Page 48 of A Trial of Fate

Cradled in a tender embrace, he wrapped me in a cocoon of safety I never wanted to leave. I felt soft lips leave my forehead as a trimmed beard brushed against my brow. Thankfully, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he drew me closer to him, sitting on the ground and delicately moving me into his lap. He unlatched the clasp of his cloak and draped it over my naked, broken body. Carefully, he lifted my arms to tuck in the sides before returning me to the safety of his strong embrace, pulled in close to his chest. Without thinking, I nuzzled into the nape of his neck, sinking deeper into his hold that I never wanted toleave. The smell of fresh pine and mountain air filled my senses, and I knew without a doubt who had found me.

“I told you… I would find you,” he whispered as his hand tenderly brushed my fallen hair from my face.

Did he know about my dreams? Did he somehow send them to me? Did he realize that he was my salvation in the darkness of my eternal damnation?

Daxton.

“How…” My throat was raw from my screams, and I barely even recognized the sound that came out of my mouth.

“Shh,” Daxton hushed me as he pressed his cheek to my brow. “You’re safe.”

I believed him. There wasn’t a single fiber of my being that doubted my safety when I was cradled in his arms. My animal seemed to sing inside of me. His protective presence both calmed and strengthened her as well.

I tilted my head to look upon the face I dreamed of in my dire moments of weakness. Did he know how he helped me when I was certain nothing else remained? Did he know that his face, his voice, had given mehope?To keep fighting to survive?

Daxton pulled his head back. His storm-gray eyes locked onto my face, and I saw him sigh in relief when he met my stare. “Skylar,” he said my name like it was the only thing that mattered in this world.

I felt myself instinctively lean into him. There were no words that could convey the silent messages we were sending to each other, only feelings.

Gratitude.

Trust.

And most of all, hope.

I could see his caring and compassion shine in the light of the torch as he gently pulled me in closer. I shook with fatigue but still managed to reach up my hand and place it on his chest. He remained utterly still, allowing me to have complete control. I pressed my palm over his beating heart, feeling the rhythm of his courage thrum into my soul.

“I-I had to see if you were real.” My voice cracked in a raspy reply. Hearing this, Daxton reached into his belt and unlatched a canteen of water.

Holy fuck. Real water.

He bit down on the cork and pulled out the tab before bringing it to my cracked lips. Water flowed into me as he slowly tilted thecanteen until I consumed every last drop it held.

“Better?” he asked. I nodded and tried to sit up, but I failed and collapsed back into his chest. “Don’t, Spitfire. Focus on breathing. That is all I want you to concentrate on. Breathing and living.”

“Easy to say… harder to do sometimes.”

I could have sworn he flashed me a pitiful smile before nuzzling his cheek against my brow. “Don’t tell me you’re backing down from a challenge now?” he teased.

“Not a chance,” I whispered, almost in a laugh.

I felt my body begin to heal, or at least relax, as we fell into playful banter. I had become so numb that trying to feel anything felt foreign at first. But with Daxton, I didn’t know how to explain it, I felt like a piece of myself returned or was stitched back together when he found me.

A shout erupted down the hall, and Daxton moved so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it. He clutched me with his right arm as he held out a large knife in front of me with the other. His soft expression vanished, and the Silver Shadow of legend returned. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now, I recognized the stained black blood on his knife and clothes. He had slain hunters, and, by the looks of it, a lot of them.

Good. Fucking. Riddance.

Ice coated the floor beneath us as I shivered against his chest. He pulled me into him and positioned my body so I was protected by his own. Nothing was going to pass through his defenses. I knew he would protect me with his life and kill anyone who sought to take me from him.

A roar erupted in the cave, causing my heart to skip a beat. “Mag… Magnus!” My uncle came barreling into the doorway of the chamber, shifting into his human form the moment he saw me cradled in Daxton’s arms.

“Skylar!” He reached out for me, but Daxton released a low growl, baring his sharp canines that I knew all too well.

My animal surged power through me, pushing me to reunite with my family. I tried to move my hand and reach out for Magnus, but I was too weak. I don’t know how, but Daxton somehow sensed my fetal attempt to move and glanced down at me. Perhaps his warrior instincts made him more aware or alert to the world around him. Either way, he could read my desire to go to my uncle. I could tell he did not want to let me go, but, for my sake, he released me to Magnus.

My uncle scooped me up in his arms, tears streaming down hisface with joy, relief, and sadness. “This should have never happened to you. I love you so much, Skylar… We never stopped searching.”

“I know,” I managed to say as his lift-me-off-my-feet hug stole my breath away, just like I remembered. Soon, another familiar face joined our party in my prison of despair. Even in the dark underground cave system, the flamboyant silver hair was unmistakable. “Glad you could join us, Castor.”

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