Page 18 of Once the Skies Fade

“May have slipped into Kinham.”

Confusion clouded Connor’s eyes briefly. “You said Hailee refused to say anything…” When I didn’t respond except to press my lips together into a thin line, he hummed in recognition. “You saw Sera?”

As expected, Lieke perked up at the name, her head pivoting from me to Connor and back. “Sera? Who is that?”

Connor broke his stare finally and offered Lieke a soft smile. “His sister.”

“And she’s a secret,” I added as I shot a pointed glare at Connor, though he didn’t seem to notice, let alone care. “Or at least she’s supposed to be.”

Waving his hand in the air dismissively, Connor said, “My secrets are Lieke’s now.”

I laughed sharply. “Apparently mine are as well.”

“Lieke won’t tell anyone.”

“Not a soul,” Lieke said. “Not even an animal.”

What in the stars was this woman talking about?

Connor must have understood, though, because he gave a short laugh. Stars-damned mates and their private little jokes.

“There’s more,” I said and walked around the chair to take my seat as I motioned for Connor to do the same.

He reluctantly complied, muttering, “Never good news when you tell me to sit.”

I bit back my usual joke at my friend’s expense—it was too easy to poke fun at his shifter ability whenever he mentioned common hound commands—but Connor must have expected it, because he jabbed a finger in my direction.

“Don’t say it.” Before I could even lift my hands in surrender, his accusatory glare swung to his wife. “You either.”

Lieke once again leaned toward me. “He’s such a sensitive pup, isn’t he?”

I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from laughing. Connor had never liked the power he’d been born with—had always hated shifting into his wolfhound form—though he had done it on more than a few occasions for Lieke’s sake.

Connor ignored her and directed his attention back to me as he settled in his chair with a slow exhale. “What is it?”

“There have been rumors. Well, just one. I don’t know how far it has spread, but if Sera heard it, it will soon be throughout Sandurdam if it isn’t already.” Connor prompted me to continue with a lift of his brows. “Some think Calla killed Brennan herself.”

“No,” Lieke uttered immediately, while Connor remained still and silent. “She couldn’t have. You saw her, Connor. That wasn’t the behavior of someone who had just murdered her husband. She loved him.”

After a tense silence, Connor agreed. “It seems quite the stretch. You saw them together, Matthias. Do you think she could have done that?”

I lifted my shoulder, ignoring the scowl from Lieke. “To be fair, I wasn’t often here when they visited, and when I was, they weren’t high on my list of concerns. How do we know things hadn’t turned sour over the past couple years? Regardless, it would be foolish not to consider?—”

Lieke stood abruptly and crossed her arms obstinately. “This is absurd! She just lost her parents not too long ago. She wouldn’t. I don’t believe it. I refuse to believe it.”

Connor offered her a sympathetic half-smile. “Matthias is right, though, Sapphire. Until we know for sure what happened to him, we can’t rule anything out—no matter how unthinkable.”

Shifting her hands to her hips, Lieke huffed out a breath. “By that logic, I could be a suspect.” She spun toward me and held out her arms, her wrists touching as if she were bound. “Better take me in, general. I could have killed Brennan.”

“I know it’s hard, Sapphire,” Connor started, but Lieke didn’t allow him to finish before she stormed out of the office. Both of us flinched when the door slammed shut.

“She does that a lot doesn’t she?” I asked, gesturing behind me with my hand.

Connor breathed out a quick sigh. “The burial wasn’t easy for any of us, but Calla’s unexpected departure hit Lieke particularly hard.”

“Understandably so.”

“Do you think there’s any validity to this rumor?” Connor asked, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his desk.

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