Page 103 of Once the Skies Fade

Release was exactly what I needed tonight, and I was going to get it.

Assuming he’d made it out of that lake alive.

Chapter 46

Matthias

Every part of me ached from today’s trial. The healers had done their best to patch up the gash in my calf, but they could do little to help the fatigue that had settled into every other muscle. Thankfully, I walked into my room to discover dinner and a hot bath waiting for me. The queen and this tournament may have seemed bent on pushing us to our deaths, but at least we were provided some comfort until then.

Kicking my boots off, I pulled my shirt up over my head as I walked toward the tub set up in the alcove opposite the hearth where a fire crackled hungrily. I had just started to slide my pants down when something moved out of the corner of my eye. Deep shadows—darker than expected even with the moonlight streaming in—gathered on the far wall where the tapestry hung.

I stood still. Staring into the darkness, I had that same inkling I’d had back in the forest.

I was being watched.

The hair on my arms and neck rose. I couldn’t see her, but I could sense her.

That scent of ripe fruit and violets was subtle yet intoxicating. It could have simply been a lingering trace of her on my clothesfrom the other day, but with those tossed in the laundry basket in the corner, that was unlikely.

No, the queen was here.

Watching.

Could this be part of the tournament? Was the queen spying on each of us? Testing to see how we’d react?

Pushing out a slow, exaggerated breath, I shrugged. In one quick motion, I shoved my pants to the ground and stepped out of them, grinning at the faint sound of a gasp. Perhaps it was my own ego making me imagine it––after all, it wouldn’t have been the first time I had elicited such a reaction.

When I reached the tub, I dipped a hand into the water and swirled it around gently, but I didn’t get in.

“Hey, Killer,” I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the inviting water.

Silence answered me.

Except for a quietly quickening pulse, barely audible, but clear now that I was listening for it.

“I distinctly remember saying you don’t need to use your shadows to ogle me,” I said, giving a breathy laugh. I stepped a foot into the bath and slowly climbed in, sinking lower until all of my sore muscles were submerged in the steaming waters.

“You’re welcome to join me if you like,” I crooned as I lay my head back and closed my eyes. “Plenty of room for two.”

For a while I simply lay there, letting my muscles relax in the heat, wondering how long it would take for her to find the nerve to step out of her shadows and speak to me. Rolling the kinks out of my neck, I waited, listening to her quiet heartbeat dancing along with mine.

I had nearly convinced myself that my mind was playing tricks on me and that she wasn’t actually here, when her whisper sliced through the silence, much closer than I expected.

“You’re filthy,” she breathed, pulling my eyes open. Staring down at me, she seemed to be struggling to keep her gaze locked on my face.

I flashed her a smirk. “You have no idea, Killer.”

At this her eyes indeed shifted lower, and I could have sworn she was fighting to hide a smile.

She cocked her hip out and rested a hand on it. “Did my staff not provide you any soap? Or do you just expect water alone to suffice?”

Lifting my arms out of the water, I rested them along the edges of the tub. “Oh, there’s soap around here somewhere. Want to find it for me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You can find it yourself.”

“Where’s the fun in that though?” I asked, reaching my fingers out until they just grazed the soft fabric of her dress. A little further, and I managed to pinch a bit of it and tug, urging her to move closer.

“I’ve already had a bath,” she insisted, though by the look of her dry hair, that must have been hours ago.

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