Page 29 of A Trial of Fate

He chuckled, his dimple once again appearing beneath his half-smile at the corner of his cheek. “Really,” he replied. “We just don’t always know the reasons why fate has guided us. Good things come to those who are patient.”

“Not my strong suit. Hate to break it to ya.”

“Perhaps not,” he snickered. “But your other strengths are superior, matched by your cunning spitfire mind and radiant beauty.” The way he looked at me sent my heart racing. With fear or something else, I didn’t know just yet. “Here,” Daxton said, extending his hand. “I believe this is what you were looking for. I found it over there along the shoreline and thought it best to ensure its safe return, but here you are.”

Looking down, I realized he held the book I was looking for in his outstretched hand. Where he had been keeping it, I had no clue. But magically, here it was.

“Oh, thank you!” I flashed a girlish grin and reached out to happily accept the book. “Hopefully not to your surprise, I have more questions now.”

“I am shocked,” he teased with an amused gleam shining in his eyes. His lip curled upward, and I couldn’t help myself from smiling back at him.

I reached out to grasp the book, and my fingertips lightly brushed against his skin. My animal’s power surged through me, stoking the burning fire generated by just a whisper of his touch. My eyes flared to life within my amber-colored gaze, locking with his storming gray stare.

He immediately released the book and staggered backward, putting distance between us.

“I-it’s my animal…” I stammered. “I must be reacting to your magic. I don’t know how to describe it. It just feels, I don’t know, different.” Clutching the book to my chest, I dipped my chin and averted my eyes.

“You…” Daxton’s voice was raspy, holding an air of uncertainty that caught me off guard. “You are so much more than what is seen on the surface, Spitfire,” Daxton replied.

I forced myself to look at him and felt waves of confusion spiraling through my head and body. “It comes with the territory of being a hybrid, I guess.”

“No,” he said in a hushed whisper. “You intrigue me, Spitfire. Not many things in this world do that anymore.”

“Maybe you should find a new hobby or something. Have you tried needlepoint? It’s similar to a sword, only smaller in comparison. I hear from our elders that keeping the mind sharp in old age is crucial—”

The booming laughter that erupted from within his chest was the same as the previous night. Only this time it wasn’t muffled. It made me smile, enjoying this shift in his fearsome personality from when we first met.

Daxton regained his composure and took a step closer toward me once more. “Sound advice,” he murmured through his dwindling chuckle. “This visit to the mainland has inspired me unlike any others I have taken. New opportunities seem to be presenting themselves, and I would be a fool to allow them to pass by unnoticed.”

“You’ve mentioned that you have ventured outside the veil before. What made you return?”

Daxton’s narrowed smirk told me he was impressed that I picked up on that information slip. He constricted his gaze on me like he was trying to figure out the answer to the riddle. Oddly enough, it seemed to beme.

“I travel outside the veil to help aid my people, and I will continue to do so as long as there is a need.”

I waited for him to continue, but that was apparently all the details I was going to get for now. Very vague and likes to dance around the truth—noted.

“It appears time is of the essence.” Daxton tilted his head toward the orange and yellow sky with flecks of pink. The sun was beginning its descent below the horizon, and the night of the full moonwas fast upon us. “It is getting late, and we both need to return to the village before nightfall.”

“Oh no!” I exclaimed, anxiously stuffing the book into my bag. I knew I could make it back in time, but I couldn’t casually go about it like I did getting here. Without thinking, I turned to begin scaling the cliffs. Once I reached the top, I glanced back over my shoulder, thinking a wave goodbye might suffice, but Daxton was already gone.

“Add it to the list,” I said, muttering to myself.

“To what list?”

I squealed like a little girl—much to my dismay—and turned my head around to see Daxton standing on the path behind me. “What? How?”

He laughed and smiled again—a true beaming smile that could leave females everywhere weak in their knees. “My mother’s gift,” he replied with a slight nod of a bow. “I will find you again, Spitfire. Thank you for the lively conversation.”

Lively?I cocked a confused brow as he vanished once more.

In a silver flash of light, he was gone. To where I had no clue. I scoffed and cursed myself for not asking if he could take me with him like he did before. It really could have saved me from the headache and exhaustion if I could magically transport myself from one place to another.

Lucky fae, unlucky shifter-human.

I started running toward Solace, my mind now changing focus to tonight’s full moon gathering. The setting sun painted the sky in vibrant colors that streamed overhead, creating a beautiful display that painters tried but often fell short of recreating. If I had the time, I would stop and watch the sunset and the stars begin to appear. But, as Daxton had mentioned, time was of the essence.

I knew I would not shift tonight, but I could tell Gilen and possibly Rhea were about to change for the first time. Fate was a fickle thing. Gilen shifting tonight brought so many unknowns into my life, in addition to Alistar finally telling us all why the High Fae were here and why we were the only ones who could help them. The wilt was slowly gaining ground, and the decay of our world put us all in jeopardy.

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