Page 98 of A Trial of the Heart

“You deserved that one,” I said, my smile hidden behind an open textbook about the history of fae folklore.

“Okay, sure … but maybe not the two before that crisped my favorite shirt.” Gunnar frowned at his burned clothing.

“If that was your favorite shirt, I need to enlighten you about your fashion sense and the basic finery you desperately need to try,” Idris said mockingly. “Your station alone should be able to afford you something nicer than that charred shirt.”

“It wasn’t charred before tonight,” Gunnar murmured. “And why am I the only one being lectured about fashion? Skylar is wearing a baggy shirt and stretchy pants. No comments to her attire?”

“I choose comfort. That’s my fashion.” I didn’t bother to look up from my book at his remark. After all, the new pants were mine. I had found them in the drawers of my room that I still didn’t really sleep in. But the shirt. Now, that didn’t technically belong to me.

I was aware the others could smell who it belonged to, but they politely didn’t say anything about it. I had found it in my room, actually, in the corner of the washroom, tucked behind the door. Daxton must have forgotten it when he stayed with me after my fall. I had been sleeping in it every night since he went hunting for Anjani.

“Never question a female’s attire after hours, Gunnar,” Adohan said with a half-smirk as he stroked his bearded chin. “You foolishly thought teasing mymate would go unnoticed or have no consequence? Think again.”

“Clearly,” Gunnar huffed, slouching against an array of pillows near the crackling fire in the mantle as Idris and I tried to muffle our laughter.

“Have we discussed a chimera yet?” Adohan asked, changing the topic back to our research. “The fire breathing, paired with a venomous tail and a lion’s head, fit many pieces of the riddle.”

“But not the crest or the fact that it is supposed to be a king, meaning the creature is likely a male… The chimera is female,” I answered, flipping the pages of my book that described the different fae creatures that were labeled deceased or mythical.

“Does it have to be male? What if…”Gunnar asked, quickly gaining our attention. “When you look at it, do you see your death, like in a third-person situation?” Our expressions turned to surprise as Gunnar’s shoulders dropped. “Don’t look at me like you’re shocked that I asked a decent question. It’s insulting. I’m more than just a handsome face and a strong sword.”

“But we are,” Idris mumbled, biting her lip to avoid snickering.

“Idris,” I began in a scolding tone. “He has a good idea. Let him run with it. Don’t let it die before it takes hold. Go on, Gunnar…”

“What about a banshee? Her scream is an omen of death, and she has white hair, so a crown?”

I leaned over my book and framed my chin with my finger to think on his suggestion. “Close and a good idea. But I still believe in my gut that this creature is a male. The king part of the riddle stands out.”

“Then I’m out.” Gunnar groaned in defeat and sprawled out backward with a book open on his face. “Ican’t read anymore. A battle brief is one thing, but this, all this is…” He gestured widely to the massive collection of books we had spread around us. “Maddening!”

Idris and I rolled our eyes in unison, trying to hide our amusement at Gunnar’s outburst behind the open books in our hands.

“Can you recite the riddle from the beginning once more, Skylar?” Adohan asked, purposely cutting off Gunnar’s groans.

“To find the key that you seek, you must first defeat the beast.” I had written and thought about it so much I didn’t even have to look at the parchment I copied it down on anymore. “To look upon my white crest is to know true death. I’m the king of my world, and only my equal can dethrone me. In the waters, I hunt, and in the darkness, I wander… now released from my silver cage of slumber. Between the slickened rocks, I creep, feeding on the weak and the meek. The first key will show the way to anyone who dares to come and play. My bars are gone, and now I’m free, but only the champion can take the second key. Two cycles of the Father shall pass, and then I will forever be free at last.”

“All right… so what do we know?” Gunnar mumbled beneath the pages of the unfolded book still resting on his face.

It was moments like this that I missed Castor’s logic. He would have been extremely useful in this task.

“A lot, actually, considering we began with knowing absolutely nothing,” Idris said in a motherly yet scolding tone. It was enough to make Gunnar sit up and rejoin the group.

“First,” I said, holding one finger up. “The Southern Cliffs with silver veins running along the ocean edge is the lair of this beast that Castor is currentlyinvestigating. If he can enter, then that means, unlike the labyrinth… I could potentially have someone with me.” Although I had not shared with them that I was not in favor of that happening. “Second,” I pulled up another digit, “I have three weeks remaining before I enter. The clue about two cycles of the Father is two full phases of the moon.”

“It feeds, likely meaning a predator,” Adohan added.

“That’s the third,” I said with a triumphant grin. “The key opens the trial gates, and Castor is pinpointing exactly where this is.”

“All right,” Gunnar groaned. “The layout of the lair of the beast will help narrow it down further, but we are stuck on—”

“We’re stuck on the white crest, king, and death stare.” I had been researching spitting venom, venom bites, and all other ways something could kill you, but the only fable I read was about a stone-killing gaze from a woman with a head of snakes … And that didn’t fit the king clue. “Maybe this thing is so ugly that when you look at it, you die because it’s so hideous?”

The others looked at me and burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but follow. Our mental exhaustion was finally reaching a limit.

“What a trial,” Gunnar said through gasps of breath. “Could you bring a mirror, or have it look into a pool of water, and its reflection would kill itself?”

Silence followed.

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