Chapter Forty-Five
Skylar Cathal
The blistering heat from the sun beat across my back as I urged my mount through the open sky.
Astro thankfully slowed his pegasus to assist Shaw. I couldn’t keep myself from barreling through the clouds at a reckless speed to reach him, to reunite with Daxton.
The high desert realm of Crimson City gleamed in the distance, its unique red sandstone buildings contrasting with the surrounding landscape.
However, I ignored the sight of the city’s beauty.
I could feel the pulsating tug of our bond pulling me closer.
The overwhelming sensation in my heart grew with each beat of my mount’s wings as we soared past the rolling hills.
“Go!” Shaw screamed inside my mind. “You need to go to your mate. Hurry. I’ll be fine with Astro.”
“Thank you,” I said, grateful for my friend’s understanding.
Just as before, when Daxton was ensnared by the harpy and dragged into the wilt, I didn’t need anyone to tell me where to find him. I could feel his magic.
My pegasus naturally flew toward the paddocks below Adohan and Idris’s home, gracefully landing at a canter before extending its wings to help slow our momentum.
Once its hooves touched the dirt, I leaped off its back and raced toward the raised plateau.
My heart thundered inside my chest, along with my animal’s power, urging me to push past the riding pains in my legs and race up the steps.
He’s here.
This was not some cruel trick or a false hope.
I could sense him. The faint tether linking our souls pulled taut through my center, instinctively guiding me—leading me to my mate.
I leaped up the final steps, with my healing magic prickling beneath my skin, ready to heal whatever wounds Daxton had endured.
I would first heal him, kiss him, and then… Then, I would scold him for being a stubborn fucking idiot and placing himself in that kind of danger, for once again becoming the tortured hero and disregarding his own self-preservation.
“Daxton!” I screamed as I barreled through the open halls.
The airy atmosphere of this fortress carried my words across every inch of the estate. Anyone walking the corridors parted ways, giving me a clear path.
The scent of pine and cold mountain air encircled me, confirming where my instincts were guiding me.
My animal erupted inside my center, urging my feet to move faster.
I reached for the golden handle of a familiar large double door, recognizing the room we stayed in together the last time we were here.
As the door swung open, my eyes immediately drifted to the large white linen bed in the center of the tan-walled room, decorated with elegant red fabric highlighted by the heated sun.
Tucked safely in the bedding was the sole owner of my heart, the only person who could ever claim me as their true mate.
The soul I would sacrifice my life to save—without hesitation. The being I would always find.
“Daxton.” I gasped as I flung my bow over my shoulder.
My body seemed to drift toward him, my feet barely touching the floor. He was unconscious, likely put into an induced sleep to help aid his healing.
“Dax,” I sobbed, no longer able to hold back my tears as I melted next to his bedside. “I’m here,” I said with a shaky breath as two healers wisely slipped out, giving us the room. “I’m not used to sitting at your bedside like this,” I said with a half-hearted laugh. “This is horrible…”
Wet droplets dripped down my face as I beheld the sight of my mate. His face was bruised, with bandages covering gashes along the tops of his shoulders, likely littering his back with deep cuts to his skin. I reached out and gently cradled his broken hand in mine.
He’d been tortured.
A pound of flesh paid for his crimes against taking Anjani’s hand in my defense.
“I’m here, Dax,” I whispered again. “I’ve found you.”
I gently cupped his cheek before tucking a strand of silver-ebony hair behind his pointed ear. He was beautiful, even in this state, even with his storm-gray eyes shut to the world.
“Daxton,” I said, holding a captive breath as I pressed my brow to his. “I’ve won the trials, just like you said I would.” I huffed a pitiful laugh, secretly hoping that admitting he was right would draw him out of his drugged sleep. “Come back to me.”
I allowed my magic to flow into his body, healing wounds that went deeper than just marks on his flesh.
The warming golden glow of my powers seeped into Daxton as the bruising on his face disappeared.
I moved my hands across his skin, tracing over his shoulders, migrating across his chest before moving my hands toward his back.
Thankfully, my new rank as alpha granted me an increase in power, so I was not feeling the effects as much as I used to.
I closed my eyes and inhaled his sweet scent of open air and the cold—of everything that made my heart and my animal sing.
“Daxton,” I used my alpha abilities to speak inside his mind, searching for my mate and desperately trying to bring him back to me. “Daxton, I will find you…”
Silence.
“I will find you,” I repeated, sensing a faint whisper of something tugging at my words. “Dax?”
“We will always find each other.”