Page 27 of Once the Skies Fade

Terrifying shadows.

Fear-filled eyes that dimmed as life slipped from them.

Shaking my head, I forced my mind to clear and made quick work of removing my sword and handing it to the waiting guard. Cautiously, I approached them, sure to keep my hands raised innocently in front of me where they could see I meant no harm. As I grew closer, the stench of stale blood threatened to make me dizzy, reminding me of the gruesome scenes I’d witnessed during the height of the rebel attacks.

Blood—dried and cracked—coated their arms from fingertips to elbows and soaked their clothes in large swaths over their knees and torsos.

“I’m General Orelian, head of the Emeryn army and advisor to the king,” I said, gently. “But you can call me Matthias.”

They didn’t say anything. The girl didn’t even seem to notice my presence, but the boy lifted his chin slightly. I took that as progress.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Teron,” he said. “She’s Tilly.”

“Are you injured at all?” I couldn’t see any visible wounds, and my gut said this blood was neither of theirs, but it had to be asked.

The boy shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “Our mother…”

“Where is she?” I asked, dropping my head to the side.

“Dead,” he said flatly. “She and our aunt.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I took a moment to choose my questions carefully. “And you came from Arenysen?”

He nodded once.

“Did this happen there or in?—”

“There. At the castle,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

My gaze fell to the blood coating their clothing. My gut tightened, my mind whirled, and my sister’s words echoed in my head:“What if it was the queen who killed him?”

The rumors surrounding Calla’s possible guilt had only gathered strength over the last few weeks, and now this. Maybe she was responsible, or perhaps someone was trying to implicate her, to oust her from the throne. Either way, more deaths—and brutal ones, by the looks of these kids’ clothing—at the castle could not be ignored by Emeryn, especially when we were still trying to glean what had happened to Brennan.

“Do you know what happened? Did you…see…it happen?” I asked, meeting his eyes and realizing a bit late that my second question might not be the best to ask them in their current state.

The boy’s eyes glazed over for a moment. Blinking, he peered up into the dark branches overhead. “We were there.” Hepaused, swallowing hard. “She just ripped them apart in front of everyone…for no reason. They had no chance, no time to even scream before she… The blood. So much blood.” He tucked his sister closer against him as his voice trailed off.

“Who? Who did this?”

Please don’t say Calla. Please don’t say the queen.

“Queen Vael.”

Shit.

Roughing my fingers back through my hair, I drew in another slow breath. This didn’t mean she’d killed Brennan. Stars, this didn’t even mean she’d actually killed these women. The boy was clearly distressed. I’d need to confer with my scouts, find out what they knew, but before that, I had one final question.

“You said sherippedthem apart,” I said, hating how the girl flinched at my words and pulled her eyes closed. “How did she do that? Did she use?—”

“Shadows,” he blurted out, his head snapping up and his eyes burning into mine with such conviction as he repeated the word. “Shadows.”

My blood iced over, seeming to freeze my heart and hold my breath hostage.

If this boy was telling the truth, then we had a much bigger problem in Arenysen: Their queen was a Shadow Keeper.

Chapter 13

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