Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Since I assured Jax I was fine, he left to check on his brother.
I got up and stretched. The sleep had helped the fatigue I’d felt from commanding the semelee. Not to mention, the revelation I’d had while speaking with Jax had lightened my soul in a way I’d never felt before. Once again, he was right. My guardian was more to blame for what I’d done when I was five summers old than I ever should be.
But one thing still faded my spirit. The collar was slowly restricting my magic again. Twice now it had activated. The first being when I ventured to the Veiled Between right before we found Bastian, causing the semelees to pull back and put a restriction on the number of questions I could ask. And then this morning when I tried to command the semelee back to my side while it’d been wrapped around Bastian. It’d tried to resist and had almost turned its attention on Jax and his friends versus listening to me.
No matter all that I’d done, I was still caged .
I balled my hands into fists and padded across the room.
After changing into clean clothes, I slipped through the door into the bathing chamber. My reflection greeted me in the mirror. Tangled hair fell around my shoulders, and dark smudges lined the skin beneath my eyes.
In the ignited fairy lights, the gold collar on my throat gleamed like a blade.
If only I could rip it off.
I grabbed a brush and vigorously began working it through my hair.
The purple gem at my collar’s center flashed in the light with every swipe of the bristles against my scalp. That magical gem was behind my imprisonment. Each time the gem’s magic had surged slightly, it’d alerted the semelees to my magic’s full potential still being doused, and they’d paused. The collar’s suppressing effects had been minimal, but its controlling pulses had been just enough to jar my magic and cause me to lose my grip on the semelees while tiring me in the process.
Sighing, I finished brushing and pushed the hair from my face. The semelee’s response was a grim reminder that soon, even if it took months to fully activate again, eventually the collar would contain me completely.
I nibbled on my lip and plated my hair into three strands, then began braiding it. In the bathroom mirror, I studied the slight smudges under my eyes again, the only remaining evidence of my venture to the Veiled Between this morning. But my green irises were bright and alert, and my chestnut hair now looked shiny and clean. The cozy emerald sweater Jax had gotten me weeks ago in Fosterton adorned my top, and simple black breeches covered my legs. For the most part, I felt good and strong. It was nothing like I used to feel when I ventured to the Veiled Between with a fully active collar, so I tried to take some comfort in that.
Behind me, Jax’s reflection suddenly appeared in the mirror. I started at his silent approach, which got a roguish grin from him.
“Scared you?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You wish.”
His lips stayed lifted in a crooked smile, and he leaned against the door frame. Casually, he crossed his arms and watched me.
The movement made his chest muscles press against his shirt. Strong biceps were visible when his elbows bent. Dark midnight hair swept across his forehead, and eyes so blazing that they always reminded me of sparkling sapphires regarded me.
My breath caught, and I quickly finished with my hair. Jax’s beauty and powerful physique still totally and completely took my breath away.
Clearing my throat, I tied a ribbon around the end of my braid. “How’s Bastian?”
Jax frowned. “Still sleeping.”
“What about food and drink? Were you able to get him to eat?” I’d been wondering since we took him if he’d consumed anything recently. Bastian certainly couldn’t feed himself in the state he was in.
“Phillen managed to get a cup of water down his throat. It took a while, but at least we know he’s had that.”
“What about food?”
His lips pressed into a line, the fleeting lightness on his face vanishing. “No, nothing yet. We can’t get him to swallow bites, so I’m not sure how we’ll get him to eat.”
I nodded and faced him, then placed my hands against the cool stone counter behind me. “He doesn’t look too thin, so he must have been eating at times.”
“You’re right. Maybe whoever’s controlling him”—a muscle bulged in his jaw when he clenched his teeth—“commands him to stay nourished.” Oscillating expressions of remorse and anger crested over Jax’s features, and I crossed the distance between us.
His arms were around me before I could finish enclosing him in my embrace. “He’s survived this long, Jax, and we have him now. He’s with us, and we’ll find a way to get that anklet off him. We will .”
“Do you have any idea how long that semelee’s magic on him will last? If he becomes agitated again like he did this morning...” He released a frustrated sigh and rested his chin on the top of my head. “I don’t think any of us are strong enough to keep him held down. That anklet’s magic seems to give him superior strength.”
My brow furrowed. I eased back enough to see him better, then trailed a finger across his forehead, gently pushing a strand of hair away from his eye. “I don’t know how long he’ll stay asleep, but I imagine it will be for a while. At least through the day, maybe even a few days. Or perhaps longer.” I shrugged. “Honestly, I’m unsure how much magic the semelee used on him. I’m not in-tune enough with them to sense that.” I brushed a finger along my collar. The gold choker-style necklace hummed slightly, and its gem released a tingle of energy.
“Has your collar been bothering you more?” His gaze settled on my throat.
“Only slightly. My magic is still mostly free.”
“We’ll have to work fast because I don’t want you risking yourself in the Veiled Between again if Bastian becomes animated once more.”
“Do you think whoever’s controlling him tried to get him to return to those caverns in the Wood? And that’s why he suddenly became so active this morning?”
He nodded. “That’s what we’re all guessing too.”
“Then you’re right. We don’t have any time to waste. His controller obviously knows Bastian’s escaped.”
Jax’s nostrils flared. “And he wants him back.”
In the living area, everyone was dressed and ready to go. Quinn still hadn’t returned, and none of us knew when he would, but the dillemsill had found him and reported our plans to the crowfy shifter. So at least Quinn knew we were venturing to the Solis continent.
“Have the Solis royals been notified of our arrival?” Lander asked, his eyes narrowing shrewdly.
Jax nodded curtly. “The dillemsill I sent returned while Elowen was sleeping. Nori knows our plans and approved them. He said he’ll try to meet with us, but he has a few council meetings he has to attend first. If he’s unable to join us, he said he’ll send his brother instead.”
Trivan chuckled. “Ah, Nuwin. I remember him. Cheeky bastard, that one.”
Already wearing a cloak and dressed warmly for the Solis continent, Phillen lumbered to the couch in the living area where Bastian slept. Jax’s brother lay lifeless again, his eyes closed, his chest rising in small, evenly spaced breaths.
With a groan, the burly guard hefted Bastian off the sofa, then strode back to us, carrying the large half-breed dangling over one shoulder.
“I bet you’re glad we found an enchanted carpet this morning so you won’t have to carry him the entire way.” Trivan snickered quietly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Phillen replied easily. “It’s been a while since my muscles have had a proper workout. Sparring with you lot certainly isn’t taxing enough.”
Bowan laughed, and with widening eyes, I realized how busy all of them had been while I’d been unconscious. A large enchanted carpet was rolled at our feet, and Jax held several long cloaks. Everyone was dressed warmly, wearing heavy pants and thick long-sleeved tops. Sturdy boots covered all of our feet. No one had been sitting idly.
“Does everyone have a portal key on them?” Jax asked as he handed out the warm garments to everyone, each long cloak brushing the floor. They were all navy with gold trim. The one he handed me was even lined with fur. “I want everyone to have a way to return should something happen and we become split up.”
Each of his friends slipped on their cloak, then patted their pockets, indicating they’d all stored their keys safely away.
Jax handed a key to me too, and I tucked it into an inner pouch within my cloak.
I’d only recently become aware of the tiny traveling keys. Quinn had procured a jar of them from Drachu, the Lochen king. I’d been told the tiny magical keys had been crafted in the other realm, but even that didn’t bother me since the keys allowed one to travel instantaneously from one location to another. They were incredibly useful, and we were lucky that Quinn had obtained so many.
Jax swung his cloak around his back, and the long piece of clothing settled around his broad shoulders. “Ready?” he asked.
We all nodded, and a moment of excitement filled me.
I’d never been to the Solis continent, but Jax had warned me that the entire northern land mass was perpetually covered in snow and ice and was freezing season-round.
Once his cloak was secured, Jax held his hands out. “Let’s go.”
The realm spun around us, twisting and jarring me as I gripped Jax’s and Phillen’s hands. In a rush, my booted feet hit powdery snow, and I swayed momentarily until I got my bearings.
I opened my eyes to a sea of white. Harsh, cold wind bit into my skin, and fierce gales blew the cloak around my legs.
The portal key that Jax had been holding fizzled out of existence as I took in the frozen, icy terrain that we transported to.
Everywhere I looked, snow and ice greeted me. Rolling hills graced the horizon, all covered in sparkling white blankets of winter frost, yet the harshness of this land didn’t captivate my attention long. Instead, it was the floating meadows above us.
Gasping, I tilted my head back.
Soaring hundreds of feet, and some even miles above us, hovered Harrivee’s floating meadows. They hung suspended in the sky. Dozens and dozens of huge pieces of land dotted the atmosphere. They all shifted and swayed as though controlled by a phantom breeze. Some were so large they blocked out the sun entirely. Others were smaller and looked barely big enough to hold more than fifty fae on their surface, but it was the sheer magnitude of how many there were that took my breath away.
“What is this place?” I asked, awestruck.
Jax placed his hands on his hips. “Harrivee Territory’s floating meadows. The larger meadows contain mines deep within them, and I’ve been told the power of these hovering islands infuses the gems and stones with potent magic.”
“And you learned this how?” I arched a quizzical eyebrow at him. In all of my studies, I’d never heard of this place.
“Norivun told me about it once when I had a visit in Solisarium. Most fae in our realm don’t know about these floating islands. The gems and precious stones harvested in these meadows are revered by the Solis. They don’t sell them, and they don’t allow them to be traded on the open markets. They keep the meadows’ contents a closely guarded secret.” His gaze shifted to the sky. “But until this day, I’ve never seen them.”
“None of us have,” Alec commented.
Like us, the House Graniteer noble’s attention was fixated on the sky.
“Right then, should we go?” Trivan unfurled the large enchanted carpet in the snow.
Lars nodded. “No time to waste.”
Carefully, Phillen lowered Bastian to the carpet’s center, and the sleeping half-breed fell limply onto it.
Jax issued a command, and a whisper of magic puffed around the carpet. It levitated until it hung suspended a hand’s width off the ground.
One by one, we all stepped aboard.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked Jax.
“Norivun said to go to the central floating meadow, the largest one. He said we can’t miss it.” Jax issued another command, and the carpet began to rise, lifting into the sky but staying horizontal. We went up and up and up, like a floating platform that levitated effortlessly.
My vision swayed when the ground disappeared beneath us, and the floating meadows grew closer.
Cold atmospheric wind blew around us. We rose higher and higher, and the floating meadows grew more apparent. The one nearest us came into focus, and I was able to make out its pointy underside better. The meadow was constructed of solid rock. Harsh angles of its stony exterior looked like an upside-down cone, yet at the very top, the meadow’s surface appeared flat and had bits of grass dangling from the edge.
“How peculiar,” Lars whispered.
Out of nowhere, a Solis fairy dipped around one of the floating meadows above us, his huge leathery black wings flapping. He held a weapon in his hands, and a uniform covered his frame. My breath sucked in when another Solis fairy careened around the meadow behind him, dressed exactly the same.
Another appeared, darting between two smaller meadows that were suspended in the air only a few paces apart from one another.
And then more fae flew toward us, their numbers growing with each breath I took.
All of them had flapping wings, holding them aloft as their weapons trained on us. And a quick look at all of their identical clothing told me who they were. Guards.
“Do you think they’re here to greet us?” Bowan muttered sardonically.
Jax sighed. “I was worried this would happen. Norivun said he would send word of our arrival, but he wasn’t sure if his message would get here in time. He warned me that Solis guards patrolled the floating meadows.”
“Which means...what?” Phillen shifted on the carpet, his hand going to his sword.
Jax scowled. “Which means, we may have some explaining to do.”
“Is that before or after they try to kill us?” Lander’s eyes narrowed when one of the Solis fae, who was rapidly approaching us, aimed his weapon.
“You’re trespassing on sacred Solis land!” the guard yelled, and his finger tightened on his crossbow. “That’s against Solis law and punishable by death!”
A swell of magic emitted from Jax. “Apparently after.”