Page 64 of A Trial of Fate

“Well, all right then.” I shuddered, biting my bottom lip, not knowing what to do or say next. I gave him a sharp nod and turned my back to him to try and regain my composure.

I walked to the water’s edge without turning around, trying my best to conceal my now crimson cheeks. I knew Daxton was standing behind me, carefully watching my every movement.

The large green crystalized sand was coarse against the palm of my hand as I crouched down to grasp a fistful in my fingers. I rocked backward onto my bum as I removed my boots and socks. I wanted to feel the sand between my toes and inhale the fresh breeze swirling along the crashing waves of the shoreline. This place was my sanctuary aside from the meadow I could only dream about.

“You coming down or what?” I called out as I tipped my head backward and up to the top of the beach. Daxton remained near the cliffs. His shoulder-length hair freely flowing in the light sea breeze, his dark pants fitting perfectly around his thick thighs, paired with a tightly fitted tunic that opened up just enough to glimpse the exquisite muscular physique beneath.

Gods, help me. This male was hands down one of the most handsome specimens I had ever seen. Even though I called him a stalker earlier, I never felt threatened or uncomfortable knowing he was around. It was actually the opposite. But I wouldn’t dare admit that to him—not now, anyway.

A saccharine smile stretched across his comely square jawline, and I felt my insides turn into liquid fire. He closed his eyes as the breeze from the water’s edge kicked up in his direction. Daxton tensed and clenched his right fist tightly while his left hand threaded through his free-flowing hair.

“In a moment,” he called down to me.

“All right then,” I said to no one as I glanced around the beach, releasing a heavy sigh of relief. It was empty, just as I had anticipated.

The evening air was warm even though the summer season would change soon, and I welcomed the cooling breeze that dried the sweat gathering along the nape of my neck. Untying the string on my pants, I let them fall to the sand as I approached the gently rolling waves in only my undergarments. The feel of the ocean waters encircling my feet and my toes in the sand was a therapeuticconnection to the land that stole my breath away. As I waded past the breaking waves, I stepped farther into the green-tinted blue water that shifted into a unique turquoise before the deeper blue abyss of the open sea.

Closing my eyes, I allowed my mind to wander. Daring to brave the raging storm of my memories from my capture at the forefront of my mind. If there was any hope of facing them and conquering my fears, the time was now. It was here in this place that centered and grounded me most to Valdor. The remnants of an ancient volcano that now held a treasured piece of beauty unmatched by any other in this world. I could be brave here. I would not falter. I refused to.

I tilted my head back and extended my hands outward as I stepped farther into the water, encasing me in a natural caress that helped hold me upright. With one deep inhale, I bent my knees and submerged myself under the surface of the waves. Kneeling under the water, I opened myself to my memories, calling upon my animal to help fill me with a surge of her power and connect to everything around me.

Instantly, the horrors of my capture re-entered my mind.

The dark underground room of my torment, the bitter isolation between experimenting sessions, and memories of the pain inflicted by my captor’s array of tools. The pain I could handle. That didn’t trigger me as much now, but what I feared the most was facing the fact that I had given up. I had stopped fighting.

The overwhelming shame of that fact was suffocating. Knowing that in the end, Blade had ultimately broken me with his iron whip.

I screamed under the waves, releasing every ounce of fear, pain, and regret from that night. I screamed until bubbles no longer appeared around me, and the water returned to the tranquil nature from before. The air in my lungs was gone, nothing more remained inside me.

Motion in the water caught my attention as two strong hands clasped onto my shoulders under the waves and hauled me upward toward the surface.

“Skylar!” Daxton’s touch and the sound of his voice were unmistakable.

The depth of concern in his tone awakened something locked deep inside my center, bringing me back from my swirling pool of anguish. I fluttered my eyes open to meet his gaze, and his saccharinesmile from before had disappeared, replaced by wide eyes searching for a beacon in the darkness.

“Skylar…” He rasped. This time, his voice wavering with worry.

“Didn’t know anything could make the Silver Shadow worry like this,” I whispered. He didn’t seem amused by my remark, tightly pursing his lips while shaking his head.

“What were you doing? You were under the water for far too long. You could have drowned.”

“I was fine,” I barked, straightening my back and bucking up my chin. “I can handle this. I can look after myself. I don’t need you hovering over me like this and interfering. You stayed away this whole month, Daxton. Why are you suddenly here? Why have you decided to finally show up?”

His eyes narrowed, with his bearded square jaw clenching tightly as his grip on my shoulders loosened, dropping to my sides. I could have sworn a hint of pain or sorrow flashed in his expression, but it was gone the second I noticed it.

His head turned toward the swirling waters as he said in a low, hushed tone, “I never left you, Skylar. I—”

“You what?” I roared. “Daxton, you were there one day and gone the next. Promising me that I was never alone. You—” I didn’t know how to say it or properly articulate my feelings.

My head was spinning with confusion as my animal flared in my chest, fueling me with a rush of fire that tickled my center.Fuck it.

“I wanted you to be there. I didn’t write to you because I was hoping it would force you to come see me.” I tensed as I shut my eyes, embarrassed by what I had just confessed. Daxton was the High Prince of Silver Meadows. A High Fae warrior… over five hundred years old, and I was merely a half-shifter human hybrid that he was bound to protect simply because I was the champion of the trials.

I felt the waters shift as Daxton waded to stand behind me. I kept my gaze forward as he stood only breaths away. Not touching me directly, but close enough for me to feel his presence.

“I never left you, Skylar. Just because you couldn’t see me… didn’t mean I wasn’t there.” I knew he was speaking the truth, a part of me always knew he was nearby, even if I wasn’t able to see him. “I will always find you, Spitfire. We will always find each other.”

The breath in my lungs stilled as he whispered those words to me. The same words I had dreamed of in the dark cell of the hunters’ lair. Did his magic somehow send a message to me in my dreams?How could he navigate through the mage wards protecting the lair and the irons I was locked in? How did he follow the hunters’ trail?

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