Page 130 of Once the Skies Fade

The door had barely shut when it swung open again. Soft but determined footsteps walked toward me, and I slid my gaze up to Isa, who quickly assessed the state of the room before finally looking at me.

“Did Graham try to bribe you with that fancy bottle or was he merely celebrating Matthias’s failings?” she asked, crossing her arms loosely in front of her.

A heavy sigh rushed from my lips, and I rolled my head back and around to stretch out the tightness in my neck. “Not reallysure. Both, maybe.” I settled back in my chair and propped my feet up on Graham’s empty seat, eyeing my friend quizzically. “So did you get what you wanted from Matthias?”

“More or less, I suppose.”

“What are we going to do with them?” I asked.

“What do you want to do?” she asked cautiously, one eyebrow lifting.

“Well, I can’t do nothing,” I started, pausing for a moment when she nodded knowingly. “I mean, they broke the law. One entered the kingdom despite the ban, and the other aided fugitives! I’d look weak if I simply let them go.”

“Who said you needed to let them go?” Isa asked, though from the flatness of her tone I could tell she knew already.

“Matthias,” I muttered anyway.

“And is he your new advisor?” Her face remained stoic, though a spark of humor flashed in her eyes.

“Maybe he should be.”

At this she laughed, one single, dry chuckle. “As if you would be content with him in that role.”

I scowled at her but said nothing.

“What will you do with him?” she finally asked, shifting her gaze from mine as she sought out a toppled chair, righted it, and sat down. Stretching her legs out in front of her, she crossed her ankles and rested her head on her crossed arms.

“I don’t want to punish him,” I said.

“Don’t you?” she asked. “He made a fool?—”

“You don’t need to remind me. I was there.” I scowled at my friend, but that only earned me a kind smile.

“Let him go. He’s a contender in the tournament. As the Assembly wanted today to be a pseudo trial of sorts, I could always use my discretion as tournament host to determine his fate—say something like he showed great heart and strength of spirit for being willing to question you.”

“Strength of spirit,” I muttered. She wasn’t wrong there. The male had his convictions, and damn all the stars if that didn’t make him that much more attractive.

“I mean,” Isa continued, “we don’t want a king who lacks the balls to stand up for what he believes, right?”

“You just had to say balls, didn’t you?”

“How are his, by the way?” Isa’s eyes narrowed, her lips curving into an equally wicked grin.

Kicking my foot into hers, I blew out an annoyed breath. “First you’re lecturing me about messing around with him, and now you want all the juicy details.”

“I never asked forall.” She gave a single wag of her brows. “Is he better than Brennan?”

The smile I didn’t remember donning vanished at the mention of my late husband’s name, but the twinge of guilt that hit lacked its usual heart-crushing weight, feeling more like a light punch to my chest instead of a crushing wave.

Isa sat up, pulling her legs as she leaned toward me, concern twisting her features. “Shit. I’m sorry, Calla. That was?—”

I waved away her apology, but couldn’t think of anything to say in response. A long silence stretched out between us, penetrated only by the occasional soft breath and our heartbeats as they settled.

“Can I ask, though,” Isa finally said, peering at me with an almost apologetic look, “what did I interrupt down there? Between you two, I mean. You leapt away from him like you’d just been caught kissing someone else’s mate.”

I froze as my mind started to spin out again. “What did you say?”

“Like you’d been caught kissing?” she asked tentatively.

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