Page 14 of Veil of Shadows (Fae of Woodlands & Wild #2)

CHAPTER 14

The second Jax and his friends knew that Bastian had been sleeping in the barn recently, they turned the entire sleeping quarters and storage room upside down looking for more clues. Their movements were quick, efficient, and methodical. It was obvious they’d conducted work like this before.

“Nothing, my prince,” Phillen finally said when the last storage trunk had been emptied before being carefully restowed. One would never have known it’d been rifled through from how carefully each item was returned to its precise location. “Only that bed smells of him.”

“And from the faintness of it, it’s been two days since he slept here.” Jax raked a hand through his hair. Potent spikes of magic billowed in his aura. “This doesn’t make any sense. He slept here recently, but nothing else in this room belongs to him. And the biggest question remains unanswered. Why is he even here? He never showed any interest in the Centennial Matches or competitions before.”

Phillen laid a hand on Jax’s shoulder. “We can figure those answers out later, but remember that he likely is here. Somewhere. We’ll find him.”

“But if he hasn’t been here in two days, he could be anywhere now,” Trivan countered.

“He’s right.” I stepped closer to Jax. “I’ll travel to the Veiled Between again. It’s the only way to know for certain. I can try to demand better answers from the semelees.” But I twisted my hands. I’d done Jax’s calling less than a week ago, and oftentimes, the semelees wouldn’t answer me if I pressed them again on the same subject too quickly. They could be finicky like that. It was why I had to wait so long between callings if it was for the same fairy.

Jax’s lips pressed into a thin line. “No.”

“But if I go again, I might?—”

“I said no .”

I inched closer to his side, and my gown flowed around me. “But if we can’t find anything else to explain where he currently is, and he doesn’t return here, then what choice do we have? We’re at a dead end.”

A muscle pumped in the prince’s jaw, and his eyes darkened into chips of ice. “No, Elowen. I’m never doing that to you again. We’ll find him another way.” A fearful look passed over his face, and I wasn’t sure if it was from remembering the state I’d been in after his calling or if it was due to the reality that Bastian might never be found.

“Is there any way you could travel to the Veiled Between and not do a calling?” Alec crossed his arms, his eyes assessing. “You know, go there looking for yourself so you’re not affected by another’s magic?”

I fingered my collar. “Honestly, I don’t know. Every time I tried previously, I was never able to because of this.” I tapped on the gem. “It always punished me. And this collar’s always prohibited me from using my magic to my full extent, which would be required if I wanted to do a calling of my own. But now that it’s loosened...” I shrugged. “It’s still doubtful, but I suppose I won’t know for certain unless I try.”

Jax’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you telling me you’ve never gone to the Veiled Between for yourself before?”

I shook my head.

His nostrils flared, and a dangerous seep of power swelled in his aura. “You’re telling me that your former guardian only ever allowed you to use your magic for himself? He never allowed you to do anything for your own good? Not even before that collar was put on?”

“I mean, I have traveled there alone, not in a calling, but that was when I was young and my powers first emerged. Those ventures were allowed so I could learn my magic, but I wasn’t strong enough then or knowledgeable enough to ask the semelees anything.”

Jax stabbed another hand through his hair. “That total and complete selfish arsehole.”

Trivan cocked an eyebrow. “How many times have you tried to venture to the Veiled Between for your own benefit?”

My cheeks flushed. “I only do so now when it’s truly needed.” I thought back to what I’d done when Jax had initially abducted me and I’d needed to delay them, or when I’d done it to break through his locking spell in the palace. “But each time, it takes a great toll on me because of the collar’s punishment, and I’m never able to stay in the Veiled Between for long. The collar would likely kill me if I tried to do that.”

Alec put his hands on his hips. “Perhaps you can do a calling on your own now that your collar’s not so tight. Maybe you should try it, to see if you can locate Bastian without Jax’s magic hurting you.”

A slow smile spread across my lips. “I can certainly try.” But then my smile dimmed. “Although, I don’t know how agreeable the semelees will be. Oftentimes, when I ask them the same questions too closely together, they ignore me. I usually have to wait several weeks before pressing them for more details.”

“Ignore you?” Lars’s eyebrows shot up. “But you’re a lorafin. I thought they had to obey you?”

“If I was their queen, they would, but they still consider me a princess, so...” I raised my shoulders. “They sometimes won’t respond to me.”

“That doesn’t bode well.” Phillen crossed his arms. “What have your scholars told you, Jax, about lorafins with collars? Do you think Elowen could do her own calling now? Maybe later when the time has passed and the semelees will answer her?”

Jax’s brows folded together, a groove appearing between them. “Lorafins in the history books haven’t worn collars. Elowen’s unique in this aspect.”

“Right, but like Elowen said, we don’t know what she’s capable of now since it’s loosened.” Trivan grinned wickedly. “Which means there’s only one way to find out.”

“And if that doesn’t work, perhaps you could do a calling for one of us, Elowen?” Alec asked. “We’re not as magical as Jax, so you shouldn’t be as affected. Could you ask the semelees about Bastian for one of us instead? Would that work?”

I sighed. “With enough time passing, yes, I could try that. But it wouldn’t work if I did it right now. They can’t be fooled even if I’m there and channeling another fairy’s magic. They likely still won’t answer since it’s the same question so soon to the last time I asked.”

Trivan cocked an eyebrow upward. “How much time will it take for them to answer that question again?”

“Usually, at least two weeks before they’ll consider answering the same question again.”

“In that case, in a week’s time, you could use my magic for a calling,” Lars offered. “I’m generally considered the least magical in the group.”

“That’ll still hurt her,” Jax growled. “You may not be as strong as me, but you’re no weakling, Lars.”

“But he’s not nearly as strong as you,” I countered. “None of your friends wield magic like you do, Jax. Nobody’s magic will hurt me like yours did.”

He winced, and I immediately regretted my comment. But instead of agreeing with me, he took a deep breath and then shook his head. “No.”

My eyebrows shot up. “No? Seriously? Don’t you want to find your brother?”

His nostrils flared. “Of course, I do. But we’ve only just started searching, and you’ve never been unaffected by a calling, right?”

My throat bobbed, brushing against my collar when I swallowed. “Well...no, but I can still try doing one for me . That’ll likely not leave me injured.”

“But will that leave you weakened?”

“It . . . well, I suppose . . .” My brow furrowed. “Honestly, I don’t know. All of this is new to me.”

“Exactly. You have no idea what state you’ll be in.”

I glared at him because even though I hated to admit it, he made very good points. Since I wasn’t a queen to the semelees, I didn’t have complete control of them. As a princess, it was common for them to deny me answers on the same subject, or if I ventured to the Veiled Between too quickly for the same fairy to ask a new question, they often denied me too. It was why I could typically only do one to two callings a month for the same fairy. The semelees wouldn’t allow anything more than that.

I’d always been grateful for that limitation in a way. It’d kept me from being mercilessly used, again and again, by the same fae. But now...for the first time I was wishing the semelees didn’t have that stipulation.

Holding himself in a rigid line, Jax said in his princely tone, “My official answer is no. Elowen is not to hurt herself for us again, especially if there’s no guarantee we’d even get any further answers.”

All of the males eyed one another, nodding acceptingly, and Trivan even bumped Alec, giving him an I told you so look.

And in that covert gesture, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jax’s complete inability to even consider having me harmed again stemmed from the feelings Alec claimed he’d developed for me.

A flush ran through my body, and it took me a moment to realize what it was.

I felt warm. Because to Jax, I had worth. He actually cared about my well-being.

The flush in my body grew because maybe Alec was right. Maybe Jax truly did care for me more than he was letting on.

Or maybe Jax would have had that reaction for any fairy who he felt was innocent of deserving the punishment a calling could inflict.

Some of the warmth in me diffused, and I opened my mouth to tell Jax that while I appreciated that he cared, the fact remained that I would ultimately recover from any pain inflicted on me. And more than that, for the first time I was choosing to do a calling. I wanted to find Bastian too, and in roughly a week’s time, enough days would have passed for me to venture to the Veiled Between again to ask of his brother. The semelees would likely answer at that point.

But just as those words formed on my lips, voices came from outside of the room.

Everyone fell silent.

But the voices soon drifted past.

Trivan moved closer to the door and listened. “It’s just another group enjoying the excitement of the upcoming Matches.”

I released a sigh of relief, but it was enough of a reminder that we needed to get out of here and carry on searching for Bastian.

“What would you like to do, my prince?” Lars dipped his head toward Jax, the red in his hair glowing like fire in the lights.

“I want eyes kept on this barn at all times in case he returns. When are the others arriving?”

“End of the week.” Alec glanced toward a clock on the wall.

I placed my hands on my hips, my palms sliding along the gown’s slippery surface. “Others? What others?”

Trivan shook his head, and a lock of blond hair curled around his forehead. “Did you really think Lander and Bowan would stay behind indefinitely, Little Lorafin?”

I raised my shoulders. “Um...yes? I thought they were caring for Guardian Alleron?”

Trivan laughed. “They’ll leave him food and water, just enough so he’ll survive. Your former guardian can fend for himself in his locked chamber while we’re gone.”

My jaw dropped. Locked chamber. Food and water. They were treating him worse than a dog. But I didn’t comment. I no longer felt any pity for my former guardian.

“We often travel in two groups,” Alec explained. “It’s the same on raids. We never all leave at the same time. Sooner or later, someone would notice, and while we do our best to keep our raids hidden, sometimes the Dark Raider’s presence becomes known. It would be troublesome if anyone began to connect that our presence is always missing in court when those raids occur.”

I cocked my head. “But even if you leave in different groups, your presence is still missing during a raid, isn’t it?”

Jax nodded. “True, but a few of us make a point to venture back and forth from court, so at least some of us are seen around the time our raids occur. Doing so has resulted in nobody suspecting us.”

I realized once again how deep Jax’s crimes went against the powerful Houses and nobles of our kingdoms.

“But back to the matter at hand.” Jax turned to his friends. “Trivan, you take watch in the Wood. Alec, Phillen, and Lars, you’re coming with me.” He stepped closer to my side and entwined his fingers through mine. The feel of him halted my breath, and I had to remind myself this was part of our playacting. He was my supposed lover after all.

“And me?” I said, my words breathier than I wanted to admit.

Dazzling blue irises raked over my face. “I thought that was obvious. You don’t leave my side.”

“Ever?”

He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose up my throat. A myriad of shivers tingled down my spine.

“No, Elowen, not ever. You stay with me . . . where you belong.”