Page 26 of A Trial of Fate

“Coming right up.” I grinned and sprang out of bed. Luckily, my clothes had dried from my nighttime excursions, but I decided a fresh shirt and pants wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Hurtling down the stairs, I turned the corner to the kitchen, where Julia had a stack of potatoes waiting for me to start dicing.

As I entered, she gave me a soft, loving smile. “Neera and Magnus are gathering a few herbs and peppers from the garden. Get started on the potatoes while I work on the eggs.”

I grabbed the knife, spun it around in my palm, and quickly began working on dicing the potatoes into bite-sized cubes. “Are we feeding an army today?”

“Our house has two full adult shifters, potentially one more after tonight’s full moon and one on the verge of shifting in the next few years. We wereallawake for most if not all night. I’m not sure I have enough food to fuel us for another night of antics.”

I blinked and stopped chopping. “Oh right, the full moon gathering tonight.”

How had that slipped my mind? Dammit, I needed to get my head on straight and stop thinking about the stupid High Fae. Regardless of the reasons why they were here, the shifter’s moon held the higher priority.

“Yes, dear,” Julia lovingly replied. “Will tonight be your time to finally join us?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that this time, along with all the others, I was not going to shift. I couldn’t explain why I wasn’t going to—just that I, well,we, weren’t ready. My animal was content with not revealing herself, and I was not going to push her to do it.

“Never know until it happens, right?” I smiled weakly and returned to my chopping.

Magnus and Neera entered the kitchen from the back door and sat down around the large island in the center. Neera looked at me and then turned her gaze away quickly. I could tell she felt horrible for telling Magnus.

“Don’t feel bad, Neera. I’m not mad.”

The tension in her shoulders slackened as a bright smile crossed her freckled cheeks. She slid next to me, helping me work on the giant stack of potatoes in the center of the island. I couldn’t be mad at her for long anyway. I knew Neera would never do anything to cause harm intentionally. Her gentle-natured heart was a rarity in this world, and I knew I would do anything to protect her.

“All right,” Magnus announced as he pulled up a stool across from me. “Time to begin.”

“You want to go first?” I offered. “Age before beauty, right?”

I heard Julia chuckle off to the side as Magnus scoffed a humorless laugh.

“Sure…” he said, flexing a hand around a dagger on his belt, casually thrumming his fingers along the sheath.

Shifters carried weapons we could easily unclip or disengage when needed. While in our animal forms, we didn’t have a need for blades or a bow becausewewere the weapons.

“Where did you go inside the alpha’s home?” Magnus asked, narrowing his gaze.

Getting right to the heart of it. Fantastic.One thing I learned from Magnus and Rhea was to not dance around the topic when trying to get information.

“I went to the healers’ quarters and then to the third floor.” He never asked me who I saw or what I did. So, I purposely left those details out.

“My turn. Why are the High Fae here?”

Magnus accepted a cup of hot tea from Julia, and they exchanged an uneasy look before he answered. “They are here to ask for help.”

Bastard. He was using my own tricks against me, and he knew it. The grin on his face was cocky and calculating.

Oh… let the games begin, Uncle.

Magnus took a long sip of his tea before asking another. “Who did you see last night inside the alpha’s home?”

He was getting more specific now—good. I wasn’t a fan of boredom. “I saw you, Julia, Alistar, some elders, and Gilen,” I answered as I gathered the diced potatoes in a bowl to season before Julia fried them in the pan of oil. I raised my brows with a smirk. He never asked who I talked to, just who I saw.

“My turn.” I could see a hint of pride shine in his eyes despite the lack of information he was getting out of me. Magnus had trained me since I was little to ask questions, always encouraging my curiosity and helping me grow my mind. “Why did the High Fae come here to ask for help?”

“Because shifters are the only ones who can give them aid. Now, who did you interact with while in the alpha’s house last night?”

I mulled over how to answer this one. Should I use their nicknames or their true identities? There was so much I didn’t know about the fae, but I also wanted to gauge his reaction. “Daxton Aegaeon, High Prince of Silver Meadows, and his brother, Castor.”

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