Page 186 of Once the Skies Fade

A flash of movement to my left pulled my attention as a deafening roar erupted. Ami shrieked only to be silenced almost instantly as Asher’s shifting back to his dragon form sent her flying several meters away, her head hitting the stone wall. Asher’s scaled body filled up a third of the room, blocking the only exit. Huffing out a breath, he glared past me to Alek who merely sighed. A snarl rumbled in Asher’s throat as he pulled his lips back to bare his teeth.

Alek—unfazed by the sudden presence of a dragon—slowly lifted his boot from Matthias’s chest and clasped his hands behind his back, but his calm expression did little to put me at ease. “It’s time,” he said. “Kill him.”

“I don’t answer to you.” I repeated his earlier words back to him.

“If you don’t, I will. We’re running out of time.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I squeezed my fists tighter, drawing another delightful squeal of pain from Graham.

“Time for what?” I asked.

“To get you out of these mountains and away from here.”

Matthias groaned on the floor beside the man’s feet, perspiration beading his forehead despite the cold air inside this cave. Asher growled, though it was hard to tell whether he was issuing a warning to Alek or guidance to me. Regardless, Matthias needed help. Alek was right. It was time.

Keeping my hand tightly closed, I twisted my wrist around, a silent order to my shadows to crush Graham’s heart. His eyes—unfocused and dull—briefly widened again as he choked on one final breath. He crumpled to the ground, his innards spilling from the gash in his gut as my shadows pulled free, leaving him in a lifeless, bloody heap beside the chair where he’d tortured my mate for days.

Once Graham’s body hit the floor, I rushed to Matthias, kneeling on the hard ground beside him. I didn’t look up at Alek as I asked, “Do you have any way of healing him?”

“Unfortunately, no. We create poison to kill fae, not save them. If he were human—even one able to shift like your friend here—then we could.”

“Matthias?” I asked quietly, sweeping sweat-logged strands of hair off his forehead. “Can you hear me? You’re going to be okay. I’ll fix this. I just need you to hold on a little longer while I figure out how.”

A weak hum was his only response, but it would have to do.

“You will need to shift back if you’re going to get out of here,” Alek said to Asher, who snarled back at him. “If you don’t, I’ll have to force you to again.”

Asher’s growl seemed to vibrate the stone floor, but a moment later, he had transformed back to his human form.

“How did you force it anyway?” Asher asked, stepping forward to stand beside me.

“Lucky guess, actually. When we hit the other dragon?—”

“You mean my brother,” Asher corrected harshly.

“We learned you weren’t fae shifters, because the poison should have killed him. It wasn’t until we saw him shift a few moments later that we discovered you’re actually human.”

Asher scoffed. “You could have simply asked.”

“Yes,” Alek said. “I’m sure that would have gone well. Regardless, I took a chance and tried it on you while you stood guard outside. A poisoned barb shot into the soft underside of your massive head was enough to force you back to human form, and a bit of sleeping tonic laced in with it had you out rather quickly.”

“But then why didn’t the blade to my eye not?—”

“Not a deep enough cut. Not enough poison on the blade. Any number of reasons,” Alek explained.

“Well, thanks for not killing me, I suppose,” Asher said. “Though don’t expect any favors in return.”

“Of course not.”

I cleared my throat impatiently, pulling their gazes down to where I still knelt beside my unconscious mate. “If you’re done bonding up there, I could use your help. Where are the others?”

Alek lowered into a crouch across from me on the other side of Matthias. “I had them taken to another detaining area further down the canyon.”

“Are they okay?” Asher asked, his arms crossed tightly in front of him.

Alek nodded. “I will help get you?—”

“Why? Why help us?” I asked, not sure whether to tell him about our meeting with Niko and Sasha. I couldn’t risk divulging the presence of a spy among the humans if Alek turned out to not be their contact.

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