Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
“You’re brommel stag shifters?” My jaw dropped.
“What gave it away?” the lean, blond male replied dryly.
My mind raced. Animal shifters commonly hailed from Stonewild Kingdom, the kingdom north of us. That possibly meant Jax was from Stonewild. What the kingsfae would give to have that knowledge. As far as I knew, nobody knew what kingdom the Dark Raider came from, although I’d once heard that some thought he was from Mistvale. But that was likely a rumor.
The huge stag that stood before me—Phillen in his shifted form—snorted and pawed at the ground. He was huge . His shoulders easily reached five feet, and his large head rose a good three feet above that. And considering his chuffing noises, I would have bet that the brawny male was laughing at me.
As if to mock my surprise, magic flashed around the other four males, and before I could blink, five brommel stags stood beside Jax.
They were all different colors. Two brown, one deep golden, one auburn, and the last a true red. Their colors obviously coincided with their natural fae hair shades. Each stood tall with broad chests that had thicker, denser, and darker colored hair compared to the rest of their bodies. Powerful haunches hinted at their superior running capabilities, and puffs of dense magic filled the air around them. Impressive antler racks stretched wide and high from each male’s head. They were so big they nearly tangled in the vines that wove and dipped through the Wood’s canopy.
Yet no remains of clothing fluttered to the forest floor. Their black disguises had disappeared entirely, making me think their shifter magic concealed it or perhaps stored their clothes somewhere I couldn’t see.
Whatever the case, my shoulders fell. Goddess, I shall never be rescued.
Brommel stags were some of the fastest creatures in the realm. A naturally born brommel stag, a true animal and not a fae shifter, was known for its speed and ability to outrun any other animal. Most fae who tried to hunt them could never catch one. Not even the Nolus, Lochen, and Solis fae had developed a reliable way to ensnare brommel stags, and only those truly gifted with magic had ever been able to take one down .
Which meant I was entirely in over my head if I’d hoped to slow them.
“Are you a stag shifter too?” I asked Jax.
He made a noise, and I had a feeling he was smirking, but that damned mask covered his expression. “That would be telling.”
Huffing, I aggressively snatched the plate from the ground and began to force the food into my mouth while I collected my thoughts. Since I was apparently going to ride Phillen, that meant I would have an even harder time impeding our journey.
As I finished the dry meal, Jax lifted pack after pack to his friends’ backs until all of their supplies were secured. Long bows were also stored on each shifter, and numerous quivers of arrows were strapped to them. It seemed to be their preferred weapon of choice.
But even those huge bows didn’t appear awkwardly packed on the stags. And none of the males so much as staggered under their supplies’ weight.
Once everything was secure, only Phillen’s back remained bare. With a sickening lurch of my stomach, I realized they truly intended for me to ride him.
Finally done eating, I drank the cup of water, then wiped my mouth.
“Ready?” Jax sauntered toward me.
“Wait.” I held up my hands when he neared .
He paused, staying rooted to the spot several feet away. Once again, his gaze was unnervingly intent.
I chewed on my lower lip, and for the briefest moment, Jax’s gaze dipped to watch the movement, but just as fast, he snapped his eyes up.
“I can’t ride him. I don’t know how to ride.” I made a show of twisting my hands even though my claim wasn’t entirely true. I was fairly versed in riding domals, but I wasn’t practiced in riding any animal bareback.
“You’re worried about falling?”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
He prowled closer to me, and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “No need to be concerned. I won’t let you fall.”
My brows pinched together, and I cocked my head. “You won’t let me—” My eyes flashed wide. “Wait, you’re going to ride on Phillen’s back with me?”
Phillen let out a loud snort, and I couldn’t tell if he was enjoying my horror or if he was as offended as me.
One of Jax’s dark eyebrows quirked up. “Of course, I’ll ride with you. How else can we trust you to stay atop him and not tumble off?”
“Is that how you took me last night? You were riding Phillen?” I didn’t remember many details about my abduction, but I distinctly remembered the feel of an arm sliding around my waist and the memorable sound of hoofbeats.
“Perhaps. ”
I ground my teeth together at another vague answer. “Perhaps?”
But instead of divulging anything further, the Dark Raider nodded toward Phillen. “Enough questions, Little Lorafin. We’re leaving. Now .”
Even though I’d been worried about falling off Phillen, it’d been for naught. Once I was on the stag, Jax straddled the natural groove of Phillen’s back just behind me. My captor’s solid chest and muscled thighs slid snugly against me. And to make matters worse, he also snaked an arm around my waist to hold me in a firm grip.
All breath left me. Stars and galaxy .
I felt every hard line of Jax, every divot, every pulse in his veins, every breath in his chest. All of him was molded to me like a form-fitting glove. Not one inch of my back remained untouched.
My heart throbbed in time with my aching limbs. Sitting like this made my abused muscles scream.
“Let’s go!” Jax called.
I jolted when Phillen abruptly took off at a brisk trot, but Jax’s grip only tightened.
“You can hold onto his mane if you want.” He nodded toward the thicker hair around Phillen’s neck. “Phil won’t mind. ”
Phillen glanced over his shoulder and snorted as he and the other males fell into a single-file line, knees lifting high as they effortlessly pranced through the Wood.
The gait was bumpy and awkward, and each jar of Phillen’s body felt like my arse was slamming into stone. At this rate, I would be black and blue by lunchtime. Not to mention, the pain from the callings roared back a thousandfold.
Phillen’s pace increased, moving from a brisk trot to a slow canter as the stags cut through the thick Wood. A minute later, we reached a trail. A single strip of soil, trampled by so many creatures the footprints were hard to decipher, cut through the Wood.
Each stag stepped onto it and made a single line, nose to rear as they lined up, never once breaking stride.
“You travel on wildling trails?” I somehow managed.
Jax shrugged. “It’s easiest. Keeps the path clear, and nothing tangles our antlers.”
I stiffened. He’d said our antlers . I was guessing that meant he was a stag shifter too.
I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Phillen took off. I lurched backward, hitting Jax right in the chest, but since he was so damned tall, my slamming head missed his face entirely. Pity. I wouldn’t have minded giving him a split lip for what he was putting me through.
The stag’s speed increased, all five of them moving in perfect synchronicity. The realm rushed past me. We were moving even faster than an enchanted carpet, but then a rush of thick magic puffed from the brawny male, and then...we were flying. It was almost as if Phillen was no longer touching the soil, as though he glided along the air, kissing the forest floor in barely discernible flutters.
Phillen and the other shifters moved like the wind, and if not for Jax’s solid form and unyielding arm locked around me, I would have indeed flown right off. But my captor’s strong thighs seemed to cling effortlessly to his friend despite their impossible speed. Not once did his seat falter.
So this is why Jax insisted on being so close.
Wind whipped against my face, and I squinted my eyes against the wind that began to cut into me like needles. Eyes watering, I could barely breathe, the wind was so fierce.
“I can help with that.”
Behind me, a puff of magic emitted from Jax, and the wind immediately stopped.
My hair, still braided thank the Goddess, no longer had wispy strands flowing around my face, and while Phillen continued to move in a blur, the air around me stilled even though the rocking motion of Phillen continued.
“What did you do?” I was too in awe of whatever magic he’d just woven not to ask.
“I created an air bubble around us to stop the wind.”
“You created... Wait, do you have elemental magic?” Perhaps the Dark Raider wasn’t from Stonewild after all. He’d never actually confirmed he was a brommel stag shifter despite saying our antlers , and if he had elemental air magic, then it was likely he was from Faewood—my kingdom.
“Perhaps.”
I rolled my eyes at another vague answer. “So you’re from Faewood?”
He shrugged.
At my throat, my collar rattled when my irritation spiked. I knew I needed to figure out a way to delay us, but Jax’s clandestine responses were getting on my nerves, even if it was for the best that I didn’t know much about him. Less reason to kill me and all if I couldn’t find a way to escape.
Jax shifted behind me. “Why does it do that?”
“What?” I replied distractedly.
“Why does your collar vibrate by your skin?” With his free hand, he trailed a fingertip along the smooth metal.
I stiffened again. “It does that in warning.”
“Warning of what?” His finger continued to trail along my collar, and if I didn’t know better, I had a feeling he was assessing it more thoroughly.
“A warning to not use my magic.”
His finger stopped. “You were just trying to use your magic?”
“No, but lorafin magic typically responds to emotions. I thought someone such as yourself would have known that since you sought me out?”
“I’ve heard that can happen, but I didn’t know you’d just had a strong emotion.” He leaned closer, and his breath tickled my skin. “What was your emotion?”
Every fiber in my body locked up, and I tried to inch away from him, but his arm didn’t budge. “Do you really need to ask? I’ve been kidnapped by the Dark Raider, and I’m currently atop a brommel stag shifter being transported to who knows where. Wouldn’t that elicit a strong emotion in you?”
“You do make a fair point.”
I huffed and tried to make sense of where we were, but the landscape was a blur. In a way, with Jax’s elemental magic enacted, it was like being locked in a void—a rocking chair beneath me, a haze of color surrounding me, and a large male behind me.
It felt as if I’d been transported to an alternate reality, and somehow, I had to figure out a way to stop all of this.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
“Is it truly so bad that you won’t tell me?”
“No. I simply find it’s best if captives know little about what’s happening.”
My insides chilled, and I was reminded that I’d likely end up like Mushil if I didn’t find a way out of this. “I thought you weren’t in a habit of abducting females?”
“I’m not.”
“Yet the words you just uttered claimed otherwise.”
“No, they didn’t. How do you know I wasn’t referring to male captives? ”
“So you take male captives regularly but not females?”
“When I need to.”
The chill in me morphed into annoyance again. “Do you always answer questions this vaguely?”
“Sometimes.”
“What’s everybody’s names?” I asked, switching subjects since our destination was apparently guarded knowledge. “Or should I start calling the others Red, Blond, Brown One, and Brown Two? Oh, and of course there’s Phillen.” I figured there was no harm in learning their names. I doubted they were their real names anyway.
The stag in front of Phillen, Brown One I decided to call him, glanced for the briefest moment over his shoulder. I could have sworn he narrowed his eyes.
Jax pointed to him. “That’s Lander, and the other brown-haired fairy, the one with the earring, is Bowan. The blond is Trivan, and the redhead is Lars.”
“Lander, Bowan, Trivan, Lars, and Phillen.” I didn’t know if I would be able to keep them straight, but at least I had names for everyone.
Jax leaned closer, his thighs tightening around Phillen slightly. “So, tell me more about this collar.”
Since I was currently at a loss for how to slow them down, I replied tartly, “What do you want to know about it? It’s magical. It doesn’t come off, and despite all of this effort you’re going through, I’m entirely useless to you with it in place, so if you change your mind about my captivity, feel free to stop and leave me right here.”
He touched my collar again, and when his fingertip grazed softly against my skin, a shiver fluttered down my neck. “And your guardian? What can you tell me about him?”
I stiffened. “Why do you want to know about him?”
“I’m just curious. He put this on you after all, didn’t he?”
“So you’re saying that you want me to talk while you refuse to?”
“I haven’t refused to talk. Aren’t we talking right now?”
“Right, but you get to ask questions, and I don’t?”
“You seem to have been asking questions just fine.”
“But you don’t answer them, so they don’t really count.”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
A chuff came from the blond, who was named Trivan, if I remembered right. At least someone was enjoying my annoyance.
“Back to your guardian,” Jax said, shifting behind me. “From what I learned, he’s quite wealthy and only recently moved to that estate you were traveling to last night.”
I started. “You researched Guardian Alleron?”
“I did.”
“Yet you didn’t know of my collar?”
A discontented sound came from him. “No, an embarrassing slight on my part, I’ll admit, but what else can you tell me about him? ”
My stomach began to churn. “Um...what do you already know of him?”
“That he’s used you for full seasons to fill his pockets. He’s now rich, conceited, arrogant, and smug since he’s acquired so much. He’s also a native to Faewood Kingdom and has finally secured the status he’s relished since childhood—a name among the nobles with hopes of becoming a favorite of the king. All of this is to secure his ultimate goal, to become an appointed lordling who commands one of your kingdom’s ten Houses, but without you at his side any longer, I don’t see that goal being achieved.”
Without you at his side... My pulse leaped. He’d just said without you at his side .
That had to mean that he wasn’t going to let me go, because if he intended to ultimately release me after his calling, he wouldn’t have said that.
Stars and galaxy .
A part of me wondered if he was even aware of his slip.
Not that it mattered.
Goddess, I must delay them. Now!
I cleared my throat, and my mind raced as I tried to figure out how. “It seems you’ve been watching him.”
“Learning about him would be the more apt description.”
“And all of this was so you could take me from him?”
“Yes.”
My heart beat so painfully that I was certain he could hear it. “And...how did you know that I’d be on that enchanted carpet last night at the time that I was?”
He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Tongues have a habit of spilling secrets when the consequence of not doing so could result in that tongue being removed.”
A trail of ice zinged through me all the way to my bones. The Dark Raider had just said that statement so casually, so matter of fact. As though cutting out tongues was no different from washing one’s hands before a meal.
Or killing a kind guard who was only doing his job. My breath hitched. Or disposing of a lorafin who couldn’t access her magic.
He’s going to kill me. I’m sure of it. Nothing about this situation will end well for me.
And in that moment, an idea came to me at lightning speed.
I knew what I needed to do. It would be to my detriment, but it was the only thing I could think of that could ultimately lead to my escape.