Page 79 of A Trial of Fate

“Thank you,” I answered with a heavy dose of sarcasm, “is sometimes the best response. Then I say you’re welcome, and we can both be on our way.”

Castor’s lips curled upward in amusement. “Already tired of my company?” he taunted, trying to toy with me like I was his sole source of entertainment.

“As you said before, I prefer darker-haired males.” I tossed his shirt at his face and promptly seated myself on the bed across the room. Castor chuckled to himself, and my eyes darted to the tattoos on his arms while he lazily continued to dress. His right inner forearm had a large crescent moon with an iced snowflake in the center. The edges were sharp and beautifully blended together to create a mesmerizing design that was hard to tear my eyes from. His other arm held a blazing sun, with an open eye staring out from the center. They were both extremely detailed and elegantly designed.

“Hopefully, you are healed enough to attend the fae queen’s meeting this morning.” Latte sighed heavily at Castor before glancing at me. “Witnessing what Skylar just did, I can’t lie and say she needs more time to recuperate.”

Castor seemed indifferent at the mention of his queen as he finished dressing. “I appreciate your willingness to help, Latte,” he said as he tucked in his shirt, readying himself to leave. “And, Skylar, thank you.”

“Look at that,” I teased lightly. “The saying is wrong… Old dogscanlearn new tricks.”

Castor winked at me, giving a nod to Latte, and took his leave from the healers’ quarters without any additional quips in reply. I smiled, satisfied with a small victory against the cunning silver-haired and tongued fae.

Latte returned her attention to me and began her exam. “Those High Fae males are impressive… And between you and me—”

“Latte!” I exclaimed.

“I am old… not dead, Sky.”

I was flabbergasted and had to grip the edges of the exam table to keep from falling to the floor with laughter. She was mumbling and cursing under her breath becauseshewasn’t able to attend to her patient personally.

“Castor has an air of arrogance that sways between charming and me wanting to punch him square in the face. He knows he’s attractive and doesn’t shy away from flaunting that knowledge.”

“Isn’t that some of the fun?” Latte chuckled. “Then there’s the other one… with the silver midnight-streaked hair.”

“Daxton.” Fucking Castor. I immediately put my hand to my face, trying to hide the flush I felt on my cheeks.

“Now… that is a male. Wherever he wanted me to go, I would happily follow.”

“Latte,” I stammered, raising my brows in shock.

“At first, he terrified me, but once he relaxed and dropped his stone-cold demeanor, I could see a shift that made me want to grab a blanket and brave his frigid tempers. He has a rugged beauty to him with the longer hair and trimmed beard…”

I think my mouth dropped to the floor.

“Don’t gawk at me like that, Skylar. Many of the other females and I have talked about this. Many of the males whisper and say similar things about their queen. I don’t know if all High Fae are blessed with such magical, ethereal beauty, but these three certainly are.”

“Okay, new topic,” I interjected as I bit my lip. “Do I finally have a clean bill of health?”

I didn’t need to talk about how handsome or beautiful the High Fae were. It was hard enough to forget. Castor had an alluring facade coupled with more self-confidence than a rose in full bloom. I hadn’t had much interaction with Queen Minaeve, but she carried herself with a high brow of arrogance that seemed reserved for royalty. She knew how breathtakingly beautiful she was and didn’t shy away from flaunting it.

Daxton was… He was something else entirely. A fearsome, powerful protector with a hidden softer side underneath a stone-armored exterior. All our shifter animals reacted to the pulses of magic we felt emanating from him, but he didn’t boast or flaunt it like Castor or even the queen. I understood why Latte, and apparently other females in the pack, were drawn to him. If Daxton were a shifter, he would undoubtedly be an alpha.

“Oh yes, yes. Get up. You’re fine.” Latte swatted me away. “You need to get ready for the meeting anyway.”

“What meeting?”

“The one I would have told you about if you had been at home in bed this morning.”

Shit.

“Where were you, Skylar?” Magnus’s robust frame filled the doorway, and I was slightly terrified to turn around and face him.

“Whatever do you mean, Uncle?” Maybe if I played dumb--

“Don’t even think about trying that with me.”

Shit, shit… shit. I was most definitely in trouble.

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