Page 156 of Once the Skies Fade

I hadn’t even gone two steps toward their corridor when Graham let out a growled curse behind me and something pricked my neck. I tried to twist around to see what had happened, but darkness closed in, leaving me with nothing but the sound of my sister shouting my name as I fell to the floor.

Chapter 69

Calla

Despite it being mid-morning, Matthias’s room was as dark as nightfall with the drapes drawn tightly closed over the single window. My shadows darkened my vision further, making it nearly impossible to see where I was going as I moved further into the room. Slowly, I pulled my power back into my palms, releasing a breath as the room came into better focus. My fingers grazed the edge of the now-empty tub as I stepped around it, surveying the space and savoring his comforting scent that still remained on the air despite his absence.

Stars, I hoped Graham had been able to get him out in time. No doubt the Assembly would seek his suffering simply for being my mate. The six fae appeared in my mind’s eye, sending my teeth grinding together. My hands formed tight fists at my sides, shaking with the need to do something other than hide here.

I needed Isa.

Where are you, Isa?

The door opened behind me, and I spun around, hope igniting in my chest that my friend had somehow heard my silent call and arrived, but it wasn’t Isa.

Six members of the guard rushed in, their boots thundering against the floor as they circled around me. My mind raced through my options. My shadows itched to be released, to help me, but these were my guard, my protectors. I didn’t want to hurt them, though I would if I absolutely had to.

“Where’s General Marlowe?” I asked, looking into the face of each of the armor-clad fae. None of them met my gaze, the fucking cowards.

“We thought you might know that,” a female replied from the doorway in a recognizable, pompous voice—Ursula. She strolled into the room, her slim figure silhouetted against the dim lamplight in the corridor. I wanted to send my shadows toward her, but I forced myself to remain patient. If I was going to learn anything, I needed her alive, at least for a little while longer.

“Under what authority do you command my guard, Ursula? The Assembly holds?—”

“Holds all of the power should our king or queen be found incapable of ruling,” she offered. “And unfortunately for you, the evidence against you is substantial enough the Assembly has assumed control.”

“What evidence?”

“The healers went back over their records from the king’s death per your request, and they discovered he was, in fact, poisoned.”

“How does that point to me exactly? After all, you and the Assembly just had me poisoned. Why aren’t you suspects?”

“Because your signature is on the shipment orders from Dolobare.”

“Of course they are, but I never approved poison on those manifests,” I explained.

Ursula produced a well-worn piece of paper from behind her back and brought it closer for me to read. She pointed to a line in the list of items.

“This, right here. What is it?”

I narrowed my eyes and read aloud: “Shadowsong, liquid.” I peered up at the advisor. “I have never heard of this before. I certainly didn’t put it on this list. And why would poison be listed so clearly? Do you even know that’s the poison?”

“Yet you signed your name to have it shipped here, without knowing what it is?”

“I approve a lot of items requested by the healers—from those at the castle and throughout our kingdom?—”

“And you never thought to ask what this was?”

“I trust our healers, but unless you know for certain that thisShadowsongis the actual poison used on my husband, you have no reason to arrest me simply for an unknown substance on a manifest.”

Ursula angled her head, her brow lifting crookedly. “Your own healers had poison available for the trials.”

I wanted to remind her that was the poison she’d just used on her queen, but I held it back. Barely.

“The poison in the healers’ possession was from a small stash retrieved from a group of rebels we caught years ago in our efforts to help Emeryn.”

Ursula’s chin lifted, her eyes darting to one of the guards as she flicked her fingers in the air. “Check her pockets.”

The guard on my left stepped toward me, and my shadows—spurred on by my sudden burst of anxiety—flew from my palms, splaying my fingers. They shot straight for the guard, burrowing into his nose and ears. He opened his mouth to scream, but my shadows extinguished any sound, drowning him in darkness as they traveled through his body, wreaking havoc on his organs until he fell in a lifeless heap at the floor.

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