Page 128 of Once the Skies Fade

Pausing, her brow lowered slowly over her dark, brooding eyes. “How do you do it? A Shadow Keeper killed your friend. Yet you’re here, pledging your heart to one with the same power.”

“Technically, my heart is only hers if I win,” I corrected her, but the lie tasted sour.

“Liar,” she said, one brow arching playfully, a stark contrast to the sadness in her voice. “You didn’t answer the question, though.”

“I pledged because I had to,” I said, knowing this wouldn’t appease the general but needing to buy myself time to find the answer to her actual question.

“You’re no idiot, Matthias. You know what I’m asking.”

“I don’t love her,” I insisted.

“I never claimed you did,” Isa said. “But you obviously care for her. You don’t see her as the monster everyone else does. Why? How? Given all you’ve seen and lost?—”

“Because that’s not her,” I interrupted, hating that I was having to discuss Gabriel’s death again today. “She didn’t kill my friend. She’s killed because she has to. And if you think about it, so did the Shadow Keeper in that battle. That’s the nature of war, of politics, of the world. We choose who we fight and who we fight for.”

“And why do you fight for Calla and not against her?”

“What are you expecting me to say here, general?” I asked, growing irritated with her roundabout intent.

“I’ve known her my whole life,” Isa said slowly. “I’m all she has left. If I abandoned her, I don’t know what she would do. But you barely know her. Why is it that you are able to see past all she’s done, when so many others can’t?”

“Because that’s not her,” I repeated. Lowering my head, my gaze softened on the floor, the cell around me blurring. “She’s in pain. Grief can drive anyone to do things they might not otherwise. I mean, grief led an entire kingdom to go to war, and thousands of fae and humans died because of it.”

Isa regarded me for a moment, as if weighing the truth of my words. Pulling a ring of iron keys from her pocket, she stepped forward, reached up, and unlocked the cuffs from my wrists.

“If I could get you back to your room tonight without raising suspicions, I would,” she said, and I wasn’t about to admit I knew of the secret passageways behind the walls. “You’ll need tospend the night in your cell, but I’ll be down to release you in the morning for the third trial.”

“And what of Raven and my sister?” I asked, stretching out my aching arms as Isa moved to open the door.

“She’s your sister?” Isa half-turned to face me. I nodded. “I’ll have to speak to Calla, but their infractions can’t simply be ignored. I’ll do what I can, though, general.”

Chapter 55

Calla

Irushed into the meeting room to find it dark, cold, and completely empty.

Isa had fucking lied to me.

Pulling my shadows out, I slammed them into the nearest chairs, sending them to the floor in a satisfying crash. I stalked around the room and lifted my hands to do the same to the rest of the furniture, but what was the stars-damned point? A growl rushed from my lungs as I pulled out a chair so hard it nearly toppled out of my hands. Grinding my teeth, I focused on steadying my movements and calming my mind enough for me to sit down without falling on my ass.

My elbows dug into the table while my hands cradled my forehead. Trailing the grains of the wooden table with my weary eyes, I took long, slow breaths and tried to calm my chaotic mess of thoughts.

Humans.

Assembly.

Killing.

Trials.

Matthias.

Mates.

The word swirled and swelled in my head until it crowded out everything else, like a rising river overflowing its banks and drowning everything in sight.

Why had Matthias even suspected a bond might exist between us?

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