Page 102 of A Trial of the Heart

My voice quivered with anticipation. “Meeting you was no coincidence. These trials were a gift from the Gods themselves.” My chest heaved as I swallowed a heavy breath. “Even if I fail and never reach the end, all of this, every step or twist of fate in my life was worth it because it has led me to you.” I encircled my arms around his neck, trying to steady myself against his immovable strength. “Of all the people in this world, you’re the one I was meant to find.”

His arms tightened around my middle, but I shut my eyes, pressing my brow to his to summon my courage. My animal’s presence pushed on my subconscious, encouraging me with a flood of strength to bare my soul to the male who held my heart.

“With you, I feel at peace. No longer searching because I’ve found where I belong.”

Daxton’s voice was barely a whisper against my cheek.“What are you saying, Skylar?”

“I love you, Daxton Aegaeon, High Prince of Silver Meadows …myDax. I will always find you because it wasyou,I’ve always been searching for.”

Without hesitating, Daxton pulled me into his lap as my legs wrapped around his waist, consuming my mouth with his and leaving me utterly breathless with a soul-binding kiss.

My hands threaded through his hair, pulling it free as his calloused palms traced over the curves of my hips before migrating under my shirt. Electricity sparked between us as our magic combined, enhancing the feel of him that vibrated over every inch of my scolding flesh. I felt like I was on fire. His touch. His kiss. I would never have enough of him—of this. Even if my mortal life somehow lingered for eternity, it would never be enough.

Gasping for breath, Daxton pulled his lips from mine. “Ask me,” he rasped, teetering on the edge of his self-control.

“W-what?” I stammered, barely able to think, let alone ask a question at a time like this. “Wait,what?” I fought to regain my senses for the moment. “I tell you that I love you… and you reply with,Ask me?” I released my hold on him. “What the actual fuck, Daxton?”

His smug smirk, paired with his dark, humorous laugh, was unequivocally infuriating.

“Ask me,” he repeated with a devilish grin, revealing the dimple along his ebony bearded cheek. “Ask me what I couldn’t answer our first night together in Crimson City.”

My mind was a whirlwind of confusion, finding my way back to our first intimate night together after he saved me from the nightmares brought forth by Seamus’s mind-reading magic. I looked up and met those mesmerizing eyes that flowed like liquid silver in the moonlight.And then, I knew.

“What were you discussing with Adohan and the others in Crimson City?”

Daxton reached out to caress my cheek, looking at me like I was the only fucking person that mattered in this entire world. The intensity of his stare was enough to send me over the edge right then and there.

“Skylar,” he said my name softly, leaning forward to kiss my lips before trailing a line of kisses across my chin and down my neck. “I’ll never forget that first time I laid my eyes on you. How you took my breath away with your fierce beauty and even more with your cunning bravery, my Spitfire.” He stilled and closed his eyes before a bright, beaming smile unfolded across the span of his mouth. “That night, mysoulfound its other half. What it’s been aching for—for centuries. You’re the reasonwhyI believe and hope for a future because you are my future.”

My entire body trembled. Everything he was telling me was leading to an answer I never thought could be possible.

“Can’t you see that you’re myeverything, Skylar Cathal? My hope. My salvation.” He pressed his brow against mine, taking a full breath and holding it captive before releasing it into the night. “My heart…” He paused, and the world outside us ceased to exist. “You, my Spitfire. You are mymate, and I’m hopelessly and eternally in love with you.”

Mate.

A bond more powerful than any spell or magic cast in this world—a union that transcended all logic and reason. A connection that spanned through time itself, forever linking two souls together in this life and the next.

“I-I don’t understand,” I stammered, unable to move or even think. “Why can’t I—”

“I believe it’s because you haven’t shifted yet,” Daxton answered plainly, like it was a simple response one would give a small child. “I know you feel at least a whisper of our connection, but our mate bond will not be sealed until you can shift. Your other half can’t recognize it until your animal form emerges.”

“That’s why you didn’t tell me? You didn’t want to—”

“Yes, but I also couldn’t place this additional weight on your shoulders, not to mention the danger of it. Not witheverythingyou were facing and striving to overcome. But now…” His voice trailed off.

The trials, Minaeve… Gods above, even Gilen.

“How long?” I asked, grasping his hands but forcing myself to take a step back. I needed answers, and I couldn’t think straight with his arms wrapped around me. “When did you feel the mate bond between us? How long did you keep this to yourself and think it was okaynotto tell me?”

Regret flashed across his somber face, making me rue my harsh tone, but I had to know. I had to know how long he’d hidden this from me. And why he had kept this secret. Ideservedto know.

“The night we first arrived in Solace.” Despite my frustration, Daxton couldn’t help smiling as his eyes shone in that special way that made my core melt. “When a spitfire shifter demanded I stay alive after trying to kill me.” His scoff of a laugh was endearing despite my mood.Asshole. “Since that first moment, a part of me knew.”

“How? When?” I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms, trying my best not to let his charming humor soften me. “Howdid you know?”

“Looking back on it, I knew before I ever met you. It was the sole reason I wandered into the meadowthat night. I was drawn to you.” Dax became quiet, lost in his thoughts and memories, which I knew spanned beyond my comprehension. “When I bit you on the arm,” he motioned to the scar above my wrist, “and tasted your blood, my mind became a haze. Thoughts of you consumed every waking moment, even my dreams.” Dax stilled, his eyes never leaving me. “Before you arrived to heal me later that first night, I knew … but I still questioned it.” His brow furrowed as he tried to pull me closer, but I shuffled back to keep my distance, silently demanding for him to continue.

“Since meeting you, my soul has been tethered to yours, a bond forged beyond my control. As much as I tried to resist getting to know you, or forming any type of relationship in fear of what Minaeve or any other may do … Alas, my heart inevitably became yours. The bond drew me to you, but I fell in love with you because of who you are—my intelligent, stubborn, brave, and indescribably beautifulSpitfire.”

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