Page 90 of Kingdom of Faewood

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why that was, but the scent of food abruptly filled the air.

Frowning, I peered around Jax to see a tray of food sitting on a table near the end of the bed. Steam rose from it, and fragrant aromas followed. But nobody had come in the room carrying it.

My eyes bulged. “Where did that come from?”

“This chamber’s enchanted. All you have to do is call to the magic, and what you need appears.”

My jaw dropped. “That’s how the food got in here before? But I never wished for it.”

“No, you didn’t, but I did.”

How Jax had known that a hot bath and food were all thatI craved right now, I didn’t know, but given how tired I felt, I wasn’t going to ask.

I managed to wrestle myself upright into a sitting position. Jax immediately reached for me, but I brushed him off. “I’m okay.”

His hands balled, but he relented.

Fragrant scents continued to rise from the food. Jax retrieved the tray and set it gently on my lap. My mouth watered, and I spooned the thick stew, grateful for the tender meat and vegetables because my jaw was still sore from the calling.Goddess, even my mouth hurts.

I ate slowly and carefully, my stomach rumbling in contentment after a day with nothing.

Jax’s intent attention never left me, not even when he pulled the chair by the foggy window to sit at my bedside.

“Did none of you leave throughout the calling?” I spooned another bite of stew.

He shook his head.

“Not even when Guardian Alleron informed you we no longer needed to remain in contact?”

“I removed my hand at that point, but—” Again, he shook his head. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. He looked...defeated.

Cobalt irises shifted, his attention drifting over me. I was still entirely covered in the sweater and breeches I’d put on yesterday, but the backs of my hands were visible, and splotchy bruises still covered them even though a few had faded.

“Does this happen often?” he asked quietly.

I followed his line of sight. He was staring at my hands. “Bruising? Not necessarily. It depends what the magic is of the fairy I’m performing a calling for.”

“Meaning . . .”

I finished the last bite of my stew and pushed the tray away. Jax immediately whisked it from my lap and set it on the table. He grabbed the pot of tea that he’d also summoned and poured me a cup.

Once I was sipping the hot brew, he returned to his hunched position in the chair, watching me and waiting for me to continue.

“Meaning that whatever adverse effects one can suffer from another’s magic are what I experience,” I explained.

His eyes narrowed. “So all of your senses were gone during the last twenty-four hours?”

“Yes.”

“And the bruising and I’m assuming burning”—he raised his eyebrows, at which I nodded in confirmation, causing a snap of his jaw—“is because of my ability to cause pain in others?”

“Yes.”

“You felt theworstof my magic?”

I took another sip and nodded. “All of it.”

He sat back, his aura rising. “Is it always the most painful aspect of a fairy’s magic that you suffer from?”

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