Page 168 of Once the Skies Fade

Chapter 76

Matthias

Of all the messes I’d gotten myself into—or been thrust into by others—this was the first I faced with more regrets than hope. My life had always been one of danger and risk. Death had come knocking many times, and I’d always jumped in, ready to face whatever happened, knowing that if it was my time to go then so be it.

Walking into this room, though, where the stench of death permeated the stones, I wasn’t ready.

There was too much left unsaid, too much left undone.

Calla might have already been dead—unless the bond would have alerted me—and even if she wasn’t, the likelihood she’d get here before Graham killed me was next to impossible, assuming she even knew where he’d brought me. Connor and Lieke wouldn’t know what happened to me, and…

Stop!

I silently screamed at myself, desperate to keep from falling headlong into despair. It would do no one—not me, not Calla, not the Durands—any good if I let my confidence drown completely. If I was going to fail here, it was not going to be because I’d given up.

Graham pulled me to a stop in the middle of the room, which was barely bigger than my suite back at the castle. Unlike that suite, though, this one offered no luxuries. Quite the opposite. A large worktable covered in dust ran the length of the far wall. Cobwebbed chains hung from anchors lodged into the walls, suspended from the ceiling over an ominous looking drain in the center of the floor.

Shoving me forward, Graham roughly grabbed my cuffed hands and shot me a warning glare.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he growled. I made no move to respond, except to force a smirk. That, apparently, counted as somethingstupid, because he repaid it with a swift hook into my cheek. I bit back the urge to laugh, knowing I needed to pace myself—especially since my body would not be healing itself as quickly as usual, and even less so now that I’d taken two extra doses of the stars-damned poison since Korben’s attack in the first trial.

I exaggerated a pained wince as I dropped my chin toward my chest in defeat. Graham chuckled triumphantly and lifted my arms to attach my cuffs to the chain dangling from above.Graham stepped back, angling his head to marvel at his work. My hands were already growing cold from the blood rushing down through my veins. Soon they’d go numb from being suspended like this.

I rolled my head to one side and then the other, working out the stiffness that had settled in. “So, your friend seemed nice.”

Graham lifted a brow. “It’s just us here. You can drop this act.”

“What act?”

He gestured to me, waving his hand lazily between us. “This wholenothing-bothers-me-I’ve-got-nothing-to-loseact.”

“Who said it was an act?”

“Maybe not before, but”—he paused to bend his lips into a crooked smile—“ever since that bond formed…well, I’d say you have quite a bit to lose.”

My stomach tensed, and I had to concentrate more than usual to keep my features still when Calla’s face flashed into my thoughts. The last time I’d seen her had been in a fucking dream, and that’s how I saw her now—livid and on the verge of tears as she yelled at me, pounding her hands against my chest.

Graham leaned in slightly, circling his finger inches from my eye. “There it is. The shame, the cowardice, the regret.”

“Are you sure you’re not just seeing your reflection?” I asked, trying to push Calla’s image to the side so I could focus on dealing with this worm of a male.

He stiffened but didn’t retreat, clearly debating whether to punch me again or not. I hoped not, but not knowing what other surprises he had in store for me, perhaps that would have been the better option. He shifted even closer, his stale breath causing my nose to wrinkle involuntarily.

“I’m going to enjoy breaking you before we’re done here,” he sneered. Patting my cheek, he straightened and retreated several paces.

Shifting my feet, I pivoted around to search for any sign of weapons or tools often used in rooms such as these. There was nothing here, but then again, one didn’t need much to get people to talk. Only a couple months ago I’d managed to do well enough with nothing but a bar top for Mr. Marstens. I turned back to find Graham watching me as he retrieved a small blade from his belt.

Graham pursed his lips, studying me for a few more breaths before finally saying, “I’ll be nice and let you choose the first cut. What do you think?”

I looked down, peering at different parts of my body and humming as if actually pondering his ridiculous suggestion.“How about you cut…” I dragged the last word out as I lifted my eyes back to his. “Your own throat.”

He let out a slow laugh that was more obnoxious than terrifying. “Unfortunately for me, demi-fae don’t heal quite as easily or quickly as the rest of you.”

Demi-fae?

My gaze darted to his pointed ears, pulling another laugh from him.

“Too bad your sister didn’t have the good fortune of inheriting the pointed ears. Then maybe she wouldn’t be forced to hide in the woods.”

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