Saroly’s nostrils flared. “Yes.”
A collective sigh of relief flowed from all of our lips.
“Did you create all of the anklets with rhifilyte gems that were sent to the Silten continent within the last few months?”
Her lip curled. “Yes.”
Jax closed his eyes, as though needing a minute to collect himself. When he opened them, he leveled her with an unforgiving stare, but he spoke in a normal voice when he said, “You’re going to remove this male’s anklet, and then every fairy your creations have been placed upon will be found, and you’ll be required to undo all of them.”
“And when you finish that, you’ll answer to me.” Norivun’s eyes were as cold as the Cliffs of Sarum when he stared at the female. A puff of his mighty affinity curled around her, and for the first time, true fear shown on Saroly’s face as the Solis continent’s Death Master’s might filled the room.
Jax crossed his arms, and powerful magic once again filled his tone. “Remove his anklet and ensure he’s not hurt in the process.”
Saroly’s hands shot out, cupping Bastian’s anklet as she fell victim to Jax’s Mistvale magic once more.
Like it’d been with me, it didn’t take more than a minute before a click sounded from the anklet, and then it was falling away, clanging softly onto the metallic table.
“Destroy that anklet now,” Jax commanded.
Still seething, Saroly cupped the jewelry while the rest of us surged forward, eagerly peering down at Bastian. Breaths held, we waited for him to awaken.
Minutes later, a final clash of magic abruptly shook the walls, and Saroly sagged back in her chair. Like my collar, the anklet had been destroyed, its gem now loose, but in that time, Bastian hadn’t roused.
“Do you suppose his mind is injured?” I placed a hand on Jax’s forearm.
His brow furrowed, worry lining his expression. “I don’t know.”
“I can seek a healer if needed.” Norivun’s comment was calm, yet he wore a look of concern.
I began to worry that Bastian would never wake because the semelee had used too much of its power on him to make him sleep. I surmised that I might have to return to the Veiled Between to find a semelee to undo what the first had done, but just as that thought struck me, the barest moan came from Bastian’s mouth.
The half-breed’s breathing increased, his chest puffing more with each breath. And with a loud groan, he brought a hand to his head, right below one of his antlers.
Hope soared across Jax’s face. “Bastian? Can you hear me?”
Eyes cracking open, Bastian lifted his head, his antlers swaying across the table’s surface as he looked left, then right. Eyes widening more, he sat up. “Stars, my head ispounding.”
Jax’s smile turned into a grin, and he launched himself across the table, enclosing his younger brother in an embrace so fierce that Bastian fell back.
“Whoa, calm down, bro,” Bastian said, laughing softly. “I seriously have the most massive headache.”
Trivan, Lars, Phillen, Bowan, Lander, Alec, and I began to whoop in joy, everyone clapping and hugging while Bastian embraced his brother back, confusion still evident in his expression.
Bastian’s forehead furrowed even more when he assessed his surroundings. “Um...where am I?”
Jax’s laugh turned into a sob. Tears streamed down my mate’s face. I climbed onto the table beside him and wrapped him in a hug.
Bastian’s look of shock when Jax kissed me fiercely only made me grin more. Joy radiated through my mate and along our bond, and when we pulled apart, Bastian looked between the two of us, his confusion giving way to a small smile.
“Is someone going to fill me in on what’s going on?” The look on Bastian’s face grew entirely playful. “Why do I feel like I missed something?”
CHAPTER 9
Archon Oniville returned and reported to Norivun that more jewels had indeed been stolen—it wasn’t just rhifilyte gems. And if Saroly had been working alone, then the traitorous female had indeed been busy. She’d stolenthousandsof precious stones.
Fury strummed from the archon’s aura, but she called for a hydration tea, then made sure Bastian was comfortably seated and warm by the fire. She apologized to us, explaining she would have ordered Bastian food too, but their facility didn’t allow food on the premises in order to keep their work areas decontaminated.
“There’s a salopas down the lane.” Norivun’s guard with the long braid nodded toward the exit. Ryder, I thought was his name. “They serve excellent food. I’m sure they would be happy to serve you if you would like a meal.”
