Page 14 of Veil of Shadows

Jax shoved him forward, and Guardian Alleron’s lip curled at the Dark Raider. Mussed hair covered my guardian’s head, and from the looks of it, Jax had likely pulled him from sleep.

The fairy lights were fully lit in the seating area, and those sparkling rays reflected off the hatred glittering in my guardian’s eyes when he assessed me. Something told me he knew why he was here—his precious lorafin would finally be stolen from him.

My thoughts tumbled, and I crossed my arms protectively around myself. This was the male I’d once considered my father. My trusted guardian. The one who’d promised to free me if I only did as he asked until I reached thirty summers. The male I thought would then view me as his cherished daughter.

Yet, this was the male who murdered my mother, destroying the blood family I once had. And he’d lied to me abouteverything.

“Here’s the adaptor.” Jax tossed it to him, and a pulse of his Ironcrest magic lifted from Guardian Alleron.

My guardian gasped, then brought a hand to his throat. He grabbed the adaptor, lifting the metallic wand that held a magical gem embedded in it. “Are you wanting her to do another calling?” My former guardian’s voice sounded raspy, as though his throat was raw from trying to scream through Jax’s magic all day.

Jax’s eyes narrowed. “No. I want you to remove that collar’s hold on her to the best of your ability.”

My guardian gaped. “But that’s incredibly dangerous. Removing most of its magic from Elowen could render her unstable. It would be remiss of me not to warn you.”

I twisted my hands, my fingers gripping painfully around each digit.

Jax scoffed. “And where did you acquire this vast knowledge about lorafins?”

“I’ve acquired my knowledge from knowingherfor her entire life.” Jax’s eyes narrowed, but my guardian pushed on. “She was uncontrollable as a child. When she grew, her power grew with her to the point that she was a danger to those around her. If you knew what she did when she was five?—”

I paled, just as Jax snarled, “You’re saying she deserved to be collared as achild?All fae children have to learn to control themselves when their magic emerges. No other children are enslaved because of it.”

Despite his vulnerable situation, Guardian Alleron puffed his chest up, his self-righteousness filling the room. “But she’s not like others. It’s why lorafins are allowed to be enslaved. You’re going to doom us all by demanding this here and now. She’ll destroy this house.”

House. Guardian Alleron thought he was in Jax’s home. He had no idea he was in Stonewild’s palace. He still had no idea who Jax truly was.

But I did, and because of it, I would never be free.

“Don’t do this, Dark Raider,” my guardian hissed. “You’re going to kill us all.”

A flash of a distant memory surged in my thoughts. My tiny hands. Shadow creatures. Screams. Endless death.

“Oh stars, he’s right.” Heart racing, I knotted my fingers even tighter until they turned white. “We can’t do this. Just leave my collar as it is. I’m not ready for it to be removed. I need to be fully prepared, and I’m not.”

Jax closed the distance between us and placed his hands on my upper arms. “Don’t listen to him, Elowen,” he said gently. “Don’t listen to any more of his lies.”

Guardian Alleron scoffed. “It’s true. She’ll?—”

Jax’s magic speared through the air, right for my former guardian. Guardian Alleron open and closed his mouth. Nosound came out. Once again, Ironcrest magic wove around him, robbing his voice. Lip curling, Guardian Alleron seethed at Jax.

“Elowen?” Jax said quietly to me.

I wrapped my arms around my middle even though Jax’s hands now ran soothingly up and down my shoulders. “We shouldn’t?—”

“Elowen.Please. Trust me.”

His plea was so quiet, so gentle, that my rapid breaths began to slow. I glanced between him and my former guardian, but the second my attention shifted to Guardian Alleron, Jax stepped in front of me, forcing my focus away from the male who raised me.

Swirling energy danced around the crown prince, and he slid his hands down my arms to entwine his hands with mine.

The feel of his rough palms sliding over my skin reminded me of so many things. The night he took me. The night he slept at my side, his arm looped around my middle before Lordling Neeble’s attack. The day he slid those palms over me in the enchanted bath. His masked face and startling cerulean eyes only made those memories more acute since he now stood before me as the Dark Raider.

“I would never do anything to hurt you,” he whispered. “Never.”

I took a deep, steadying breath and met his eyes. A storm raged in his irises, the potent, vivid power of this male swirling through his aura.

Brow furrowing, I recalled every time he’d asked for my trust. The truth was, each time he’d asked me to trust him, his promise had held true.

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