Page 54 of A Trial of Fate

“We are stronger than this. I don’t plan on dying when I get to the Inner Kingdom. As foolish as it may sound, I plan to win.”

He stared at me for a long moment in silence and awe. “Sky… How the fuck are you this strong?” He slumped forward with his head buried in his hands.

“I was never truly alone,” I answered. My thoughts went to my animal, but I also acknowledged the presence of another that I had comforting me in my dreams. “When those I love are threatened, I will stop at nothing to make sure they are safe. I will not allow you to take my place, Shaw. I love you, but this is not your burden to carry.”

My eyes fluttered as I slumped helplessly against my pillow. I didn’t say out loud what I knew he was thinking. Seeing my scars and knowing what torture I had been put through jolted Shaw back into his own nightmares. He was willing to go to the Inner Kingdom and compete, but not win. He was willing to go there to die.

Noble fucking cause, but I wouldn’t allow it. He would get through this. We would survive this. If anything, we would rise above the incoming tide just to spite them all. My animal reached out to Shaw’s, and I felt a wave of gratitude pass through me. She supported and agreed with my decision.

Finally, my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer, and I drifted off into a poppy-induced sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

When I awoke, my stomach rumbled so loudly that I swore the walls of the healers’ quarters shook. I rolled onto my side, clutching my middle and groaning with an intense need to satisfy my hunger.

“Are all shifters this ravenous, or are you a unique exception?” My eyes snapped open to see Daxton, of all people, sitting in a chair at the foot of my bed with an ankle bent across his knee and a book open in his lap. “Your stomach was rumbling before you even opened your eyes.”

I stared at him, unsure what to do or say. Looking around the room, I took note of where I was. Someone must have moved me in my sleep because these were not the stark white walls and forest ceiling to which I had fallen asleep. My stomach groaned loudly once more, causing me to blush and cover my face with embarrassment at my inability to control the noise.

“Gods, this is embarrassing,” I muttered under my breath as a faint laugh of amusement caught my attention. I peeked through the slits of my fingers to try and sneak a glance at Daxton, and to my surprise, his gaze was still fixated on a book in his lap.

“I brought you some fruit, cheese, and bread,” he said as he tilted his head to the side.

I followed his inclination and saw the tray of food waiting on the bedside table next to me. Without hesitating, I reached my hand out and grabbed a fresh piece of cheese from the silver tray. The sweet taste of the creamy textured goodness spread across my tongue in utter delight, causing me to release a moan of pleasure.

“Mmmmm,” I said as I closed my eyes in utter bliss.

“Again, I must ask if all shifters have your special appetite—or reaction—when they get to enjoy a meal?”

I cracked open my eyes, noticing the smirk that crept up the right side of his face, revealing the dimple on the outside of his trimmed beard line. “It’s just me,” I said between cheese and bread bites. “The one and only. Aren’t you the lucky one who gets to enjoy my company?”

“Lucky indeed,” he teased as he returned his attention to the book in his lap.

I struggled but managed to stay upright as I placed the tray next to me, devouring my meal. I had been moved from the main healers’ quarters to one of the recovery suites down the hall. Here, the wooden walls were painted with a hint of dark green, ideal for a healing atmosphere, with fresh plants on the floor and some sprouting inward from the open window. A large sliding screen stretched from ceiling to floor, allowing fresh air inside the room at all hours of the day. The luxurious bed was pushed up against the corner of the room with a lounging chase near the screen and a sitting chair at the other corner. A bedside table doubled as a small bookcase with various titles from the last inhabitant or patient to utilize this room. To my surprise, the door leading into the main hallway was closed and locked from the inside. Finally, a small yet cushioned armchair rested in the final corner near the foot of the bed, which currently held a very subdued, yet dare I admit, handsome High Fae prince.

“Did you move me in here?” I asked as I finished the loaf of bread and cheese.

Daxton held up a finger for a moment as his eyes scanned over a final passage of the page he was reading. “I did, yes.” I glanced out the window, trying to determine what day, or even what time of day, it was. “Two days,” Daxton said.

“What?”

“It has been two days since you were last awake. This is the morning of the third… well, almost morning. Dawn has just begun to peek through the window.”

“Shit,” I cursed, and Daxton gave me an amused yet puzzling glance. “Latte must have drugged me with the good stuff then.”

“It seems she did. We have been given strict orders not to disturb you and allow you to rest in peace.”

“And you seem to be following those to aT,” I replied with a smirk, arching my brow and crisscrossing my legs in front of me.

“Clearly.” He smiled as he glanced back down at his book.

I couldn’t help returning his grin. I was not much of a rule follower either. “What are you reading?” I asked. Daxton placed a finger on the page, closed the book, and silently held it up for me to read the cover. “Ohh…” I answered, unable to help biting my lip, immediately recognizing the title. It was the book he had returned to me on the green sand beach, a very smutty yet action-packed romance story. “That’s a fantasy novel,” I said with an intrigued, questioning tone. “I didn’t take you for a fiction reader.”

“I would be lying if I said it was my favorite, but you were reading it, and I thought it would give us something to discuss when you awoke. I was told you loved to read, and I assumed this would be a good place to start.”

“I do love to read,” I said, touched by his genuine interest. “Who told you that?”

“Shaw,” Daxton replied. “He and I have been taking turns watching over you while you recover. Hevisits when Latte allows, while I, well, I come in whenever I have a spare moment. We both agreed that we would work together to help you in these coming weeks.”

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