Page 17 of Veil of Shadows

Relief flooded me. “I don’t think I’m unstable.” A fresh wash of betrayal fired through me, and I shot my guardian an accusing glare.

But Guardian Alleron didn’t even flinch.

Jax nodded, and his eyes crinkled in the corners. “So it’s as I suggested.”

His meaning hit me so hard that I turned rigid. Jax had been right. Right all along. I wasn’t unstable without the collar. Whathad happened to me when I was five was probably because of what Jax had implied. I’d been achild. Untrained. Immature. Scared.

Fresh hurt washed through me. To think that all of those summers, my guardian had used that knowledge against me, that he’d been lying all along...

Tears moistened my eyes. Tears of rage, tears of mourning, tears for the young girl who had spent full seasons hating herself for what she’d done, but most of all, they were tears of relief. Jax had insisted I could trust him, and he’d been right. Just like he’d been right the other times he begged me to believe in him. And the implications of that seared me to my soul.

Maybe Icouldtrust Jax.

For a moment, I just breathed, not able to do anything else. Too many emotions had taken a hold of me, but when I finally felt sure that my voice wouldn’t crack, I replied, “Thank you. For convincing me to do this.”

A blast of raw emotion flared in Jax’s eyes. He dipped his head in a bow. “It was my pleasure.”

Guardian Alleron watched on, and as I stood there, I realized that my guardian’s warning that I would be a danger to others was truly just another lie. One more deception that he’d concocted following a string of them. When I’d been young and had accidentally done that horrible act, I’d been a child—a young, untrainedchild. But he wielded that against me like a weapon and made me believe I would always be dangerous.

And while Icouldbe dangerous without a collar, if I chose to be—which was the entire reason why lorafins were allowed to be slaves—I would never choose that. Jax and Phillen’s assessment of my character was correct. I could never willingly hurt another for no reason.

I sliced my attention back to my guardian. The adaptor was still in his hand, hanging at his side, and the onlyacknowledgment he showed from my stinging glare was a bob of his throat.

“How could you?” I finally whispered to him as the aching pain of betrayal cut me open once more. I let him see all of the hurt that he’d caused me. “How could you?” I repeated. “For so many seasons...how could you?”

Silence was his only response, but in his eyes, there was no apology, no remorse, only hard indifference and accusation.

My breath caught in my throat, and I gripped the nearest chair to steady myself. The pain of his betrayal threatened to sever me in two and bowl me over, and in that moment, it nearly cleaved my heart.

This male, thisfairywho’d known me longer than any other, had never acted as a father should. Guardian Alleron’s professed caring had all been a show, a trick of the mind. He’d never loved me, much less cared for me.

And that realization finally burned through me completely. Any hope that I’d previously harbored that perhaps he cared for me on some level disintegrated. My magic crackled and rose, but I took deep breaths and reined it in even though my guardian’s betrayal solidified that no one in my entire life had ever loved me. Not one soul.

And it struck me as I stood there in a forgotten chamber in the mighty Stonewild palace, that even with access to most of my power and magic—that, according to Jax, rivaled a god—I was still entirely and completely alone.

CHAPTER 6

“I think I should head to bed. It’s been a long night.” I still gripped the chair. Still stood there immobile. Emotions were running through me so rampantly that I could barely breathe, and I needed them to leave before I broke down.

Jax took a step toward me, his brow furrowing, but I stopped him with a raised hand.

“I’m fine,” I said hastily. “I just...I’d like to go to bed.”

His irises flashed, and his jaw snapped beneath his mask. His eyes shot daggers at my guardian, a flare of magic emitting from his aura, but Guardian Alleron continued looking entirely nonplussed.

“Please,” I added when both of them still stood there.

Jax shifted his attention back to me, and he watched me for another second, but when I didn’t falter, he dipped his head. “All right. If that’s what you wish. Goodnight, Elowen.”

He propelled my guardian to the door and into the hall, but at the threshold, Jax paused. I turned away, but I still felt his probing gaze. Questions swirled in his unspoken stare. Concern did too, but when I didn’t say anything further, he finally took his leave, and the door closed behind him, locking in place.

And then it was just me, the quiet chambers, and my soul-shredding thoughts.

I walked stiffly to the frosted window, dim moonlight from outside barely penetrating it. I closed my eyes and breathed. I tried to dispel the pain coursing through me, but the depths of Guardian Alleron’s betrayal went so deep. I felt weak because of it. Surely, anyone with any sense would know not to let such a despicable male’s lies control them.

But no matter how hard I yearned to let this pain go, I couldn’t stop from picturing the way he’d taught me as a child. His scoldings, but his praise too. He’d spent countless hours teaching me, or finding tutors when he was unable to. When I’d been young and he’d been at my side, it felt as if he cared for me as a father should.

But now I saw it for what it truly was—it was time and energy spent on his investment, nothing more.

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