Page 19 of Kingdom of Faewood

“I’ve heard that can happen, but I didn’t know you’d justhad a strong emotion.” He leaned closer, and his breath tickled my skin. “What was your emotion?”

Every fiber in my body locked up, and I tried to inch away from him, but his arm didn’t budge. “Do you really need to ask? I’ve been kidnapped by the Dark Raider, and I’m currently atop a brommel stag shifter being transported to who knows where. Wouldn’t that elicit a strong emotion in you?”

“You do make a fair point.”

I huffed and tried to make sense of where we were, but the landscape was a blur. In a way, with Jax’s elemental magic enacted, it was like being locked in a void—a rocking chair beneath me, a haze of color surrounding me, and a large male behind me.

It felt as if I’d been transported to an alternate reality, and somehow, I had to figure out a way to stop all of this.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Is it truly so bad that you won’t tell me?”

“No. I simply find it’s best if captives know little about what’s happening.”

My insides chilled, and I was reminded that I’d likely end up like Mushil if I didn’t find a way out of this. “I thought you weren’t in a habit of abducting females?”

“I’m not.”

“Yet the words you just uttered claimed otherwise.”

“No, they didn’t. How do you know I wasn’t referring to male captives?”

“So you take male captives regularly but not females?”

“When I need to.”

The chill in me morphed into annoyance again. “Do you always answer questions this vaguely?”

“Sometimes.”

“What’s everybody’s names?” I asked, switching subjects since our destination was apparently guarded knowledge. “Or should I start calling the others Red, Blond, Brown One, and Brown Two? Oh, and of course there’s Phillen.” I figured there was no harm in learning their names. I doubted they were their real names anyway.

The stag in front of Phillen, Brown One I decided to call him, glanced for the briefest moment over his shoulder. I could have sworn he narrowed his eyes.

Jax pointed to him. “That’s Lander, and the other brown-haired fairy, the one with the earring, is Bowan. The blond is Trivan, and the redhead is Lars.”

“Lander, Bowan, Trivan, Lars, and Phillen.” I didn’t know if I would be able to keep them straight, but at least I had names for everyone.

Jax leaned closer, his thighs tightening around Phillen slightly. “So, tell me more about this collar.”

Since I was currently at a loss for how to slow them down, I replied tartly, “What do you want to know about it? It’s magical. It doesn’t come off, and despite all of this effort you’re going through, I’m entirely useless to you withit in place, so if you change your mind about my captivity, feel free to stop and leave me right here.”

He touched my collar again, and when his fingertip grazed softly against my skin, a shiver fluttered down my neck. “And your guardian? What can you tell me about him?”

I stiffened. “Why do you want to know about him?”

“I’m just curious. He put this on you after all, didn’t he?”

“So you’re saying that you wantmeto talk while you refuse to?”

“I haven’t refused to talk. Aren’t we talking right now?”

“Right, but you get to ask questions, and I don’t?”

“You seem to have been asking questions just fine.”

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