Page 72 of Kingdom of Faewood

The band kept playing, as though used to such occurrences during their riffs, but the bartender stood as tense as a board behind his bench. He didn’t interfere, not even when the rest of the dancers moved farther away, but he called out, “That group isn’t from around here. Apologies, Dark Raider.”

The male’s friends all sat back, panic growing on their expressions when they realized who they provoked.

Jax cast me a questioning look. “Elowen, do you accept this male’s apology?”

I glanced between Jax and the male and wondered what Jax would do if I saidno. I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out. There’d been enough violence today.

Chest heaving, I nodded. “Yes.”

Flickering candles and the glittering fairy lights continued to bathe the room in a myriad of changing colors, but I could barely breathe, and a warning rattle came from my collar.

Jax righted himself, but a barely leashed storm seemed to swell around him. The male who assaulted me still lay on the floor, staring up at the Dark Raider with terror in his eyes.

Jax paused, and I could have sworn that his jaw was pumping beneath his mask. His hands fisted, and pulsing malevolent energy grew around him. From the tense way he held himself, despite me telling him it was fine, he appeared on the brink of erupting.

But another moment passed, and the intensity of his aura dimmed.

Finally standing back, Jax growled, “You’re lucky her heart is more forgiving than mine.” He rounded on the other males sitting at the booth. “Anyone else care to touch her uninvited?” He arched an eyebrow, and for some inexplicable reason, I had a feeling he wanted one of the males to bait him, that he was spoiling for a fight.

But the remaining males didn’t say a word. A few hastily shook their heads, and one even apologized.

Another tense moment passed, but when none of the males rose from their seats, Jax finally gave them his back. “Tie them up,” he told his friends. “They stay bound until we leave tomorrow. We can’t trust them if they’re not local.”

Magical ropes extended from Bowan’s hands, unfurling from his palms, as he called upon whatever magic he’d mastered to conjure such restraints. The bands lashed around all of the males, tying them up completely.

Lars’s eyes took on a manic glee as he moved around the males to help Bowan secure them to the booth.

“Elowen?” Jax stepped closer to me, moving like a predator. I barely heard the music, even though it still played despite the tense interruption. He lowered his voice and pressed a hand to my lower back. “Let’s get you upstairs. No one else will hurt you tonight. You have my word.”

My head snapped up, my attention fixating on him.

Bottomless, cobalt irises met mine, barely leashed fury still evident in them, yet instead of fear for the violent tendencies this male continually displayed time and time again, strangely, I felt nothing but safe.

CHAPTER 17

Jax led me up the stairs and pulled the keys from his pocket. Footsteps came from behind us, his friends following with Guardian Alleron in tow.

“Elowen?” Jax said softly when we reached the second floor. “I was planning to give you your own chambers to sleep in, but after that”—a grinding sound came from beneath his mask—“incidentdownstairs, I would rather you’re not left alone tonight. Just in case anybody else gets any ideas. If it’s all right with you.”

“Will...we be sharing the bed?” My heart began to gallop when I thought of how we’d lain in the tent last night before Lordling Neeble attacked. Jax’s arm had been slung around me, his heat pressed to my back.

The Dark Raider lifted a hand to his head, as though he was going to rake it through his hair, his movements agitated. “No, of course not. I’ll sleep on the floor, but I don’t want you alone even if I lock and ward the room.”

Music still carried up the stairwell, causing the floor beneath my shoes to hum, but it no longer called to me. The male’s attack downstairs had seen to that.

I wrapped my arms around myself. A strange sense of comfort filled me at the thought of Jax being so close, even if he was on the floor. “Yes, I’d like that.”

He gave a curt nod, then distributed the rest of the keys to the other males. “Lock him up.” He inclined his head to my former guardian. “And then, everyone, get some sleep. We ride early.”

The secondI was alone in the chamber with the Dark Raider, I began to second-guess my decision.

Heightened, powerful magic swirled around him. He prowled around the room, checking all of the locks and doors. Following that, he searched for any hidden exits or entrances, trap doors, magically veiled chambers, and even peepholes. And considering how small the chamber was, there was no escaping Jax’s ever-present aura.

And you thought you could sleep soundly with such a male near you?

When he finished his inspection, he placed his hands onhis hips. “It’s safe.” Moonlight spilled around him, highlighting his inky-dark eyebrows and crystalline blue eyes. “There’s a washroom in the corner if you’d like to use it.” He gestured to the door by the far wall, then took another step back until he was pressed to the wall.

I couldn’t be certain, but he seemed to be making an effort to keep himself as far away from me as the room allowed.

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