“Your brother?”
He nodded. “Seeing how my father treated him, watching him struggle, and knowing there wasn’t a greater life for him”—he paused—“it made me feel hopeless. I couldn’t do anything to change that, so I thought of things Icouldchange. I may not be able to change the laws as a prince, but someday I’ll have more sway as the king, but in the here and now, I could take action if I developed a plan to avenge those who had no voice.”
“That’s what brought it on?” Of course, now that he’d voiced it, it made sense. Jax loved his brother so fiercely. I could only imagine how gut-wrenching it would have been for him to see his brother mistreated so egregiously season after season.
“But now, I’ll find another way.” Jax traced his finger along my jaw and down my neck, then kissed me softly.
“You’ll really give it all up? Just like that?”
“For you? Yes.”
“But what about everyone else in your band? What if they want to continue?”
He shrugged. “I’ll ask them, but I highly doubt they will. Several have been having second thoughts about it, especially Phillen, and it was me who was the driving factor behind it to begin with. If I tell them I’m done, my guess is they’ll all follow suit.”
He kissed me again, and I closed my eyes, savoring his taste and feel. He rumbled in pleasure and kissed along my neck. “My mate. So strong. So fierce. You never cease to amaze me,” he murmured. “You twisted fate for me. All because of your love for me.”
“And I’d do it all again,” I whispered. I arched into him, loving the feel of him after being parted for so long, but I pulled back, placing my hands on his chest. “But what I did isn’t to be taken lightly. I learned that much on the Isle of Song.” A heartbeat of fear pulsed through me. “And if you’re going to change your ways and no longer be the Dark Raider, it’s important that I change too. I can never twist fate again. It’s incredibly dangerous to do so and could carry lasting effects that I can’t foresee. Not to mention, if anyone were to ever find out that I’ve already done it once, I would be arrested.”
His nostrils flared, and his aura rose in agitation, but I pushed on.
“Having the ability to do what I did...that’s exactly why I was allowed to be enslaved. The amount of power I wield in the Veiled Between, and now being able to command the semelees fully, it’s not natural, and it scares fae. It’s not unlike how half-breeds are treated. They’re punished for just having the potential to be powerful and able to breed faster than siltenites. Imagine the fear fae would have if theyknewwhat I’d just done.”
A thunderous expression grew on his face, and Jax’s aura wrapped around me. “Their fear istheirproblem. The gods gave you that much power for a reason, and anyone who tries to control you because of it, or hurt you, will meet the end of my blade.” A glow filled his irises, and his potent protectiveness swirled around me and strummed along our bond.
“That’s all good and well, my love, but if the supernatural courts ever found out?—”
“Theywon’t.” He ran his hand down my side, cupping my waist and pulling me closer. “The only fairy who’s truly a threat to you is your guardian, and I still have him, which means that I can do what I want with him. But nobody knows that you twisted fate, only you and me, and we’ll keep it that way. We tell no one what you did.”
“You’re not going to tell your friends?”
“No, not even them.” He kissed me again, his lips firm and warm. “The less that know, the safer you’ll be.”
I was breathless by the time he finally pulled back. “What are you going to do with Guardian Alleron?”
He smiled, the look dark, but his eyes gleamed. “Consider it my last act as the Dark Raider.”
I held my breath, certain that my guardian’s death was coming. But not an ounce of me cared. After all, in my initial reality, I’d killed him myself, and I had yet to regret it.
“Meaning...” I said, waiting for him to continue.
Jax ran his hand up my side again, his fingers dancing across my skin. “I’m not going to end him, my love. Death is too easy of a punishment for all that he’s done to you.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“That’s a very good question.” He glanced at the clock. Ten bells were nearly upon us, and night had fully set in. The three moons glowed in the sky, and our galaxy was awash with color.
“I’ll talk with the boys about that tonight, and we’ll work out a plan.” He leaned down and kissed me again. My body thrummed, and he hardened against me, but he still pulled back. “As much as I want to rut with you here and now before I meet with them, you look beyond exhausted, my love. And you’ve been through so much, more than you should have ever had to deal with. Go to sleep. By tomorrow, this will all be fixed.”
Exhaustion claimedme so fully that despite wanting to join Jax and our friends, I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes open. A dreamless, heavy sleep had pulled me under all night, but I awoke in the morning to Jax’s heavy arm around me.
Soft puffs of his breath filled my ear, and the distant morning bells in the capital filtered quietly through the window.
It was just past seven. I’d slept like a stone, so exhausted from commanding the semelees and the chaos of Jax’s arrest and the past six weeks that I’d been dead to the realm.
Stretching, I rose. Or rather, I tried to.
Jax’s arm tightened around my waist, his fingers dancing across my skin. I thought he’d been asleep, but his aura strummed higher with every breath.
