“Nah, he doesn’t have the stealth or finesse with the pegasi like I do. Father sent him to oversee our troops marching south.”
I raised my brows in surprise, and Astro nodded, a smirk creeping along the corner of his mouth.
“Didn’t think we would be sitting idly by on the sidelines, did you?”
“No,” I said with a determined grin. “Not one bit.”
Astro’s eyes darted beside me toward the drenched dark-haired shifter at my side.
“This is Shaw. He’s my beta.”
Astro turned to assess Shaw, offering him a hand to stand on his feet in the gentle waves. “Nice to meet you. What kind of animal doyouturn into?”
“Strange question to ask someone you just met,” Shaw replied, accepting Astro’s hand.
“Just curious,” Astro answered. “I’ve never met one of you who could actually shift.”
I straightened. “You’ve only ever met me?”
“Right, so, naturally, I had to ask,” Astro said. “Why wouldn’t I want to know?”
Shaw seemed uncertain.
“So,”I teased, speaking into Shaw’s mind.“Are you going to tell him or just shift and show him?”
“There’s no need to frighten the High Fae. I need to make a good impression if you’re the only one of our kind he’s met,”Shaw said, making me chuckle.
“A panther,” Shaw stated, closing our connection.
“A very large panther,” I corrected. “His back stands just as high as your pegasus, if not taller.”
“That’s… oddly terrifying,” Astro said with raised brows.
“You’re younger than Daxton and Castor, aren’t you?” Shaw asked, looking Astro over.
“Those old piles of bones. Ha—yeah. This is the first trial I’ve seen. High Fae stop aging once we turn twenty-five and our magic settles. Nice perk, am I right?”
“Thankfully, it doesn’t diminish his ability to work with the pegasi.” I glanced toward the magnificent beasts, and my stomach dropped. Astro was the only one here. “Where is Daxton?”
“I’m here to take you to him,” Astro turned, his dark eyes churning with a hidden secret. “He’s—”
“Tell me he’s safe!” I exclaimed, frantically grasping Astro’s shoulders.
“He is,” he replied quickly. “He is, but… he’s injured.”
My heart skipped. The sand beneath me felt like it was falling away to nothing as I floated outside my body. I could barely swallow, let alone form a coherent thought.
My mate was hurt. Daxton was hurt.
Without hesitating, I ran to mount a pegasus. “Shaw, hurry up and get on the other pegasus. Astro, lead the way.”
Shaw didn’t argue, sensing my urgency.
Astro followed my lead as he leaped onto his red stallion’s back. “I brought the three swiftest mounts in the herd.”
“Good,” I rasped. “We won’t be stopping.”
“I figured as much,” Astro said, turning to Shaw. “Are you going to be able to keep up?”
