Page 121 of Once the Skies Fade

Isa nodded, and the queen turned back to Sera once more.

“You aren’t human,” she said, and relief pulled my shoulders down, allowing my breaths to come more easily.

“Half,” my sister said, and I could have slapped her for the confession, but admittedly it would have been hard to deny given her rounded ears.

“And why are you here?” Calla asked. “Are you, too, looking to stop this poison?”

She shook her head slowly. “No, I came to help support those who chose to remain in your kingdom despite the law.”

My eyes slid closed, dread pooling in my chest as it caved inward.

“Help them how exactly?” Calla asked.

“Getting them food, namely, but also helping get their children to safety if needed.”

“So they send their children away but choose to remain,” Calla said. “Why don’t they just leave?”

“This is our home!” The couple behind my sister voiced in unison, and immediately Calla lifted a hand and flicked her fingers in a silent command to her guards, who kicked the backs of their legs. Their knees hit the floor with a loud crack that reverberated off the high ceiling above.

“This is my kingdom,” Calla said, once again in that off-putting tone. “This is my law—a law I decreed for your own safety. Humans…”

She paused, her mouth still open as if she was trying to say words that refused to come out. Calla’s body tensed until her shoulders trembled while she continued to try to speak, her mouth opening and closing like a fish on the beach. Afterseveral odd attempts to finish her sentence, she let out a growl of frustrated anger.

“I cannot—I will not—rule over humans. This is no longer your home. Understand?” she asked, and the couple exchanged a wary glance.

“Does that mean you are letting us go?” the man asked quietly.

“Of course not,” Calla said. “You knew the cost of staying. You knew it meant death. What kind of ruler would I be if I didn’t dole out punishment fairly? And as for you two”—she pointed to Raven and Sera in turn—“You were never my citizens. Entering my kingdom unlawfully—regardless of your supposedly good intentions—makes you enemies of the Arenysen crown. And what do we do with our enemies?”

With this question, she pivoted to her right and gestured to Korben, who had a wicked gleam in his eye as he answered.

“Death is the typical punishment for spies.”

It took considerable effort not to lunge across the dais and smash my fist in the male’s face for trying to get my sister executed.

“Agreed,” Calla said, and lifting her hand, she pulled her shadows out to swirl above her open palm.

“No,” I said, pushing to my feet.

Sera was shaking her head at me. Raven seemed to notice me for the first time. Calla slowly rounded on me, her shadows still dancing on her hand while some tendrils seemed to drift toward me.

“No?” Calla asked, her dark eyes narrowing on me, a dare not entirely different from the expression she’d worn in my room the other night, though decidedly more fearsome. I risked walking toward her. Ignoring the crowd around us, I held her gaze amid the heavy silence in the room. I stopped an arm’s length awayfrom her, close enough I could grab her if she tried anything, but not so close as to betray our connection.

“Hold them for trial”—I barely stopped myself from using my nickname for her—“Your Majesty. Show your kingdom that you’re just and capable of mercy, that you aren’t the killer they believe you to be.”

Her expression iced over. “I am just, general. But some are not worthy of mercy.”

“What did the humans do to you?” I asked before I could think better of it. “Whoever hurt you, they are not here. These people did not harm you.”

“They did when they chose to disobey my laws!”

“I’m not suggesting you let them go. But this is not the time to act rashly. Remind them of who you truly are—the caring, compassionate queen we all know you to be.”

“Remind them?” she asked quietly, and I nodded, stupidly thinking I’d helped. Her lips curled up into a sinister grin. “Seems they need to be reminded of what happens when they defy their queen.”

Before I could stop her, she sent her shadows careening toward the prisoners. They bypassed Raven and Sera to surround the young couple in darkness, their sharp cries choked off by her power. When her shadows lifted, the man and woman crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

The crowd gave a collective gasp.

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