Page 137 of Once the Skies Fade

I started to pull the small glasses closer when Isa cleared her throat.

“There is one more stipulation,” she said. “You cannot mix the glasses into one. They must remain separate.”

Well, there goes my first plan.

My heart pounded gradually faster and faster in my chest as my doubt gathered strength. I should have asked more questions when I’d been healed. I should have looked for more information when I had been sneaking around the infirmary. Never mind that my search that night had been interrupted.

Phillip arranged the small glasses in front of him quickly, his once shaking hand now scratching at his jaw as he considered the four options. Lifting his chin slightly, he asked, “Could I get four empty glasses, by chance?”

Isa quickly looked over her shoulder to the staff person standing by the door behind her and waved her forward with a flick of her fingers. She whispered quickly to the young female server, who dashed away with a sharp nod, leaving Isa to address the table.

“Yes, you will each get a number of empty glasses for any tests you feel would be helpful in your decision. Remember, though, that you may not mix them.”

While we waited for these to be brought out, Korben seemed to be using some sort of nursery rhyme to select his choice. His mouth moved silently as he tapped his finger on each glass, making several passes through all of them before finally settling on one, which he gingerly slid away from him. He did this a few more times, until he only had one remaining. We all watched him—curious looks on all our faces—as he picked up the final glass and walked over to Calla.

Isa stopped him, though, laying her hand flat against his chest.

“You’ve made your selection?” she asked. He nodded crisply, and she held out her hand in silent request for the glass. “I’ll be administering each.”

I couldn’t blame her for that decision, given that the queen’s own advisors had poisoned her. I wouldn’t want to let the contestants near her either.

Korben, however, pulled the glass closer to his chest and shook his head. “That wasn’t stated in the initial rules of the trial, general.”

Isa started to protest, but Ursula argued first. “He’s right, general. Each competitor should be allowed to administer their selection themselves, to ensure no…interference.”

Isa’s hands tightened into fists at her sides. She slammed her teeth together, but she stood firm, refusing to step aside until Ursula cleared her throat loudly. Snarling, Isa slowly pivoted out of her way, her muscles remaining taut.

“Sit down, general,” Warren insisted, gesturing smoothly to her chair. Again, she remained where she was, but the advisor brought his fist down so hard on the table that the glasses trembled. “NOW!” he barked.

Isa lowered herself to the edge of her seat, though I noticed her hand shifted to the dagger at her hip as she slid her gaze back to Korben. He approached Calla lazily, as if he were being forced to do some mundane chore rather than competing to save the queen’s life. I leaned forward, watching intently to see if his choice would have any effect on her.

He didn’t lift the cup to her lips though.

Instead he knelt down in front of her and reached for her hand.

What is he?—

In a flash of movement, he produced a knife from his sleeve and sliced the blade across her palm.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Isa yelled, leaping up from her seat and shoving him away from Calla.

Korben didn’t seem at all bothered by her reaction, his face the epitome of calm. “You mentioned blood, so that’s what I chose.”

Isa looked about ready to punch him in the face, but instead she merely growled, crossing her arms while she hovered over him to observe his every movement. From where I sat, I didn’t have a clear view of it and didn’t know he had finished until he placed the empty cup upside down on the table.

Everyone craned their heads to see—even those who had an unobstructed view of the queen. I tried to pinpoint her pulse, but with so many of us in one room, it was impossible to identify hers.

Several breaths later, there was still no noticeable change in Calla’s state.

Isa pushed Korben out of the way with her hip, dragging Calla’s napkin off the table and wrapping it tightly around her limp hand. Tenderly, Isa brushed Calla’s hair out of her face like a fretting mother waiting for her child’s fever to break. She had barely rested the queen’s hand back down when she spun back around and slammed her hands onto the table, leaning forward and piercing each of us with a murderous glare.

“No. More. Blades,” she growled, hitting the table with her palm on each word. “Saliva only. Not blood. Understand?”

Warren threw out a condescending sigh across the room. “Stop being so dramatic, general. She’s a fae. She will heal.”

“You fucking idiot! The poison hinders her ability to fucking heal!” Isa screamed, flinging her hand into Calla’s water glass and sending it flying into the rest of Korben’s cordial glasses, which fell to the floor with tiny crashes.

Warren shrugged, donning a smirk I was about ready to punch off his smug face. “A few cuts are not going to kill her, general.”

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