Page 154 of Once the Skies Fade

“No, no, no,” I mumbled. The tremors moved from my hands up my arms. “They can’t. They couldn’t. I…”

But I couldn’t utter the word. I couldn’t even mutter to myself that I didn’t kill him, thanks to the damned mage.

“Calla, can you…please…” Graham choked out the words, and blinking, I realized my shadows had begun to tighten around his throat, as if he were the one trying to detain me. I called my power back, surprised at the effort it took to force them to ease away from my friend.

Footsteps—faint but steady—had us both snapping our attention to the open doorway. They were almost here.

Graham spun back around to face me, taking both of my hands in his and giving them a squeeze.

“Do you have another way out? I’ll buy you as much time as I can, but is there a place you and Isa might meet?”

The room began to tilt and rock, but I managed to offer the quickest of nods.

“Good,” Graham said, lifting a hand to my cheek. “I’ll?—”

“Matthias,” I blurted out.

Graham’s brow wrinkled. “What? There’s no?—”

“Save him, Graham. Before they can hang him. I need you to save him.”

“He had poison?—”

I waved my hand frantically between us. Couldn’t he hear the guards?

“Promise me!” The words were a desperate hiss.

“Okay. I’ll get him out. Now, go!” He whispered the command and shoved me back into the room. Spinning quickly away from me, he darted out into the hallway.

I ran into my bedroom, grabbed my boots from beside the wardrobe, and ducked inside, pulling the double doors closed behind me. Shoving back through the hanging garments, I slipped into the tunnel entrance and stopped. My heart thundered inside my ears, so loud and fast I couldn’t listen for anyone approaching.

“She’s not here, I told you that.” Graham’s muffled voice stilled my breath. “Look for yourself.”

If I stayed much longer, they’d hear my pulse or my footsteps as I fled.

Not waiting to hear any more, I took off through the tunnel, navigating the darkness from memory, grateful my mother had insisted I learn these passages by feel. At the first turn, I paused long enough to slip my boots on. Any lost time would be made up by being able to travel quicker.

I started to take the path that would lead out to the forest. If Isa wasn’t in the castle, she was probably waiting for me at our contingency location. But a single thought gave me pause.

Was I truly allowing the Assembly—who had the gall to poison their queen—run me out of my own castle?

Turning on my heel, I retraced my steps and turned down another passage. Picking up speed, I ignored every scrape of my arm against the stone walls and bit back a curse every time I stumbled over my own feet. It was so dark in the tunnel, I hadto slow my pace when I made the final turn. Gingerly, I felt my way toward the end of the corridor, and a spark of hope lit in my heart when the wall abruptly turned. I reached out to my left, my fingers fumbling for the crevice and the rough fabric that covered it.

Holding my breath, I paused to listen. Silence. No one waited on the other side.

No breaths. No whispers. No heartbeats.

Still, I beckoned my shadows out of my palms, concentrating on concealing myself in their darkness. Slowly, I pushed the tapestry away from the wall and stepped out into Matthias’s empty room.

Chapter 68

Matthias

No sooner had Calla disappeared than the entire forest started to fade around me as our shared dream gave way to my own solitary consciousness and the bleak emptiness that it now held. I’d been happy with my life—content.

And now I have a mate.

The cold of the dungeon seeped under my skin, and I slowly blinked as I woke up. Everything ached, but my fucking heart worst of all. She hadn’t forgiven me. Not that I had expected her to, but I had certainly hoped for more time.

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