Page 90 of A Trial of Fate

On cue, saving me from answering, Daxton groaned and tried to turn his head. Lucky for me, this was enough of a distraction for Castor to drop the topic for now.

“Daxton?”

His gray eyes fluttered open, and he scanned the room once before turning his sight on me. “Skylar?”

“Welcome back,” I said with a heartfelt grin. He wasn’t fully healed yet, but I could feel the temperature of his body steadily rising.

“Dax?” Castor gripped the bed tightly, waiting for his brother to answer him.

“Why did you bring her here? I didn’t want her here, Castor,”Daxton said in an angered voice.

“Minaeve is gone, Dax,” Castor quickly rebutted, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.

Well, that wasn’t the welcome or thanks I was hoping to receive.

Castor pursed his lips and glanced away. “I didn’t know what else to do. I thought you were dying, Daxton.”

“Even after what I told you in the fields?” Dax quickly snapped at him, trying to push himself up.

I had no clue what Daxton meant by that question, but it was clear Castor did.

“No.” Castor sighed. “But I knew you needed her. There was no way we could get through the veil with you in that state. I am not strong enough to pass through alone, and you know it.”

I felt Daxton shift and try to break my hold. “Hold off on that right now, big guy,” I said firmly, moving my hands along his chest. Gods be damned, this male was built like a statue.

Daxton stilled, thankfully following my instruction. I didn’t have a very strong hold on him, but regardless, his willingness to listen was appreciated. Healing Daxton had weakened me to the brink of my magical limitations, essentially replacing his energy with my own. This was different from any other healing I had tried.

“This is going to take more time than a normal wound to heal. If I go slowly… the side effects for me will be less severe. With how much the queen took from you, I agree with Castor. You are lucky to be alive.”

“Why did this offering affect you so much, Dax?” It was Castor’s turn to ask the questions. “You have never been drained like this before.”

“She asked for it.” It was all Daxton was going to tell him—well, at least for now, with me in the room. Maybe after I left, he would be more willing to tell his brother exactly why he was knocking on death’s door.

“Makes sense,” I added. “I imagine your devotion to her outweighed your own personal needs. You made that quite clear during our meeting this morning.”

The room was suddenly deathly silent. Castor looked at me with the most shocked and horrified expression I had ever seen from him. He gulped loudly and slowly removed his hand from the bedside, backing away from Daxton and me.

“What?” Daxton’s voice was venomous and cold. Even whenI shot him with the iron arrow, he hadn’t spoken to me like that. I didn’t know how to respond.

“What… what did I say?”

Castor shook his head at me as he backed away until he was safely on the opposite side of the room.

Daxton’s breathing intensified, becoming ragged and animated. His fingers untucked the blanket’s fold, and he pushed himself out of my grasp to turn and face me. “What did you say?” Despite his weakened state, Daxton planted his arms on either side of my head, pinning me up against the wall with his heavy body.

“I said it made sense why you would give Queen Minaeve anything she asked for,” I replied, unsure of why this was such an issue.

“Why?” Daxton growled, flashing his canines at me. “How…could you ever think-”

“Because you kissed her,” I exclaimed. Wasn’t that obvious? I watched how he embraced the queen and followed her seductive touch into her private quarters. Even a blind man could see what she intended to do with him behind closed doors. “You obviously are romantically tied to her in some capacity. I don’t know customs of marriage or mate bonds with your kind… but how you kissed her and followed her into her rooms left little to the imagination.”

Pure silver fire seemed to glow in Daxton’s eyes. The room turned ice-cold around me as his power pulsed in uncontrollable waves. His magic was threaded into his emotions, and right now, both seemed to be out of control. His rage was bubbling over the surface, and for the life of me, I still didn’t understand why.

“What?” I thrust my hands forward into Daxton’s chest, colliding against a firm wall of muscle that didn’t seem to budge. I pitifully tried again to push him away, but Daxton refused to move.

“Idespiseher,” he growled with hooded eyes. “With every breath I take and with every beat of my heart, my hatred for her only grows. Do noteverinsinuate I have any kind of affection for Queen Minaeve.” Daxton was deathly calm as he spoke. I could feel the fluctuations of his power butt against my own as he tried to control his rage.

I was taken aback, but I refused to cower in front of him. So, I leaned forward to meet his deathly terrifying stare with one of my own. “Don’t get bent out of shape because I called out what I saw. I didn’t know any better. You and Castor never even hinted about hating Minaeve.”

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