Page 82 of A Trial of Two Worlds
At the base of the steps, I was given a single command, “Kneel.”
I refused.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Daxton Aegaeon
I stared into the turquoise eyes of my personal damnation, standing before a ruler I had never wanted—a queen as cruel as she was beautiful.
She wore her power like a crown, veiling her tyranny beneath hollow promises of protection and prosperity. Yet, I refused to bow to the dictator who craved dominance, wielding fear and control in the name of safeguarding the very people she claimed to protect.
A maddening smile crossed my lips, knowing she would be forced to relinquish her claim once Skylar unlocked the Heart of Valdor.
The queen I despised with every fiber of my being and breath I fought to take met my stare. The memories of her carnal touch darkened pieces of my shattered soul.
Minaeve tilted her head to the side. Her crown of three glimmering gems shimmered in the fae lights as she relaxed on her single golden throne. Her raven hair cascaded down her shoulders, curling around her waist near the exposed front of her silky midnight gown.
“She said kneel!” a guard grunted, slamming their foot into the back of my knee.
I took the hit, my expression unchanged as I slammed into the marble floor. My stare remained forward, locked with the false queen sitting before me.
“Still defiant and ungrateful, I see.”
Seamus.
I didn’t have to glance in the direction of his vile voice to know who was speaking.
Hold your tongue, Daxton,I warned myself, clenching my jaw so tightly it practically shattered my teeth.
Puppet. False king. Weak.
That was all Seamus was.
I almost… almost felt sorry for the poor bastard. Like Minaeve, he desired power and control, ruling as the high prince of a realm longer than me or Adohan.
“Seamus, my king.” Minaeve said his name without tearing her gaze from mine. “We’re here to celebrate the success of the champion. Of Daxton’smate.”
The crowd surrounding me now gasped, shocked at my presence. I blinked, and Anjani appeared in the corner, laughing to herself.
Gods above. I fucking hated her mind tricks.
“Mate?”
“Can this be true?”
“A shifter mated to a High Fae?”
“The bond is unsealed, yet true,” Minaeve said as she stood with Seamus at her side. “Is it not?”
I attempted to rise to my feet, but the guard behind me held me down with his mind. If these fucking chains weren’t on me, I could easily break through his hold and unleash hell upon this place.
“Are you ashamed of a bond to a shifter-human hybrid?” Seamus dared to ask.
“Skylar Cathal…” I said in a low tone that mimicked the icy kiss of death. Cold, lethal,and, above all, terrifying.
The crowds immediately hushed around me, hanging on the silence I commanded.
“…is my mate.”
