Page 6 of Once the Skies Fade

Pulling in a deep breath, I silently pushed to my feet.

The handmaids slipped my nightgown up over my head and helped me into the bath. If only the steaming water could washaway the stain that had marred my soul as easily as it did dirt and grime.

Chapter 4

Matthias

Ihad barely stepped through the palace doors when a page appeared out of nowhere, calling my name.

“Mr. Orelian! Sir!” The poor boy said frantically, and I raised a hand, trying to urge him to slow down and relax. He didn’t, continuing to speak breathlessly. “Prince Durand told me to fetch you as soon as you returned. He’s in his study, sir.”

I muttered my thanks, marched past him, and bounded up the stairs to the king’s former office, now Connor’s. While the healers didn’t expect the king’s heart to give out any time soon, his health had taken a decidedly downward turn, and he had insisted on stepping aside to help Connor settle into his future role. That decision had shocked us all, but no one could deny that something in the king had shifted suddenly when Connor and Lieke’s bond had formed a year ago, as if their bond had ripped away a mask he’d donned long ago.

Knocking out of courtesy alone, I entered to find Connor sitting at his desk, his head resting in his hands. Lieke stood behind him, staring out the window with her back to me. The mood in the room was notably somber. Neither acknowledged me even when the door shut loudly.

“Who died?” I joked, but Lieke spun around and Connor snapped his head up to stare at me. That was apparently not the thing to say.

“Are you kidding?” Lieke asked. I shrugged innocently, but Connor angled his chin over his shoulder to speak to his wife.

“He doesn’t know, Sapphire. Give him a break.”

“Know what?” I asked, noting that Lieke’s bottom lip began to tremble as she turned back to the window. I looked to Connor. “It’s not the king?—”

He shook his head, but didn’t bother to explain either.

“Am I supposed to guess?” I asked, trying to keep my mind from jumping to conclusions.

“It’s Brennan,” Connor said, flatly.

I dropped my head to the side. “What about him?”

Connor closed his eyes for a moment, his lips pressing into a tense line as he drew in a long breath. When he finally looked at me again, a mist had rolled in over his golden eyes.

“He’s dead.”

“What? When?”

Before he could answer, though, Lieke turned quickly and rushed for the door, refusing to meet my gaze as she passed me. The slam of the door closing echoed through the large room.

“I see she’s taking it well,” I said, and bit the inside of my cheek as I waited to see how Connor would react to my less-than-proper response.

He showed no irritation, though, only weariness. Running a hand over his mouth before resting his chin in his palm, he remained silent as he shook his head again slowly. After a full minute passed and he still hadn’t said anything, I stepped forward and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“How are you? Really?” I asked. Perhaps it was an asinine query. Connor had spent most of his life protecting his brother from their father’s rage, and while the males had had theirdifferences and their rivalries, Brennan’s death undoubtedly pained him.

Connor lifted his shoulders awkwardly and pushed himself back in his chair. “I just keep wondering if there was some way this could have been prevented. I shouldn’t have forced him to marry?—”

I flicked my hand up into the air to cut his answer short.

“Did you kill him?” I asked, and Connor simply stared back at me as if I’d spoken utter gibberish. “Well? Did you?”

“No,” he growled.

“Then you don’t get to blame yourself for this,” I insisted. When he remained quiet, I asked, “How did it happen? When?”

Connor cleared his throat and scratched at the stubble along his jaw. “Nearly a week ago?” He worded it as a question, as if he couldn’t quite remember. “We got word from them the day before yesterday, but they don’t know what happened yet.”

I leaned forward, my brow tightening. “They don’t know? Or they’re not telling us?” Once again, he lifted a shoulder but said nothing. I huffed out a sigh. “What did the queen say? Can I see the message?”

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