Page 78 of Kingdom of Faewood

He smirked, the telltale sound of his scoff giving that gesture away. “No, Little Lorafin, nobody taught me.”

“But you obviously learned how to fight. Someone must have taught you that.”

“You’re right in that aspect. I’ve been trained in combat since I was young. It was expected of me.”

“Expected? By who?”

“My father.”

My heart jolted. “Your father? Is he still alive?”

A grinding noise came, and I knew he was clenching his jaw. “He is.”

“Oh, I see.” I didn’t press him for more information about his family. The aura strumming off Jax increased, and I had a feeling it was a sensitive subject, so instead I asked, “What ultimately made you decide to be the Dark Raider? You mentioned last night it was because of things you also suffered, but did something specific happen?”

He shifted again, and his throat rolled in a swallow. “There was something that set it off, but it was also an accumulation of things. Too many injustices were happening in our realm, and not enough was being done about it, so I decided to take matters into myown hands.”

My fingers entwined through Phillen’s mane more. “Have you ever come close to being caught?”

“Come close?” He chuckled. “Ihavebeen caught.”

It felt as if my heart stopped. “You were? When?”

“When I first created this role. I wasn’t as practiced in evading the kingsfae then.”

“How did you get away?”

He leaned closer, and a smile entered his voice. “Haven’t you learned a thing or two about my magic, Little Lorafin? I can be ratherpersuasive.”

My eyes bulged when his meaning hit me. “You commanded them to free you?”

“I did, but in the process I also revealed that about myself. Most of the kingsfae now think I herald from Mistvale, so most of their efforts to find me are focused there, which has actually been a blessing. But, because of what I revealed, they also know what I’m capable of. I’ve heard they wear devices in their ears now to resist a Mistvale fairy’s influence.”

“Even though most fae from Mistvale aren’t strong enough to command as you do?”

“Yes, even though most fae can’t do what I can, they still wear them, so if I’m caught again, I may not be as lucky to escape twice.”

Fingers tangling more in Phillen’s mane, I tried to ignore the turning of my stomach that thought provoked. “Do they not know that you command magic from all of the kingdoms?”

“No, they don’t. They believe I only hold Mistvale magic.”

“Then how come I know that?”

For a heartbeat, he was quiet, and his fingers rubbed on my shirt again. “I don’t know, Elowen. I normally don’t reveal as much with captives as I have with you, so...” His fingers fiddled with my shirt more. “I don’t know.”

When late afternoon arrived,the stags slowed to a canter, moving at a natural pace. My head spun at the abrupt shift in speed, but Jax held me steady.

I sniffed. The scent of thick salt filled the breeze, and when we crested a large hill, the outskirts of a huge city waited just across the valley, and the rolling waves of the sea waited just beyond.

I gasped. “Is that Jaggedston?”

“It is.”

Crashing waves from the Adriastic Sea curled like white blankets along the cliff’s shore as the capital glimmered just west of the vast ocean. Soaring buildings made of stone, brick, and steel stretched for miles, and the Wildland Mountains rose in the distance like sharp sentries just north of it.

“It’s so big,” I murmured. “And beautiful.”

Hundreds of zigzagging streets could be seen from this high up, and at the top of the highest hill, stood the palace. Black stone walls and an onyx roof held true to the whisperings I’d heard throughout the kingdoms about the Stonewildroyal’s residence. It looked dark. Sinister. But captivating too.

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