Page 45 of Once the Skies Fade

“I’ll be first,” Beck said.

“Very well, Mr. Dixon,” Isa said in her easy manner, but she didn’t move to do anything except stare at him.

“What do you need me to do?”

Isa pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side as she surveyed him for an uncomfortably long moment. She hummed as she thought, of what I couldn’t fathom. What was she waiting for? Why was she hesitating?

“There is one more thing I forgot to mention, and it will most definitely affect you, Mr. Dixon.” The wait for her explanation was agonizing, but the tension didn’t dissipate when she finally spoke. “Your oath includes an agreement—a promise—that you will not use any magic, including any powers beyond those all our kind possess.”

“Wh—what—powers?” Beck stammered out, shrinking slightly away from the desk.

The general’s eyes darkened further as she pressed her fingertips into the desk and leaned closer to the male before her. “We do not take kindly to cheats, Mr. Dixon, and to liars even less so.” She straightened back up and announced to therest of us: “It is fruitless to try to hide. I, myself, was born with the gift of sensing power—whether it runs in someone’s veins or is wielded from outside of them. All will be granted the opportunity to demonstrate said abilities without fear of dismissal before swearing the oath, but failure to disclose now will be considered a breaking of the oath, and as such, consequences will follow.”

Her attention returned to Beck, whose back stiffened. He shook his head jerkily. “Does it have to be demonstrated? Is the promise alone not sufficient?”

“If you are too ashamed to share what you can do, then I would strongly encourage you reconsider continuing on. The Arenysen throne has no place for cowardice,” Isa explained, flatly.

“Just show us what you can do, Beck,” someone said, and more encouragement poured from those assembled.

Beck sighed heavily before he held his right hand out to his side and opened his palm. At first nothing happened. Everyone inched forward, necks craned to see around each other. Then there, something emerged from the middle of his palm, uncurling as it rose toward the ceiling. In the dim light, it was hard to tell what it was until leaves began to sprout from it. The plant reached a height of half a meter when it finally stopped stretching, and I almost laughed when a few of the males gasped as the tip opened to reveal a bright purple bloom.

With his other hand, Beck plucked the flower and offered it to the general who took it, her lips pulling back into a thin smile as she laid it gently onto the desktop.

“Thank you,” she said. “Now for the blood.”

It took nearly an hour to process every entrant. As expected—given the rarity of fae being born with extra abilities—most swore the blood oath without any additional performances or promises necessary. Only two others, both from Arenysen, were instructed to demonstrate their power.

Fox, a wiry-framed male with a pointed nose and untidy hair the color of mud, had the ability to move far faster than any fae I had met—or any other creature, for that matter. One minute he was standing before the desk, the next he was casually leaning against the back of Isa’s chair.

Phillip, who embodied the definition of plain, at least had a skill to counter his otherwise ordinary appearance. At first, he simply stood there, staring at Isa, and I wondered if perhaps he had a power we couldn’t observe—like telepathy or empathic manipulation—but out of nowhere a whirlwind tore through the room sounding like a roaring dragon in my ears. It circled around us, sending hair and clothes waving and swaying erratically, and nearly knocking over a couple of the smaller males.

“Thank you, Mr. Cannon,” Isa said, and immediately the wind ceased. “Is it only the air you can control?”

When Phillip nodded once, Isa beckoned him forward to perform the oath, leaving Graham and me as the last remaining.

Graham tried to decline my invitation for him to go ahead of me, but General Isa called for him. He sneered, but checked it quickly before Isa could reprimand him, and approached the desk with me close behind. It didn’t take him long to deposit his drop of blood onto the paper the general held out for him, repeating the same words the others had. From the vial, a dropof the queen’s blood fell to the paper beside his as Isa recited the queen’s vow.

The general placed the paper into the flame of the lamp, and the former advisor stepped aside.

“And last but not least,” Isa started, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “I apologize I do not know your name, as you arrived so late.”

“Apologies for that, general. I am Matthias. Matthias?—”

“Orelian?” Isa’s brow lifted slightly, a brief sign of surprise as she noted my last name.

“The same,” I said, bowing my head toward her. Behind me someone scoffed. Probably Graham.

“You are the representative from Engle?”

“I am.”

“I wasn’t aware you were from there,” she said as she bent over her paper to jot something down.

“I’m not.” Her head snapped up, eyes wide in question. I quickly explained. “I’m originally from Holsham. Unfortunately, no one from Engle wanted to compete, and rather than force someone to do so against their will, I agreed to go in their stead.”

“Won’t the royal family miss you at the palace though?”

“I do nothing without my king’s blessing, general,” I said simply.

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