Page 7 of A Trial of Fate

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the ever-present pool of magic that spiraled around in my chest. I steadied myself and released a small burst of my power, magically healing the burn on my aunt’s hand.

“And thank the gods for your mother’s gifts,” Julia said as she examined her hand.

Shifters naturally healed quickly, but I had a special gift thanks to my mother’s human bloodline. An ability that helped raise my status in the pack despite being only a half-shifter.

Some humans, defined as mages, had an innate ability to access the magic embedded in this world. The human king, Taran, highly coveted these mages and protected them by any means necessary. Some, like me, and we believe my mother, had a healing magical gift, while others dabbled in various crafting spells that varied from love potions to poisons, and even weapons. I mean… it was magic, right? So anything was possible with enough connection to the right power source.

My healing magic was an inherited trait from my mother that I cherished. It was a special piece of her that I was able to carry with me, similar to the gift of sharing my life with an animal spirit that I received from my father. I always saw it as their protection, a way to carry them with me even if they were never physically at my side.

“Lucky is an understatement,” I said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the reason why Alistar keeps me on the scouting party lines with Gilen and the others. I’m a twenty-two-year-old, unmated half-breed who hasn’t shifted yet. Everyone else my age is showing signs of shifting during tomorrow’s full moon, while I’m still a mystery. My healing abilities are my only asset as of now until I shift. I’m sure of it.”

“Magnus says your father was a late bloomer like you, and he was an alpha. Don’t take that into account for the power you will have once you are able to shift. You’ve shown potential in your combattraining and especially archery… when youdecideto show up.” Julia left the final comment hanging between us for a moment. She knew of my ability to disregard the alpha’s command.

“Yes… Well, it still doesn’t answer my questions.”

“Which ones? You never stop having them.” Julia smiled and rose up onto her toes to kiss my cheek. She paused and stiffened her stance as she slowly moved a step back.

“Julia? Is everything okay?” I was suddenly worried. She had a peculiar look on her face that was laced with uncertainty—very uncharacteristic of her typical easygoing demeanor.

“You said Gilen found you on the beach today?” The coldness in her tone had my animal perking up inside me.

“Yes?” I answered, my voice unnaturally quivering as I squinched my expression.

That didn’t sound good. Did this have to do with what happened on the beach? My senses were not keen enough to detect anything compared to an adult shifter. What did Julia smell on me?

Julia pursed her lips around a clenched jaw. “That stupid, idiotic boy! I won’t even give him the courtesy of saying male, because he was clearly not thinking this through as a male should.” She began tapping her foot, her mind clearly spinning. “He did not… No… This isnotokay.” Her eyes radiated with a hint of green shimmer that spiraled around her.Whatever made her upset, her animal was raging as well.

“Slow down, Julia. You’re rambling, and no one can understand you when you do that.” I could see her revert inward as she grabbed the ladle and aggressively continued to stir the stew. Julia rarely got this upset. Like her daughter Neera, she was a gentle soul. But then again, when Julia was angry, we all knew to clear the way. Something was going on, and my curiosity was not going to let this go.

“Spill it, Julia. What’s got your cat’s fur standing on end? You know I’ll only continue to pester you until you spill the beans.” Julia’s animal form was a fiercely cunning mountain lion, an animal that you did not want to ever mess with.

“I can smell him,” she snapped with a low feline growl attached.

“Him? Him… who?” Julia spun around, narrowing her dark brown eyes and glaring so hard at me that I could barely see the whites of her eyeballs. “Gilen?”

Julia scoffed and turned away from me as she continued to stir the stew. “I shouldn’t be able to smell him on you, Skylar. Not like this—”

“I can’t smell anything different,” I admitted as I scrambled tolook for my bag. Reaching inside, I grabbed Gilen’s discarded shirt and presented it to Julia with an arm cocked out on my hip. “Is this what you smell?”

Julia sniffed the shirt and firmly shook her head. “No. It’s more than that.”

“Then enlighten me.”

Julia sighed heavily, setting the spoon aside and firmly pressing her palm to her forehead. “Neither of you has shifted yet. You don’t understand the mark he is starting to place on you—it… it’s a warning, Skylar.”

“A warning? From Gilen? Okay… Okay. I only have more questions now.”

“Naturally,” Julia mumbled as she grabbed a bowl from the shelf. “Sit and eat,” she commanded. “I will tell you more once you have some food in your rumbling stomach.”

“Can’t I just wait until I get back from the tavern?” I asked.

“Not the best idea. You need to stay out for a bit longer tonight. I don’t want Magnus coming home and discovering what I smelled on you.”

I grunted in disappointment, unhappy with the lack of information Julia was willing to share. It was never this difficult to get answers from her, so this had my head spinning even more. A bowl full of stew slid across the kitchen island, and my growling stomach won the glaring battle I had begun with my aunt. I grabbed the spoon and proceeded to silence at least one of my needs for the time being.

“Gilen will likely shift during tomorrow’s full moon,” Julia said as she walked over to the oven to remove the baking bread. She cut me a slice and set it next to my already half-eaten bowl of stew. “In fact, I would bet my entire recipe book that he will. It’s practically a guarantee.”

“Yeah, I could have guessed that,” I answered with a mouth half full of food. Everyone could sense his rising powers. I was surprised it hadn’t happened already.

---