Page 25 of Kingdom of Faewood

Yet those very fields were why I’d never visited this area before. The fae who lived here weren’t lordlings, and they weren’t wealthy, which meant they held no interest to Guardian Alleron since they couldn’t afford his hefty fee even if they wanted to use his lorafin.

Jax muttered a command, and the enchanted carpet slowed as we began to descend the hill into Lemos. “Bowan, a glamour if you would.”

I pushed up just in time to see the three following us intheir stag form shift back to fae and leap onto the carpet. In my next breath, a dose of magic altered all their appearances.

Their black disguises and ebony clothing morphed into one of normality. Before my eyes, the masks disappeared, the head scarves obliterated, and the dark clothing transformed. In a blink, all of them were fae wearing simple, laboring wear, and all of their faces morphed into fae males I’d never seen before.

And then my gown changed too. Even though I still felt my bulky skirt’s numerous layers of tulle, my gown morphed into a simple home-spun dress. Nothing about it screamed for attention. It was a simple frock that any fairy could be wearing.

I seethed inwardly. Now, I wouldn’t draw attention at all in Lemos.

Phillen laughed when his trousers turned baggy and worn. “My da used to wear pants like these.”

Dammit. So Bowan is quite adept at glamours. Good to know.

Even though all fae could create glamours, some were more adept at it than others, and considering Jax had asked Bowan to do it, meant Bowan likely produced the strongest glamours in their group.

But I was under no illusion that what I was seeing was even remotely close to their true features. Despite their builds staying the same, all of their ears got sharper or longer. The noses that had pushed against their masks had either lengthened or shortened. Not even their hair remained true to their inherent coloring.

Jax’s dark locks changed to a rusty brown. Phillen’s turned as red as Lars’s, yet the natural redhead shifted to being blonder than Trivan. Bowan and Lander remained brunettes, yet Lander’s shoulder-length hair shortened, and Bowan’s grew longer. And Trivan was behind them all, so I couldn’t even see what he’d changed into.

It all happened so fast. As soon as their appearances finished morphing, I struggled to remember who’d turned into what.

I grumbled and lay back down. If I’d had any hope of understanding their identities before, I knew now I never would. Six strangers surrounded me.

“What’s the matter, Little Lorafin?” Bowan asked in an amused tone. At least their voices hadn’t changed, yet my grumble grew. “Don’t like what you see?”

I peeled my eyes open to see him grinning down at me. His new face had a lovely smile, although the one I offered in return was anything but sweet. “Not at all. I was simply pondering why the feared Dark Raider would feel the need to hide.” I slid my attention to Jax. At least I could identifyhimin the group. “Are you afraid of being arrested in Lemos, Guar...I mean, Jax?” I batted my eyelashes, my tone like honeyed syrup.

Jax shrugged, not rising to the bait of my intentional slip-up. “Not really.”

“Then why the glamours?”

“As you pointed out, without them, ourdark disguises are rather noticeable, meaning we could be pursued by the kingsfae.”

I pushed to sitting again, gasping when pain sliced through my stomach. In a heartbeat, Jax was beside me, propping me up.

He glowered. “You need to quit doing that.”

“Quit doing what?”

“Hurting yourself.”

“Ah, so you would like me to quit existing.”

His forehead furrowed, or rather, the male identity that he’d taken on frowned. “Is it always this painful for you? Is every day like this?”

I lifted my shoulders. “Sometimes, yes. Other times, no.”And that’s not even a lie.

His gaze captured mine. The same cerulean eyes that I’d first seen upon waking this morning held firm. At least his eyes hadn’t changed. “Does your magic hurt you intentionally?”

“No,” I answered honestly, and truth be told, I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of another lie to spill, anything to keep him thinking I was always this fragile. “It’s the collar that does it.”

“So, your guardian is the one responsible for the pain.”

“How do you figure?”

“He created that collar, did he not? Therefore, he’s to blame.”

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