Page 67 of Veil of Shadows

“Bowan,” Jax growled. “Hands off.” A ring of authority carried in his tone.

A surprised look passed over Bowan’s face, but a knowing look passed between Trivan and Phillen.

I glanced at all of them, and I wondered who it was that told Alec the prince had feelings for me. I was betting it was either Trivan or Phillen, considering the subtle look between them I just witnessed, not to mention Trivan’s rather crude comment earlier...

But despite that, it hit me that for the first time, all of them were looking at me with respect and...friendship.

A feeling of hope swelled in my chest. Never in my entire life had I ever been a part of a group. I’d always been alone, an outcast, a slave.Other. But in this moment, I felt like maybe I was one of them. And that I waschoosingto be one of their group. I’d never chosen anything for myself before. Ever.

A lump formed in my throat, and I knew if I didn’t get my emotions under control, I was going to do something incredibly embarrassing, like burst into tears.

Before I could thoroughly humiliate myself, Quinn tipped his head toward Jax. “I’ll be off then.”

“See you soon, brother,” Jax replied.

Quinn’s entire body abruptly puffed out of existence and drifted into dark shadows. His inky form hovered around us, then he zoomed out the window and onto the capital’s streets.

My eyes bulged, and I blinked a few times.

Trivan snickered. “You should see your face right now.”

“He has shadow magic,” Lander replied in a monotone voice, looking entirely unimpressed that Quinn had justdisappeared. He ran a hand through his hair. Tangles met his fingers since his scarf had messed up the shoulder-length strands. If anything, he still seemed to be running through the scenarios of how the kingsfae had ended up in that forest.

“Shadow magic?” My eyebrows rose. That kind of magic was rare. “He’s from Mistvale?”

Bowan shook his head and leaned back on the couch. “He has dual magic. Born and raised in Stonewild but blessed with magic from two kingdoms.”

“Is he a stag shifter as well?”

Phillen opened his mouth to reply, but Trivan beat him to it. “How about we make her guess?”

Bowan rolled his eyes and laughed. “Don’t be an arse, Triv. You’ve been enough of a cad for one night.”

Trivan brought a hand to his chest. “You wound me. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I was just trying to get some enjoyment from the night since all of our fun was stolen the second those kingsfae bastards showed up.”

Phillen crossed his burly arms and ignored all of them. “Quinn isn’t a stag shifter, lovely. He’s the only one in our group who isn’t. Instead, he’s acrowfyshifter.”

My eyes bulged when I pictured the shadow-magic male turning into a huge winged bird that was just as black as his swirling, inky magic. It was even more surprising because crowfy shifters were rare. And unlike the stags, crowfies usually were lone creatures, sticking to themselves. I wasn’t surprised Jax had found other stags to band together with, but for a crowfy to join them was surprising.

My brow furrowed. “How did he become a part of your group?”

A sly smile curved Bowan’s lips. “We helped his family once, and the tricky bastard managed to track us. It was back in our younger days when we still made mistakes. Anyway, when he confronted us, he blackmailed Jax. It was either we allowed him to join us, or he turned us in to the kingsfae.”

My jaw dropped. “He threatened to turn you into the authorities after you helped his family?”

The feel of Jax shifting closer to me on the couch made my breath stop. His aura was so potent, and my body was so in-tuned to him. Every particle of my essence seemed to know when he neared.

Jax’s low voice rumbled through the room when he replied, “As you can probably imagine, the first few seasons with Quinn were rather tense. But he’s since settled in, and now we’ve all come to accept him as one of us. His magic has actually proven quite useful.”

I could only imagine. Shadow magic allowed one to deform, similar to mistphasing, but fae with shadow magic could stay in that state indefinitely if they chose to. However, unlike with mistphasing, they were still able to see and hear when they existed as shadows.

“Do you think he’ll be able to track down how the king learned of your whereabouts?”

Jax’s brow furrowed. “I certainly hope so. That shipment would have fed a dozen villages for a full season with the wealth it carried. Fae were counting on us tonight, and we’ve let them down.” He inched closer to me, his look softening. “But if it wasn’t for you, we would never be able to help those fae again. My brothers are right.” Jax’s aura wrapped around me like a warm cloud, and my heart thumped. “We’re all in debt to you, Elowen. You saved all of us.”

CHAPTER 20

Jax’s eyes were so intense that they sucked all coherent thought from my mind. All I could manage was a nod, and the group turned back to their drinks. The discussion quickly returned to how to find Bastian.

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