Page 38 of Kingdom of Faewood

“You are.” He laughed, a hint of surprise weaving into that sound. “I can’t believe how quickly you put that together. Most have no idea that we don’t kill those caught in the crossfire. You’re quite intelligent, Elowen.”

I brushed off his flattery, since I was more interested in getting to the bottom of it all. “So it’s true? You pretend to kill, but you don’t always?”

He released a breath, then made a sound low in his throat. “I will say this...I don’t kill innocents, Elowen, and I never will. Those who fall at my hand deserve nothing less for what they’ve done, but as for others...no.”

Hearing that made my stiff shoulders soften, and it felt as though the fist that had been squeezing my lungs—constricting each breath since my abduction had occurred—loosened. For the first time since he’d taken me, it felt like I could breathe because Jax might be the Dark Raider, but hewasn’tas brutal as the kingdoms claimed him to be. He’d simply allowed his reputation to become the monstrous tale that it was, even if the truth remained hidden.

And the reality of that revelation meant hewasn’tgoing to kill me.

“Thank you,” I finally said. “For not killing Mushil. I thought you had.”

He grunted. “I’m assuming that Mushil is one of your personal guards?”

“He is, or rather,was. I guess he’s been fired.” I threaded my fingers more through Phillen’s mane, the course hair grounding me as a rush of sadness coasted through me. In all likelihood, I would never see the older guard again.

Jax shifted behind me, his chest brushing my back. “You sound...upset by that.”

I lifted my shoulders. “Mushil was always kind to me. He was the only personal guard I ever had who was nothing but good to me. When I thought you’d killed him—” I swallowed the thickness in my throat. “Well, he certainly didn’t deserve death, so I’m glad you didn’t murder him. But I will miss him. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Jax’s chin bobbed against my head, as though he was nodding. “I’m sorry you’ve lost him, but you’re right, I wouldn’t have killed him. He was simply doing his job by trying to protect you. I cannot willingly kill a male for doing his work. If I did, then what the kingdoms believe of me would be entirely warranted, so at least now you can rest easy knowing that the guard you cared for still lives.”

I sat for a moment in silence, processing exactly what thisnew revelation meant. The reality was that Jax might be the Dark Raider, but unlike what I’d thought of him—what everyone thought of him—he wasn’t actually evil. He just allowed his reputation to precede him.

I shifted again, my thoughts turning as more questions came to me. “How long were you watching me for, before you took me?”

“About a month.”

“And you knew I was a lorafin who catered to the wealthy and had a guardian who kept me under lock and key, so an abduction at night in the Wood was the only way?”

“Yes.”

“And you knew I would have the education and training to know a counterspell to break through the locking spell you wielded in Lemos?”

“Also yes.”

“What else do you know about me?”

“I know that you’re twenty-eight summers old. You’ve lived a vagabond lifestyle in three of the kingdoms and have only settled in Faewood within the past full season. I know that you don’t have any siltenite friends, only wildlings, because your guardian forbade you from forming close friendships with others. And I’m guessing he doesn’t know of the wildlings you’ve befriended, because if he did, he would likely put a stop to it. I know that the king favors you and is likely going out of his mind at this very moment now that I took youand he can’t use you for callings, and I know that you treat others with kindness and respect. I saw that very early on while I was watching you. It didn’t matter if they were nobles or servants, you were polite to everyone.”

I scoffed lightly and for a moment couldn’t respond. Finally, I said in a wry tone, “Is there anything you don’t know about me?”

“I don’t know who your blood family is.”

It felt as though he’d punched me in the gut. Gasping, I couldn’t speak, but then I managed to rasp, “But you know that my mother left me in the Wood to die?”

A heartbeat of silence passed before Jax replied quietly, “I know that your guardian claims that she left you.”

A whirring sound began in my ears, like a high-pitched scream. The realm spun around me, and I leaned forward, trying to dispel the dizziness.

“Elowen?”

I inhaled sharply through my nose as darkness cascaded through me.Why? Why do I still have such a visceral response whenever anyone mentions my family?

“Elowen?” Jax ran a hand up my back, softly, lightly, as though afraid the collar would once again break me if he moved too fast.

I slowly straightened, and his hand fell away. But his concern did little to lift my spirits. I couldn’t stop thinking about what he was accusing Guardian Alleron of.

No.

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