Page 139 of A Trial of the Heart

“I know there’s a plan in place, Castor. There has to be. You, above all others, are not only one but ten steps ahead in your schemes. Gunnar and Zola could never be this calm while Daxton was captured or remainin the wards, let alone Adohan. Whether he commanded them to do so or not …”

Castor’s expression remained the same, but Zola’s grin only grew. Gunnar nudged Adohan, bucking his chin up in a smug manner that said,I told you so.

“You’re a sharp little arrow, aren’t you?” Idris added, patting my shoulder as she gently wrapped a cloth around my bleeding arm.

“This was not a definite plan but a precaution. He knew … Daxton knew the queen might do this, didn’t he?” I asked.

“You may be savvy enough to survive here, after all, Skylar Cathal,” Castor said, casually crossing his arms.

“There’s no way you would be this fucking calm otherwise, Castor,” I shot back, not needing him to confirm my suspicions. “Trust me, I will throttle Daxton myself once I return, and I know he’s safe for keeping this secret from me. But now. Now … you need to tell me the plan.”

“As you command, Alpha.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Daxton Aegaeon

Ikept my eyes shut as the portal’s magic closed, and I was once again in the prison cells beneath the city of Aelius. The putrid stench of rotting flesh and cold isolation in this pit of despair hadn’t changed, so I imagined everything else was likely the same. There was no light from the outside world here. Nothing and no one was meant to survive in a place like this. Here, dreams of a better life—of hope itself—came to suffocate and drown.

I should know. I was a prisoner here for years. Most only lasted months before taking their own lives or breaking, losing their minds under the queen’s hand.

“Move it,” Seamus ordered, shoving me forward, purposely hitting my broken shoulder to seal in the sting of pain now radiating through my torso.

The powder they’d dosed me with upon their ambush was thankfully fading. With each breath I forced myself to take, it worked out of my system quicker. Still, I didn’t need to open my eyes to know where I was going. I kept them sealed shut, holding onto the lastthread of hope for as long as possible… to the image ofher.

“And here I thought kings had better manners,” I chided with a half-cocked grin, knowing exactly how to push Seamus’s buttons and get under his skin. “You know,pleasegoes a long way.”

I anticipated the strike long before the words escaped my lips. My left knee buckled, colliding with stone. This was followed by a swift strike to my face, cutting my cheek just below my eye socket.At least he learned how to throw a decent punch… Five hundred years of practice managed to do some good.

“Stop lying to yourself, thinking you’re playing the role of some kind of tortured hero. Or have you forgotten what happens when you oppose our queen?”

“I’m not,” I answered, spitting blood onto the ground.

I remembered. I remembered the ten years in these cells, followed by the century of chained servitude in Aelius until the first shifter failed in the trials. Only after that did she allow me to return home to Silver Meadows, but I was never truly free from her hold. That was… until I found my mate. Until hope once again became more than just a distant dream.

“The real heroes are the ones who tolerate you on a daily basis and somehow don’t kill themselves because of it.” Another strike to my already busted lip was well worth the insult. Seamus always enjoyed inflicting pain on those who couldn’t fight back, and right now, I couldn’t. For so many reasons, I couldn’t.

It took every ounce of my willpower to simply take his beating and act like I couldn’t break free of these chains and crush his pathetic excuse of a life with my bare hands.

Minaeve didn’t know, but over the centuries, I had been poisoning myself with her iron powder to build an immunity against it. That and working on sealing away my magic during her frequent siphoning sessions. I was her favorite, so thankfully, I had more practice than most. The night before the trials began, I didn’t hold back just to throw her off… But this time around, I did.

No one outside my brother and Zola knew what I was attempting. If Minaeve ever found out, she would severely punish me and simply find another way to try and weaken my power and reign.

“Can you manage to walk yourself to your cell, or do I need to drag your sorry ass there?”

I rolled onto my knees with my arms bound to my sides and stood on my feet. “I remember the way,” I muttered with disdain.

My eyes were still shut tight. I didn’t want to lose her just yet. I needed to remember every fearsome, beautiful detail for as long as I could. Those entrancing, powerful amber eyes that glowed with fire would be my light in this place. I would hold onto that final sight of my awe-inspiring mate as long as I could.

Hearing her swear to find me and retrieve that dagger without an ounce of fear in her declaration, beaming with defiance and power, warmed my darkened soul. I was honored andbeyondproudof her fire.

“Then walk,” Seamus said in a low, gruff voice as he shoved me forward.

Fucking prick.He believes that because he can simply fuck a false queen, he’s then entitled to a crown of his own. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he realized all this was a carefully calculated trick to undermineeverythinghe had worked for these past five centuries.

I heard the iron bars open, and I stepped inside the all too familiar prison I dwelled in once before. “Thought it was fitting to have you in the same one.” Seamus’s smugness was sickening.

“How generous of you andyourqueen.” I did not saymyqueen, and judging by his pause, he noticed.

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