Page 19 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 19

Calla

F or four days I watched as male after male arrived. With each new contestant, my dread grew more intense. Isa insisted I remain set apart from the competitors, at least until she could process and register them officially once they all arrived. She cited some nonsense about needing to protect me from potential threats and would-be assassins, as if I couldn’t adequately defend myself.

So I spent most of my time perched on the second-floor landing that overlooked the inner courtyard of the castle, watching as each of them marched through the glass doors from the grand foyer into the brilliant sunshine pouring in through the glass ceiling suspended high above. Each had, immediately upon arriving, stared up at me with one of two expressions: morbid curiosity or muted fear, yet always with the same unmistakable hint of pity. They tried to hide their emotions, of course, as they attempted to smile, but I’d received enough of these looks from my own staff and the Assembly to recognize them easily.

Part of me wanted to answer those looks with my shadows—to let them see what I was capable of, but again, Isa had given me strict instructions not to interfere with the games. I would be involved, but I would—under no circumstances—do anything to sway favor toward or away from any of them.

By the end of the week, two males—one from a village in the north and one from Emeryn—had yet to arrive, and I secretly hoped they wouldn’t, if only to make this whole ordeal end that much sooner. If there were fewer to compete, then there were fewer who needed to die or fail before a victor could be named and a new king crowned.

I spent much of that last day pacing my study, avoiding my unwanted guests, waiting and hoping for the two stragglers not to turn up. I’d tried to read, to sit, to nap, but my limbs and mind were restless.

I needed out of the castle.

To breathe.

To think.

To escape the staff’s incessant chatter about their favorite contenders.

If I had to hear one more whispered exchange about one male’s strong brow or another’s tight ass, I wouldn’t be able to contain my irritation. Or my shadows.

Silently I slipped through the back corridors of the castle, careful to avoid any of the males. A side door led to the royal stables, and, once I was satisfied the way was clear, I glided across the narrow open space to where my mare, Luna, waited. When she neighed in greeting, I lifted a finger to my lips to shush her. I decided against taking the additional time to saddle and halter her and instead guided her over to the wooden steps I used to mount when I was younger.

Once on her back, I situated the bulky fabric of my dress evenly on either side of her, gripped her mane, and leaned over her neck to whisper, “Let’s run, Luna.”

Needing no further signal from me, she calmly exited the stables and shook her head as a warrior might stretch their neck before training. She bolted off toward the front of the castle, seemingly as happy as I was to be free from the stuffy walls. The forest loomed on my right, beckoning me, but Luna ran as close to the castle wall as she could. I had never taken her, or any of our horses, into the forest. My father had hired Minerva to enchant those woods to welcome only members of our bloodline, and while that did not affect animals, they naturally avoided it all the same.

As we swung past the castle entrance and onto the main road that provided the only safe path to the castle, I saw him—a male riding a buckskin horse. He was still a considerable distance away, so I couldn’t make out any features beyond his confident stature. Sitting tall in his saddle, he appeared at home on his horse, as if he had been riding since before he could walk. His head cocked to one side as he continued to approach, keeping his horse at a gentle walk while I still had Luna running hard toward him.

My heart jolted into my throat as panic sent my pulse racing as fast as the creature I rode.

I couldn’t meet this male. Not now. Not here.

Not ever, if I had my way.

Gripping Luna’s mane in my fists, I yanked hard to the right, pressing into her belly with my thigh, and yelled at her to turn. I didn’t care if this male thought I was insane. I didn’t care how I must have sounded. I needed to get away from him.

Luna obliged, only seeming to realize we had entered the forest when we were within its darkness. Without warning, she locked her front legs and stopped, sending me careening over her neck in an ungraceful somersault. My shoulder slammed into the rotting leaves of the forest floor as all air was thrust from my lungs. I didn’t need to turn to know my horse had already abandoned me, but then the sound of hooves grew louder. Maybe she hadn’t left me after all.

Pushing myself up, I turned my chin over my shoulder to see, not my horse, but the male’s, now riderless. Confusion pinched my brows together. Maybe he had fallen off too.

No such luck.

Stepping from behind his horse’s neck, he loomed over me. He smirked—too handsomely for his own good—like he was trying to suppress a laugh. I couldn’t completely fault him for that; no doubt I looked ridiculous sprawled in the mud and leaves like a wounded animal.

He extended his hand toward me. “It’s not often I have females flee in terror at the sight of me.”

I merely stared back at him. My skin prickled.

I knew him somehow, but how?

He wore no insignia on his cloak, no signet upon his finger—though he did have a handsome gold band on the middle finger of his left hand. A ring of green stone that matched his eyes was inlaid in the center of it.

“Well?” he asked, and I blinked rapidly as if he’d woken me from some daydream.

“What?”

He raised his brow in obvious amusement as he moved his hand closer to me, and I peered at it, my insides warring over whether to accept it or not.

“I won’t bite,” he said, though something flashed in his eyes that seemed to contradict the statement. Movement drew my gaze to the ground, where a thorned vine slowly slithered toward his leg like a snake inching toward its lunch. I kept my eye on the advancing threat even as I warned him.

“You might not want to stand still for too long,” I said, pointing down at where the vine had now slipped between his legs and started to wind its way up over his foot.

“What in the—” he cried, leaping out of the plant’s reach. His hand began to draw his sword from its scabbard, but he stopped when I clicked my tongue at him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I pushed myself up to my feet, brushing the wet leaves from my dress and the dirt from my hands. “The forest doesn’t like intruders, but it especially hates those who pose a threat.”

Slowly he let the sword fall back into its sheath as his eyes darted all along the forest floor around him, watching for any new adversaries that might be approaching. “An enchanted forest. Interesting,” he said, seemingly to himself.

“So you’re from Emeryn, then?” I asked, trying to ignore how my breath hitched upon uttering Brennan’s home kingdom’s name. Was this why this male seemed so familiar? Perhaps I had met him during my tour of their country. My insides writhed uncomfortably, and my head began to ache from the mental acrobatics of trying to place him in my foggy memories.

Stars. Why do I care who he is?

I didn’t. Not really. All I truly cared about was being away from him, away from everyone. Stars knew I wouldn’t have much time to myself once the tournament began. My instinct urged me to simply leave and travel further into the forest. Unfortunately, though, this male seemed the type to insist on accompanying me, and if he truly didn’t know the dangers of these woods and followed me, I’d have to explain his premature death to Isa and the Assembly.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I grew up near Holsham.” His voice cut into my deliberations, pulling my attention back to where he was dancing from foot to foot to avoid the still-creeping vine. The comical display dashed away any need to remember this male’s face, and I had to put all my effort into hiding my amusement. I might have been able to, had his horse not begun to mimic his movements with its hooves. Angling my head down, I lifted the back of my hand to my lips to cover my smile.

A breath later, I cleared my throat and gestured quickly to the driveway behind him. “You should probably turn back.”

Without hesitation, the male grabbed his horse’s reins, though he didn’t turn to leave.

“And what about you?”

I had already begun to pivot away from him, but I hesitated as Isa’s warnings about potential assassins rang through my mind again. My general would certainly frown upon my turning my back on a stranger, whether I was in the safety of the forest or not.

“I’m safe here,” I said. “Unlike you.”

“Is that a threat?” he said with that same tinge of humor, even as he surveyed the trees around him suspiciously.

I widened my eyes at him and shrugged. “Not from me. While safe from the forest’s magic, I don’t control it. Plus, you’re nearly out of time to register for the tournament, assuming that is why you were riding toward my castle.”

At this he dipped his chin and moved alongside his horse. Once mounted, he started to turn back toward the path, but paused briefly to meet my gaze.

A fire burned in his eyes that I hadn’t witnessed in anyone since…

Brennan.

My heart seemed to cease and race at the same time. The forest closed in on me, the trees spinning around me as my panic ignited in my chest. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of his name. I’d forgotten his eyes, his smile, his scent, everything.

I had started to heal—or at least I thought I had. But this male. This fucking male and his stars-damned eyes gleaming with a mischievous passion I’d only ever witnessed in my husband. My dead husband. Grief slammed into me like a wave throwing me against the rocky shores of Dolobare, and my shadows burst free as if they could save me from myself and my resurrected pain. Everything vanished, my world darkening as my shadows enveloped me in blissful emptiness void of strangers and memories and tournaments and pain.