Page 66 of A Trial of Fate

On my final evening of isolation, Rhea planned a little celebration and some much-needed one-on-one best friend time. I was sitting quietly on my bed, reading one of the smutty romance novels Neera brought up that morning when Rhea burst into the room.

“Okay, time to put the book aside. I have some real-life shit to spill,” she said with a mischievous gleam in her eye. Shutting the door, she pulled out a flask with a girlish kind of squeal. “I snuck it past Magnus! Can you believe it?”

I immediately closed my book and put it on the stack near the foot of my bed. “Fat chance,” I teased. “I have no doubt he already smelled the sip you snuck before coming here and just rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what you had planned.”

She frowned and pouted her lips. “Why are you trying to ruin my fun, Skylar?” I laughed, a good-hearted, honest, free laugh that had me clutching my stomach and rolling onto my side.

Rhea shrugged and eventually joined me. “Why…” She could barely breathe and laughed so hard. “Why is this so funny?” Rhea flopped on my bed beside me, and we laughed until we couldn’t see straight. I hadn’t laughed like this in what seemed like forever, and I was so happy that it was with Rhea.

“Okay, my turn.” I opened my hand, and she gladly handed over her flask. I took a long, heavy gulp, downing the fiery liquid as quickly as possible.

“That’ll put some hair on your chest.” Rhea laughed.

“Eww … gross.”

“What? The hair or the drink?”

“Both!” I exclaimed as we both laughed again.

“All right… all right.” Rhea grabbed the flask once more and drained what was left. “Time for the good stuff. I need to talk to you.”

My brows raised with surprise. “That’s a little unnerving.”

“Some of it will be.” She twisted off the cap and stuffed the flask back into her pocket.

“Let’s start with the less surprising. I want to hear about you and Talon.”

A look of utter bliss crossed her face, and she smiled from ear to ear. “Oh, that stupid… wonderful,” she paused for effect, “mateof mine.”

“I knew it!” I slapped her shoulder playfully and hugged her tightly. “Are you happy?”

“More than I thought possible, Sky.” And I could tell she meant every word. “Once the sun rose, I heard his wolf’s call… and I knew. Every nerve in my body was alive, like liquid fire coursing through my veins. His song was a melody that carried me away on a cloud of happiness. The mate bond is real, and it’s amazing. I love Talon, and I know he loves me.” Her smile was contagious, never leaving her face as she continued to gush about her mate. “Before I shifted, I felt a strange yet present pull to him. In hindsight, it was why I always seemed to pick a fight or challenge him somehow. But it was our mate bond bringing us together. Now that we are mated, I feel whole. I can shift into my animal form, and I have my mate. My life is amazing, Sky.”

“You sound love-sick,” I teased her, concealing a tinge of jealousy. I longed to have what she did. It was the same with all shifters who were lucky enough to find their mates.

“Love-sick and proud of it, my friend,” Rhea boasted.

“So…” I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. “How’s the sex?”

“Sky!” Rhea shoved me, her cheeks blushing to almost the same color as her hair.

“Ah, so it’s the fur that gets in the way then.” A pillow hit me square in the face, and I knew I deserved it.

“Of course, we consummated our mate bond that first morning, and it was the fucking best sex of my life. I’ll tell you details another day,” she boasted, showing me her claiming mark on the nook of her neck. She went still for a moment, her cheerful expression turning somber. “And then…” Rhea was suddenly uncharacteristically quiet.

“And then you learned that I was captured.”

She nodded her head, fidgeting her fingers along the edge of my blanket. “Skylar, I’m so sorry. Talon and I should have gone with you to look for Gilen.”

I held up my hand. “Rhea, stop. No one is at fault for that besides the hunters and their fucking mage. I don’t mean to be cruel, but I am honestly sick of everyone’s apologies and their pity. I can’t stand hearing it anymore.” The scars on my back would never heal, but the trauma I endured, I knew I would be able to conquer that.

Shaw and I often talked about it when he visited. I asked him about what he did to conquer the nightmares that would lurk in the quiet places of the mind and how he handled outbursts of panic or fear. He didn’t have a solid answer, but he did tell me about how Talon helped him.

Shaw told me that if I was brave enough and let someone in, anyone that I trusted, they could help. With the trials looming, I decided to deal with this as much as I could here, but there were more important things on the horizon. I needed to be strong. Even if I was suffering underneath, I needed to swallow my fears and don my armor. I would not fail. I believed, I hoped, I would still be worthy enough to be the champion for my people.

“Yeah, about that.” Rhea glanced out my window. “Has Gilen seen you yet?”

I brought my knees up to my chest and sighed. “No.”

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