Page 31 of Veil of Shadows

“Enjoy me. Until then.” My mouth opened and closed like a fish, and my cheeks heated. I slapped him on the chest, my ire rising, but Alec merely rubbed where I’d hit him, and his grin grew. “You’re saying I should be his mistress?”

He laughed and slipped an arm around my waist, then leaned closer to my ear to whisper, “If you would like, I have a feeling he wouldn’t object.” He pulled back and straightened his lapels. “Anyway, on that note, as much as I hate to leave you, I best go below. I have to meet with Trivan to discuss a few things to come.” He winked. “Come find me if you get bored. We can continue driving the prince crazy if you’re so inclined.”

Before I could say anything further, he strolled away, his walk easy despite the rolling vessel. At the back of the ship, Jax watched his friend retreat with narrowed eyes.

Swirling away so I couldn’t see either of them, I tried to calm my breathing. Alone with only the sea before me, I leaned against the ship’s railing and gazed at the turbulent water. Still reeling, I tried to understand the full meaning of what Alec was claiming.

Jax has feelings for me?Yet he was to marry another.

I darted a glance toward the back again. Jax’s energy was still palpable, surging toward me regularly, but I did my best to ignore it. It was quickly becoming apparent that our journey back to Faewood was going to be entirely different from our travel to Stonewild. Jax was no longer traveling as the Dark Raider. His more relaxed demeanor was gone. On this trip, he was every inch the royal, and according to Alec, he had feelings for me.Me!

I nibbled on my lip just as a spray of salty seawater misted across my face. That strange flipping motion returned in my stomach, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the beginnings of seasickness or the mind-blowing claim Alec had just dropped on me.

I gazed down at the water and could have sworn a face stared up at me, but the Lochen fairy was there and then gone so quickly that I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it. But it was common knowledge that the Lochen fae trailed ships just to ensure the land-dwellers meant them no harm.

“Stars Above,” I whispered to myself.

Another spray misted over my face when the ship plunged down a wave’s trough. Using the feeling to distract me and stop my turbulent thoughts, I closed my eyes. The ship rose and fell beneath me like an undulating carpet, and refreshing splashes of ocean water settled over me like a fine veil. I was still cold, but at least Alec had left his cloak with me, so I let myself enjoy the moment, getting lost in the rhythmic feel. If nothing else, it helped to distract me from Alec’s ridiculous claim.

“Have you traveled much by sea?” Jax’s quiet question had my eyes snapping open.

The crown prince stood right beside me, somehow having masked his aura on his approach. He leaned against the railing only a foot to my right, and for once, his energy had calmed.

Behind him, Lars and Phillen stood a respectful distance away, but the captain was long gone, and the following females were back with their families, although more than a few watched us from afar.

Apparently, the tour was over, which left me relatively alone with a prince who Alec claimed had feelings for me.

I straightened and wondered how long I’d been standing idly while he’d observed me. “Um, no, my prince. Actually, this is myfirst time. I’ve never been on a ship before.” I avoided the urge to fidget, but Alec’s words kept pounding through my head.

Jax’s attention swept over my face, his eyes hooded. “Ever?” He arched an eyebrow, then cast a look at Alec’s cloak slung around me. I could have sworn his jaw tightened.

I shrugged. “Performing a calling at sea would prove difficult, and since my entire existence and reason for traveling was to perform callings for my guardian, our travels always remained on land, so no, I’ve never been on a ship.”

His eyes darkened. “Of course.”

I shifted my attention away from the hypnotizing waves and cocked my head. “Alec said he had to speak with Trivan about what’s to come. Is something specific going to happen?” I glanced around, but other than the fawning House females standing on the other side of the deck, watching our every move, nobody was paying us any attention. And from the distance the females stood, I doubted they’d overheard me. Besides, I was desperate to keep our conversation away from what Alec had just dropped on me. A mistress.Me. And to Jax nonetheless.

Despite our relative privacy, a shimmer of magic abruptly fell around us. The ocean spray misting across my face stopped, and the rolling waves grew silent. My fingers automatically reached out, but I encountered a solid wall of air.

“If we’re to have this conversation here, it’s probably best to keep it private.” Jax’s tone and demeanor didn’t change, and it hit me that he’d just cast a silencing Shield around us to stop anyone from overhearing our conversation. Yet he’d done it while keeping the same expression and posture. It would appear to others as though nothing had changed.

Stars and galaxy, the absolute power of this male...

Despite knowing the precaution was necessary, I couldn’t stop from saying, “You’re quite good at leading a double life, aren’t you?”And does that double life also include harboringfeelings for me you’re too hesitant to voice?Of course, I kept that question to myself.

He shrugged. “I’ve had some practice.”

My stomach coiled, and I was reminded of the many masks he wore.

“But to answer your earlier question, Trivan and Alec are planning out which Finals we should watch, to maximize our time searching for Bastian while making it appear as though we’re only there for fun. In case anyone asks what our plans are, we’ll have a believable agenda outlined.”

My brow furrowed, and it struck me that it was smart to keep his plans so close to the truth. It was harder for one to get caught up in lies if the truth and lie were near the same. “And at the council meeting this morning, was my presence in the palace brought up at all?”

He dipped his head. “It was, by one councilor.”

Heart thumping, I gripped the railing again. “And how did you explain my presence to them?”

“Similar to what I told you. I told her that I met you during my recent hunt in Fosterton, and that I invited you back to the palace with me.”

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