Page 30 of A Trial of Two Worlds
“When?” Shaw asked. His breathing remained steady, despite his eyes being wild. His mind raced to discover answers.
“I passed the trial of the mindtwo weeksafter I left. The labyrinth was a complete mind-fuck, which I’ll tell you about later…” I paused, remembering Neera mentioning the new moon.
I remembered the faint outline of the new moon overhead when Daxton teleported us from the labyrinth,sensing a renewed wave of power and life rushing through me.
Shaw’s gaze met mine, and I knew he had come to the same conclusion I had.
“The trials are not only linked to the Heart of Valdor, but also the veil and somehowourmagic. Our ability to shift,” I said.
“When did you complete the second trial?” Shaw asked.
“Last week.” I tensed. “I killed the serpent king, a basilisk, just over a week ago.”
Neera practically fainted at the news, and Shaw’s gaping mouth was so wide it could catch a school of fish from the river.
“Again,” I said, shifting on my feet. “I’ll give you the details later.”
“This all makes sense,” Shaw said. “Last week, black veins appeared along the cliffs. The roots of the trees began to decay, along with the vegetation and wildlife closest to the Inner Kingdom.”
“The veil is not merely a divide between our worlds. It’s a cage to contain the wilt, possibly crafted with our magic along with the fae’s.” I slowly realized that the Heart of Valdor was locked away not only by the High Fae but somehow by shifters as well.
But why? What connection did our ancestors have to all this?
My mind was racing, searching through my memories for an answer, when suddenly, I recalled Malek,king of the water nymphs, and what he told me after my first trial victory.
We do not freely speak of the time before the wilt, young shifter—not yet, I’m afraid. Perhaps you truly are the one to free us all.
He knew something.
“Passing through the veil was different this time,” I told Shaw and Neera.
“Different how?” Shaw asked, leaning in and eager to hear my response.
“It wasn’t as powerful,” I said. “Fjorda, the captain of the ship I traveled on, came to the same conclusion. He said it was due to the veil weakening.”
“The further you progress in the trials,” Shaw said, putting the pieces of this puzzle together, “the weaker the barrier becomes. The trials and the veil are linked, along with the magic of the shifters.”
“But how? Why?” Neera asked.
I furrowed my brow, waiting a moment before answering. “We won’t know for certain until I pass the final trial and unlock the Heart of Valdor.”
“The final trial…” Neera trailed off. “It’s of the soul, right?”
I nodded.
“Is this why you’re here, Sky?” she asked. Her eyes were wide with worry. “What is it you have to do?”
“I’ve been tasked to retrieve an object.”
“What object?” Shaw’s voice deepened as he looped a protective arm over Neera’s shoulder.
He knew.
Gods above, somehow, Shaw fucking knew.
“Also,” an all-too-familiar voice boomed in behind me.
I spun around to see a petite yet feisty figure filling the doorway with a mesh of auburn hair flowing wildly around her striking azure eyes.
