Page 47 of Kingdom of Faewood

Guardian Alleron’s lips clamped close, his eyes bulging when Jax’s commanding Mistvale magic speared him.

I watched his struggle, and it felt as though I observed him from a great distance even though he was only a body length away. He stared at me, mouth opening and closing, but robbed of voice when trying to speak to me, he banged his head against the tree, then bared his teeth at Jax.

But I didn’t feel pity for him. I would have earlier, but now...

Now, I felt nothing.

The numbness spread, moving like an icy river through my chest, along my limbs, down to my toes, and burrowing deep into my bones.

Guardian Alleron lied to me.Lied through his teeth to me since I was a child.

Stiffly, I walked past him.

His eyes stayed on me, stayed pleading, but I refused to acknowledge him.

Nothing. I felt nothing, because I was nothing, and I had no one.

I was entirely alone now.

Vibrations strummed along my collar—the collar I would never be rid of. Somehow, I managed to cross the distance to the tent even though it felt as if I was floating.

Jax’s brow furrowed, and I could have sworn that beneath his mask, his jaw was working. Hand gently encircling my forearm, Jax’s warm fingers met my cool skin, yet I barely felt it.

“Elowen?” An ache filled that one word. “Would you like to see him suffer for what he’s done to you?”

I looked at him blankly.

“Elowen?” he said hoarsely.

“Do whatever you deem fit.”

Jax gave a curt nod, and magic speared from him to cloud around Guardian Alleron. I couldfeelthe Dark Raider’s vengeance. It coated the air, snaking around my guardian like vicious, deadly serpents.

A look of sheer panic coated my guardian’s face. His head whipped around, more silent screams coming from him. For a brief second, he thrashed against his restraints but then stopped when Bowan’s magic cut into him, and fresh blood rose.

“What did you do?” I asked, not even sure if I cared.

“I took his sight and ability to hear in addition to his voice. He currently has no senses other than taste and smell, but I could take those too. And now?—”

Guardian Alleron abruptly twitched and thrashed, sheer terror and agony twisting his features.

“And now, I’m causing him pain. He currently feels like he’s being burned and stabbed.”

“At the same time?”

“Yes.”

Shrugging, I moved automatically into the tent.

Inside, a soft mat had been placed on the floor. Bundles of furs and blankets lay on top of it. There weren’t two distinguished sleeping areas. It was all one large pile, but considering all that had happened, it was the least of my concerns.

I would now eat, sleep, travel, and exist wherever Jax told me to. He now controlled me and my guardian fully, even if he’d never wanted to.

I fell to my knees amidst the thick, soft furs. Shivers ran through me. A part of me knew I was cold, but...I didn’t care.

I listened to Guardian Alleron’s thrashing limbs that beat and thumped against the ground just outside of the tent. It was the only sound of his torture.

And I thought of how that male had molded me into the female I was today.

---