Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
The sun had sunk below the horizon when we finally left the shop, and the three moons glowed in the sky. A few stars twinkled in the galaxy, and my stomach gave another huge growl, but I didn’t care that I was ravenous.
A grin stretched across my face. I took long strides, the comfortable pants adorning my legs moving easily with me. The material was soft and supple, and it billowed in the hot breeze, allowing me to stay comfortably cool.
“I have to say, Elowen,”—Phillen stroked his chin through his mask—“pants suit you.”
“I think so too.” My smile grew even wider. My new loose-fitting cream-colored slacks didn’t constrict my movements. Their simple design allowed me to walk quickly and easily without the hampering material of a heavy gown.
On my upper half, I wore a long-sleeved cottonum top of a rich dark-purple color. The shirt’s collar dipped slightly but wasn’t revealing, and while the material hugged my waist, it wasn’t form fitting. It did match the gem in my collar, though, something the shopkeeper had been enthralled by.
But other than the choker encircling my neck, nothing about my attire was fitted or called attention to me. If anything, the slacks and top were so ordinary that they detracted attention, blending in with the other fae of this small town, which was just fine in my opinion. For once, I wasn’t being stared at. I felt light and buoyant. I felt free .
But even though I wasn’t being ogled, the six black-clad and masked males at my side were another story.
Everywhere we went, fae dipped their heads or bowed in respect. It was entirely different from the reaction they’d gotten in Faewood.
“Do you like the clothes?” Jax asked as we strode through the streets. Several bags of other items I’d chosen were being carried by Guardian Alleron.
I beamed at him. “I do. I’ve never been allowed to wear pants before, but I’ve always wanted to. Thank you,” I added, suddenly feeling shy.
Jax canted his head. “You’re welcome, and in that case, I should get you a dozen more outfits.”
“A dozen?” My eyebrows shot up. “But surely the ones I have are enough.”
He shrugged, and I couldn’t tell from that gesture if he agreed with me or not.
We rounded a turn, and a male wildling rushed out from a small home on the corner. I wasn’t entirely certain of his subspecies since I’d never seen six horns or blue hair on a wildling before, but neither Jax nor the other males seemed surprised by his appearance.
“Dark Raider.” The male bowed deeply and extended something covered in a thin cloth.
Jax’s brow furrowed, and he stopped in the middle of the street. He lifted the cloth slightly, just enough to reveal what was underneath it—a small branch of pure-white bark. A single pale golden leaf sprouted from it.
My jaw dropped. For a moment, I just stared at it. That can’t be what I think it is.
The male thrust it toward Jax. “I’ve been hoping you’d ride through again soon. I’ve been holding onto this in case I was lucky enough to find you.”
Jax carefully fingered the leaf, and a brush of potent magic rose from it, but he replaced the cloth and shook his head. “This is entirely unnecessary...Malimus, was it?”
Malimus straightened, and a broad grin parted his pale lips, revealing large oblong teeth in his snout. “Yes, Dark Raider. I’m honored that you remember me.”
Jax canted his head. “I do. And how’s your daughter?”
Malimus’s entire expression lit up. “She’s fine, fully healed and back to her usual impish self.” He took a step closer to Jax. “I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t found her when you did, she would have died at the bottom of that bolum . ”
“Then it’s a good thing we tracked her as quickly as we did.”
He nodded vigorously. “My Valorus is everything to me. She’s the light of my life.” Malimus bowed again. “Please, accept my gift. It’s the least I can repay you with.”
But Jax held up his hands and shook his head. “I insist that you keep it. Please make good use of it.”
Malimus’s eyes widened. “But I traveled all of the way to Silventine Wood to get this for you.”
Bowan let out a low whistle. “It takes balls to go in that Wood.”
Trivan grunted. “Sure does.”
Lars nodded as well but didn’t say anything.
Jax also inclined his head in agreement. “Which is all the more reason you should keep it. If you were brave enough to venture into the Silventine Wood and come out alive and with that , then you deserve to be the bearer of its good fortune.”
The wildling bowed again and then again. “Thank you, Dark Raider. Thank you. May the stars, moons, and galaxy bless you.”
“And you.”
Jax carried on, leaving the simpering wildling behind. Malimus continued to hold that priceless branch within his grasp while he watched the Dark Raider depart.
My jaw refused to stop resting on the ground. “But, he—” I shook my head. “Did you really just turn down a goldling branch ?”
“I did.”
I gaped at him, but he continued to walk casually through the streets as more fae called greetings to him or bowed reverently.
“But... why ?” I shook my head in disbelief. Most fae would kill to possess one of those. “A single leaf can create ten gold bars from a simple brick or a dozen diamonds from a plain rock.”
“That’s right. Alchemy is possible with that leaf.”
“Yet, you refused it.” I shook my head again, and I didn’t have to turn around to know that Guardian Alleron was likely salivating after that branch. “Why?”
“Because I don’t need it.”
I gazed up at him, but whatever I’d hoped to decipher from his expression was guarded by his mask. “Are you truly so wealthy that you’d turn down that kind of payment?”
“Not all wealth is measured in gems and metals, Elowen.”
“No, but that leaf could buy someone a lifetime of independence.” I worked a swallow. “What I wouldn’t give for a gift like that.”
His gaze cut to mine, his aura beginning to churn, before he glanced briefly at Guardian Alleron, who was still bound at the wrists with Bowan’s magic. Several bags were draped over him from my shopping venture, however.
“Did he never give you fair payment for what you’ve done?” he asked in a low voice. “For all that you’ve sacrificed?”
I twisted my hands. “He gave me an allowance. ”
“How much?”
“Five rulibs per month.” I made sure to keep my focus forward since I could feel Guardian Alleron glaring at me. “But he did other things too. He provided for me. He bought me gowns and jewels, fed me, housed me.” I frowned. “But I never had many rulibs of my own.” In fact, since purchasing that dillemsill, I had next to nothing now.
A low, discontented sound came from Jax, but several giggles and tittering calls shifted my attention forward.
At the doorstep to a home just ahead, three female siltenites stood on the porch. Each was dressed in a colorful yet simple gown that showed off her figure. And all of them gazed at Jax adoringly.
“Good day to you, Dark Raider!” one called. She angled herself, which showed off her svelte waist and long hair.
“It’s always a good day when we see you,” another called, bumping the other female aside, who I guessed was her sister since they shared similar features.
The first female stumbled on the step, then glared at the other one.
The third one draped her arms over the porch’s railing, but instead of gazing at Jax, she eyed Phillen. “Plans for tonight?” she asked coyly.
Phillen grunted and ignored her.
“He might be busy, but I’m not!” Trivan called.
All three of them burst into excited giggles.
We passed the females, and it struck me again how differently everyone was acting toward Jax and his friends in this town.
My frown deepened. “What happened to Malimus’s daughter?”
Jax turned another corner, and more homes appeared as the market fell behind us. “She ventured into the desert, a bit farther than she should have, and fell into a bolum. We were nearby, passing through when it happened, so we helped.”
“What’s a bolum?”
Bowan came up behind me and whispered into my ear, “It’s the part of the Shadow Valley that gets hungry.”
I sputtered a laugh. “Hungry? The desert ?”
“The Shadow Valley isn’t like other lands.” Phillen swung his brawny arms and inclined his head. “Only those who’ve grown up in this region could survive a fall into a bolum, but sadly, most are never able to climb free.”
“Okay, now I’m thoroughly confused.”
Jax’s eyes crinkled in the corners, and I knew he was either smiling or smirking beneath his mask. “Bolums are creatures that live within the desert. They’re part animal, part land. Some days they’re entirely immobile and more rock than alive. Other days they’re quite alert and awake, and those are the days that you want to steer clear of them.”
“Because otherwise they’ll eat you?” I asked with a scrunched-up nose, nodding toward Bowan and his comment about it being hungry.
Lars snorted quietly at my expression .
“Precisely.” Trivan thumped me on the back, and a lock of blond hair peeked out from under his bandana. “Death by bolum is entirely painful and a prolonged experience. Since they wax and wane between being alive and being sand and rock, they can take weeks to digest you. It’s said that some fae are awake and conscious throughout the entire ordeal. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Well, except maybe that pirate arsehole we encountered last summer. I wouldn’t mind throwing him into a bolum.”
Bowan laughed, and I could have sworn Lander’s mouth twisted in a sly smile from beneath his mask.
“And you all saved his daughter from that.” It struck me again that these males might be feared and hunted by the most powerful fae on the continent, but here, they truly were saviors if they’d risked their lives to retrieve a young female wildling from certain death.
A thought struck me, and I cocked my head. “If those here love you so much and you needn’t worry about them calling the kingsfae, then why the disguises? Why not remove your masks entirely?”
The laughter died in the group. But instead of answering, Jax nodded down another lane. “Come. We’ll dine up here.”