A Trial of the Heart (Valdor #2)

Chapter Eleven

T he first trial is here.

And I am ready.

The stone steps below the palace of Aelius echoed with the sounds of our boots as we slowly descended into obscurity. Fae lights hung along the low ceiling of the passageway, guiding our way through with light from one beginning just as another ended. The shadows that crept along the sides didn’t dare approach us as we marched into the depths of the dungeons—one forced step at a time.

Regardless of the outcome today, I would never regret taking my cousin Neera’s place as Queen Minaeve’s chosen participant. Saving her from the fate of leaving her home and entering the trials of the Heart of Valdor was worth the cost of my life if I failed, though that was not my intention. I was determined to win.

My thoughts drifted to the family I left at home in Solace. Knowing I carried each one of them with me as I marched forward with my head held high.

I wondered what had become of my pack. Was Gilen now our alpha? Would he lead our people with the strength and courage I knew he carried ?

Despite my vendetta toward his intention to claim me, I understood why. However, fate held a different path for me. My heart didn’t belong with Gilen. And even though I was likely marching down the steps to my death, I was relieved that destiny decided to bring me here.

As ridiculous as it sounded, I began counting the steps as we descended further into the darkened stone hallway beneath the palace of Aelius. I did my best to swallow the inner demons that were clawing away at my nerves as we continued underground, these steps reminding me of the ones I was dragged through in the hunter’s lair.

A stray wisp of cold air brushed against the nape of my neck, sending me a silent message of comfort that stirred the sleeping animal spirit inside my chest. His ice igniting liquid fire throughout my veins.

Daxton, the Silver Shadow, High Prince of Silver Meadows, the prince who was promised, followed close behind. His footsteps echoing in perfect sync with my own.

I could sense a connection forming between us that I hadn’t noticed before. I was keenly alert to Daxton’s every movement, almost sensing him on an instinctual level. I was beyond denying my affection. From the moment I decided to kiss Daxton on the ship, I knew I cared for him.

Daxton insisted, ruse or not, that he was accompanying me as I entered the first trial of the Heart of Valdor.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Castor protested.

“I’m walking with her,” Daxton said. “I’m not asking your opinion on this. I’m telling you.”

And that was that .

I led our group, with the others in step behind me. Castor descended with a disgruntled march alongside Daxton. Adohan and Idris followed, walking hand in hand, supporting me with a confident silence as we made our way to the labyrinth’s entrance.

The Crimson City couple emerged from their room at the same time we left ours. Adohan was shaky, but he could stand on his own feet without much trouble. Idris was steady by his side.

The fae lights gathered along the ceiling as the stone steps came to an end. I swallowed a gulp of fear as I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth so hard I thought that they would crack.

One hundred and thirty-six.

That’s how many steps I had to take to see the light of day again—to feel the fresh, clean air cleanse my lungs and my restless soul once I was victorious. It was not a number I would likely forget.

As we reached the end of our descent into darkness, I moved aside, letting the others pass through the stone-arched entrance to an open foyer leading to yet another underground tunnel. I placed my hands on rough gray rocks, pressing my forehead against the stone, trying to steady my quivering limbs.

“Breathe.” Strong hands rubbed my shoulders and back. “You’re not in the hunter’s lair. You’re not alone… Remember, you won’t ever be.” Daxton moved closer to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and turning me toward his chest. “You’re stronger than your fears, Spitfire. You’re the towering mountain that never bends and never breaks against the strength of the fiercest winds.” His lips dared a soft brush of a kiss on the crown of my head as I encircled my arms around his middle. “I’ve got you, Skylar Cathal.” Daxton took a deep, steadying breath and I followed his lead, absorbing hi s courage and molding it into my own. I could feel his magic building, mine rising to the surface in response. “I will find you.”

“We will always find each other,” I whispered, burying my head into the nook of his collarbone near the base of his neck.

Those were the words Daxton told me in my dreams when I was tortured and dying underground in the cell of the hunter’s lair. I still don’t know how he managed to send me those messages, but I didn’t dare question them. Instead, I decided to succumb to the magic they somehow possessed.

“Dax,” Castor warned in a hushed tone. “We’re not alone.”

I felt Daxton tense, yet he didn’t release his hold on me. I was thankful for this because, without his strength, I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand on my own just yet.

I lifted my gaze to the entrance of the tunnel to see a dark-haired High Fae staring at us from across the way.He was a silent threat. I knew all too well that the power of the mind was never something to overlook.

“What are you doing here?” My words were meant to have more bite to them than they did, and I cursed my shaking nerves for their obvious hold over me.

The male casually leaned against the wall and crossed his arms along his chest. His fitted forest-green tunic with gold embellishment shimmered against the fae lights of the underground passageway. “Would you expect me to be anywhere else?”

“Rhett.” Daxton said the fae’s name, but his cunning deep-set blue eyes remained locked on me. “You should already be with the queen. ”

“And shouldn’t the shifter be finding comfort in the arms of your brother?” Rhett countered as he cocked his head to the side, his elegant, alluring features still unreadable behind a mask of porcelain.

Shit. Well, there goes the ploy of our little ruse .

“Don’t even attempt to concoct a rebuttal, Castor.” Rhett held up his hand, finally turning his gaze to Daxton. “I’m not a fool, and I can see well enough to infer what is here … even through the lack of daylight in this underground tomb.” Blue eyes darted across the distance to collide with gray steel.

A moment of stillness passed between Daxton and Rhett. I watched as they stared at each other, not in aggression or fear, but almost like they were sizing each other up—testing one another like predators dueling over territory or a fresh kill.

“How?” Daxton asked aloud.

“Besides the obvious?” Rhett replied, tilting his head up to assess the air around us. I wasn’t worried. I had my shield up, and I knew Daxton did as well.

“You see it,” Adohan said, addressing Rhett in a softer tone instead of one fit for a sworn subject of Aelius. The comprehension twinkling in his hazel eyes reminded me that Adohan was more than just a handsome face. “Because this isn’t foreign to you.” I had no idea what Adohan was referring to, but from the looks of it, Rhett sure as hell did.

“Stop,” Rhett said sharply.

There it was. A flash of shock and perhaps sorrow crossed the unreadable, emotionless mask of the illusive male fae. His unruly dark hair aided in concealing the dwelling sadness that anchored a forever lingering pain inside his beautiful cold eyes. I would have missed it if I blinked, but it was there .

Rhett immediately concealed his emotions, as he reached into the shadows. “Here,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’ve brought this trinket to help aid our champion.” In his hands, he held a chest plate of black armor, plainly decorated yet humming with magical power. “The bottom half of this armored suit is still proving difficult to locate. I’m unsure of what you may combat inside the labyrinth, but if this helps protect you on your journey, then it was worth the trouble bringing it down here.”

“What is it?” I asked as I moved in Daxton’s arms.

“It’s the armor of Aegis, Skylar,” Daxton said as he accepted the chest plate from Rhett’s outstretched hand. “You’ve been searching for this for—”

“A century, give or take a few decades.”

“What is this exactly?” I asked again, hesitant to accept aid from a sworn subject of Aelius.

“It’s a magical object, Skylar,” Castor said, unsheathing one of his thin blades at his hip.

Once the armor was delivered into Daxton’s outstretched hand, Rhett wisely took a step back. Castor swiped his dagger at the armor, the blade coming to a swift halt with no indent or scratch on the material.

“It was rumored to be forged with the magic of the Heart of Valdor itself, a gift of protection for its first shifter guardian,” Castor said. “This armor will protect the wearer from any physical harm where it covers you.”

“It’s impenetrable,” Daxton said with a suspicious undertone. “And thought to be lost to the depths of the Blue Hole.” I flashed Dax a questioning look, with my curiosity spinning like a top.

Rhett cocked his brows upright with an intelligent sparkle in his eyes. “You have your resources, Silver Shadow, and I have mine. ”

“Is this some kind of trick, Rhett?” I asked.

“Now, why would you think that of me, shifter?”

“Self-preservation,” I answered him coldly. To my surprise, Rhett released a small laugh under his breath as he glanced between Daxton and me.

Dax tensed. “Even before meeting us here, you intended to bring this for Skylar. Why?”

Damn, that was a good question. Why hadn’t I thought of asking that? Gods, this labyrinth was throwing me off my game.

“Hope.”

“Hope?” I repeated as I found the strength in my shaking limbs to release my hold on Daxton and confront Rhett.

“Yes. Hope that you do not feel the sting of death, young champion. For I fear that it is not only your life that hangs in the balance here today.”

“Cryptic much?” I sneered. “Can you speak in anything other than riddles?”

Rhett seemed amused with himself as he looked to Daxton. “You nicknamed her Spitfire , yes?” I crossed my arms and gave him a narrowing glare. “Fitting,” he said as he flipped his gaze back to me.

Daxton moved to my side, pressing himself securely beside me. “Don’t, Rhett,” he warned with a low growl.

“You don’t need to worry about any of this,” Rhett said, waving a wide arm around the foyer. “I’m a master of deception that challenges even your second, High Prince Daxton.” His eyes cast sideways, meeting Castor’s. “I’ll wander ahead with Adohan and Idris, giving you a private moment to help her don the armor. The leathers alone won’t be enough to stop talons, teeth, or whatever monster she may have to combat in there. It’s a labyrinth … after all. The mind has the ability to turn our nightmares into reality.”

I pursed my lips in frustration, still not understanding why Rhett was lending me this aid. Was there a hidden agenda behind his seemingly good intentions? What was I thinking? Of course there was. He was a High Fae from the Aelius court of all places. There was always a hidden agenda.

“You’re running out of time,” Rhett said.

“I’m well aware of the timing of the trials,” I answered, mustering more fire than before. “Why don’t you run along to your queen’s side? I’m sure Prince Seamus is anxiously awaiting the trusted members of his court to arrive.”

Rhett turned the side of his mouth upward, but I could see a hint of displeasure at my snide remark. This fae was a wild card, perhaps an undecided party member, teetering between two opposing forces at play. Or he was simply out for what I’d guessed in the first place—self-preservation.

“Knowledge is sadly just out of reach at times for the youth,” Rhett sneered with a half-smirk, “but not courage or character, it seems. Thank the Gods above.” Rhett kept his cunning glare locked on me as he nodded for Adohan and Idris to follow his lead.

“We’ll see you at the labyrinth,” Idris said as she quickly hugged me and kissed my cheek before joining Adohan at the tunnel entrance.

The Crimson City high prince bowed his head to me and then to Daxton. “Minutes… would be pushing it, my friend.”

“I know,” Daxton said.

“I will be on the steps,” Castor announced as he moved out of sight. “Don’t want any more surprise visitors for today. ”

Then, it was just the two of us, surrounded by nothing but the fae lights that glistened in the shadowed passageway.

Daxton spoke more with his actions than his words. The meanings behind his gentle touch, his mannerisms, or his demeanor spoke for him when words could not. Me, on the other hand, I tended to fill the silence with a never-ending sea of questions or wonderings.

But now… just mere moments before the first trial, I was uncharacteristically silent.

“Hold back your hair,” Daxton said softly. “I’ll help you fasten the chest plate. It might be large right now, but once you set it in place, it will mold to fit your frame.”

“Magic?”

“Magic.” He nodded.

“I thought magic was unable to enter the labyrinth.”

“Magical objects tend to play by their own rules at times,” he said. “And wearing another layer of protection won’t hinder you—magical or not.”

I turned around so he could help fasten the leather straps of the black armor around my back. It was loose, mainly around my shoulders, while cutting into my hips and narrowing around my chest.

“Apparently, a much larger male wore this before me.”

“Clearly,” Daxton huffed in agreement as his hands traced over the curve of my hips and rested for a moment on my backside.

I arched my brow at him, giving him a playful smirk. “I don’t think there are any clasps that far down.”

“My mistake.” He chuckled .

“You, Daxton, High Prince of Silver Meadows, are admitting to a mistake?”

“Are you referring to my wandering hands?” Daxton asked as he snapped the last tie into place, the armor molding perfectly around me, just like he said it would. “Or my lingering eyes?”

I turned around to glare at him. “Both,” I teased. “But please, feel free to continue making them.” There it was, that sweet smile that kindled the fire in my heart and stirred my animal to life inside my chest.

“I needed to see that,” I said as I reached up to cup his face in my hand. He leaned into my touch as I caressed his cheek. “Answer me this…” I asked with a hint of playfulness in my tone.

“Anything.”

“Careful what you promise, Princey.”

“Care to test the limits of my words?” he asked.

The corner of my mouth turned upward as I formulated my grand question. “How do you keep your beard so trimmed and yet still so soft?”

Daxton bit his lower lip, and his eyes closed with a laugh hiding behind his lips. “That? That is the question tumbling around in your inquisitive mind?”

“Why not?”

Daxton shook his head and reached to grasp my hand in his, uncaging his smile so it reached his pointed ears. “Magic.”

“But of course!” I said with an air of lightness that I knew we both needed before I tumbled into the suffocating unknowns of the labyrinth.

Daxton pulled me closer, wrapping his arm securely around my middle. “What else do you need, Skylar?”

Well, that is the question of the century now, isn’t it ?

I gazed up into his luminous storm-gray eyes, never wanting to forget them or how I felt when he looked at me like this. What did I need? Was he asking what I needed to succeed in the trials or what I needed in the silent moment wrapped in his cocoon of strength? Was the answer one and the same?

“I can tell you’re spiraling,” Daxton murmured as he pressed his forehead against mine. “Don’t overthink it. Just tell—”

This time, I silenced him .

I surged forward, crashing my lips against his and entangling my fingers into his free-flowing hair. He shifted against me, pressing his body against mine and lifting me off my feet with the sweep of his tongue across the inside of my mouth. His hands migrated over the armor he had just helped me fasten, fondling me through my layers of protection that I hoped to the Gods I wouldn’t need. I knew this kiss couldn’t last much longer, so I savored every second of it.

We both paused, regrettably breaking our embrace as we possessively wrapped our arms around each other. “I’m not scared of the labyrinth, Dax,” I boldly whispered.

“You never cease to amaze me, Spitfire,” Daxton said as he nuzzled into the nape of my neck.

Sadly, we both knew our moment together was gone.

“Dax. Sky …” Castor’s warning echoed from the staircase.

“There’s not enough time,” Daxton murmured as I pulled back to look at him. “Skylar—”

“Shh,” I said as I quickly pressed a light kiss to his lips. “I said I wasn’t afraid, but if you start talking like this is the last time I’ll see you, then … Then I’ll start second-guessing my chances of coming out of this al ive.” I flashed him a reassuring grin, trying to give him the strength he had always shared with me.

“Wise for someone so young.”

“Rhett can eat his words,” I said with a coy grin. “It’s okay,” I whispered, placing my hands on his chest. “Elders in my pack say the mind is the first thing to go with old age. I’m here to keep you all on your toes.” I couldn’t help teasing him. I needed to see his smile once more before Dax had to disappear, and his Silver Shadow mask needed to be worn once again.

“Again, you never cease to amaze me.” He hugged me tight, giving me exactly what I needed to take the next steps forward.

Castor’s footsteps were hesitant at first, but we all knew time was not on our side. “I’m sorry,” he said in a reluctant tone.

“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m ready.” I turned to Daxton with power blazing in my amber eyes that fueled me with strength. He nodded and bent to kiss not my hand but the scar beneath my right wrist.

Castor glided silently next to me, extending his arm. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I said, staring into Daxton’s comforting gaze for what could be the last time.

“Then let’s go. If we spend any more time lingering, Minaeve may send Seamus to retrieve us.”

“He’s the last thing I want to deal with right now.”

“Agreed,” Daxton said as he turned and began leading Castor and me through the fae-lit hallway.

Thanks to my shifter half, I was able to see perfectly in the dark and didn’t need the fae lights to see what lay in wait for me ahead. Queen Minaeve wore a deep green gown embroidered with gold stitching that shimmered against the three sparkling gems on the crown that grazed the top of her flowing ebony hair. Her turquoise eyes, painted with gold, narrowed as she watched us approach the entrance to the labyrinth. I didn’t know what she was trying to speculate over or infer from our arrival, but Castor only drew me in closer to keep the facade of our intimate relationship.

Seamus was armed with a long sword at his queen’s side. His dark forest-green armor matched his queen’s and contrasted against his light blond hair. He wore a skeptical expression on his face that made my insides twist in on themselves. Seamus reminded me of a snake, always lurking and yet still unpredictable in when they would strike. I imagined if he were a shifter, that animal would fit him perfectly.

“You gave her the armor of Aegis?” Minaeve said to Rhett, who stood off to the side, cloaked in shadows underneath the arching fae lights.

“Of course,” Rhett replied. “I followed your request, my queen, and sought out the trinket myself.” Oh, great. This was somehow her idea? I was now regretting putting this on.

“I don’t recall giving you the directive of arming the shifter,” Minaeve sneered, and I couldn’t help the look of surprise that crossed my features.

Rhett shifted out from the shadow and faced Seamus and High Queen Minaeve. “I believe you instructed us to do all that was in our power to help aid the champion and ensure her arrival at the first trial. The poor creature was shaking so badly the other night at the thought of facing this trial, and I thought of something that would help ease her worry.”

“But this is a trial of the mind,” Seamus cut in as Castor and I reached them.

“Yes,” Rhett countered, “and the mind is a powerful tool that can force the body to succumb to wounds and vice versa. This adds a layer of protection to ease the strain of the mind, knowing the body is well guarded.”

Seamus grunted with annoyance and rolled his eyes, but I could tell that he was not going to argue against Rhett’s logic. Rhett might not be a hardened warrior like the rest of them, but his knowledge and wit were just as sharp as their blades.

“Very well,” Minaeve muttered. “Shifter.” Her attention snapped to me, and I felt a curl of darkness laced in her words as she pushed her power throughout our surroundings. “The labyrinth entrance is through the black fog. It will only allow the bearer of the champion’s mark to pass through. Once inside, you have until sundown to complete the unknown tasks that lie ahead.”

I knew all this, and I didn’t see why she needed to repeat herself. “I understand.”

“Then don’t waste any more time. Say your goodbyes and enter.” Her venomous words struck me with force, but I refused to flinch against them. “Daxton,” Minaeve said as she tilted her head in his direction, “stand by my side.” Daxton nodded and moved to hover near the queen’s shoulder, joining Adohan and Seamus.

Anger churned in my middle, my animal sending flickers of our own power throughout my limbs.

“Good,” Castor murmured. “You’re going to need every ounce of that.”

I tilted my head toward him. “Meaning?”

“Anger … rather than fear. I would remove the latter before entering.”

I knew from training with Magnus that fear led to panic, and in the labyrinth, if I panicked, I was dead. “Anger it is then,” I said, allowing my hatred for the queen to fuel me .

“Come here,” Castor said as he wrapped his arms around me. Ruse or not, I felt the sincerity in his embrace. This was real. “Do me a favor, will you?” he whispered so only I could hear.

“Aren’t I already doing you and everyone in Valdor a favor?”

“It’s a small one, I promise,” he teased as he squeezed me tighter, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Don’t. Die.”

“No pressure.”

“I only ask of my students what I know they can achieve. Nothing more, nothing less,” he said as he moved to kiss my other cheek.

“Again, no pressure.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“You’re not getting any premonitions of my impending death, are you?”

He grinned. “None! You’re in luck for once, it seems.”

“Don’t jinx it,” I countered. Castor swiped his fingers in front of his lips, silencing any additional comment he planned to make.

I released Castor’s hands and boldly turned to the alluring fog that shimmered against the fae lights. I couldn’t make out any details of the labyrinth, only a dense blanket of midnight clouds. As I stepped closer to the entrance, tendrils of the mist bent and twisted around my outstretched hand. I could feel the thrum of magic caressing my skin, searching out my identity as it encircled my body.

Well, that is my cue, then.

I picked up one foot and then the other, slowly entering the fog and walking toward the entrance of the first trial .

I dared a glance backward just for a second before the world I knew disappeared. The only thing I longed to see was already staring directly back at me.

Gray eyes that mimicked the storms over the mountain peaks softened, flooding me with unspoken support he never failed to give me.

Daxton’s face was the last thing I saw before the fog encased me in the world of the labyrinth. It was an image I would never forget, and one I would carry with me as I entered the first trial of the Heart of Valdor.