Page 131 of A Trial of the Heart

And you…The basilisk now turned his attention back to me.You ssseem so familiar. Isss that you in there? Has it truly been five hundred yearsss?

I wasn’t listening to a fucking thing this snake was saying to me. I no longer cared if I lived through this or died. All I cared about was getting to Daxton and saving him. The trials would ultimately choose another, but the Inner Kingdom … Silver Meadows would not survive Daxton’s death. Valdor would find a way to continue combating the wilt.They could last another hundred years,I told myself,but they wouldn’t survive losing him.

I knew my magic could heal Daxton’s wound. All I needed to do was reach him; the power swirlinginside me would be enough. My mate would not die today.

Open your eyes, my instincts roared at me, an unknown voice echoing inside my mind.Release your power!

Maybe one eye of death wouldn’t be enough to kill me after all?

The well of power inside me burst open, overflowing like water spilling across a river dam. It was wild and beautiful. Terrifying yet comforting.

This was a creature of Valdor. And in my bones, I knew my alpha command would grant me control over the serpent king.

I opened my eyes that I knew were blazing like wildfire. One large golden yellow eye with a black eight-pointed star pupil in the center stared back at me.

No!the serpent hissed, its one eye widening as its pupil contracted wildly. I could feel the kiss of death’s magic brushing against my skin, but it did not affect me.

“You’ll be the one who dies today,” I said in a low tone laced with power and untapped fury. “Release me,” I commanded, my magic intertwined with each word I spoke.

It hissed wildly, fighting my alpha command with every ounce of magic it could muster. I watched it cringe and coil within its pained expression as it released its grip on me. The head of the serpent king bent down, its jaws unhinging to try and swallow me whole.

I remained calm. This was the opening I was waiting for.

As it lowered its jaws around me, I thrust my dagger up and inside its skull. The basilisk screamed and roared with the sound of death’s gasp. The creature’s flailing body squirmed around me as I drove my dagger in again. And again. Drenched in its blackened blood, Istill didn’t stop. With one final thrust, I pushed my blade up into its brain.

“Die,” I commanded.

The pressure of its talons slackened, unshackling me from its hold. I scrambled outside the gaping mouth of ivory fangs, standing next to the head of the fallen serpent king. The yellow eye was open, fixated on me, but I didn’t flinch or turn away. I met its stare, my power wildly flowing through me, combating its lingering death magic until it dissipated into nothing.

The basilisk hissed one final time. You have dethroned me, but know thissss, Champion. In the end … the Heart of Valdor will assssk you for what wassss given before. When your kind firssst ssssealed it away. Be ready… Be willing.

With those last words, the basilisk released its finalbreath.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Skylar?” Daxton’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Dax!” I screamed as I rushed to his side. His coloring was devoid of its natural glow, his hands cold as ice, and his breathing staggered and shallow. “Hold on, don’t move.”

My healing magic worked immediately when I touched the bleeding wound on his arm. I could feel the wisps of death in the poison rushing through his veins. Another thirty seconds and this would have taken him into the crossing of the afterlife.

My hands shook at that realization. The thought of losing him made me practically hysterical. My animal inside me was racing with unease, panicking at the thought. I couldn’t lose him. Not when we had just found each other, but then again, I knew there would never be enough time with him.

“That’s good enough.” Daxton tried to influence me to stop using my magic for some stupid reason I couldn’t fathom.

“No, it’s not,” I said, my voice unwavering, refusing to stop until I knew all the venom was out of his system. “And,” I rasped, attempting to calm myself and regain my composure, “stop telling me howmymagic works. Let me heal your gods-damned wound and erase the poison that wassecondsaway from killing you!”

“I would say it was closer to a minute.”

“Daxton!” I yelled. “Gahh! You’re unbelievable.”

“There she is,” he said as he flashed me that stupid half-grin and removed the remaining tie holding his blindfold.

“And,” I said with an edge, “don’t you dare fucking die on me.”

“Ha ha… I was waiting for that,” he teased as he grasped my hands.

“Where you go, I go,” I answered, meeting his silver-gray stare with my blazing fury. There was a shift in the air, a silent exchange and understanding passing between us that reached the unsealed threads of our mate bond.

---