“Yes, I’m back. Oh, Jax.” I sat upright and slipped my legs over the bed. Movements swift, I got to my feet, then grabbed his hands, holding onto him tightly. It only struck me as I stood tall that I wasn’t tired. For the first time ever, I wasn’t fatigued after a calling. “You’re not going to believe this. King Paevin is behind everything. The king is doing horrible,horriblethings and has been for many summers.”
“What?” Broad shoulders tensed under Jax’s woven shirt, and his hands pumped around mine, warming me in the process. “How? Tell me what the semelees told you.”
I explained everything in rapid-fire. When I finished, Jax’s mouth dropped open.
He let me go and began to pace, then raked his hands through his hair, and his lip curled. “King Paevin took my brother from me.”
“He couldn’t have known Bastian’s your brother. Nobody could have known that. They took him because Bastian has strong fireling magic, and they somehow learned that about him.”
Jax swung toward me. “But if the king has an enslaved child psychic and that child was able to know my whereabouts in the Possyrose Forest, then it’s possible that child could be forced to find Bastian. The king could already know he’s here.”
I placed a hand on his arm, stopping his frantic steps. “That’s unlikely. If the king already knew where Bastian was, he wouldn’t have tried to call Bastian back to him by using the anklet this morning. And remember, it’s the Match Finals right now. Thousands of fae from the other kingdoms have flocked here to watch it, and if the king is hand-picking the half-breeds from the arena who he wants to be enslaved to him, well...” I shrugged. “King Paevin likely has many things he’s focused on right now. With any luck, he won’t force that child to track down Bastian anytime soon.”
“But for how long will he be distracted? If the king tried to bring Bastian back to heel this morning, he’ll try again. And even though we left no survivors in the caverns, it’s possible the king thinks Bastian was rescued versus broke out. He could be looking for us too.”
My brow furrowed. He was right. “The only real way to prevent all of that is to stop King Paevin.”
Jax nodded curtly. “We’ll return to Stonewild. I’ll alert my father and mother. I’ll force them to understand how serious this is so they’ll act immediately. And then we’ll tell the other thrones and all of the Houses. We’ll expose what King Paevin is doing.”
“Do you think they’ll believe us? The semelees said the hardest part would be convincing them of what we know. They’ll only believe it if they don’t think I’m lying. After all, I’m just a lorafin. We’re asking them to believe me simply because of what I am.”
His eyes hooded, and he stepped closer to me. Pine and spice wafted around me, and my galloping heart slowed when I inhaled his inherent scent. “We’re not asking them to believe you just because you’re a lorafin, Elowen. We’re also asking them to believe me, their crown prince, and you, their future queen.”
CHAPTER 11
I knew Jax thought presenting me to his parents as a supremely magical lorafin would sway them to our side and would convince them to believe me about King Paevin. He also thought they would accept me as his future bride, given what I was and that we were mated. But the reality of my lineage couldn’t be forgotten. I was a commoner. I might have godlike power, and they might relish having a lorafin in their court, but it was entirely different to welcome one into their family, as the future Stonewild queen nonetheless.
But Jax held my hands in our bedroom chambers as a dillemsill swirled in a tornado of magic at our feet. Jax had just finished telling it his message, and the dillemsill was on its way to Stonewild’s palace to deliver it to his parents.
“We’re really going to tell them about King Paevin’s planandthat we’re mated?” The urge to wring my hands grew even stronger.
“It’ll be all right, my love.” Jax squeezed me again. “The dillemsill will tell my parents that I need to meet with them privately, that it’s urgent, and that I want to introduce them to someone before we share some disturbing news. Have faith in me, my love. I’ll make them come to accept you. You’ll see.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Elsewhere in the suite, now that the damage from Bastian’s attack this morning had been entirely fixed, everyone was packing in a hurry, readying for our departure from Leafton. Considering what kind of despicable fairy King Paevin truly was, none of us felt obligated to carry on with our ruse of enjoying the Match Finals. In the coming days, word would eventually reach the king of what we were accusing him of, and all of us were fine with drawing that line in the sand between us now.
But despite everyone’s eagerness to leave, I couldn’t stop knotting my fingers together and picking at my fingernails. I was going to meet Jax’s parents tonight. As his mate.
I joined Bastian in the living area as Jax went off to see if everyone else was ready to go.
Bastian was sitting on one of the chairs. Several bags lay packed at his feet, and his antler rack appeared a dark beige in the low light.
He hunched forward, elbows on his knees, and a troubled look was upon his features. “It was truly the Faewood king who ordered my abduction and enslavement?”
I dipped my head and paced to the other side of the room. “Yes. King Paevin is an absolutely wretched fairy.”
Bastian’s lips thinned into a tight line, and his furious expression reminded me so much of his brother that I was astounded nobody had realized the likeness between the two. But on the other hand, I wasn’t that surprised. Nobody had reason to suspect the Stonewild king of infidelity or that he had banished a secret half-breed child.
Bastian huffed. “Jax will find a way to stop him. Just wait, Elowen. You’ll see. My brother’s unstoppable when something’s driving him.”
I stopped my frantic movements and forced myself to sit beside him. Sounds of the others carried from down the hall, and I knew they were almost ready to go. “You’re right. I should stop worrying and have faith that not only will your parents accept me, but we’ll stop King Paevin too. After all, your brother’s desire to find you is how he and I met and got us to where we are now.”
Some of the ire on Bastian’s face lifted. “Is that right? So, really, you should be thanking King Paevin for taking me. If he hadn’t, you may have never met your fated mate.”
His teasing tone had my wringing hands loosening. “Or perhaps I should thankyoufor enduring what you did for the past several months, all so I could meet your brother.”
The lightness in his face lessened. “Do you think they forced me to . . . breed . . . while I was down there?”
My breath caught. “I don’t know, but I can ask the semelees next time I’m in the Veiled Between. Would you like that?”
