Finally, she dropped her hands and shook her head. “No, I cannot take it off. It has a locking mechanism at its back that’s magically hidden, but my affinity can’t undo it. Only its creator can. This collar will never come off unless the creator wills it.”
Unless the creator wills it.My heart soared. That meant it could be removed if only we found the creator. It was the same as Bastian’s anklet. Only his could be removed from who forged it.
Jax leaned forward in his seat. “Have you ever heard of anyone illegally creating any jewelry of any kind with rhifilyte gems?”
“No.”
“Do you know anything about anybody stealing gems from this facility?”
“No.” Sweat appeared atop Angim’s brow, and a moment of sympathy filled me.
With each answer she’d given so far, it was obvious she knew absolutely nothing about my collar or Bastian’s anklet. Yet Jax’s questions continued. Similar to how he’d questioned Guardian Alleron in the Ustilly Mountains, he looked for any loophole that would allow Angim to withhold information.
By the time he finished, Angim looked positively nauseous, and it was apparent that she truly didn’t know anything about my collar or Bastian’s anklet.
Everyone frowned, and Norivun began to drum his fingers on the table again.
I sighed, trying to hide my disappointment that Angim had been a dead end.
Finally, Jax inclined his head. “Thank you for your honest answers.”
Angim looked between him and Norivun, fear bleeding into her expression. “May I go now?”
“Yes, you may leave.” Norivun leaned back in his seat. “Please tell Saroly Yimmperfae she’s required next.”
Angim’s chair scraped sharply against the floor in her haste to exit the room.
Anxiety pulsed around me, and I again twisted my hands.
“We still have another fairy to question, Elowen,” Alec said from down the table.
Lander nodded, and even Trivan offered me an encouraging smile.
“We’re not out of options yet,” Phillen added. He then looked to Jax, but try as he might to hide his concern, I could feel Jax’s emotions along our bond. He felt as anxious as me.
I forced myself to sit still, even though my knee wanted to bounce, but I kept thinking of what would come if the next fairy also wasn’t the anklet’s creator.
Jax’s stare barreled into me, and when I glanced at him, a glow flared in his eyes. Protective and possessive energy surged from him, wrapping around me in a warm cloud. I took some comfort in the feel of his and the group’s unwavering support, but before I could voice any gratitude, the door reopened, and a new female appeared who I could only assume was Saroly Yimmperfae.
My jaw dropped.
Saroly’s eyes widened when she beheld the table full of Silten males and her sovereign.
Phillen closed the door behind her, then gestured to the empty chair. “Sit,” he said sharply.
On bated breath, I waited for her to sit beside me.
CHAPTER 8
Saroly’s throat bobbed, and her gaze darted to me, widening slightly when she saw my collar, and I was just as speechless.
Because it washer.
The female who matched the image the semelees had shown me stood right before me. The forger of Bastian’s anklet had been found.
With wild eyes, I glanced at Jax and nodded, then mouthed,She’s the one.
Darkness gathered in Norivun’s aura, the royal’s gaze cutting to the female while a vicious smile curved my mate’s lips.
