Page 23 of Veil of Shadows (Fae of Woodlands & Wild #2)

CHAPTER 23

It didn’t take long to find Esopeel. The cerlikan wildling had lived in this part of the Wood her entire life. Her den was only a short distance away, in a large burrow near the palace lands bordering Emerson Estate. I’d met her within the first week of moving to Faewood, and she’d been delighted that a local siltenite—one considered a lady nonetheless—had wanted to befriend her. Since most siltenites and other high fae of our realm viewed wildlings as lesser, her gratitude hadn’t surprised me, but it still irked me. She was just as intelligent as me, so to think others viewed her as less always rubbed me the wrong way.

“Elowen!” she said brightly when I crouched near her den’s entrance. She crawled along the dirt tunnel, parting the leaves that shielded it from the rain, and then emerged. “My dear girl, it’s so good to see that you’re all right!”

“Hi, Esopeel, I’ve missed you.”

She hobbled to me, her short furry legs the color of the sky. The rest of her was a mixture of beiges, dark greens, light pinks, and blues. Her glossy fur perfectly blended into the many colors of the Wood.

“I’ve been so worried about you.” She hugged my arm, and I patted her back. Our size difference made affection difficult, but Esopeel was one of the most caring wildlings I’d ever met. She straightened and looked me over. “Once the news reached me that you’d been taken, why, I don’t think I’ve had a decent night’s sleep since.”

I gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry for worrying you. If I could have sent word to you that I was fine, I would have.”

She inclined her head. “No matter. You’re here now, and you appear well, but is it true? Were you actually abducted from the horrid guardian of yours?”

I winced. It was funny how everyone else had seen Guardian Alleron for who he was, but it’d taken me many moments over the past few weeks to truly accept that he’d never been a father to me.

Shaking that painful fact off, I replied, “I was, but that’s a story for another time.” I glanced briefly over my shoulder at Jax and his friends. They were concealed within the foliage, not moving a muscle. Turning back around, I smiled and settled myself onto the damp soil.

Esopeel glanced over my shoulder, and her eyes grew wide when she spotted Jax and his friends standing a few paces behind me. They were still mostly hidden.

Esopeel’s nose twitched when she scented the breeze. “I see you’ve met some brommel stag shifters.”

I wasn’t surprised that she guessed their shifter species since cerlikans had a sharp sense of smell. “I have, and that’s actually why I’m here.”

“Oh?” She sat beside me on the Wood’s ground and folded her hands in her lap. “Does knowing them also explain why it’s been weeks since I’ve seen you?” She tapped her chin. “I believe the last time I saw you was when you were riding that ridiculous carpet with your guardian. Had I known that day would be when you’d be taken, why I would have...” She let her words hang when it became apparent to both of us that there was little she could have done. While wildlings were quite aware of the comings and goings in the Wood, few siltenites ever paid attention to them when they tried to raise the alarm about something.

I nodded solemnly. “I know, but the fact that you would have tried to help me means the realm to me.” I patted her hand gently, careful not to tap too hard since I was so much bigger than her. “Actually, my new friends are the reason I’m here. We’re looking for someone and hope you can help.” I quickly explained what Bastian looked like, then the clearing we’d just stumbled upon. “It was so odd because I could have sworn that clearing wasn’t there a month ago.”

Esopeel’s eyes widened, and she clutched one of my fingers, her tiny paw wrapping around my knuckle. “It wasn’t. There have been many strange things happening in the Wood lately.”

“Really?” I frowned, cocking my head. “Are you referring to the Centennial Matches and how they cleared some of the Wood for it?”

She shook her head rapidly. “No, not that. Those were all approved clearings by the wildling mayors. I’m talking about the other activities. The ones that have nothing to do with the Matches.”

A chill ran down my spine as though a gust of wind from the Solis continent had just rushed through the Wood. “What are you talking about?”

She continued in a hushed voice, looking around every now and then. “There have been strange occurrences in these parts lately. That clearing you stumbled across only being one of them. The mayors have gone to the kingsfae multiple times, trying to tell them what we’ve observed, but they keep brushing us off, telling our kind to get back in the Wood where we belong.” She sniffed indignantly, and a flush of heat worked up my neck.

“How rude.” I clenched my hands into fists.

“I know,” she huffed. “But perhaps you could get them to listen.”

I hunkered down closer to her. “Tell me everything.”

By the time Esopeel finished recalling what she and other wildlings had witnessed in the Wood, it felt as though rivers of ice flowed through my veins.

“You’re certain?” I asked when she finished. “Half-breeds have been seen regularly in these parts, and they’ve made homes underneath the soil?”

“I’m more than certain. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“And all of these half-breeds wear metallic anklet jewelry?”

“Indeed.”

I frowned, wondering why they would all have matching anklets. “What about the half-breed we seek? The one with permanent antlers, have you seen him?”

She cocked her head. “It’s possible. I’ve seen so many half-breeds lately, but I can’t say for certain.”

Jax’s aura pounded into my back. Esopeel had flinched every time a pulse of it hit her, so I’d shifted my position and tried to shield her from Jax’s power. “Do you know how we could enter the caverns beneath that clearing?”

She shook her head regretfully. “I’m sorry, but no. The usual tunnels we’ve used to access that part of the Wood had been sealed. But I can tell you whatever’s occurring beneath the surface there, it’s evil, Elowen. Magic pulses around it underground. Heavy, dark magic. Nothing good is occurring there.”

My pulse turned thready. The chill in me grew. Dark magic. Hidden caverns. Matching anklets on the half-breeds. I had to agree with Esopeel. An ominous tone rang through everything she’d revealed.

“Thank you for sharing what you know.” I squeezed her paw gently.

“Of course, you know I’m always happy to speak with you.”

Jax stepped forward silently, the first move he’d made since we arrived at Esopeel’s den. He crouched beside me, and Esopeel took a few steps back.

“He won’t hurt you,” I said gently.

Her tensed body relaxed slightly, but she still eyed Jax warily.

Jax extracted a few rulibs from his pocket, the coins nearly a quarter the size of her small body.

“Will you keep us posted if you see anything further?” He stacked the rulibs at her side. “You could dispatch a dillemsill to one of my friends if you learn new details.” He gave her an address in the capital, but it wasn’t his residence, and I had no idea where that location was.

Her eyes widened, and she glanced toward me. I nodded encouragingly, and she replied, “I suppose I could do that.”

“Thank you. I will be in your debt if you’re able to help locate the half-breed we seek.”

Jax retreated back to the Wood, putting a safe distance between them, and Esopeel collected the payment, hefting the coins to the entrance of her den.

Once they were stowed away, she said quietly to me, “Is he the one that took you?”

My brow furrowed, my loyalty to her and Jax warring within me. I wanted to trust her with that secret and knew that I probably could, but I wouldn’t risk Jax’s safety nor that of his friends.

“No,” I replied, the lie rolling off my tongue. “He actually rescued me from the Dark Raider.”

But while I knew part of what I said was a lie, another part of me felt it wasn’t. Because when Jax had abducted me, he’d truly been the Dark Raider, a stranger, a foreboding enemy, but that was before I’d come to know him. Now, he was Jax. My protector. My rescuer. My friend. My mate . My cheeks flushed when memories of last night brushed against my mind like butterfly wings, but it was the truth. He’d become so much more to me than the male who’d taken me from my guardian all those weeks ago.

Esopeel patted my hand, but if she suspected I wasn’t being entirely truthful, she didn’t push for more details. Instead, she said, “It was lovely seeing you again, dear Elowen, but please take care.”

I nodded gravely. “I will. And, Esopeel? If you happen to see Lillivel in Tassalee’s Market, will you please tell her I’m fine?”

Esopeel’s furry lips twitched into a smile. “I most certainly will. She’s been as worried about you as I’ve been.”

We returned to the clearing again, in search of a way to enter the caverns below. Now that we knew for certain that half-breeds were indeed under the soil, and Bastian was likely one of them, Jax had turned into a prowling beast.

His brother was here. Just beneath our toes. And all we had to do was get to him.

“What do you think that means, what she said about the dark magic?” Bowan asked as we all searched for a hidden entrance to the caverns.

Jax’s aura pounded around us, yet the prince didn’t stop his searches. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to know.”

“And what about those anklets she mentioned?” Lander added. “That obviously has to mean something too.”

Ever since Esopeel had released those details, a churning motion had settled in my stomach.

“Did you notice any unusual flares of magic around them when you saw Bastian and that group this morning?” Jax asked Bowan. “And did you see anklets on any of them? Do you know what that jewelry is made of?”

The stag shifter swallowed, his throat bobbing. “No, but I wasn’t scenting for magic, and I was too far away to feel any of their auras. And when I got close enough to clearly see them, I was only trying to discern their features so I could identify them. I wasn’t looking near their feet.”

Jax’s nostrils flared, but he nodded sharply.

“We’ll find him, Jax,” Phillen rumbled for what felt like the umpteenth time as he dug through the soil across the clearing, searching for a door or tunnel or something that would allow us entry.

“He’s right,” Lars agreed. “We’ll find Bastian, Jax. We won’t stop searching until we do.”

And now that we knew Bastian’s disappearance from Stonewild likely was because of a nefarious reason, it suddenly seemed imperative that we did.