Page 37 of Veil of Shadows

My jaw dropped at seeing the Wood from this angle. Trees burst from the top of the Wood’s canopy, and leaves of brilliant shades filled my view in an endless carpet of color. Wildlings peered up at us from the top branches, some of their eyes glowing when they beheld the prince at the carpet’s edge.

“Are we going to stay this high up the entire way?” I asked.

Alec winked. “Enjoy traveling with a royal while you can, Elowen. It isn’t often he pulls this kind of rank in a foreign kingdom.”

Any joy I’d felt at flying so high diminished. Jax was trying to get to the Matches as quickly as possible and was doing so in a way that other fae weren’t allowed to. Normally, one had to travel along the road, but as the crown prince, the rules didn’t apply to him. Like King Paevin, he could travel where he wanted, when he wanted, as he wanted.

“Does he not normally travel like this?” I leaned closer to Alec since Jax seemed lost in thought as he stared straight ahead.

Alec shook his head. “He will if his father’s with him, but believe it or not, Jax doesn’t like to flaunt his royal status. We usually travel as others do. Granted, we have nicer carpets to choose from and usually the best domals, but our prince doesn’t boast of his privilege. Not usually, at least.” The tall fairy gave his friend a worried glance.

I hesitantly inched forward on the carpet until I sat closer to Jax. Before I considered what I was doing, I laid a hand on his arm.

The prince’s entire body tensed, and he glanced my way. Blazing emotion shone in his eyes, like swirling stars circling in our magical galaxy.

“We’ll find him, Jax. We won’t rest until we do.” Beneath my palm, his bicep felt warm and hard. A tingle shot up my arm.

“It’s been over fivedayssince you saw him in the Veiled Between, Elowen. Who’s to say if he’s even?—”

I squeezed him. “I know, but we’ll find him. We will.”

The aura around the prince grew. He glanced at my hand again, and some of the lines around his eyes smoothed. For the first time since stepping onto the carpet, the tension radiating from him lessened. “Do you know anything else about where Bastian could be? Any details? Any specific location? Anything more than what you told me previously?”

I furrowed my brow as I thought back to what the semelees had shown me. “He was in a building, maybe a barn? The floor was dirt, and I remember seeing hay.”

“A barn.” He shook his head. “There have got to be dozens of those at the Matches.”

“There are.” I cocked my head, then my eyes widened. “Wait, I remember watching the wildlings a few weeks ago setting up the equipment. They were erecting a barn near the arena where one of the competitions will be held.” I closed my eyes, picturing again what the semelees had revealed. My hope grew when another key detail came to me. I opened my eyes to find Jax watching me intently, his gaze focused on my mouth.

I released my lower lip, not realizing I’d been nibbling it. “I think we should start with the barns directly around the Matches, specifically the newer ones. When they showed meBastian, if I recall correctly, the wooden planks behind him looked freshly constructed.”

A new lightness shone in the prince’s eyes. For the first time that morning, a small smile curved his lips. “Then that’s where we’ll start.”

The palace cameinto view not long later. It was a dazzling display rising from the Wood as the pale-green sky shone clear and cloudless. Everyone’s attention focused on the royal structure, but I couldn’t help but look southward, toward Emerson Estate.

My former guardian’s estate lay only a few miles from the palace. Its gray stone exterior, with blue and green vines crawling up the sides, was visible from this high up.

That’s a cage I will never inhabit again.

But I couldn’t help but think of Lillivel and wonder where she was. Without me to dote on and Guardian Alleron absent, I wondered if she even had a job any more. Perhaps she ended up like Mushil and had been fired. Whatever the case, seeing my former home made me realize that such a life was now far, far behind me.

Tears threatened to sting my eyes as I thought of the fae who’d been kind to me. I knew I’d likely never see them again, and not wanting to think about that, I shifted my attention to the palace.

Soaring peaks from the castle’s turrets and spires grew larger the closer we flew to it. Smooth white stone walls covered its entire exterior. Banners in turquoise and white, bordered with dark-brown accents, hung from the windows.

The opulent white structure was so different from Stonewild palace’s black monstrosity.

My stomach clenched when I remembered the last time I’d set eyes upon this place. It’d been the night of my abduction following the three callings I’d done for the king. That was the night Jax had come into my life.

I glanced at him, but his attention hadn’t wavered from what lay ahead. As before, when I’d been watching the Matches being set up by the wildlings, the grounds were awash in activity, except now, all of the structures were built and only minor construction appeared to be underway.

A full-sized arena, with a sandy floor and tiered seating, waited just west of the palace. The last time I’d seen that, the wildlings had been devising ways to move the sand as Lillivel and I had observed them from afar.

A pang filled me when I thought again of my attendant, but the carpet abruptly headed east, toward a maze that had been cut into the Wood. The new sights helped to distract me once more. Solid walls, netting, and obstacles could be seen from above. But some of the maze was covered, rendering the inside entirely dark.

Other structures had also been built. The large lake, north of the castle, now had soaring platforms surrounding it. Hoops were suspended in the air over the water, held by magic, and within the lake, a few fins cut through its surface.

I shivered, thinking what creatures had been shipped in from the Adriastic Sea to fill those waters.

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