Page 3 of Veil of Shadows (Fae of Woodlands & Wild #2)

CHAPTER 3

Saramel took another deep breath. “Do you agree to make a bargain, sealing us before the gods and goddesses?”

My brow furrowed. A bargain. They weren’t to be taken lightly. Saramel and I would be bound by the gods, and if I broke the terms of our agreement, I would suffer their wrath. It was why Jax had refused to do a bargain with me, even though I’d begged for one so he would release me. His reasoning had been that if a Mistvale fairy commanded me to speak, despite my promise to remain silent, my life would become unbearable because of the gods’ punishment. The gods, after all, wouldn’t care why I’d spoken, only that I had.

But while Jax’s logic wasn’t wrong, if I truly wanted to know who the half-breed was that Jax sought, which would also explain what had brought me here, and this was the only way anyone would tell me, then so be it. I would risk it.

I squared my shoulders. “I’ll agree to a bargain.”

She held out her arm. “What’s your full name?”

“Elowen Emerson. It’s the name given to me by my guardian. And yours?”

“Saramel Highcrest.” She clasped my forearm, and I gripped hers in return. She sat up straighter and took a deep breath. “Elowen Emerson, siltenite and lorafin of Faewood Kingdom, I hereby agree to a bargain that ensures I tell you the truth of the male half-breed who Prince Adarian, the crown prince of Stonewild Kingdom, used your lorafin powers to seek. In exchange for this information, you hereby promise never to reveal the information I’m about to tell you to any fae, creature, or entity of our realm or any other realm in any capacity unless Prince Adarian gives you permission to do so. However, if a fairy, creature, or entity already knows of the male half-breed who Prince Adarian seeks, then you may speak freely of him. And at any time, Prince Adarian has the ability to null this bargain between us if he chooses to do so, rendering it obsolete. Elowen Emerson, do you accept this bargain?”

Heart pounding, I licked my lips. The bargain seemed relatively simple. I wasn’t to tell anyone about who Jax sought in any capacity, unless they already knew about the male. That meant I could speak of him to Jax and his friends. Saramel had left that loophole open for me. She’d also given me the loophole that if Jax gave me permission to speak of the male half-breed to others, then I was free to do so, or he could obliterate this bargain completely making neither of us subject to the gods’ wrath. It was kind of her to give me that flexibility while also maintaining Jax’s secret.

“Saramel Highcrest, siltenite of Stonewild Kingdom, I hereby accept your bargain.”

A clang of magic shimmered around us, like an invisible drum banging, and I sucked in my breath when the bargain’s mark seared into my skin like a hot brand.

I turned my wrist upward. A wintercrisp fern glowed brightly on my wrist’s inner skin before it disappeared. Saramel rolled up her own sleeve. The same mark shone on her wrist before it vanished.

A wintercrisp fern. How fitting. It was the plant on Stonewild’s crest and was a leaf that symbolized trust and strength. The gods and goddesses always loved their bargain marks to have greater meanings, so I wasn’t surprised they’d chosen such a mark to seal me to this female in our promise.

Once the mark vanished and our skin was smooth once more, Saramel settled on the floor into a comfortable position. “Now that that’s done...” She licked her lips. “The male the prince is looking for is his brother, his only sibling. His name is Bastian, and he went missing several months ago. Prince Adarian has been beside himself trying to find him. That’s why he took you. His brother is the only family member who’s never sought to use him or hurt him. He loves Bastian fiercely, and without him, the prince feels so lost. He was willing to go to any lengths to find him, even if that meant abducting you.”

His brother? Stunned, I just sat there. He has a brother ? Who’s a half-breed?

For a brief moment, I thought of the night in Fosterton in which Jax had told me evasively of his past, of the abuse he survived. Surely, he hadn’t been referring to his own family...

Stomach tumbling, I forced that thought away. “I didn’t realize he had any siblings, and a half-breed nonetheless.”

“That’s because nobody knows, apart from a select few.”

I frowned heavily, because as far as I was aware, it was common knowledge that Prince Adarian was an only child. It didn’t make any sense that he had a brother who was a half-breed. But Saramel had revealed the information so quickly. So easily. And the gods hadn’t exacted instant revenge or struck her dead, which meant she wasn’t lying.

She clasped her hands, and a moment of doubt crossed her features. “Jax will be so angry when he finds out I just told you that, but you deserve to know, and since you can’t tell anyone unless you want to suffer from severe punishment from the gods, I don’t regret it.”

“And you’re not afraid of Jax punishing you?”

She shrugged. “Not really, and if you want to tell him that I told you, that’s fine. I’m not going to hide it.” A soft laugh parted her lips. “I’ll probably get an earful and be put on extra kitchen duty for a week, but I can handle that.”

“Kitchen duty? Do you work in the palace?”

“I do. My husband and I are both in serving positions. I work in the kitchen, helping to prepare feasts, and I also clean. That’s what I was finishing up before I came here.” She waved her hand. “But back to our bargain, the least you deserve is the reasoning behind your abduction. But more than that, I want you to understand the truth of what’s going on here. The prince wouldn’t have taken you unless he felt he had no other way to find his brother.”

I sat back, the wood in the fireplace entirely forgotten. “But... how is his brother a half-breed?”

“Bastian is the king’s illegitimate son. He was born five summers after Jax. And Bastian’s mother is a fireling wildling.”

“Can Bastian create fire?”

“He can. He’s actually quite magical.”

Frowning more, I let that information digest, then asked, “But if the king has a child around Jax’s age...that means the king was unfaithful. The king’s been married to the queen for centuries, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, the entire royal family knows of the king’s indiscretion. And because of the king’s torrid affair, Bastian’s existence is a closely guarded secret—a secret that Jax, my husband, and their friends strive to protect in order to keep Bastian safe. And it’s a secret the king and queen keep to protect themselves.”

I once again tried to fully comprehend what she was telling me. A king had bred with a wildling. And the child they’d created lived, and said child’s royal heritage had managed to be kept a secret.

While I didn’t know how a secret of that magnitude could be kept, I understood why they’d done so. Procreation between siltenites and wildlings was against the law. And when it occurred, their half-breed children were scorned and the parents were punished.

Because when siltenites and wildlings bred, occasionally they would produce a half-breed child who had just as much magic as a full-blooded siltenite—sometimes even more—yet also had the breeding capabilities of a wildling, making many siltenites fear a potential power shift if half-breeds grew more plentiful.

And because of that, an even stricter law had been put in place as well. It forbade all half-breeds from breeding amongst themselves.

Long ago, there’d been fear that if half-breeds were left unchecked, they would outnumber siltenites and take over the kingdoms. It was why siltenites had created the law forbidding half-breeds to bear children.

And if it was discovered a siltenite was coupling with a wildling, they were arrested, sometimes even imprisoned. On top of that, all half-breeds that were born were forced to consume sterile-inducing potions at a young age so they could never breed, and then, they were scorned by society—a further deterrent for anyone contemplating breaking the law.

But if two half-breeds had somehow managed to avoid the sterilization process and they had a child, the child and both parents were immediately executed. All four kingdoms had that law. It was one of the few unified kingdom laws, not unlike the law that allowed lorafins to be enslaved. Because if half-breeds reproduced, their children could potentially be magically superior while also being able to far outbreed any other race.

So for a king to have coupled with a wildling and then to have brought a half-breed child into the realm, knowing how egregious such an action was considered... That was entirely taboo.

Shaking my head, I finally said, “How in the realm did they manage to keep this all a secret?”

“The king and queen have enacted many bargains within their inner circle to keep the king’s indiscretion from reaching the public. Many fae are sealed by those bargains, too afraid of the gods’ wrath to speak of it.”

“Then how are you able to tell me?”

“I haven’t made a bargain about Bastian. The king and queen don’t know that I’m aware.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Jax told you freely?”

“He did. He’s not bound by his parents’ bargains. He refused to do one, and his parents couldn’t very well execute or banish their only heir for refusing, so he’s remained free to speak of Bastian, but Jax is also aware that if a fairy knows, that fairy is at risk, so Jax has only told a select few. Only me, his band, and very few others know of Bastian, and none of us would ever tell a soul.”

“Yet you told me.”

“Only because you deserve to know and agreed to a bargain.”

I nibbled on my lip, then asked, “Do any siltenites outside of these walls know of the king’s outlawed child?”

Her expression turned grim. “Only a trusted few, and again, all of them are bound by bargains. The king has ensured the news didn’t travel.” She twisted her hands together. “If the public learned that the king had coupled with a wildling, conceived an illegitimate half-breed child, and in doing so had broken a unified kingdom law—” She shuddered. “The council would have grounds for removing him from the throne. And once he was removed, the ten Houses would likely all be vying to take his place, which would result in an uprising among the nobles, perhaps even among the general public, leading to chaos in our kingdom.”

“But despite the reason for secrecy, why did Jax need me ? Bastian is still the king’s son. Surely, a king could find him. Why did Jax need to take me when his father has unlimited resources?”

Saramel sighed again and drew her knees up. “That, Elowen, is the heart of the prince’s problems. Despite being of the king’s blood, Bastian has never been accepted or protected by him. When the king found out that the wildling he coupled with had become with child, he demanded she abort the baby, but she refused, thinking that once the king saw the child, he would undoubtedly change his mind. But once Bastian was born, the king called for Bastian to be executed, so his wildling mother took him and fled. For many summers, Bastian was in hiding, and by the time the king located him, his mother had wielded a plan. She had magical safeguards in place that would release upon Bastian’s murder if the king executed him or hired anyone to do so. Word would spread of what the king had done, and the king would lose his throne. I’m not sure of all the details, but Bastian’s mother didn’t sit idle. She ensured no matter what, the king’s secret would be revealed if any harm came to her son.”

“Then why hasn’t it been revealed if Bastian’s gone missing? Surely, that’s considered harm?”

Saramel shrugged. “There’s been no harm from the king or queen or anyone they hired. The magic would enact only if that happened. Bastian’s mother was very clever in her magic wielding. She left no loopholes for harm to come from the royal family.”

“So all they know is that Bastian is missing, but his disappearance couldn’t have had anything to do with Jax’s parents. And since it didn’t involve them, there was no way to know if Bastian was alive or dead.”

“Correct, which is ultimately why Jax decided he needed you. He tried for months to locate his brother on his own. He hired trackers, consulted seers, prayed to the gods, everything. But every avenue he tried came to a dead end until he was told of you . Because a lorafin could find exactly where Bastian was and tell him if his brother still lived. The prince was guaranteed answers if he sought you.”

I frowned, my eyebrows drawing together. She wasn’t wrong. Only lorafins could speak with the semelees, and the semelees were all-knowing. They would undoubtedly know where Bastian was or if he’d died. Frowning more, I thought back to what the semelees had told me of him. Something isn’t right. I still didn’t entirely understand what they’d meant by that.

Shaking that off, I asked, “But how did Jax ever learn that he had a half-brother if Bastian’s mother fled with him upon birth?”

“It was by chance, actually. The prince overheard his parents speaking of him once, when the king and queen didn’t realize he was in the same room with them. Bastian was already six summers old, and the prince sought him out, not stopping until he found him.” Her eyes took on a faraway look. “Bastian and Adarian are quite similar in some ways, entirely opposite in others, but they quickly grew close, and they care deeply for one another. The prince has been, and likely always will be, fiercely protective of his brother. I’m sure that level of loyalty is also partly due to the fact that Bastian remains his only sibling. The queen hasn’t been able to conceive again.”

I sighed and scrubbed my hands along my cheeks. “I wish Jax had just told me all of this himself.” Abducting me was an extreme measure, but if Jax felt he had no other choice... I sighed quietly. “Too bad he didn’t mind paying slave guardians, then I could have simply done a calling for him and carried on as I’d been. Although, considering Guardian Alleron never planned to release me, perhaps that wouldn’t have been a better alternative in the long run.”

She smiled placatingly. “Oh, Elowen, don’t lose hope. The prince truly wants to set things right with you. If there’s a way, he’ll find it.”

I forced a nod, even though at this point, that seemed unlikely.

“Anyway.” Saramel released her knees and sat cross-legged. “Now that we all know Bastian is alive and in Faewood, we at least have peace of mind that he hasn’t passed to the afterlife.”

“But why is Bastian in Faewood? And if Bastian and Jax are so close, why didn’t Bastian tell Jax that he was going there?”

Her eyes dimmed. “I was hoping you would know that.”

“I don’t. The semelees only revealed where he was, not why he’d gone there, and their response to that initial question took them so long to answer—which is entirely unlike any calling I’ve ever done—that I didn’t ask for more details.” I shuddered when I recalled how they’d dragged me deeper into the Veiled Between after telling me where Bastian was. By that point, enough time had passed that Jax’s magic had begun to take root in me. I didn’t even know if I could have asked more questions of them. The collar had pulled on too much of Jax’s power, leaving me in a perilous state.

Shaking that memory off, I focused on Bastian again. “Don’t you think it’s probable that Bastian simply decided to leave Stonewild of his own free will? Perhaps he got tired of his life here and opted for a change of scenery and wanted to explore the kingdoms?”

Saramel inclined her head. “If it were anyone but Bastian, that’s probably what I would think too. It’s what we all would have thought, but you have to understand how close Jax and Bastian are. They never go a day without speaking. Never. And they don’t keep secrets from one another. It’s entirely out of character for Bastian to up and disappear without telling anyone. Not to mention, he’d just started employment at a ship manufacturer that he was very excited about. And he’d begun courting a siltenite a few months prior who he was very enamored with, and her him, even if they could never have children. So for him to have left...” She sighed, then huffed. “It just doesn’t make sense that he would disappear like that. If you knew Bastian, you would understand why Jax is so worried.”

I mulled everything over again, then sat back, curling my legs beneath me. “So, now what? What’s to become of me? Will I also be banished now that I know this information? Or kept caged here indefinitely? If Jax knows that Bastian is at the Centennial Matches, surely he’s going to go to him, now that the emergency with House Graniteer is over. And where does that leave me? Stuck in the Stonewild palace forever?” I raised my arms, waving at the hidden chambers he’d put me in.

Saramel’s eyebrows pinched together, and her mouth puckered. “I hope not, Elowen. But if it’s any consolation, I think that’s exactly what the prince is trying to figure out. I don’t think he knows what to do with you, but I don’t believe he wants that to be your fate.”