Page 21 of Kingdom of Faewood

Down.

Shadows unfurled within me, my lorafin essence cold and writhing. My magic swirled, growing more potent with every breath.

Rattling, my collarzappedagainst my skin, the sharp sting a clear warning of what would come if I continued.

“Elowen?” Jax said, confusion evident in his voice.

But I didn’t stop. I didn’t douse the power that was rising inside me. I called to it, crooned to it until it heeded mycommand.

Painful pulses of electricity emitted from the collar again, and again, and again. They grew sharper and more acute with eachzapthat was emitted.

I steeled myself for the inevitable punishment and demanded that my magic venture me to the Veiled Between.

My magic sang in response. Darkness. Power. Might.

I was the princess of shadows.

The walker between the veils.

The enchantress of the semelees.

I was a lorafin by birthright, and I would one day be the maker of my own destiny.

A shout came from behind me. A firm grip on my shoulder came next. Someone spun me from where I sat as more voices came, but I didn’t stop, and I wouldn’t.

My soul shot through the galaxy until the Veil appeared in the darkness, a wispy fog that called to me.Come to me. Come to me, my creatures.I was so close. I reached toward the Veil, and my fingertips parted the cool mist. The semelees on the other side stirred, sensing my presence.

I entered the Veiled Between, and a semelee swam toward me.You’ve come, Daughter of Darkness. What do you seek?

An electrifyingzapskated along my limbs, nearly jolting me back.

For a moment, I hung suspended, pain ricocheting through me, but the second I regained control, I pushed myself farther through the Veil and clenched my teeth with each inch that Iwon. The semelee watched me, waiting for my command, but instead of demanding anything, I pushed farther, which triggered my collar even more.

Another paralyzing sting of magic slashed from my collar, so strong that for a brief moment, the Veil disappeared, and I saw stars.

Another bolt skittered along my nerves, setting me on fire. I screamed, and the collar unleashed a third explosive array of whips.

Its triggered magic zoomed through my system as the mist disappeared, and then I was falling. Falling once again into my body as the Veiled Between fell to the great beyond.

Burning sparks of lightning shot from the magical device and ignited my nerves. Scorched flesh encircled my throat. My body convulsed. My eyes rolled back in my head. The collar’s dousing effects, on top of the pain I’d already been dealing with following the callings yesterday, made agony rip through me.

“Elowen!” Jax roared.

I seized in his arms, jerking so violently that I tipped to the side, but the collar didn’t stop its punishment. It wouldn’t. I’d gone too far.

Jax grabbed me, halting my spasms, but then I was on the ground, my limbs under the control of the collar. Legs and arms jerked out, contorting at impossible angles. Bones cracked. Flesh burned. A scream of pain escaped me as thecollar punished me severely for using my lorafin powers without permission.

But it wasn’t until terrified eyes stared down at me, pulling me into their impossible sapphire depths, that blessedly, the collar at last calmed.

I slumped to the side, my body broken and my mind bruised.

“Elowen!” Jax yelled again.

He held me in his arms, eyes wide with shock, as grass tickled my cheek.

Sheer agony sizzled through me. Everything burned and ached so potently I could barely breathe, but it didn’t stop the small triumphant smile that parted my lips.

We’d stopped, and Jax and all of his friends had shifted back into their fae forms with looks of horror coating their faces.

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