Page 74 of Their Trials

Before I could answer, I was tackled to the ground, barely throwing my arms out to catch myself before smacking my head into the ground. “Thank Avalonia you're okay!”

Blonde curls filled my mouth as I tried to catch the breath that had been knocked from my lungs. A hand reached down to pull Charity from me before helping me up. Baer stood there smiling. “Well, she was okay until you just tried to take her out, Charity.”

She gasped in response, her hands going to her mouth. “Oh gosh! I forget that in your human form, you're not as strong. I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay? I'm so sorry,” she rambled on in her shame.

Standing with Baer's help, I laughed with a wheeze. “I'm okay.” I assured her. “I've taken harder hits than that. I just wasn't expecting it.”

She hugged me again, squeezing me tightly. I tried to hug her back awkwardly but was mostly unsuccessful since she'd pinned both of my arms to my sides above the elbows. I managed to pat her on the back. “I'm so glad we found you. I thought for sure you'd perished to the pixies even though your Consorts assured me otherwise.”

She finally released me, tears in her eyes. I smiled down at her, my own eyes watering at the emotion I found there. Her concern touched me deeply. “I would have if Callum hadn't saved me.”

“I see he's shifted. What happened after you went into the water?” Arryn inquired, coming up to take my shoulders into both hands to examine me closely for injuries he couldn't see or feel.

“Well, pretty much as soon as we hit the water, I was knocked out by a boulder.” I touched a hand to my temple, remembering the pain that had rocked me before I had passed out. “I woke up in this cave just before we were attacked by Kobolds.”

Arryn flinched before glancing at Callum for confirmation. Callum dipped his head in acknowledgment. “That explains why he’s shifted.”

“I'm assuming he hasn't shifted back because he shredded his clothes?” Baer said, holding out Callum's bag. Callum snatched the bag in his teeth and then trotted off. Baer and I laughed at him as he went.

“The weirdest thing happened, though,” I said, turning back to Arryn. “When they attacked, I couldn’t use any magic at all. I managed to heal myself after waking, but not even an hour later, I had nothing.”

Now that I was thinking about it, I grew more and more concerned. Just before they arrived, I had been trying to access Callum's magic to shift and hadn't been able to get his magic to do anything.

“What do you mean you had nothing?” Lennox asked me.

“I mean, when I went to use y'all's magic, it was as if I was completely drained.”

“But you used a lot more magic during the first trial without any issues,” Baer said. “Even healing me.”

“That's what I thought, too, but I was completely empty. It's why Callum had to shift. I was completely defenseless when the kobolds attacked. Thankfully, he shifted into a fucking dire wolf and saved me.”

“It's not a dire wolf. It's just a wolf,” Callum groused as he came back into the little clearing our group had found themselves in.

Brannoc approached me then, sniffing me briefly before Callum shoved him away. “Get close to my Chosen again, and I will burn your balls into a crisp.”

Ignoring Callum, the Raven tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, looking through me in a way that gave me the creeps. “She's being drained,” he said.

“What the hell do you mean she's being drained?” Lennox snapped, standing in front of me to block me from Brannoc's view.

I stepped to the side so I could see Brannoc as he spoke, “Exactly what I said, Prince. She's being drained, but I'm unable to see what's doing it.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I turned to Arryn. Before I could ask, he leaned in to answer me quietly. “Ravens can smell magic, differentiating and locating them. It's part of the reason why they're such good assassins.”

“And I'm one of the best at sensing magic, yet I can't determine what is causing yours to be drained. It's quite the conundrum you've found yourself in Chosen.”

“I feel fine. A little tired, but I was just chalking that up to healing myself earlier and the excitement of the chase.”

“The fatigue is a result of your magic being drained. As the magic leaves your body, your instinct is to sleep to replenish. Until we can find the source of the drain, you'll continue to feel fatigued. If we can't find the source soon enough, then you could find yourself in a sleep from which you can't wake. A vicious cycle until you eventually waste away,” Arryn said gently.

“How do we find out what's draining my magic?” My voice rose as panic started to settle in. I did not want to become some sleeping beauty type of princess. That was so not me. Nope. Definitely not.

Baer pulled me into a hug, his warm arms pulling me into an embrace that instantly had my anxiety quietening. “Shhh. We'll figure it out,” he assured me. I felt his confidence in this through the bond, which settled me the rest of the way.

I pulled back, nodding. Before he let me go, I kissed him deeply. Savoring the taste of him, I sent waves of gratitude, both through the bond and through my actions. I gripped his shoulders as he tilted his head for better access and caressed my tongue with his. His own emotions flowed to me through the bond. He felt the same way. Grateful to have found me so quickly and in a relatively safe and sound condition.

He pulled away from me too soon with a groan. “As much as I would rather continue that thought, I think it best we get a move on. We've not much time to find the Gwyllion before dark again.

“Yes, please. As entertaining as that was to watch, I would much rather get this show on the road,” Brannoc said with a wink. Not saying a word, Arryn walked up to the Raven, punching him in the gut and doubling him over. Brannoc didn't lash out at him, instead laughing at him. “Just like old times indeed.”

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