Page 17 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

What’s the point in concealing their true nature if Jaxon and I reveal their identities with our discussion?

I nod once.

Draven clenches his jaw, eyes flashing with warning, then turns back around.

“So…” I pitch my voice low. “You were a good fighter and impressed Rian.”

I brace for Draven to chastise me for using the prince’s name, but when he doesn’t, I continue, “Then he invited you into his inner circle?”

Jaxon nods. “That’s the short version of it.”

There’s so much more I want to ask, but we’ve turned onto another paved road. This one is wider and filled with riders and wagons, coming to and from a building that looks like a stable. Except it’s three times larger than any stable I’ve ever seen.

I readjust my hold on the reins and ask, “How long have you known him?”

How long have you been friends with the future ruler of the Shadow Fae?

How long have you chosen to do his dirty work alongside him?

I ignore the fact that Rina and Jaxon act like friends.

Can one truly be friends with a superior—with someone who holds their fate in their hands?

Power disparities aren’t conducive to healthy relationships.

Jaxon answers, “Seventeen years this last Winterfell.”

“What?”

The mare underneath me whinnies in protest.

Passersby flick curious gazes my way, lingering on my long, blonde hair.

I clear my throat and once again pitch my voice low. “What do you mean, seventeen years?”

Jaxon’s eyebrows knit together. “I don’t understand the question.”

I shake my head and tighten my grip on the reins. Draven and Darius lead us to the stable-like building. It’s crowded. I need to ask my question quickly.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-nine.”

I nearly drop the reins.

There’s no way…

“And Rian?” I choke out.

Jaxon lifts a brow. “Twenty-seven.”

Bells ring in my ears. Wait, no. That’s not in my head. Actual bells chime throughout the air from somewhere near the docks.

Still, his words are no less shocking.

Fae are not immortal, but they live lives that far outlast humans, sometimes even quadrupling the age of the oldest human I knew in Verdanthia. And Elder Arkose lived to the impressive age of 102.

I’d been too preoccupied with curing Darius and saving Verdanthia from the Fae’s wrath to wonder at the Fae’s ages, but I’d assumed they were older than they looked. All humans know Fae do not age the way we do.