Page 47 of Once the Skies Fade

My hand turned cold, empty.

My chest caved, as if my heart itself were collapsing.

My body became heavy, weighed down by the intense loneliness of grief.

I wasn’t alone, though.

Before me stood my friends, Lieke and Connor, their hands clasped between them as they peered lovingly at each other.

Don’t make me witness this!

I can’t bear to see their bliss when my own has ended!

My mind refused to listen to my cries, denied me the solace I sought.

Someone stepped into view, and I stopped short.

The male from the forest today.

My mouth went dry. My fingers began to tremble. My battered and broken heart climbed into my throat.

Of course. This is where I had seen him before—Lieke and Connor’s wedding.

It had been an intimate affair with only close friends and family in attendance. So he knew the Durands intimately. My mind throbbed as I scrambled aimlessly for any details of that day that might help. The memory became clearer, the dark fog along the edge of my vision clearing, as I watched the male dropa hand onto the prince’s shoulder. He pulled the bride into a one-armed embrace. They were close. They were good friends.

He turned to face me, the floating lantern light deepening the orange in his eyes, and then I caught his name on the prince’s lips.

Matthias.

General Matthias.

My eyes flashed open.

My shadows were gone.

The comforting scent and soothing warmth vanished with them.

It took me a moment to recognize the rich wood beams of the ceiling above my bed. Sweat pooled under my legs, hot and restless. Thrusting the coverlet off, I leaped up. My vision blurred, spots and stars dancing in front of me as my head reacted to the sudden change in position, but I ignored it and stomped across my room and out into the hallway.

I needed to find Isa, tell her who this competitor was, warn her that he couldn’t be allowed into the games.

Wait. I froze mid-step on the stairs.

How had I ended up back in my bed?

Had he carried me home?

He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have.

Even as I wished that to be the case, I knew—somehow I knew—he never would have been able to leave me there, deadly forest or no.

I groaned softly to myself and pressed my fingertips to my temple. This would make it more difficult to disqualify him. I would be seen as ungrateful, unkind. I’d already been seen as worse, though. If tarnishing my reputation further could protect me from this male and the past life I wanted to forget, then so be it. I would endure the sideways glances and whispered rumors.

Isa would understand.

She would help me, as she always did.

Flying down the stairs—as fast as I could without falling—I rushed toward the courtyard, carried forward by sheer hope I would catch her before the registration and oaths. I stepped out into the square courtyard, welcoming the biting cold of the stone walkway against the soles of my feet. The door across the space opened, and Isa appeared, her face lighting up at the sight of me.

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