Page 98 of Kingdom of Faewood

A shallow breath lifted my chest, but I closed my eyes and delved down into the darkness inside me. My collar vibrated, warning me at the abrupt shift in power, but I was careful. If I ventured to the Veiled Between as I had when I’d been trying to delay Jax on our trip to Stonewild, I could end up in a perilous state, entirely broken and unconscious.

But if I did it slowly and withdrew the second I got what I needed...

Concentrating, I dove to that place within me, to the center of where my powers lay, and latched onto the darkness, demanding that it heed my call and venture me to the Veiled Between.

My collar jolted me with electricity, warning me, but I didn’t stop.

Weightlessness drifted around me, and the collar zapped me again, but I sped through the galaxy until the Veil appeared, then punched through its mist.

A bone snapped.

White-hot agony seared along my corporeal limb. I screamed, instinctively cradling the injury as my soul remained unattached from my body. My physical hand was cradling my wrist, and I could feel enough of my body to understand what was happening. The collar had broken one of my bones.So be it.I could still walk with that injury.

Wincing against the suffocating pain, I returned my attention to the Veiled Between but stayed on the edge, hovering at the entrance. Despite my care, another zing shot from my collar, burning my throat.

Panting, I called into the darkness.Come to me. Quickly!

A semelee drifted forward just as another zap electrified me, an even bigger one than before. A tendon severed in my hand.

I screamed anew.

What do you seek, Princess of Shadows?the semelee crooned.

Breathing heavily, I called to it.I need your power.

Lightheadedness consumed me when another blazing blast from the collar electrified my nerves, but I managed to stay conscious as the semelee curled around me and offered me its monumental strength.

I pulled on its magic, mixing it with my own. Breathing through the pain, I whispered the unlocking spell again.

In the fae lands, the door’s lock clicked open.

Triumph skated through me just as another bone snapped, this one at my elbow. I cried out again and hurriedly let the semelee go.Thank you.

Breathing hard, I immediately calmed my lorafin magic and barreled back into my body before my collar could punish me more.

Panting, I came awake and became aware of my surroundings, only to find my arm hanging at an odd angle at my elbow. My wrist throbbed, and my fingers hung limply. I was relieved to see it was all on the same side, though. I wouldn’t be able to use that arm or wrist until everything healed—several hours at least—but my other arm was still workable.

I cradled my injury, and mind-numbing pain blazed through me, but panting, I quietly opened the door and peered into the hallway.

Nobody lay about.

Being careful to keep my footsteps quiet, I ducked into the corridor, the heavy coins in my bag jingling slightly, and I wondered which way to go. Searing pain cut through me again,and I clung to consciousness, sagging against a wall. The pain wasagonizing, but I needed to keep my wits about me.

Which way?Through a haze of pain, I was able to make out the wide hall that was extravagantly decorated. It was just as decadent as the suite I’d been in—Jax was obviously extremely wealthy—but the door to where I’d been lay at the hall’s end.

Only one way to go.Evening light streamed in through windows ahead, and the hallway intersected with another not far away.

I blinked and shook my head slightly to stay focused. Once certain I wouldn’t fall over from the throbbing in my limb, I picked up a run, keeping my footsteps light and quick.

When I reached the windows, I almost stopped. They were clear, and I could easily see the blazing city of Jaggedston spilling out before me. Wherever I was, it was high up, giving a clear view of the city and the stunning Adriastic Sea just behind it, but I didn’t slow. I couldn’t.

Not stopping to contemplate just how grand Jax’s residence was, I carried on. A stairwell appeared to the left, and I took the stairs down as fast as my feet could carry me under the bag’s strain.

I’d managed to travel down two flights, my vision only going black once, as the monstrosity of Jax’s home baffled me anew.He has to be a lordling of one of the ten Houses.

At the bottom of the second flight, voices drifted to my ears.Female voices.

I came to a careening stop and ducked behind a window’s long curtain just as two wildlings walked by. Thankfully, the jingling coins quieted just in time, and I made sure to keep my injured arm still. If I jarred it, I didn’t know if I would be able to stop from crying out.

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