Page 48 of Veil of Shadows

I placed my hands on my hips, my palms sliding along the gown’s slippery surface. “Others? What others?”

Trivan shook his head, and a lock of blond hair curled around his forehead. “Did you really think Lander and Bowan would stay behind indefinitely, Little Lorafin?”

I raised my shoulders. “Um...yes? I thought they were caring for Guardian Alleron?”

Trivan laughed. “They’ll leave him food and water, just enough so he’ll survive. Your former guardian can fend for himself in his locked chamber while we’re gone.”

My jaw dropped. Locked chamber. Food and water. They were treating him worse than a dog. But I didn’t comment. I no longer felt any pity for my former guardian.

“We often travel in two groups,” Alec explained. “It’s the same on raids. We never all leave at the same time. Sooner or later, someone would notice, and while we do our best to keep our raids hidden, sometimes the Dark Raider’s presence becomes known. It would be troublesome if anyone began to connect that our presence is always missing in court when those raids occur.”

I cocked my head. “But even if you leave in different groups, your presence is still missing during a raid, isn’t it?”

Jax nodded. “True, but a few of us make a point to venture back and forth from court, so at least some of us are seenaround the time our raids occur. Doing so has resulted in nobody suspecting us.”

I realized once again how deep Jax’s crimes went against the powerful Houses and nobles of our kingdoms.

“But back to the matter at hand.” Jax turned to his friends. “Trivan, you take watch in the Wood. Alec, Phillen, and Lars, you’re coming with me.” He stepped closer to my side and entwined his fingers through mine. The feel of him halted my breath, and I had to remind myself this was part of our playacting. He was my supposed lover after all.

“And me?” I said, my words breathier than I wanted to admit.

Dazzling blue irises raked over my face. “I thought that was obvious. You don’t leave my side.”

“Ever?”

He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose up my throat. A myriad of shivers tingled down my spine.

“No, Elowen, not ever. You stay with me . . . where you belong.”

CHAPTER 15

We waited until nobody was in the nearby barn aisle before slipping through the door and relocking it. But once we were outside and back out in the open, we made a show of taking our time wandering through the many corrals to look at the animals.

The entire time, though, Trivan was subtly scoping out the surrounding Wood. A few minutes ticked by before he drifted closer to the prince.

“East of here, about a hundred paces. There’s a large pine with good coverage. I can climb it and stay aloft until someone can take my place. It should offer a clear view of all of the barn doors.”

Jax’s head barely dipped in reply.

Pretending as though we were admiring all of the venues, we drifted back to the Wood to wander along a wildling trail. Trivan fell behind us, and the next time I looked over my shoulder, he’d disappeared.

“He’s gone already?” I whispered, then leaned closer to Jax when another group of siltenites passed us on the path. Several nodded and murmured pleasantries.

“He’s likely already at the top of that tree,” he replied quietly.

My eyes bulged. “That fast?”

When he replied, his voice held a smile in it, “Yes, Little Lorafin, that fast.”

Sunlight poked through the Wood’s canopy, growing brighter as the sounds of the Match Finals carried on the wind. Cheers, boos, and roars erupted from a stadium north of us.

Alec hooked his thumb toward the noise. “Should we check out the stadium? Perhaps he’s working there.”

“Good idea. Keep your eyes peeled,” Jax said under his breath when we emerged from the Wood.

Ahead, the huge stadium waited as the distant roars and cheers continued. In the distance, the white stone palace glittered in the sunlight, and even farther away, Leafton, Faewood’s capital, waited.

The capital’s buildings and shops soared above the Wood. Similar to Lemos, Leafton had been constructed with nature instead of destroying it. Trees, vines, and shrubs intermixed with the sprawling acres of roads, buildings, and shops. And like Jaggedston, an entire area of the capital had been dedicated to the lush manors of the ten Houses.

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