Page 84 of A Trial of Fate

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Someone else had said that exact same thing about me not too long ago—Daxton. My mind carried my thoughts away to the male fae that had somehow worked his way into my head, and for the life of me, I couldn’t seem to shake him. It wasn’t just his strikingly attractive features that enticed me, but it was also how he carried himself. I was beginning to catch glimpses of his humor, which only made me like him that much more. Daxton made me feel strong, protected, and most of all, that my voice had merit. I could honestly say that I trusted him.

I left Julia in the kitchen and wandered into the gardens to find Neera. The sunflowers were beginning to bloom. Their stalks hovered just below my shoulders as I walked through an endless sea of greenery. Neera loved her garden. It was her place of peace, and I imagined that when she had her own place someday, her entire house would be surrounded by one. She was tending to some overgrown raspberry bushes, and I knelt next to her to help prune them away from the lilies.

“Do anything different to the raspberries this season?” I asked as I popped a fresh golden raspberry into my mouth. “They tasteamazing as always. Should we gather some to make a pie or tart tonight?”

“Will you be here long enough to even enjoy it with us?”

Ouch. Nice punch to the gut there, Neera.

“Might be. Depends on when you open up and start talking to me. Or the other option is that we can just sit here in the weeds until the fae come to take me away.” Neera stopped trimming the raspberry bushes but still refused to look at me. “Come on, Neera, talk to me, please. I can’t do this without you.”

“That’s just the problem, Sky.” Neera turned her beautifully sweet freckled face toward me, and all her bottled-up feelings poured out. “It should have been me,” she screamed with tears soaking her eyes.

I remained silent. She needed to let this out. Neera had to scream and allow all the feelings she had bottled up to come to the surface. If I had learned anything this past month with Shaw, it was that denying how we are feeling only does more harm than good. We needed to face our fears head-on if we were ever going to conquer them.

“It should have been me! The queen chose me… Me! Not you!” Tears were flowing down her cheeks now. “How am I supposed to live with myself knowing my sister took my place? That I was not strong enough to say yes! That I let you jump blindly into the unknown… and possibly death.”

I reached out and clutched Neera to my chest, wiping the tears from her face as I whispered to her, “This was my fate. Never yours, dear sister.”

“How was thisyourfate, Skylar?” she asked me as I slowly stroked her hair.

“Do you remember that night when I didn’t shift?” I asked her, steadying my nerves. “Do you remember that the fae queen stopped and looked at me and Shaw in the meadow first?”

Neera turned her head to look at me. “I-I—”

“Well, I do.” I knew I had to tell her everything about that night. She would not be able to accept anything less. “My animal presence surged inside me that night, Neera. I felt my power rise when the queen stopped and looked at me in that meadow. It was a silent question, but one that I knew I had to answer. When I did not shift, I understood I would be the one traveling to the Inner Kingdom.” Only a shifter would understand the gravity of what it meant to have our animal spirits present themselves in such a way.

“Your animal agrees with your choice?”

I nodded without hesitation. “Yes.” The fae queen might not have spoken to me in the meadow, but when she looked at me, I understood why I didn’t shift. My animal did as well. We resisted the alpha’s call because fate had other plans for us. “When I was taken…” Neera tensed as I cleared my throat to continue. “When I was taken, I asked myself… why continue? Why don’t I just break and give up?”

“Why didn’t you? How did you fight against all of it and never give up hope?”

Her questions had complex answers, and I wasn’t ready to dive into all the layers with her right now, but I was confident in my progress working through them. Even though I failed, it didn’t mean I would give up.

“I made a vow… I promised to represent our people and do everything in my power to heal our world. My responsibility. My fate.”

That answer seemed to resonate with Neera. If she knew some good came of this seemingly impossible mission, I knew she would be able to understand.

“So… you really believe you will succeed?”

“I believe I have no other choice,” I said with a sad smile. “I have a pack counting on me and a family I need to come home to.”

“Da-damn right you do.” Neera tried, but cursing just didn’t fit her.

I slung my arm around her shoulder when we heard footsteps behind us. “Julia told me I could find you two out here.” Magnus came into the clearing and knelt beside us. “Sort everything out?”

Magnus and I didn’t need more time to address my decision. One thing I admired about my uncle was that he handled everything in a calm and decisive manner. If I told him right now that I was running away and had changed my mind, he would not ask questions. He would find supplies, help me pack a bag, and create a distraction so I could escape. When someone he loved needed anything, there were no questions for him. He would do everything and anything to help.

Neera nodded, wiping tears from her face. “Skylar and I talked.”

“Well, youyelled,” I added. “And… somehow, I was the rational, reasonable one, andItalked.” Neera rolled her eyes and chuckled. I directed my questioning nature to Magnus. “Everything settled at the alpha’s home?”

“The fae queen was escorted by the silver prince to her ship and sailed away just before I left. Apparently, there were two ships waiting along the beach that were cloaked by another High Fae’s abilities on board. Very impressive magic. She can create illusions…”

“Wait,” Neera interrupted. “So, she’s just gone?”

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