Page 20 of Kingdom of Faewood

“But you don’tanswerthem, so they don’t really count.”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

A chuff came from the blond, who was named Trivan, if I remembered right. At least someone was enjoying my annoyance.

“Back to your guardian,” Jax said, shifting behind me. “From what I learned, he’s quite wealthy and only recently moved to that estate you were traveling to last night.”

I started. “You researched Guardian Alleron?”

“I did.”

“Yet you didn’t know of my collar?”

A discontented sound came from him. “No, an embarrassing slight on my part, I’ll admit, but what else can you tell me about him?”

My stomach began to churn. “Um...what do you already know of him?”

“That he’s used you for full seasons to fill his pockets. He’s now rich, conceited, arrogant, and smug since he’s acquired so much. He’s also a native to Faewood Kingdom and has finally secured the status he’s relished since childhood—a name among the nobles with hopes of becoming a favorite of the king. All of this is to secure his ultimate goal, to become an appointed lordling who commands one of your kingdom’s ten Houses, but without you at his side any longer, I don’t see that goal being achieved.”

Without you at his side...My pulse leaped. He’d just saidwithout you at his side.

That had to mean that hewasn’tgoing to let me go, because if he intended to ultimately release me after his calling, hewouldn’thave said that.

Stars and galaxy.

A part of me wondered if he was even aware of his slip.

Not that it mattered.

Goddess, I must delay them. Now!

I cleared my throat, and my mind raced as I tried to figure out how. “It seems you’ve been watching him.”

“Learning about him would be the more apt description.”

“And all of this was so you could take me from him?”

“Yes.”

My heart beat so painfully that I was certainhe could hear it. “And...how did you know that I’d be on that enchanted carpet last night at the time that I was?”

He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Tongues have a habit of spilling secrets when the consequence of not doing so could result in that tongue being removed.”

A trail of ice zinged through me all the way to my bones. The Dark Raider had just said that statement so casually, so matter of fact. As though cutting out tongues was no different from washing one’s hands before a meal.

Or killing a kind guard who was only doing his job.My breath hitched.Or disposing of a lorafin who couldn’t access her magic.

He’s going to kill me. I’m sure of it. Nothing about this situation will end well for me.

And in that moment, an idea came to me at lightning speed.

I knew what I needed to do. It would be to my detriment, but it was the only thing I could think of that could ultimately lead to my escape.

CHAPTER 6

I curled my concentration inward, cringing at what was about to happen. The last time I’d done such a thing was when I was a teenager and had learned the hard way what would happen if I defied the collar, but at the moment, if I wanted to escape, I had no choice.

I squeezed my eyes closed and delved my focus down to my magic. Down to my bottomless depth of power.

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