Page 118 of A Trial of the Heart

The creature finished its meal and moved toward the tunnel. Its eyes were tilted downward as its body slithered like a snake yet still crawled resembling a lizard over the stone. When it opened its mouth, I saw rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth half my size, curved inward. Perfect for gripping and killing before devouring its meal.

Suddenly, its head snapped in my direction. Massive yellow eyes glowed in the dark cave with magic swirling within them. Haunting and utterly terrifying.

The power of its stare hit me like a brick wall. The air around me was heavy, but I wasn’t breathing. I didn’tfeelanything.

Gods above. I was seeing Nyssa’s memory as a fallen.

The creature’s long tongue slithered out of its jagged rows of teeth, smelling—no, tasting—the airaround me. It recoiled immediately, rolling its head and hissing violently in my face. Yet it didn’t attack. It simply slithered away into a different tunnel.

The connection severed, and I gasped aloud, trembling as my legs gave way in fear. Daxton caught me before I hit the ground—his hold on me was steady against my quivering limbs. His touch was gentle, but that was where his kindness ended.

Ice exploded around us in a protective barrier, forcing Nyssa back on the ground with sharpened points hovering against her exposed throat. “Move, and I’ll kill you.”

“Daxton, stop!” Castor shouted, blasting out his own magic to combat his brother’s. Castor couldn’t summon ice, but he could manipulate it. He protectively threw himself over Nyssa, pushing back against Daxton’s ice daggers as best he could.

“I mean it!” Blackness engulfed Castor’s eyes, and my heart dropped.

“I’m all right. I’m all right,” I told my mate.

“Bullshit,” Daxton cursed.

“Dax.” I scowled at him and forced myself to stand on my feet. “She showed me a vision. That’s all, I swear.”

“Try again,” Castor sneered, baring his teeth. “It was a fucking memory.Hermemory.” The brothers stared each other down, neither one giving an inch. “Stand down, Daxton. Don’t push me on this.” The look on Castor’s face matched Daxton’s. Two brothers at a standoff, ready to clash in the center of chaos.

Fire erupted in the halls, melting the ice directed at Castor and Nyssa. “Enough!” Adohan boomed. “Must I be the voice of reason with you two? Gods above, you never make a visit uneventful.”

“I’m all right,” I told Daxton again, but his eyes were stone. I reached out to cup his cheek to try and bring him back to me.

Thankfully, he dropped his stare and tucked me into his side, his arms folding me into his frame as his hands gripped me with as much strength as he could muster. “What did you see?”

“I saw…” I could barely form the words. “I saw the creature I have to defeat for the second trial.” My grip on my mate tightened, trying to extract every ounce of courage I could. Absorbing it like a dry sponge. “It’s… It’s—”

“It’s a basilisk,” Castor finished for me, with Nyssa tucked protectively behind his back. “Dax, she hasto slay a basilisk.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“You’re ready for tomorrow,” Daxton whispered against my ear. “I’m confident we’ll share endless nights together, just like this one, for many years to come.” His arms encircled me as his kisses traveled along the nook of my neck, down to my shoulder.

We had just finished making love, and still, I wanted him again. The feel of his touch was invigorating. Our love bridging our connection despite the missing threads of the unsealed bond. A powerful yet deadly weapon of the heart that could heal or destroy the world.

“You should be resting,” I said in a whispered hush.

“It’syouwho should be resting,” he countered, his fingers seductively caressing the curves of my hips, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “Yet I find our bed empty with you standing naked in the moonlight. I’m entering the second trial with you, but I’m not the one tasked with slaying the basilisk.”

Two weeks had passed since the night Nyssa showed me her memory, revealing the identity of the beast I had to defeat in the second trial.

It turned out the wilt had granted Nyssa a magical gift after all. Zola could jump through shadows, and Nyssa could share her thoughts and memories through her touch.

Nyssa encountered this creature while still a nalusa falaya, so she was already, in a sense, deceased. The basilisk’s stare could not kill what was already dead.

“I’m still not sold on the idea of you going in there with me,” I said. “Dax, it’s not safe.”

“I believe I’ve already won this argument two weeks ago.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

“I’m shocked.”

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