Page 170 of Once the Skies Fade

Her brow tightened with concern. “Did you kill them all?”

Again I shook my head, trying to ignore how her expression so quickly shifted with shock. “Only Ursula and Warren. The others are being held for trial, charged for their complicity. They didn’t even try to stop them, though I suppose I can understand why.”

“Seriously?”

“Despite what many may think, my heart hasn’t charred completely. It’s just singed, significantly.”

“Was this show of mercy because of him?” she asked, noticeably cautious with her words, as if afraid I might strike her for saying them.

“Matthias?” I rolled my eyes dramatically. “I didn’t take you for being the sentimental type. Why is it that everyone always assumes it’s love that so drastically changes us?”

Her lips pulled back into a smirk as she breathed out a small laugh. “You love him?”

Shit.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Whatever you say. So, was it because of him?”

“I’ll have you know, it wasn’t. It was actually my parents. They would have wanted it handled this way, I think.”

Isa breathed that in before sighing contentedly, but her expression tightened again, her eyes shooting to mine. “Graham.”

Nodding, I muttered, “I know. We need to find a way to Dolobare before?—”

“No, we don’t,” Isa chirped.

“We can’t just leave Matthias to…” I paused as realization sank in. “You’ve already got a plan, don’t you?”

“Indeed,” she said, donning a smug smile that did not suit my normally stoic friend. “How long was I out?”

“Half a day, maybe less.”

Isa bobbed her head approvingly. “Assuming the falcon I sent arrived safely, I expect them to arrive tomorrow, maybe the day after.”

I started to ask her who in the stars she was talking about when it dawned on me—the only friends who could help us in such a predicament, who were always willing to take on last-minute jobs. “You’re a genius.”

“It’s why you keep me around.”

“Only one of the reasons.” I quickly scanned her limbs and hands for any sign of lingering injury. “Can you walk?”

Isa responded by slowly swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “Probably. Are you planning to wait for them outside on the front steps like you used to?”

“Of course. Watching dragons fly in for a visit never gets old.”

While we didn’t expect Asher and his brothers to arrive until the next day, Isa still humored me, sitting with me in silence in front of the castle entrance until the sun had long since retreated for the night. By my third long yawn, Isa insisted I retire for the night, and I was too exhausted to protest.

For so many nights, my mind had swept me away to desolate darkness devoid of dreams or any memorable locations where I might find Matthias waiting to meet me. When I dropped my head to my pillow, I expected yet another night of disappointing emptiness.

Instead, I found myself back in those foreign woods, standing atop a wooden platform beneath lit lanterns suspended in the trees. My heart jolted at the memory, tears rushing to my eyes, but not for the same reason they had the last time I’d relived my friends’ wedding.

Spinning around and around, I searched for Matthias, my pulse pounding in my ears as if my heart was frantically trying to call to him. No one was here, though. Not Connor nor Lieke. Not the king or Brennan or…

“Killer?” Matthias’s voice cut through my thundering heartbeat, pulling my head around so quickly I lost my balance and nearly fell. I expected him to catch me, but he stood across the clearing, among the trees, his boots sinking slowly into the mud that covered the forest floor.

I hesitated. Why in the stars did I hesitate?

But for some reason, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think of anything beyond the sheer relief of finding him here. I merely stood there, staring at my mate through my gathering tears, until he took a step forward, his expression shifting slowly into one of desperate relief as he walked toward me.

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