Page 93 of Once the Skies Fade

A dry laugh escaped me. “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard, general, but life isn’t fair.”

“You don’t deserve this, though,” he said.

With a quiet sigh, he stroked my cheek again, and my resolve melted under his touch. Closing my eyes I nestled against his hand, letting myself relish in this moment of comfort, no matter how fleeting. Slowly, he shifted, moving his hand up to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. Then his fingers tenderly traced the length of my neck, blazing a trail of fire over my skin. Even after he pulled away, that heat remained, washing across my chest and plummeting lower to my stomach until it settled in my core.

No.

I can’t want him.

I can’t let this happen.

I pushed to my feet so forcefully Matthias toppled backward, barely catching himself with his hands before he could fall ontohis backside. Finally breaking his stare, I retreated back to the windows. My shadows slowly followed me, pulling back into my palms almost reluctantly.

Standing there, I waited for the fire he’d ignited within me to fade.

It didn’t, not when he walked away wordlessly, not when he left the room and shut the door.

It burned on, a desperate yearning that terrified me.

Chapter 41

Matthias

At least Calla hadn’t killed me when I touched her.

I’d known better, yet I’d done it anyway, driven by some bizarre need to comfort her. I was growing as soft as Connor. If I wasn’t careful, I’d become a damned romantic before I knew what had happened.

Rising to my feet, I watched her standing at the window. She had her arms wrapped around her middle, her fingers clutching at the fabric at her waist as if she were trying to hold herself together. In the deathly silence, her heartbeat pounded feverishly, nearly as fast as my own.

In any other circumstance I might have been offended at a female fleeing my touch, but I’d been utterly relieved when she did. I couldn’t want her, let alone care for her. I had a singular mission, and that wasn’t to make her feel better. I simply needed to learn the truth, and now I was no closer to meeting that objective. This was as close as I could hope to get to her, and I’d fucked it up.

Without a word, I retreated from the room and closed the door as quietly as I could. In the hallway I slumped against the wall, leaning my head back on the hard stone, trying to recalleverything I had gleaned in the short half hour I’d spent with her.

The queen had good taste with that brandy, not that that mattered so much with regards to Brennan’s death, which she was clearly distraught over. She’d controlled her shadows, holding them at bay when she became visibly angry. She’d actually remained far calmer than I’d expected at the mention of her parents’ and Brennan’s deaths.

While nothing I’d witnessed supported Hilde’s accusations, I couldn’t ignore that someone had possibly lied to Connor about Brennan being poisoned. Of course, Hilde might be the one lying. Either way, something wasn’t adding up, and I’d need more information before I could come to any definitive conclusion.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t likely to get much more from Calla directly, especially now after I’d crossed the line. I needed to speak to someone closer to her. Isa was out, of course. She was too loyal and too smart to ever incriminate the queen, even unknowingly. I needed someone who had been with her before and after Brennan died, who knew her well, but who cared more for themselves than for her.

I needed Graham.

The next morning, I reported to the courtyard as directed by Giles and found the other survivors standing silently about the open space. Only Korben was missing, and I was confused for a moment until I remembered Isa’s promise to punish him. Before I could approach Graham, a valet entered the courtyard and ushered us all out to the front steps of the castle, where four carriages waited, their doors held open by a guard. Without aword, the valet pointed to me and then to the second carriage in the line. I settled myself on the plush black leather of the seat and waited, my heart thumping with excitement and anticipation over whatever this next trial would be.

The carriage shifted as someone climbed the steps, and I nearly laughed at my good fortune that the valet had sent Graham to share a ride with me. Graham, of course, refused to acknowledge my presence as he lowered himself to the seat opposite me, even when I offered a friendly “good morning.” He simply stared out the window in silence.

I wasn’t one to give up easily, though. I’d charmed one of Calla’s friends—and a dragon shifter, at that. How hard could it be to do so again, even with this jealous prick?

Resting against the tufted back wall of the carriage, I crossed my arms loosely in front of me and tried again.

“I never got the chance to thank you for helping me out in the forest,” I said.

Graham’s eyes flicked my way, but he refused to look at me directly, immediately shifting to watch the guard close the door and rap lightly on the roof. As the carriage lurched forward, Graham’s lips twitched, like his voice was trying to break through his stubbornness. Swallowing hard, he finally slid his gaze sideways at me.

“You’re welcome,” he muttered, the muscle along his jaw pulsing.

I lifted my brows in feigned shock. “That sounded almost genuine, Graham.”

“It is genuine. I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he said, his expression as flat as his tone.

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