Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
By the time the three moons were high in the sky, the galaxy was alight in a myriad of colors, and the hooting and hollering were so loud from below that I wondered how anyone managed to sleep at this inn, Jax still wasn’t back.
I crept to the door, pressing my ear to it to listen.
Nothing.
Nobody stirred outside the room. The only sounds were the loud yells that crept up the stairs from drunk fae below.
I paced back to the bed and lay down. Or rather, I tried to lie down. My large gown made that difficult, but I did my best to heave the opulent skirt out around me, which made the mattress squeak and bounce a few times since it was such a fuss. I loosened a few of the stays too but had to bend and twist to do so. Not for the first time, I cursed the tight corset and bulky design .
Finally settling back, I did my best to relax, but my collar wouldn’t stop vibrating, and the mattress kept squeaking. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out why the bed was so loud. Even though I’d never been privy to such bedchamber activities, it didn’t mean I was entirely na?ve of them.
Grumbling anew, I eyed the door again, and my collar emitted a small zap . “Stars!”
I took several deep breaths, and finally, my collar calmed. Fingers tapping on my thighs, I contemplated what to do. Since Jax still wasn’t back, and he thought he’d sealed the windows and door, it was possible he had no intention of returning tonight. Perhaps he figured I was his secured prisoner who he’d fetch in the morning. Given the late hour, that seemed the most likely option, which meant I would probably be alone in this chamber all night until Guardian Alleron arrived. If he arrived...
Whatever the case, I had a feeling I would be alone for the foreseeable future. Decision made, I heaved out of the bed and thoroughly set to work on my gown. Several minutes and many curses later, I finally had the horrid contraption off me.
I sighed in bliss when the heavy clothing dropped to the floor. Galaxy above, that feels amazing. Dressed in nothing but my underthings and a thin shift, I pulled back the covers and fell between the sheets.
Despite the squeaks, the bed was soft and better than the Wood’s hard ground. And considering so much had happened in the past two days, it wasn’t long before my eyes closed, and exhaustion overtook me.
A hand clamped over my mouth. “Elowen?” a low voice hissed.
My eyes flew open, a scream lodged in my throat, but when familiar eyes and the scent of smoky leather clouded around me, my panic eased. He made it!
The inn’s chamber was dark, although traces of gray light streaked through the window, hinting that dawn was coming.
“Do you understand that it’s me?” my guardian asked.
I nodded behind his palm.
Guardian Alleron removed his hand, and I had the urge to throw my arms around his neck, but his savage and terrifying smile of victory stopped me. He looked positively...sinister.
“You’re not hurt?”
“No, Guardian. Are you?” I eyed his shoulder. A thick bandage was apparent beneath his jacket where Jax’s arrow had penetrated him.
He scowled. “It’s a deep flesh wound, but I’ll live.”
Relief barreled through me, and I threw the covers off me. At the same time, I slid my hand across the bed to the other side.
Smooth covers greeted me. Jax had never returned, just as I suspected he wouldn’t .
That realization hit me at the same time I took in my guardian’s appearance. Guardian Alleron’s face was covered in unshaved stubble, his usual clean-cut appearance gone. He was also dressed all in black, perhaps in mockery of the Dark Raider or simply as a way to hide in the night, but from the looks of the rising dawn sun, that clothing wouldn’t hide him for long.
My guardian crouched at my bedside and hurriedly retrieved my gown. “Get up. We need to get out of here.”
I grabbed the large dress and peered around. “Have you seen him?” I pulled on the silky material with hurried movements and cursed when the voluminous skirt caught on my heel.
“No, but you’re certain it was the Dark Raider who attacked us in the Wood?”
“Yes.”
I finally got the gown on and smoothed it down. My guardian signaled for me to turn around. His movements were rough and jerky as he tightened the stays and did quick work of securing the gown at my back. “You’re sure?”
“I mean,” I said over my shoulder. “I’m fairly certain it was him. He claimed to be the Dark Raider, and he looked like he was. Not to mention he’d been seen in our kingdom the day prior, but I guess”—I nibbled my lip—“I guess I don’t know for certain he’s who he claimed to be.”
Guardian Alleron scoffed. “I highly doubt it was him. The Dark Raider would never be this easy to trick, and I’m starting to wonder if the three-dozen hired hands I brought along were even necessary. I turned back to retrieve them after that dillemsill found me, but now I’m thinking that was also unnecessary and only delayed me further. Not to mention, the cost of so many is extraordinary.”
I bit my lip harder as he finished securing the last ribbon. “I’m sorry. He said he was the Dark Raider, so I thought it best to?—”
“It’s fine. You can do a few extra callings this month to recoup the cost. Now, get moving. We’re going home.”
More callings? Fatigue hit me at just the thought, but then I recalled what else he promised. Home . We were going back to Emerson Estate. I finally had a home, and all of the fantastical stories I’d read as a child had instilled the belief in me that home meant safety.
Soon, I would be back in my bedroom chambers, enjoying my large soft bed, and I would finally be able to relax and soak in my new huge tub. The wardrobe would be filled with silky gowns and endless tulle—even if I hated those types of dresses—but Lillivel would fuss over me the second I arrived, which made up for the clothing I was expected to wear.
For the first time in two days, anxiety didn’t coil my stomach, even if the thought of doing extra callings to fund my rescue made me want to weep. But at least now, I wouldn’t have to fear death.
I was going home .
I followed Guardian Alleron to the door, but when he reached for the door handle, he hissed, and his hand shot to his upper arm.
I laid my palm gently on his forearm, but he jerked back so quickly that my hands fluttered awkwardly before I forced them back to my sides. “I’m sorry. I was just concerned. How’s your shoulder?”
His nostrils flared. “It’s healing. Slowly.”
I made a noncommittal noise just as Guardian Alleron swung the door open and ushered me out. He’d obviously already dismantled Jax’s locking spell from how easily it opened.
I was about to follow him, but I stopped short.
Down the hall, four guards stood in the dark, like malevolent sentries in their black attire. All were large and heavily armed. I didn’t recognize any of them, but they weren’t kingsfae. None of them wore the king’s seal on their arm or had uniforms of brown, turquoise, and white.
Guardian Alleron huffed. “They’re mine. Don’t be concerned. Move , Elowen.”
Hired hands then.
The four males all peered down at me. One of them took in my haphazardly dressed form and gave me a sultry smile.
I quickly hurried past them to follow my guardian, and all of them stalked behind us, their armor clanking softly.
Nobody was in the salopas when we drifted through it downstairs. Neither was anyone at the front door’s desk. The female who’d been reading the book and occasionally checking in guests was long gone. It seemed everyone had retired for the night.
Within minutes, we were outside on the quiet street. Fresh air filled the breeze, and the scent of juniper blossoms carried on the wind. If I inhaled long enough, the sweet smell of wheat also permeated my senses.
Only a few wildlings and one siltenite were walking by on the sleepy lane, yet the second they caught sight of us, they scurried the other way or dipped into alleyways between buildings.
I had a feeling that six enchanted carpets and over thirty armed males outside of the Lemosilly Inn had something to do with that.
“On the carpet, Elowen, the one in the middle,” Guardian Alleron barked.
I hurriedly did as he demanded but couldn’t help but peer around. Confusion filled me when, once again, I didn’t spot Jax or his friends anywhere.
Galaxy and Stars, they left me.
That realization struck me so suddenly that I paused mid-step. Whoever Jax was, he’d probably decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble after all. Perhaps he accepted that since he couldn’t remove my collar, I truly was of no use to him, so he abandoned me in the inn’s chamber and fled.
A wash of hurt filled me, which was ridiculous, but anytime anyone left me, it ripped open the old scar of what my mother had done. Once again, I’d been discarded without a second thought.
Irritation filled me that I was allowing such a male to affect me. He abducted you, murdering innocents in the process, and then left you. Why are you upset by that? Leaving you is a good thing.
Simmering at my stupid reaction, I settled myself onto the center carpet, dismissing the rumbling of my empty stomach while I prepared myself for the long, full-day journey back to Emerson Estate.
Guardian Alleron hopped onto the carpet I rode and nodded toward a male I’d never seen before, then snapped his fingers. “I need a ward. Now.”
The male stood and began to weave his hands through the air while mumbling beneath his breath. A hazy dome appeared around us, visible for only a second before it disappeared.
My eyes widened at the precaution. Guardian Alleron had wards around his estate, but he’d never commissioned one before when traveling.
When the spellcaster finished, my guardian inclined his head. “Let’s go.”
All of the guards positioned themselves on the carpets around us, weapons raised, postures ready.
The carpets, hovering an arm’s length above the sleepy street, lurched forward and then picked up speed.
Wind blew across my cheeks. In the east, the horizon began to glow as the sun crested it. With every second that passed, the eastern sky lit up more, carrying with it a pulse of magic that bathed our realm in the rich essence of a new day.
Normally, I loved sunrises. I loved the feel of our realm billowing around me as the galaxy blessed us with a sprinkling of her magic. The feel of it called to my lorafin abilities, igniting that spark of power within me each day.
But today, all of my concentration lay on the disappearing buildings flying past us.
Within seconds, we careened out of the town and left the swaying wheat fields behind us as we flew up the hill and back into the Wood.
The carpets quickly set on a glided path, hovering above the road and heading south. We were safely on our way back to familiar territory, and we would soon be far away from Jax and his band of raiders.
“Make yourself comfortable. It’ll be a long day.” Guardian Alleron sat beside me, his injured arm cradled in his lap.
The strongly flowing breeze continued to brush against my cheeks, and the scent of the Wood filled my senses. We traveled swiftly, but the carpet abruptly banked left to avoid a group of fae also heading south.
I pushed the stray strands of hair from my eyes as I peered behind us. “Are those...”
“Half-breeds?” Guardian Alleron arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “They are. The Centennial Matches are allowing their kind to compete this time around.” He made a disgusted noise under his breath. “Those competitors are likely on their way to the capital now in hopes of passing the preliminary tests to compete. I’ve seen more half-breeds this week than I care to share.”
Another group of half-breeds. Just like yesterday. I snuck a second glance over my shoulder at the quickly disappearing group. Several of them sported tails, hooves, and other animalistic features, but they also had the builds of siltenites, pointed ears, and features that were distinctly high fae.
Turning back around, I settled into a seated position once more. “I think it’s a positive change that they’re being accepted and welcomed into the Matches, don’t you think? Some have magic like siltenites, and just because they’re part wildling doesn’t mean they’re any less intelligent. What’s the harm in letting them join?”
“You know how quickly they can breed. Any acceptance is repugnant.”
“I know they breed faster than us, but is that truly something to fear?”
My guardian eyed me coolly. “The fact that you think they should be accepted tells me you’re both ignorant and uneducated. Really, Elowen...that’s quite disappointing.”
A rush of shame crept up my neck, and I ducked my head, not commenting on it further.
We careened around another corner, and the Wood grew denser. The trees’ canopy spread over us, blocking out the early morning sun as the dawn’s spread of magic slowly receded .
I cleared my throat. “How’s Lillivel?”
“Anxious to see you. She’s been worried.”
“And—” I swallowed, my throat bobbing. “Mushil, Zale, and the other two guards who died, are their families?—”
“The guards didn’t die.”
I blinked, then blinked again. “ What ?” Surely, I’d misheard him. I saw them die.
“They still live.”
“But they . . . I mean, I saw them . . . How are they still alive?” I sputtered.
“I’m unsure, but all four of them showed up at Emerson Estate right before I left. Each complained of a fierce headache and a bruised chest, but they were all alive.”
It felt as though the wind got knocked from me. Slumping back, I tried to understand how that was possible. “Mushil’s fine?”
“Yes, your favorite guard still breathes.” He sneered. “Although, I’ve since fired him, so you shan’t be seeing him again.” He scoffed. “And now, after rescuing you so easily, I’m certain it wasn’t the Dark Raider who took you. Everyone knows the Dark Raider ruthlessly kills, so the fact that the guards were spared is proof it wasn’t him. And considering how easy you were to rescue, just further proves how wrong you were. They fooled you, Elowen. Most likely, it was a group of cowardly thieves who the kingsfae will execute as soon as they find them.” He gazed down his sharp nose at me. “I thought I taught you better than that? How did you let them fool you so easily?”
I dipped my head. “I’m sorry. He said he was the Dark Raider, and his powerful magic was so...” I sighed, and a huge rush of relief pummeled me that Mushil hadn’t been murdered after all. But how did it appear that he had? Shaking my head, I added, “It doesn’t matter. It’s done and over now.”
Guardian Alleron clicked his tongue, then gazed ahead, but his cold disappointment clouded around me like a cool mist.
Shoulders slumping, my heart suddenly felt heavy. Sighing, I settled back, closed my eyes, and tried to dispel how foolish I felt. Guardian Alleron was right. Jax wasn’t the Dark Raider, and I’d been an idiot to believe my captor.
Another sigh lifted my shoulders, and I tried to get comfortable. It would indeed be a long day. Best to make the most of it.
But just as my mind began to drift to the promise of sleep, I stilled.
Nothing was around us.
No sound.
No movement.
The Wood had entirely stopped .
I bolted upright, my eyes flying open. Trees flew past us, and all of the guards still had their weapons raised. None of them appeared worried, and all seemed normal, yet...
The silence persisted .
I whipped around to face my guardian. “Guardian Alleron! I think?—”
Dozens of arrows abruptly whizzed through the air, their tips glowing with a magical essence. All of them hit the dome encasing us simultaneously.
Explosive magic pummeled the ward. It shattered into millions of glittering green sparks that cascaded all around us, falling in tiny glass shards to the road before disappearing.
I screamed just as the guards roared to one another and began to fire.
A dozen more arrows abruptly rained down on us, coming from everywhere.
Fifteen guards fell at once, tumbling off the carpets just as Guardian Alleron shouted, “The ward! A stronger one, now !”
The spellcaster clambered to his feet, his hands shaking and his face pale. Whispered words tumbled from his lips, but before he could repair the damage that had ripped through his ward, another arrow whizzed through the air and sliced clear through the spellcaster’s throat, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
My stomach lurched when the spellcaster tipped off the carpet. Blood smeared along the carpet’s edges, soaking into the fibers. Behind us, dead bodies lay in a pile, but the enchanted carpet didn’t slow. If anything, it picked up speed.
Tremors shook my entire body, and my magic sang inside me. The collar zapped and shocked me, wrestling my powers into submission, but my darkness tried to rise up anyway, clouding me protectively until the collar electrified me entirely.
Screaming, I fell back when a fresh burn scorched my neck, but the dousing worked. My magic settled back inside me just as the remaining guards jumped from the outer carpets to the inner one that Guardian Alleron and I rode on.
All of the hired guards continued firing even though neither Jax nor his friends were visible. The guards were firing blind, but Jax’s arrows continued to sail through the trees as though a phantom had shot them. And each arrow hit its mark.
Just like the first time. As before, everyone he hit died.
Or did they?
“Where is he?” Guardian Alleron seethed.
Faint hoofbeats abruptly reached my ears, the steady pattering of them growing louder and louder. In a burst of awareness, I understood how their attacks were always unseen.
One of them was using Mistvale magic to hide their appearance until the last moment. An illusion was covering them. Yes! Everything clicked into place. The guards hadn’t died. Whatever coated Jax’s arrows didn’t impale them but instead penetrated them with a potion that likely knocked them unconscious, yet his illusion made it appear that they died. The only arrow that had actually caused harm in the Dark Raider’s attacks had been when he’d shot at my guardian, probably doing so to fool my guardian into believing the others had actually perished.
Stars Above, only a fairy capable of wielding immensely powerful Mistvale magic would be capable of that, which meant?—
“Get down!” I screamed.
But the guards didn’t heed my warning. They continued standing, still firing, completely oblivious to the fact that they were about to be knocked from the carpet.
A burst of movement exploded from the Wood.
Jax, Trivan, and Bowan appeared out of thin air atop three brommel stags. Whatever illusion had been covering them dispelled.
All of them wore black. Their masks and scarves were firmly in place, leaving only their eyes visible, and the glee shining from Jax’s gaze had my stomach tumbling.
Before I could utter another scream, each of them shot three arrows at once from their long bows.
And each arrow struck true.
Nine more guards tumbled off the carpet, but before the remaining guards could fire back, Jax and his friends moved in blurred speed and sliced through them.
Every. Last. One of them.
Their bodies hit the ground with a sickening thump. Limbs splayed out at unmoving, unnatural angles.
“Oh Goddess.” Horror rose in me, making bile rise in my throat. Utter carnage was left in our wake, and my magic again swelled inside me, threatening to rise above my collar’s dousing even though I kept telling myself it wasn’t real. But by the gods and goddesses, it looked real .
Either oblivious to how vulnerable we were or so arrogant he didn’t think they would dare fell him, Guardian Alleron shot to standing and roared, “You can’t have her!”
Posture defiant, the wind whipped around my guardian as he stared down the Dark Raider. Lips thinning, fire elemental magic flew from my guardian’s hands, flames erupting from his palms.
But the second that fire reached Jax, it fizzled out of existence. My guardian sputtered and tried again, but the same thing happened. His magic was no match for the Dark Raider’s elemental power.
My chest heaved. Jax was more magical than any fairy I’d ever encountered, and I knew in that moment, I’d been right. Jax was the Dark Raider—the most feared male in the kingdoms, and more powerful than my guardian would ever be.
Jax wielded his stag to the front of our carpet, and Trivan and Bowan closed in on our sides. The enchanted carpet had no choice but to stop since its magic didn’t allow collisions.
The wind abruptly died, and the Wood went eerily still. Only my ragged breathing filled the quiet.
Heart threatening to jump up my throat, I sucked in breath after breath as I tried to stop my magic from rattling inside me. I clutched my chest while gaping at the three males surrounding us. Stars Above, I need to calm down. I was damned near hyperventilating, and my collar was about to blast me to oblivion if I didn’t regain control .
Guardian Alleron hissed and bared his teeth. “You’re not taking her!”
A sound came from Jax that sounded suspiciously like a scoff. “It’s not just her I’m after.” He slipped off Phillen, his booted feet landing on the road so quietly, it was a faint whisper.
I lurched back on the carpet, yet the Dark Raider’s attention stayed fixated on my guardian. Magic clouded around Jax, then it speared right for Guardian Alleron.
My guardian’s mouth opened, then closed, but no sound came.
Oh, Goddess!
My guardian’s hand flew to his throat. He clawed at his neck, and his eyes grew so round all of the white was visible.
“No! Don’t hurt him,” I cried, and I couldn’t help my whimper when I pleaded, “Please, please just leave us be.”
But Jax’s focus remained on Guardian Alleron. The Dark Raider’s eyes narrowed to slits, and power stirred around him.
In a move too fast for me to fully see, he had Guardian Alleron’s face to the carpet and both of his hands behind his back. Guardian Alleron silently kicked and screamed, but it did no good. In my next blink, my guardian’s hands were bound in a rope of stinging magic. Jax had him entirely restrained, and his Ironcrest magic had robbed my guardian of his voice.
Nobody in the surrounding Wood would have heard a thing .
My heart leaped into my throat. Even though I suspected that Jax didn’t kill as freely as I’d initially assumed, that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. I contemplated running. Contemplated jumping off the carpet and fleeing through the Wood. But from the crazed look in Trivan’s gaze as he watched me, followed by Bowan’s crinkling eyes as he no doubt grinned, I knew they would all relish hunting me down.
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” I yelled.
Jax’s nostrils flared. “Because I need you, Elowen. I thought I made that clear.”
Rage fired through me. Even if all of the guards who had appeared to fall still lived, it didn’t make abducting me any better.
“You’re a monster,” I hissed at Jax.
His attention snapped to me. “No, Little Lorafin. The true monster here, is him .” He shoved his knee into my guardian’s back before hauling him upright.
Twisted pain seared across Guardian Alleron’s features at the rough treatment of his injured shoulder, but Jax didn’t seem to care. He maneuvered Guardian Alleron as though he relished his pain.
Before I could protest or utter a sound of disagreement, Bowan sidled to my side. “Enjoy your night alone, Lorafin?” he asked in a teasing tone.
My head whipped from him, to Jax, and then to Trivan. All three stags also chuffed. “You...you planned this?”
Bowan dipped his head, his earring twinkling in the morning sunlight. He swung his leg over the red stag—Lars obviously—and dropped to the ground. “And it worked out exactly as we hoped.”
Jax grabbed Guardian Alleron and threw him onto Lars’s back. He did it so easily, as though picking up my guardian’s two-hundred-pound weight was nothing.
Only shifter magic gave fae that much strength.
So Jax truly is a shifter too? If that’s the case, that means he wields magic from Stonewild, Faewood, and Ironcrest kingdoms. It seemed too impossible to believe.
My stunned surprise grew as the implications of what Jax being a shifter meant. The male harbored magic from three kingdoms. Three. Stars and galaxy.
But what about the Mistvale magic? Does he wield that too, or does another in his group?
Bowan jumped back onto Lars, landing just behind my guardian. Roughly, he pushed Guardian Alleron forward and tied him to the stag’s neck.
A silent cry of pain opened my guardian’s mouth wide, but none of the males seemed to care.
Once secured, Bowan jumped off of his friend again, leaving Guardian Alleron alone and restrained on the stag’s back.
Both Trivan and Bowan shifted into their stag forms in my next blink, and then the Dark Raider approached me, his aura vicious, his intent obvious.
Even though I knew my attempted rescue had failed, I still kicked out when he neared, almost connecting with his thigh before he dodged.
He tsked , and the magic inside me threatened to rise anew. The collar hummed at my throat, its warning vibrating along my limbs.
Jax eyed the collar, his magic smoldering in his irises. “We ride first, since we need to reach Stonewild, but once we do”—his gaze locked onto my throat—“then I’m dealing with that .”