a commanding aura pounded around them. It was someone big and powerful.
Not Lillivel.
My eyes flew open, and my magic immediately flared.
A male dressed entirely in black, including a black mask on his face and a black bandana over his hair, stared down at me. Only his blue eyes and a slit of tanned skin were visible.
For a brief moment, shock rendered me immobile, but the second that wore off, I scrambled away from him. Or tried to. The pile of furs and blankets covering me was so thick, and my gown was so bulky that I could barely get out from under them. Zaps from my collar started just as fast, zinging along my nerves.
The male stared at me, unmoving. His gaze was intent, yet his eyes revealed nothing.
Oh Goddess. Oh, stars and galaxy above. It all came crashing back. Meeting the king. The three callings. Traveling back to my guardian’s estate. My abduction.
And the whisperings yesterday of who’d been spotted in the kingdom.
My captor sat beside me on a log, right next to my makeshift bed. A tent billowed around us, and the soft light penetrating the canvas flaps hinted that it was morning.
Panting, I scurried away and pressed myself against the tent’s far wall, which only put me an arm’s length away from him, but it was better than nothing. The material sagged against my back, but the structure held, not allowing me to roll underneath it and escape.
“Did you sleep all right?” the male finally said, his voice deep yet calm.
Did he seriously just ask how I slept? My heart pounded so hard it hurt, and my magic rattled painfully inside me. I tried to slow my breathing. Tried not to panic until I was a mindless mess, but Goddess, I’d been taken .
“Who are you?” My chest heaved, but I managed to suck in a deep breath and calm my collar slightly.
The male cocked his head. Irises, so blue they resembled the Adriastic Sea, glittered in the dim sunlight as he continued to assess me. “I’m someone in need of your services.”
“In need of me?” I recoiled and quickly assessed my clothes. I was still dressed. Not ravished. At least, I didn’t think I’d been. Nothing between my legs felt sore.
A rising pulse from his aura filled the tent. “Not those kinds of services. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I scoffed and replied in a trembling tone, “Says the male who took me against my will and drugged me to sleep.”
His ebony eyebrows slanted together, and it hit me that since I could see his eyebrows, I knew he had black hair. “I never drugged you. You passed out.”
I sat rigidly, and my collar vibrated repeatedly at my throat. My entire body began to shake. Shivers racked up and down my limbs. I was losing it. About to panic.
He held his hands up, and his tone turned slow and cautious. “Again...I’m not going to hurt you.”
But my lorafin magic coiled and writhed more, threatening to rise and come to my bidding, yet if I didn’t get myself under some semblance of control, I wouldn’t have just this male to contend with. I would have the pain of the collar’s full dousing effects as well.
Inhaling more deep breaths, I endeavored to steady my nerves. “Tell me who you are, not your reason for taking me.”
He quirked an ebony eyebrow. “All right, my name’s Jax.”
Jax? Breaths still coming too fast, I studied him. He wore all black, from head to toe. Black, black, and more black. The perfect color for a nighttime raid. And the reason he’d been named the Dark Raider by the kingdoms.
But he’d just called himself Jax, not the Dark Raider. This male could be an imposter pretending to be the Dark Raider.
I forced myself to take another deep breath and asked as calmly as I could, “What do you need my magic for?”
“You’re a lorafin, are you not? I need you to find someone for me.”
“Then why didn’t you just request that of my guardian? Guardian Alleron would be more than happy to lend my services if you paid him.”
He growled, the low sound filling the tent. “I don’t pay slave guardians.”
I scoffed. “So, you abduct females instead?”
“Not usually.”
The slight twinge of amusement in his words made me pause. I studied him again, waiting for something—I didn’t know what. But despite his wry tone, I was convinced something horrible was about to happen. Him lunging at me or perhaps striking me. This male had attacked us after all.
My heart twisted when I recalled the events of last night. Mushil was dead because of this male. Perhaps my guardian was too. Another rattle came from my collar, and I sucked in a hasty breath.
No, Guardian Alleron’s fine. He’s not dead. It was just a flesh wound. He’ll be fine, and I’ll find my way back to him.
But Mushil had definitely passed to the afterlife. Sweet, uncomplicated Mushil. He’d never been anything but kind to me. Pain at that loss rose up in me so sharply that a small mewling sound emitted from my lips.
Jax cocked his head again, his brow furrowing.
Pulse leaping more, a moment of fear hit me as we stared at each other. This male didn’t know that I couldn’t do what he wanted. I had no way of finding whomever he sought, not with the collar in place. Because without my guardian’s adaptor to loosen it, I couldn’t access my abilities. And perhaps because of that, Jax would dispose of me as easily as he’d done Mushil.
Or maybe he’ll let me go if he knows.
Hope surged through me, and I opened my mouth to tell him about my restrictive collar, but a noise outside the tent stopped me.
Footsteps.
They were soft, barely detectable, but since they were right behind me on the other side of the tent, I heard them faintly.
Tensing, my limbs locked in place when whoever was circling our tent went round to the other side and flapped open the tent’s canvas.
Another huge male entered.
My eyes bulged. The new male was dressed the same as my captor. All-black attire and a concealing mask and scarf. My belief that my abductor could be an imposter impersonating the Dark Raider slipped down a notch.
“Ah, she’s awake.” The second male lumbered into the tent, taking a seat beside Jax. “Did you have a nice snooze, lovely?”
I recoiled. “Who are you ?”
The newest male laughed, the sound low and deep. Unlike Jax, he didn’t have blue eyes or black hair. From the looks of it, his hair was auburn, given the color of his eyebrows and his eyes were brown. “A new friend.”
I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to edge farther away from both of them.
Jax raised a hand. He had a large palm, long fingers. Working hands. This male didn’t sit on his arse for a living, that was for certain. “Phillen, if you would give us a minute?”
Phillen slapped his knees and rose. “Apologies, Jax. Just thought it would be best to get moving, and when I heard her talking, I thought I’d come remind you of that.”
Jax sighed, and an edge of irritation slipped into his tone. “I’m aware. A minute, if you would.”
“I’ll ready the camp.” Phillen ducked out of the tent without another word.
My heart began to pound again. Camp? He’d said camp , which indicated that there was more than one tent erected, which could only mean there were other fae in this group. I listened again through the tent’s material, but other than Phillen’s retreating footsteps, which grew silent surprisingly quickly for such a large male, I didn’t hear anything other than the normal buzzing, chirping, and trills of the Wood.
Which left me to believe that these males were no strangers to prowling around unbeknownst to others. Not good.
I wrapped my arms even tighter around myself. “So, Jax...who exactly are you?”
My captor placed his bent elbows on his knees and leaned forward. His shirt stretched across his shoulders, and a wave of his aura brushed against me, heaving and probing. I shivered. This male held power. Immense power from the feel of it. “Since you’re already aware of my name, you may keep calling me Jax, or if you prefer, you could call me the Dark Raider.”
My heart jumped into my throat. Rapid breaths made my chest heave, and my power swelled, getting a vibration from my collar.
Eyes wide, I studied him again, looking beyond his black attire. Silent attacks. Flies like the wind. Brutally violent raids that are practically unseen. Every whispering I’d heard throughout the kingdoms about this male came careening back to me.
And they perfectly described my abduction.
It was him.
“Given the panic on your face, it looks like you’ve heard of me?”
“Everyone’s heard of you.” I couldn’t say more. My mouth had gone dry, and my pulse throbbed in my temples. All the kingdoms knew of the Dark Raider—the vigilante who ruthlessly stole riches from noble or rich fae that were taking more than they should, and giving those riches to the poor. Murder wasn’t above him. Gruesome murder if the stories were to be believed. And given what he’d done to Mushil, those stories were true.
Despite that, the poor saw him as a savior. So many underprivileged rooted for him even if the rich saw him as a nuisance who needed to be captured and executed.
I scoffed. And to think just yesterday, I’d been silently cheering for him. So foolish.
“Are you going to kill me?” My voice sounded breathless, thready, but it felt as though I was gasping for air. Another vibrating warning came from my collar.
He sighed. “No, Elowen, I’m not going to kill you or hurt you. I simply need your magic.”
My spine snapped into a rigid line. “How do you know my name?”
“I know many things about you.”
For a moment, I sat dumbstruck. The Dark Raider knows me? I tried to comprehend that, but my damned collar kept rattling. I concentrated on taking more deep, steady breaths and managed to get out, “You truly only want me to find someone for you? That’s it? That’s the only reason you took me?”
A flare of magic simmered around him, almost as though he was irritated by my fear. “Yes.”
Another rush of dizziness swept through me, except this time, it was one of relief, even if I was a fool to believe him.
I released a breath and licked my lips. Stars, my head was pounding , but if he truly wasn’t going to hurt me, then it was best he knew now that I couldn’t help him. He might just let me go. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. You’ve taken me for naught. You might as well release me to Guardian Alleron now and find another lorafin.”
He snorted. “You act as if your kind are easy to come by.”
“Surely, there’s another somewhere in the kingdoms.”
“On the contrary, I believe at the moment you’re the only one.”
I am? For a moment, I couldn’t reply. I knew my kind were rare, but I’d never known an actual count had been done on how many of us were currently alive. Despite Jax’s admission, I drew myself up more. “Regardless, I can’t help you.”
“I doubt that. You just don’t want to.”
“It’s true.” I pointed to my collar. “You would have to remove this for my magic to work, and you can’t do that.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer. A hint of his scent, a spicy fragrance that reminded me of night, pine trees, and darkness, rolled into fire, billowed against my senses. Strangely, his scent was incredibly appealing.
The Dark Raider reached out and ran a fingertip along my collar’s edge. A pulse of magic tingled against my skin, and I knew it hummed along his as well.
His eyes narrowed more. “What is this?”
“It’s how my guardian controls me. But without his adaptor loosening the collar’s ability to suppress my magic, I can’t access my lorafin powers enough to help you. Truly, I can’t do a calling for you and find whom you seek.”
“You’re telling me this isn’t simply a necklace?”
“No, it’s not. The collar’s magic keeps me caged. Only my guardian’s adaptor can release its hold on me.”
His finger dropped, and his eyebrows drew sharply together. “Where’s the adaptor?”
“My guardian has it. He never parts with it.”
Jax fingered my collar again, running both hands along the top of the smooth metal, then around to the back. His skin felt like fire on mine. Heat emitted from his hands, and my cool skin greedily soaked up his warmth despite also wanting to recoil.
He finally leaned back, taking his blessed warmth with him. “If I cut this off, could you access your magic?”
“Cut it off?” My eyes flashed wide. “You can’t do that. The collar’s magic won’t allow it, and I would need time to prepare for such an event even if you could.” I shuddered, thinking of what I’d done as a child. “It’s not to come off until I’m thirty summers old. And when that day comes, I’ll need to be fully prepared for my magic being entirely loose.”
Jax eyed me again, his carefully assessing gaze growing so intent it was hard to maintain eye contact. “When was the last time your guardian removed this collar from you?”
“It’s never off me.”
“Ever?”
I shook my head, thinking back to my childhood, to the act that had taken place before this collar had been locked on me. “No. Never. I’ve worn it since I was very young.”
“If your guardian were to remove it now, how would he do so?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Truly, I don’t. He’s never taken it off or tried to remove it from me before. I’m telling you. I can’t stress enough that I’m of no use to you. Please, just let me go.”
“I disagree. This is simply a hurdle I didn’t foresee.” The Dark Raider abruptly stood and peered down at me, his azure eyes piercing.
I tilted my head back and back. He was tall, taller than Guardian Alleron and probably taller than his friend, Phillen. Broad shoulders stretched his shirt. Strong thighs filled out his black pants. Yet he was lean, his waist toned. Everything about him preceded his reputation. He looked like a killing weapon harnessed in fae form.
He tapped a finger on his hip. “We’ll ride for the day, and I’ll sort out this slight problem in the interim while you rest and prepare for my calling.”
I cocked my head. “You know that I need to prepare?”
“Of course. You just did three callings yesterday, which means you’ll need several days to recover before you can do one again. Am I wrong?”
Startled, all I could do was stare, but after a moment I shook my head. “Um, no, you’re correct. ”
“Then in the meantime, we’ll ride now that word’s no doubt reached your king that I’ve taken you.”
I pushed to a stand, wincing when my entire body ached. But that was the least of my concerns since it didn’t appear he was going to let me go after all. “Where are we going?” I winced again when another slash of pain from yesterday’s callings cut through me.
A groove appeared between his eyes, and he looked me up and down. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head and forced my limbs to relax.
When I didn’t say anything further, he added, “There’s food outside. You’ll eat, do whatever other business is needed before we mount, and then we go.”
I took a step toward him just as he reached the tent’s door. “But go where?”
Instead of answering, he slipped out of the tent, the early morning sun shining upon his back, and reality hit me that I wouldn’t be returning to Emerson Estate anytime soon.
If I ever did.