Page 139 of A Trial of Fate

“Move now!” Castor yelled as he tried to grab my arm. With the help of the thin coat of ice on my skin from Dax’s magic, I spun in place and slipped away from Castor’s hold. “Skylar! Dammit, no!” Castor yelled at me like a parent does when their offspring is about to do something incredibly stupid and possibly get themselves killed.

But I couldn’t let that stop me.

The clang of Daxton’s mighty sword echoed off a blade drawn by one of the fallen creatures. His ice daggers and shield walls combating the dark shadows that crept behind him from the creature’s dark magic. I prayed to the gods to keep him, and Castor, safe. I wouldn’t stand by and do nothing while those I cared about were in danger. It wasn’t in my nature or my animal’s. These fallen creatures were the most terrifying monsters that I had ever seen, giving the garmr hounds and the harpies a run for their money.

I technically wasn’t breaking my promise to Dax. I did exactly as I said I would. I turned and I ran. While Daxton handled one of the creatures, I would take care of the other.

My animal stirred inside me, encouraging me to charge forward and call upon my healing magic. My palms glowed with a warm orange and gold color, illuminating the surrounding area of darkened fog. The shadows from the fallen that spoke to me retreated from my glow, and the creature slowly turned its cloaked head in my direction. There was no time to think.

Closing my eyes, I extended my palms and placed them on what I imagined would be the face of the fallen if I was able to see inside the shadows of darkness that concealed its body.

I felt the pull immediately.

My healing powers flowed into the creature, pulses of magic washing over me and the fallen as I grasped onto its face. As my magic flowed into the creature, the scenery around us changed. Thebarren, dried, cracked ground beneath my feet started to soften and spring small green blades of grass. The shadows and fog that encased us dissipated into nothing, and the foul stench of death faded into the wind. Hands, actual living hands, no longer grotesque claws, grasped onto my forearms. With one final push, I poured every ounce of strength I had left into the fallen creature.

Daxton appeared behind me with his silver sword coated in black blood that I knew was from the decapitated head of the other nalusa falaya. I released my hold and staggered backward into Daxton’s embracing arms. He knelt on the ground with me in his lap as his body tensed.

“Spitfire. What… What have you done?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. Honestly, I hadn’t been brave enough to open my eyes and see what was happening the entire time I attempted to heal the nalusa falaya. “Please tell me I didn’t make anything worse.”

Daxton scooped me up in his arms and cradled me close to his chest so I could feel his heart beating against me. He lightly kissed my forehead and tucked me securely into the nook of his neck along his collarbone. There was a long, fatigued inhale of breath as he squeezed me tightly, and it took everything I had not to drift off into my shifter sleep right then and there.

“Open your eyes,” Dax whispered. “I can feel you start to drift, but before you do, please, just look.”

I cracked open my eyelids to see what he was talking about and gasped. “What? Where did she come from?”

Laying on the ground in a black shredded cloak was the alluring, breathtakingly iridescent face of a female High Fae. Her once gray, sickly flesh was now healthy and full of life. Her fair skin contrasted beautifully with silky ebony hair that cascaded down the length of her petite figure. Double eyelids surrounded rounded eyes with a deep brown coloring that almost looked black. Her slender, delicate nose matched her narrow jawline and small face, giving her a unique beauty and gracefulness that I had never seen before.

“Where did she come from?” I stammered.

“She was the fallen creature. You… healed her.” I shook my head in disbelief at what Dax was telling me.

The female High Fae struggled to push herself upright, but Castor was there in an instant, offering her his hand. He looked at her with the same mesmerized stare that I’m sure we all had plastered on our faces.

“What’s your name?” Castor asked in a hushed whisper.

She was silent. The female looked to be in shock, glancing around at us and her surroundings. She panicked for a moment and looked down at her body, feeling her face for any sign of the teeth or claws she once had.

“You’re safe.” Castor’s voice was gentle and soft.

This is a new side to him, I thought as my vision began to blur. “Dax…” I whimpered, struggling to hold onto my consciousness, fighting with the fleeting strength I had left to try and stay awake.

Daxton stood up with me cradled in his strong arms. “Sleep. I’ve got you, Spitfire.” I wanted to argue, but there wasn’t any fight left in me to do so. My head tilted back as Dax adjusted his hold on me so I could snuggle in against his chest.

“Thank you,” he said in the final moments before I fell into my shifter sleep. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”

I grinned. “For you, anytime.”

End of Book 1

---