Page 117 of A Trial of Fate

I smiled to myself, satisfied with my plan. “That’s understandable.” I shrugged as we entered his private quarters.

“All right.” Castor secured a detailed map of the Inner Kingdom onto the wall of his room. “Let the real lessons begin.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

One hour, my ass.

I managed to keep my questions to a minimum, and Castor ended up lecturing me for an additional two hours. My plan might have backfired, but I was genuinely intrigued by everything he was willing to teach me. The dynamic of the High Fae courts was complex, reminding me of a delicate, deadly spider’s web. You would be caught and killed if you stepped the wrong way. However, with a keen eye and sharp mind, you could manage to navigate through the pitfalls and traps.

Castor’s quarters were, very fortunately, much larger than mine. He arranged a table near the far wall where he displayed a newly constructed map of the Inner Kingdom. The map was extremely detailed, and judging by the fresh black stains on the palms of Castor’s hands, he drew this from memory while I was training with Daxton.

“What are the three main seats of power in the Inner Kingdom, Skylar?” the teacher asked his pupil. Castor was testing me to see if all the information he was spewing was sinking in. Lucky for him, I was not just a pretty face.

“Trick question because technically, there are four.”

He grinned and swooped his silver hair from his face. “Very clever—and correct. Please describe the four.”

I always prided myself on excelling in my studies. Growing up, we learned to read and write at a young age, and I devoured every scrap of reading I could find. I wanted to know absolutely everything. Maybe it was because my own beginnings had so many secrets that I just had to uncover all the rest.

“High Queen Minaeve is the first.” I cringed a little as I said her name and watched Castor notice my obvious discontentment.

“Mastering the art of deception and disguising your true feelings… will be lesson number two.” He waved his hand in a flickering gesture. “Go on, and don’t forget the details we discussed.”

“Minaeve is the high queen of the fae, and she has held her seat of power for well over five hundred years. She holds psychic siphoning magic that can combat and drain the wilt, but her staminadepletes quickly.”

“And …?”

“She overcomes this flaw by accepting offerings from the other royal bloodline of the High Fae.”

“Which kingdom and ruler is she closest with?”

“Aelius and High Prince Seamus.” Castor smiled with a proud gleam in his eyes, so I continued. “Seamus and his family’s bloodline hold gifts of the mind, comparable to Queen Minaeve and her siphoning magic. Prince Seamus can read minds, but he must first come into contact with you in order to do so.”

“Very good. Aelius will be the most difficult for you to navigate, but we will prepare you by visiting Crimson City first. Which others with gifts of the mind are in his family’s bloodline?”

“Anjani, Seamus’s cousin and his second, can create illusions. She was the one concealing the ships that traveled to Solace and left with the queen. Rhett is not a direct descendant of their royal bloodline, but he has the powerful gift to see past events through contact with an object. If a murder occurs with a blade, for example, he can pick up the weapon and see what happened.”

“Dax and I will also train you to shield your mind to protect itself with your shifter magic to combat these powers. Shifters don’t necessarily utilize it, but the magic that is used to shift into your animal forms can be used to form a shield or a barrier. It is not as strong as ours, but when trained, you can learn to protect yourself. Now let’s continue.” Castor sat in the corner and pointed to the northern area of the map. “Crimson City. That is where we will take you first. What do you recall about the royals there?”

Out of nowhere, a loud, obnoxious rumble echoed across the room. I threw my hands around my stomach and blushed, embarrassed at how much my stomach was voicing its unpleasant emptiness.

“What in the gods’ names was that?”

I slumped forward onto the table, letting my forehead fall flat onto the surface. “Look, I don’t know how often your people need to eat, but shifters need food… often. Our metabolisms naturally run high, and our stomachs tend to voice their opinions when empty.”

He convulsed as he struggled to hold back his laughter. “That… That was your stomach?”

I lifted my forehead from the table and glared at him. My stomach answered with its own empty rebuttal, and that was enough to send my teacher into a gut-wrenching laugh.

“It’s notthatfunny,” I snapped at Castor.

“Oh… yes, it is,” he said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Castor, we have been at this for almost three hours… And you only said you would last for one!”

“Complaining already? I thought you were enjoying learning about all this. Dax informed me you are a reader like he is.”

“No, no. I am!” I waved my hands at him in defense. “It’s just that…” My stomach growled again. “After Daxton’s three-hour session… and then yours. This is all interesting, but my mind is melting. I’m seeing double, and I can’t seem to focus on anything but—” The growling sounded once more.

---