Page 101 of Once the Skies Fade

Korben, as expected, scoffed loudly. “Sounds like an elaborate excuse for not completing the trial.”

Graham shrugged slowly and muttered, “It’s possible. Last thing I remember was him calling my name at the surface and then seeing him swim toward me as that monster dragged me down by my leg.”

Phillip glanced thoughtfully at me, and my gut hollowed out. Would he betray me now? Even after saving me?

But then his lip curved into a slight smile.

“While I didn’t personally witness most of those claims, I have no doubt he’s telling the truth. He could have left me to panic at the surface when the trial started, but he didn’t.”

Isa returned her attention to me and asked, “Why? This is a competition. Do you not care about winning?”

Korben started to laugh but stopped as soon as Isa glared at him. I didn’t answer at first, taking the time to stretch out my stiff neck and roll my aching shoulders.

Finally, I cleared my throat and explained. “I absolutely care about winning, general, but winning isn’t everything. The pursuit of it should never blind us from what truly matters: helping others—even our competition. I wasn’t able to save some in the forest, and I regret that. Figured if there was something I could do here, I would.”

“Give me a fucking break,” Korben muttered, but everyone ignored him.

Isa rubbed a hand at the back of her neck and pressed her lips tightly together as she studied me, as if trying to decide if I was as full of shit as Korben seemed to think.

“And who stabbed you?” she asked, gesturing to my leg.

I shot her a half-smile. “I think you know. At least the blade wasn’t poisoned this time.”

She nodded several times, humming to herself. With another snap of her fingers, the guard brought her a small leather ledger where she presumably logged our points. Flipping open to a page marked with a black ribbon, she pulled an ink pen from her pocket and began to scribble something onto the page.

“We will start with the points for stones. Korben retrieved the heaviest, so he will receive fifty points for that. Phillip, forty. Graham, thirty, and Matthias, zero.”

Korben let out a low laugh. I gritted my teeth together, trying to keep my disappointment from playing on my face, but stars.Even for all that talk of winning not being important, I sure despised losing.

“Now for the discretionary points. These are awarded using my own judgment, based on the information I’ve received from each of you and from what my guards can glean from what they found in the lake. These points are awarded—or lost—based on the strength of spirit displayed during this trial. Her Majesty and I value strength in all its forms. Arenysen needs a king who not only has the strength to defend his kingdom, but also the conscience to do what is right. Even if it means potentially sacrificing one’s own desires.”

Everyone seemed to lean in toward Isa as she explained this, and even her guards standing behind her appeared to shift closer to hear her decision.

“Graham, for this portion you receive zero points, as you unfortunately were rendered unconscious soon after the trial started. This leaves you at a total of seventy points.”

I risked a sidelong look at the fae, but he was uncharacteristically calm, shrugging casually as if this outcome was expected.

“Phillip, you not only hauled Graham to safety, but also took the risk to swim back out to find and save Matthias, despite already having your stone. For that I am adding forty points, bringing you to one hundred.”

Phillip smiled and dipped his chin graciously, obviously thrilled to have come out so well in this round.

“Korben,” she said, letting out a low sigh before she continued. “You were issued no weapon at the start of this trial, yet you returned with someone else’s. Each dagger had a number etched into the handle so we could know who was issued which blade. The one you had—the one that still had blood on it—had been Beck’s. While I cannot know for sure what happened under the water, based on your past actions it’s safe to assume you didwhatever you could to win this trial, even at the expense of the others in that lake with you.”

Korben scoffed loudly and lifted his eyes to the sky.

“For this, I am deducting thirty points.”

He snapped his head down and glowered at the general, throwing his arms angrily out at his sides. “Thirty?! You don’t even have any proof of?—”

“Be glad it wasn’t more,” Isa said with impressive calmness. “Now, Ma?—”

“This is bullshit!” Korben shouted, taking a step toward her, but he didn’t make it very far before her guards had him restrained, his hands pulled tightly back behind him, and a sword point pressing against the base of his throat.

Isa strode slowly up beside her guard wielding the blade and stared confidently into the male’s eyes. “Your mother should have taught you some manners. Speak to me—or anyone—like that again, and you won’t just be disqualified from the tournament.”

“You can’t—” Korben started to protest.

“I can, and I will. Donottest me again,” Isa said with such finality that Korben finally closed his mouth and remained silent, even when Isa called her guards away from him.

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