Page 101 of Kingdom of Faewood

“Yes, Your Highness.” Phillen, or perhaps Nellip was his real name, bowed, but his eyes burned with worry, and he quickly moved to the nearest door and opened it before peering inside. “No one’s in this one.”

Jax ushered me forward, his movements careful to avoid jarring my injury further, and we entered a drawing room of some kind. It was small, with several couches, an unlit fireplace, and no lights. The crown prince closed the door and locked it.

The second we were hidden inside, he rounded on me. “You’re hurt.”

But I flinched away. “Don’ttouch me.”

He pulled back as if I’d slapped him, but then his nostrils flared. “And not only are you injured, but you escaped from the suite. Dammit, Elowen. Do you know what this means?” He raked both hands through his hair, his fingers tangling in thick dark locks. “You probably thought I wasn’t returning. Is that why you escaped?” But he didn’t wait for me to reply and instead hissed. “Fuck! I knew I should have asked for Saramel’s help. I should have told her to tell you we’d been called away.”

My gaze darted between the three of them. “That’s why you never came back?” I swayed, his reason hitting me like a steel drum. But my abrupt movement jarred my injury, and I inhaled sharply through the pain.

He immediately stepped closer to me, a heavy frowndescending upon his features. “Elowen...” His frown increased, renewed concern overlapping his anger. “You need a healer. Fuck, let me help you.”

But I whipped my head back and forth. “No, I don’t need a healer, but...” I struggled to comprehend the last three days of never-ending anxiety. “Ididn’tthink you’d be returning. You’re right. That’s why I escaped. Because for three days I waited for you to free me, but you never came, even though you promised to return, but...you didn’t.” To my absolute mortification, tears filled my eyes.

His face fell, his expression so crestfallen that for a moment I couldn’t breathe. “You thought I left you. You truly thought I would do that to you.” His attention dipped to my arm again, and a look of such regret passed over his features that for a moment, I physicallyfeltthe weight of his despair. It pounded through his aura in steady, throbbing waves. “I should have told you. I should have found a way to explain what was happening. I’m sorry. I’m sofuckingsorry, Elowen.”

He sounded so aggrieved, and it struck me that if he’d been called away to an emergent meeting with the ten Houses, then he likely hadn’t been searching for the half-breed he sought.

My heart twisted at that realization. I wasn’t the only one who’d been caught up in anxiety. Jax likely had been as well, not just because of me, but because who was to say where that half-breed was now.

I cradled my injured arm more. My heart was pounding so wildly it felt like a caged bird beating its wingsagainst a wall, but at least my vision wasn’t fading as much anymore. Standing still helped, and despite the commotion, I was slowly healing.

“What do we do now?” Phillen asked Jax, the worry on his face not lessening.

The prince raked a hand through his midnight hair again. Wavy, thick strands poked up between his fingers. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I do,” I countered. “What you need to do is let me go, because that’s what you promised to do three days ago.”

Phillen let out an irritated sigh. “My prince, she can’t...” He fiddled with the sword on his belt, and Lars did the same. Both looked entirely agitated. “She can’t be allowed to leave now. She knows too much.”

Lars nodded in agreement. “Nellip’s right.”

My stomach sank. “What? Why? I won’t tell anyone what I know or what I’ve seen. I won’t reveal your identities.”

Phillen glared at me. “Even so, and even if we could trust you, the risk is too great.”

Stomach sinking to the bottom of my toes, I turned pleading eyes on the prince. “But you can command me, right? You could command me to forget everything with your Mistvale magic, and all of this will be fine. I won’t tell anyone your secrets, Jax. I promise. I won’t tell a single soul you’re the Dark Raider or who your raider friends are.”

Lars’s head whipped to the door, his eyes widening. “Keepyour voice down,” he hissed even though we were still alone in the room.

“I’ve already cast a silencing Shield,” Jax replied just as fast. “No one can hear us.”

My head whipped to the side.Silencing Shield?But I didn’t see anything. Turning my attention back to him, I practically begged, “Please, release me. Command me. Do whatever you need to do to feel safe so you can free me. Please, Jax. You promised.”

Jax placed his hands on his hips, his fingers tapping them repeatedly. “My psychic magic doesn’t work like that. I can command you not to speak of it, but I can’t command you to forget.”

“Then command me not to speak. I’ll never tell anyone, and it doesn’t matter if I remember. Your secret’s safe with me.Please, just let me go!” I grabbed his sweater with my uninjured hand, my fingers digging into him like claws. I was met with firm muscle underneath that jumped at the contact.

He stared at my hand, and the muscle in his jaw pumped. A fleeting emotion washed over his face. Longing. Regret. Or perhaps despair. I couldn’t tell because it passed so quickly.

Fingers covering mine, his expression filled with sorrow. “Elowen...I want to?—”

“She knows too much, Jax,” Phillen interrupted on a low growl. “We’reallat risk if the truth comes to light. You know what that means, and you know what you promised all of us when we went down this road with you.” He raised hiseyebrows, and a silent exchange took place between them. “I have a family, Jax.” His face burned with meaning.

“Butcommandme not to tell anyone,” I tried again. “Even if you can’t make me forget, that’ll fix that I’ve discovered your true identity. Right?”

Jax tore both hands through his hair simultaneously again before shaking his head. “No, it won’t. If another fairy with magic like mine commanded you to tell the truth, if his or her magic was superior, it would overpower mine. You would be forced to speak of what you know, and it would implicate all of us.”

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