Page 81 of Kingdom of Faewood

“We’re going inside.”

“Insidewhere, Jax?”

“Shh, please keep your voice down.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to do the exact opposite, but his arm tightened around my stomach. “Elowen, I can only allow your voice if you stay quiet.”

My lip curled in a sneer. “You’re going to take that too?”

“Please don’t make me.”

His low warning had me snapping my mouth closed. It was quickly becoming apparent to me that here in Stonewild’s capital, Jax feared something or someone—so much so that he didn’t want me to potentially alert his presence to any fae passing by. And maybe it was in my best interest to also heed that plea. For all I knew, if the kingsfae found us, they would shoot their deadly arrows first and ask questions second. I could be dead before I knew it.

“Do I have your word you’ll stay quiet?”

My nostrils flared, but I gave a sharp nod.

He swung off Phillen, then helped me dismount. From the sounds of it, someone was helping Guardian Alleron down too.

Distant sounds of a street made my head cock. We weren’t far from the city’s bustle, and a soft breeze flew across my cheeks. I knew we were still in the capital. The city’s scents hadn’t abated even once.

“You need to follow me, but stay quiet. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to?—”

“I know.” I bristled at his promised threat, yet a part of me ached at what his warning implied. Gone was the Jax I’d been traveling with during the past few days. The one who protected me, spoken with me,slept beside me.

This Jax was entirely guarded and cold, but perhaps this was the real Jax, and the one I’d been journeying with had been a figment of my imagination.

The Dark Raider clasped my hand, his large palm closing over mine. The sound of a door opening came next, and then he led me down a dank stone walkway.

I knew it was stone from the instant humidity and coolness that pressed around me. Sure enough, several times I reached out, and my fingers met cold rock.

The sounds of the city fell away. Footsteps, from who I assumed were his friends and Guardian Alleron, came from behind us. We were in a tunnel, moving underground. Dank air swirled around us. Musty scents of water and mold flooded my senses. Without my sight, I tried as hard as I could to decipher where we were and what Jax had planned, but I couldn’t.

His hand squeezed mine. “Not much farther.”

My feet shuffled along the rough path, then we were moving upward, my breaths becoming winded as the climb grew steeper.

“There are steps here.”

My shin knocked into the first one, and I cursed.

A hiss came from Jax. “On second thought, I’ll carry you.”

Before I could respond, Jax swung me up in his arms. His spicy scent flooded my senses more potently than it ever had before.

And then we were flying.

His shifter magic gave him superior strength and speed, making us move faster than a normal fairy. Wind flowed over my cheeks, and I clung to him, desperately clinging to his solid form as the dark world turned around me.

“Jax?” That stupid fear was still in my voice, but I desperately needed answers.

“Almost there.”

We reached the top of the stairwell, the only clue to it being his abrupt stop. He shifted, his arm moving from beneath me. Another door creaked open, and a strong wash of magic prickled my skin when we stepped over a warded barrier, but after we passed through it, the dank humidity fell behind us. Rustling sounds came again, and then we were walking.

Jax turned and turned again. He did it all so fast that I couldn’t tell if we were in another tunnel or hall or if he was purposefully moving in a way as to disorient me.

Another door opened and closed, and with a start, I realized that Lander, Bowan, and the other males’ footsteps had disappeared.

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