Page 133 of A Trial of the Heart

“I don’t think so,” I replied, stepping closer to the carcass of the once proud serpent king. “When the basilisk died, its magic dwindled and eventually disappeared. But I think the first key,” I said, extractingthe sun-moon key from the labyrinth underneath my armor, “is supposed to help.”

I could feel the familiar thrumming of magic from the entrance pulsate against my palm as I clutched the sun-moon key in my hand. I knelt next to the massive head of the fallen king, unable to subdue the swell of sorrow and heartache in my chest.

This magnificent being was locked in this isolated cave system its entire life, waiting for this battle to decide its fate. It almost seemed cruel that this majestic creature was meant only for this end. I felt sorry for the basilisk and sent a silent prayer to our Mother and Father for their compassion. Were we not all creatures of their creation?

“Spitfire?” Daxton asked with concern, stepping behind me. I hadn’t even noticed the tear trailing down my cheek. He knelt beside me and took my hand in his. “Only you, my alpha queen, could feel compassion for a creature whose sole purpose in this life was death itself. Your mortal heart is a gift, my love, and one I hope you never lose.”

“I wish I didn’t have to kill him,” I whispered. “As stupid as I know that sounds. But, before he died, he spoke to me… Maybe even warned me?”

“What did the basilisk tell you?”

I tried my best to recite the serpent king’s final words. “You have dethroned me, but know this, Champion. In the end … the Heart of Valdor will ask you for what was given before. When your kind first sealed it away. Be ready.”Leaving out the final warning,Be willing.

Willing for what? I wasn’t sure. But I had one final trial to conquer before that came to pass.

Daxton pursed his lips, the lines in his brows and along his forehead creasing in concentration as he triedto understand what the basilisk told me in his final breaths.

“What was given before,” Daxton repeated to himself. “I don’t understand. I don’t remember anything about the Heart being sealed. I was there. Why don’t I remember?”

Again, that strange look of bewilderment clouded my mate’s expression. He had the same frustrated blank stare on the deck of theOpalwhen we traveled to the Inner Kingdom, when he’d forgotten details of Queen Minaeve’s rise to power.

“Why can I not remember?” he cursed, his magic flaring out around him as he ground his knuckles into the rocks at our feet. His frustration turned to anger as he tried to remember but failed to catch the fleeting memory.

“Dax.” I quickly reached out and took his hand, trying to calm him. “Look, you were just seconds away from dying. The venom is gone, but there are still lingering effects. You need time to recover. Don’t push yourself too much, my love. Once we retrieve the key and bring it to the scroll, another riddle or clue about the final trial will be revealed.” I knew he was listening, but it didn’t eliminate his disappointment. “We’re so close.”

There wasn’t anything I could do to temper his emotions. It wasn’t my place to try to do so. I needed to allow him space to work through this and trust that he would ask when he was ready to let me in and help.

“All right,” he answered. I gave him a nod in return.

I lowered the key toward the closed eye of the dethroned serpent king and watched in awe as it magically began to glow in my hand. The key sparkled like living sunlight, casting shimmering rays of gold andred that hovered in the air and swirled around the basilisk’s body.

The light created from the magic of the first key collected at the tip of its tail, swallowing the blackened scales until they disappeared and added to the magical sparkles of sunlight. The shimmering magic wound up the scaled back, stomach, chest, and neck until finally it reached its massive head, and the body that was once there no longer was. A flash of blinding light forced us to shield our eyes and turn away. When we lowered our arms to see, only a single remnant of the creature remained. A small yellow orb with a black eight-pointed star pupil.

The eye. The second key.

I reached out for the orb and grasped it in my left palm. The warming glow of the magic hummed against my skin as the second star on my arm transformed from an outline to a painted black star.

The second trial was complete. I had defeated the beast and obtained the second key.

“Your prayers might have been answered by the Gods, Spitfire.”

I glanced at him, so grateful that he was here and thankful he was everything I wanted and needed. “It seems so.”

“Shall we go home? The magical ward has been lifted. I think I can still manage to teleport us to the entrance of the Summit.” I didn’t miss the flicker of hope and happiness that shone in the depth of his mesmerizing gray eyes when he said the word home. And to be honest, Silver Meadows was beginning to feel just like that to me.

“You sure?” I asked in hesitation.

“Not doubting your mate, are you?”

“Never.” I smiled, tucking myself into his arms. “Let’s go.”

In a flash of silver, the cave disappeared.

We arrived on the stone steps outside the large, marble-framed, tempered glass double door entrance of the Summit. Before leaving for the trial, Daxton placed extra wards around the Summit. Even he couldn’t teleport us inside.

As I opened my eyes, Silver Meadows reappeared around us, except… it was not in the state we had left it.

“Oh… My, Gods,” I gasped in absolute horror. I flung a hand over my mouth, feeling Daxton’s grasp on my arms tense as his entire body went utterly still.

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