Page 73 of Veil of Shadows

I spun to the others.Then you tell me. Or you!

But one after another, the semelees refused to give me answers.

A crushing sense of defeat barreled through me. If they wouldn’t respond, I wouldneverbe able to do a calling of my own. Ever. Not even with my collar diminished. Which meant, I could never uncover anything further about my past. And I couldn’t find Bastian, not without Jax’s magic or someone else’s to assist me.

Aching under that realization, I turned away from the semelees and began to search for my way out.

A semelee slowly slithered at my side, not trying to ensnare me again, merely accompanying me. At least I had enough magic now to command it more readily, so it didn’t try to take me away.

Where’s the Veil?I asked it.

It’s where it always is. It’s where you entered it.

You’re going to answer in riddles, is that it?

You should be able to find the way on your own, Lorafin.

So they weren’t going to tell me, because an experienced lorafin didn’t become lost here. Not like a caged one such as myself.

I swam through the shadows, searching for the Veil, but found nothing. I was in nothingness.

Genuine panic began to consume me. If I couldn’t find the way out, I would never leave this place.

“Elowen!” someone called. The voice was so distant, so far away, yet I could have sworn that someone just said my name.

I swirled around as a bolt of magic flared on my collar. I cried out. It came so suddenly but felt different. Stronger. Sharper. But its direction was clear.

It came from behind me.

The semelees whirled along my sides as I flew toward the Veil. Scales of darkness and shadows pressed into me, trying to encourage me to stay, but I held firm.

“Elowen!” the voice called again.

Pulses of magic elicited along my throat anew, strengthening with every second that passed. But it wasn’t my collar’s magic—it was something else. Something powerful, unique, and desperate.

Jax.

“Elowen, come back to me!” His growl rang through the cosmos, and then another shove of potent magic encircled my throat. Shocks ticked painfully around my neck, coming from the collar, and were so great that I cried out again, but I was thankful for his help.

I grasped a hold of Jax’s magic. It felt different from my collar. More forceful. It was an entire realm of power spiraling against me and commanding all of my attention.

I followed the feel of it, grasping onto its essence.

The semelees hissed their displeasure, so I said,I’ll return again, but right now, I must go.

Slowly, the Veil appeared, the mist growing thicker. I willed my soul toward my body, and with a burst of speed, I shot through the Veil and was barreling through the cosmos, flying through time and space as the strength of Jax’s magic led me back home.

I returned to my body so hard that I gasped. Power sizzled around my throat, making my collar hum.

“Stars Above. Elowen? Can you hear me?” Jax’s rasp came through the darkness. “Elowen, please, say something!”

The desperation in his words slammed my senses back to the present. I was lying on a large bed in my underthings. Darkness surrounded me. Heavy breathing came from my side. A largehand gripped my shoulder as another encircled my throat, magic barreling from the palm into my collar.

“Jax?” I whispered.

“Elowen? Yes, it’s me!” His ragged breath followed. “Thank the gods.” Jax’s forehead pressed against mine, and the scent of his sweet breath puffed around me. “Are you here? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I’m here now.” A shiver hit me and then another. Terror made coldness creep into my veins. I’d been so close to becoming lost in the Veiled Between.

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