Page 16 of A Trial of Fate

High prince? Silver Shadow? The queen of the High Fae was here on Solace’s pack lands? What did all that mean? I glanced down at the arrows in my quiver. I didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed that Gilen had known more than he let on.

The injured male, who was referred to as the Silver Shadow, pointlessly fought against his companion’s aid. The iron had already mixed with his blood, and I knew the wound would take time to heal regardless of his strength and obvious stubbornness—typical male.

“I can help,” I said as I crossed the distance between myself and the two newcomers.

“I believe you have helped enough,” the silver one shot at me. The other High Fae male seemed to release a small growl of discontent, but he brushed off his response.

Deciding to try and push my luck, I moved past Talon as four sets of eyes immediately locked onto me. There was a mixture of confusion and annoyance—mainly from Gilen—but also a sense of curiosity or intrigue from the Silver Shadow. As I brushed past Gilen, he released a low, menacing growl, and my progress quickly came to ahalt. He forcibly grabbed my uninjured arm and thrust me behind him.

“Hey!” I protested, but Gilen snarled, baring his teeth at me. His dark, ominous glare had me hesitate, but not for long.

No fucking way, I thought as I bit my lip, trying to steady my shaking nerves.

I could see Silver Shadow tense as he watched me closely. I countered, grabbing Gilen’s wrist and twisting it around until he released his hold on me. Once I was free of his grasp, I marched right past Talon and stood face to face with the two High Fae.

“Spitfire?” The silver-haired male murmured with a sense of amusement, giving me a cocky smile that I mentally brushed to the side. “You seem to have named her well enough.”

I could have sworn I heard the same deep chuckle from before emerge from the Silver Shadow, followed by a grimace of pain and clenched fists at his efforts.

“Serves you right,” I taunted. “I didn’t know I was such a comedian. That’s not the first time I have amused you tonight, apparently.”

Dark gray eyes shot open as he looked straight at me, making the world surrounding us disappear into the darkening night. “You. Attacked. Me!” he roared at me; his deep, enchanting voice made it hard to focus my attention on anything else. “And somehow…” He gritted his teeth, fighting back a twinge of pain. “Somehow… you have the audacity and the nerve to tauntme? I have killed others for less.”

“Look, I know we don’t know each other, but asking the questions is sort of my thing. And if you haven’t noticed, I’m not afraid of threats. I’m a shifter, after all.”

“Skylar,” Gilen growled. “Get behind me. Now.”

I could feel the power in Gilen’s command, and instead of giving away any glimpses of my unique abilities, I reluctantly obeyed. Still in his wolf form, Talon tilted his head in my direction, wordlessly asking,What in the gods’ names are you doing?

To be honest, I didn’t know. There were too many questions spinning around in my head for me to plan my next move properly. I was reacting out of pure instinct, and that, unfortunately, had a tendency to lead me into trouble. There were High Fae here… on our lands. They never ventured out of the Inner Kingdom. It was unheard of to see them.

Gilen moved toward the two High Fae and bent to offer his help to carry the injured male. The Silver Shadow abruptly brushed off his offer, insisting on making a stand either by his own sheer willpoweror stubborn streak. Standing up straight, he was taller than both Gilen and his companion, but the silver-haired male was able to adjust his weight and help his wounded friend move his feet.

“Talon,” Gilen commanded, “take Skylar home first. Then find Shaw and Rhea and escort the others back to the village. I will take the High Fae males to the alpha’s house. Meet me there when you are finished.” Talon was never one to question his alpha and nudged me with his snout in the opposite direction, toward home.

I reluctantly obeyed, much to both my and my animal’s dismay. Still, I couldn’t help but glance back over my shoulder at the wounded fae, and to my surprise, I discovered that he was already watchingme.

Chapter Five

Iabsolutely hated sitting and waiting.

The rain steadily fell from the blackened night sky as Talon escorted me home, taking away my chance to talk with Rhea about what happened in the woods. I stripped out of my brown fighting leathers and back into my fitted pants and tunic, restlessly pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor in the living area. My mind raced with more questions than I had answers as the rain continued steadily pattering against the windows. A part of me still didn’t believe everything that had happened tonight. It was unfathomable that there were High Fae in our pack lands—let alone that I shot one with an iron arrow.

Lost in my endless train of thoughts, I almost didn’t notice Neera’s delicate steps as she descended the stairs from her bedroom. “What’s up with you?” she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning loudly.

I snapped my head in her direction, genuinely surprised to see her awake at this hour. “I could ask you the same thing,” I replied. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you? It’s still early, or late. The sun hasn’t risen yet. Julia mentioned that you weren’t feeling well today?”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving away my concerned look. “Just the lovely bi-annual bleeding and cramps females get to enjoy.”

“Ah yes, that lovely, charming perk. Oh, the joys of being female.” I gave her a sideways smile as she descended the final steps into our living room. “You have been a little short-tempered recently.”

She glared, narrowing her eyes and scrunching her face at me as best she could manage. “Andyou,are practically a feral beast when it is your time.”

“Feral is a bit harsh, but I have been known to break down a door or two when the mood strikes me.”

Neera rolled her eyes at me as she gracefully stretched out her arms and glided across the living room to the large, cushioned chair in the corner. Shifter females fortunately only had our cycles twice a year. However, when a mate bond was formed, we entered frequent cycles of heat that typically resulted in the birth of a child nine months later.

“Well, I’m awake now, and there seems to be something on your mind. Want to talk about it?” Neera asked with a sleepy yet somehow still beautiful look on her face.

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