Page 132 of Once the Skies Fade

“It’s going to come back and bite you in the ass,” she warned.

“Some of us like that sort of thing,” I joked, but she didn’t react at all. I turned idly toward Raven, who was shaking her head at me, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Can you blame me? I mean, I’m not one to kiss and tell?—”

“You mean,fuck or tell,” Sera muttered, but I ignored her.

“When a female like that shows up in your room, it’s hard to decline.”

Raven eyed me for a moment and then lifted a shoulder. “And you didn’t instigate any of it?”

“Calla isn’t one you want to instigate, honestly. I merely did as I was told,” I said, omitting the part where I’d stepped out of the bath to keep her from leaving.

“You choose now to learn how to take orders?” Sera asked, still bitter.

“I’ll have you know, sister, I’ve been taking orders from Connor for years without issue.”

“And did he tell you to sleep with his dead brother’s wife?”

Ouch.

“Not in so many words.” Raven shot me a sharp look, and I corrected, “Okay, no, not at all. But he’s usually okay with me doing what needs to be done.”

Sera scoffed. “I doubt he will see her asneeded to be done.”

Raven laughed quietly before shifting to sit on her knees near the bars of her cell. “Matthias? What will she do to us?”

Now that was the question my sister should have been focused on. “I asked her to release you,” I explained, but my voice wavered a bit, lacking conviction.

“Doubt she’ll listen to you—even if you screwed her,” Sera said, her tone losing some of its edge and coming out more exhausted than angry now.

“We’ve already established that I did, so no need for theifthere,” I noted over my shoulder. Turning back to Raven, I frowned. “She can’t release you easily, because you did break thelaw; however, her general is smart, fair, caring, and probably the only one Calla will actually listen to. You’ll probably be in here for a while, but that’s better than being dead.”

Sera grumbled.

Raven drew in a long breath and muttered, “Guess I might as well get comfortable. Goodnight.”

Releasing a slow sigh, I shifted myself against the wall, trying to get into a more comfortable position—as if that was possible in a dungeon—and tried to keep the incessant thoughts in my head from ruining the welcome silence. I needed to be ready for the next trial and not stay up all night worrying about whether Calla would spare Sera and Raven or how Connor would react to my side activities. No doubt he and Lieke would not be happy.

But no doubt they’d be less happy if I failed.

Yes, it’s always best to look on the bright side.

The next morning, I was woken up, not by the stomping of Isa’s boots or the clanking of the keys in the lock, but by the sharp cramp shooting through my neck and down into my shoulder. I had apparently been spoiled by the luxury of my room upstairs, or perhaps my years were catching up with me. Either way, I felt a pang of guilt following Isa out of my cell while my sister and Raven had to remain. I made a mental note to see if the secret passages might lead down here so I could sneak them each a pillow.

Isa nodded to the lone guard as we stepped past his post at the bottom of the stairs, and Isa didn’t say a word to me until we were out of earshot of him.

“Trial three will be held today. Calla and I both feel it best not to delay.”

“And the Assembly?” I prodded.

Isa shifted her eyes to the ceiling briefly as she shook her head. “They want to observe this next trial, and they all happened to be visiting for the citizens’ forum yesterday, so they requested it be held a bit earlier.”

“How thoughtful of them,” I said with a humorless laugh. We had nearly reached the main floor when I paused and laid a hand lightly on Isa’s arm to stop her. She faced me, concern filling her eyes.

“What is it?”

“How is she?” I asked.

Relief pulled a breath from the general, though it seemed half-hearted. “She’s a bit rattled, to say the least. She’ll be okay though. Everything will be okay.”

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