Page 72 of Once the Skies Fade

I started to shake my head no, but his gaze dropped to my bloody hand and he turned fully, making his way back to me.

“You’re not going to make it far on that leg,” he said.

“I don’t need to make it far. I just need to make it to the castle?—”

“Which is far considering your condition,” he noted.

Another wave of pain stabbed my hip, pulling my expression tight and straining my voice as I added, “And find a gold medallion on the way, of course. No point rushing back if I don’t snag one of those first.”

Asher appeared to be waging some internal battle as his jaw pulsed with tension. His shoulders slumped in seeming defeat, as he said—with an almost regretful-sounding tone—“I might be able to help with that.”

“Oh?” I asked, ignoring how my face twitched again from the worsening pain. “Can you sniff out gold or something?”

Pressing his lips together in a thin line, he hesitated before finally admitting quietly, “Actually, yes.”

“So you really are like a?—”

His expression darkened, lips curling as if he were about to snarl. “Don’t say it.”

“Fine, fine. But how do we find it? And quickly?”

A sorrowful sigh fell from him, his hand falling forward as he shook his head, as if he were arguing with himself again.

“I’ll carry you,” he said.

I could barely keep the amusement from creeping onto my face, and I started to ask him to repeat what he’d said just for fun, but thought better of it.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Too late for that,” he said. “But you saved my life, and you seem to be somewhat decent. Compared to the rest of the remaining suitors, I’d much rather have you win the hand of my friend than have her shackled to a heartless prick who chops off toes for fun.”

“How is the hand, by the way? Or was it your foot?”

He held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers. Where his index finger should have been, a single bony nub remained.

“He didn’t take the whole toe?”

“Oh, he did,” Asher said, smiling as if he had a secret. “We heal fast. Should be good as new in a few days.”

“Wait, are you saying you regrow limbs?”

“Depends on the limb, but yes. Legs and arms don’t regenerate quite as thoroughly, but appendages like fingers and toes?—”

“And…other important appendages?” I asked hesitantly, cursing my curiosity as I swayed precariously on my feet.

Asher laughed heartily. “Never tested that, honestly. Never want to, either. But I thought fae were supposed to heal quickly too.” He pointed toward my injured leg. “Why are you still bleeding?”

I looked down at my leg and nearly toppled over, the world spinning around me. “Ah, shit. The poison?” Pressing my fingersto my neck, I checked for a pulse and found it still strong. If it had been poison, it wasn’t the potent, fatal kind at least, but how had Korben gotten a hold of it? And why didn’t it affect Asher?

“What poison?” Asher asked.

Jerking my head up, I tried to blink away the dizziness, but it only got worse. I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could utter a word, I was falling into darkness.

Chapter 35

Calla

Ihadn’t visited the healers since Brennan’s death. The dark, cold rooms, tucked away on the first level below ground in a corner opposite the kitchens, had never bothered me before that night. While I rarely needed to see the royal healers, I had always found them to be friendly enough and always eager to help no matter the ailment, whether it was a splitting headache I couldn’t shake or a pesky burn in need of a soothing salve.

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