Page 26 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 26

Matthias

W hat in the stars-damned fuck am I doing?

One moment I was having a conversation with the queen—or trying to—and the next I was dancing with her in front of the entire Assembly and all of my competition. What else was I to do though, when she had suddenly spooked for the second time today, that same look of horrified shock flashing in her eyes? At least this time I’d been able to catch her before her shadows could expand fully.

I was now all-too-aware of our audience as I guided Calla in slow circles around the ballroom to the musicians’ romantic melody. She kept her face tucked close to my chin, and while she said nothing, her pulse slowed against my chest, her breaths deepening with each step. Letting everything in my periphery disappear, I tried to ignore the way her hair smelled of the sweet berries Mrs. Bishop used in her tarts and the violets my sister grew in her garden, but the scents summoned memories against my will. Instinctively I pulled her closer still, as if I needed to wrap myself in that comforting warmth of home.

No sooner had I done that, though, than Calla stiffened in my arms, effectively snapping me back to the present and to the task at hand.

It’s just a game.

I’m just playing a role, doing my job.

Nothing more.

Stopping abruptly, I pulled away and released her. Our eyes met, and for a couple breaths I studied her expression that seemed an odd mix of shock and confusion and…was that guilt?

I’d seen that same look of self-loathing in Connor’s face enough times to recognize it now in Calla. Not that this proved anything, of course. Grief was a bitch in that regard, causing us to carry responsibility whether it was warranted or not. Bowing slightly toward her, I lifted her hand to my lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. A hint of a gasp lifted her chest, and normally I would have smirked with pride for having such an effect on someone, but this was no ordinary female.

I caught her eye once more and offered a thin smile, which—as expected—she did not return.

“Thanks for the dance, Killer,” I whispered before pivoting and passing a rather flustered Graham as I walked away.

The nickname had been a risk the first time I’d used it, but to utter it again…what the fuck was I thinking?

Running my hand across the back of my neck, I stalked over to the buffet table, grabbed two of those macaron things, and popped one in my mouth. I turned to head back to my seat, and ran straight into General Isa.

“Excuse—”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, gesturing discreetly for me to follow her back to the desserts. Keeping her head low, she proceeded to place a few confections on a plate as she spoke. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“All due respect, general, yes, I did,” I said, taking this opportunity to select another macaron.

She didn’t argue, merely shrugged. “Either way, you’ll have a target on your back now.”

I laughed once. “As if I didn’t already?”

“A larger one then,” she said, not even a crack of a smile on her lips.

“Why are you warning me?” I asked, stealing a glance around the room and to where Graham now led Calla away to the far wall.

“Call it a courtesy from one general to another. But it’s the only one you’ll get.”

Isa excused herself with a single nod and marched over to the musicians, who quickly ended their song and rested their instruments in their laps. Everyone in the room returned to their seats, except for Calla, who remained by the wall as if she could sink into the shadows and disappear. Moving to the middle of the open space, Isa clasped her hands behind her back and addressed the room.

“There will be more time to dance if anyone wishes to, but I do need to ensure you all know what to expect going forward in this tournament. Some of you have traveled a great distance to be here, and for that we are most grateful. This is not an easy time for our kingdom, especially for our queen. Losing a spouse is a hardship no one should have to bear. Having to replace them so quickly is…well…”

Her voice trailed off as she looked toward the queen for a full breath before returning her gaze to us.

“It is what it is, unfortunately. Her Majesty, Queen Vael, has tasked me with planning and overseeing the trials, of which there will be four, testing the qualities necessary for our future king: courage, strength, wisdom, and grace.”

Around the table, each male exchanged looks, as if silently surmising what the trials might be.

“In each trial, contestants will earn points based on criteria set forth at the beginning of each. Quite simply, the male with the most points—who is still alive—at the end of trial four, will be crowned king.”

The Assembly members nodded grimly along with Isa’s every word, some donning wicked smiles as if already imagining what bloody entertainment was to come.

Isa continued, shifting her weight and folding her hands in front of her now.

“Your first trial begins tomorrow at sunrise. We will convene outside the castle’s entrance before dawn, at which time you will be given further instruction. I do recommend you try to enjoy yourselves tonight. Our staff will attend to you for as long as is needed, so feast and drink, dance and laugh. Tonight very well may be your last.”

Isa bowed her head silently and strode over to the queen, whom she promptly whisked out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, the conversations started, excited and nervous voices all filling the ballroom and drowning out the tune the musicians had dived into at the general’s exit.

“What do you think it is?” Oryn angled his head toward me as he asked.

I shrugged. “Assuming they’re testing the qualities she listed in order—which they might not—we’ll be facing the courage trial first.”

Korben appeared behind Oryn, leaning forward on the table to look at me. “Think they’ll just stick us in a room with Her Majesty and her shadows?”

I nearly laughed at how some of the males appeared genuinely afraid of that prospect. Not that I didn’t think Calla was dangerous; she was a Shadow Keeper, after all. But knowing Isa’s reputation for cunning, and having witnessed her impressive loyalty to her queen, I highly doubted she’d devise a trial so simple while having Calla directly involved.

Shaking my head, I weighed whether to voice my speculations or not. I could use them to my advantage—assuming my theory proved right—by being the only one prepared.

“Know something we don’t, Matthias?” Rhett asked bitterly.

Before I could answer, others were chiming in with their own questions.

“Did the queen say something to you?”

“What did you learn from her?”

“What did her shadows feel like?”

That last one pulled a sharp bark of laughter from me, but I’d barely started to respond when Graham sniggered.

“He doesn’t know anything, and Her Majesty certainly didn’t say anything to him.”

All heads—including the Assembly members’—swiveled in his direction and then back to me.

“Graham’s right,” I said. “Her Majesty didn’t say anything—nothing of consequence anyway. I simply have my theories about the trial.”

Silence fell among us, and I casually took a sip from my water glass. A half dozen or more heads leaned closer in anticipation of my next words. When I remained silent, one of the Arenysenians—Aric, perhaps, or maybe his name was Fritz, I couldn’t be sure—scoffed loudly.

“He’s as clueless as the rest of us.”

I shrugged a single shoulder. “Perhaps. And I know nothing for certain, but if I was the betting type, I expect them to send us into the one place in Arenysen that all fear.”

“The forest?” several of them asked in unison, but one of the Assembly members—a timid-looking female—looked apprehensively around at her colleagues.

“They wouldn’t,” she said, unconvinced of her own words. Her eyes landed on mine. “It’s too dangerous.”

So the Assembly didn’t even know what the trials were.

I chuckled quietly to myself, holding the poor female’s gaze.

“What’s a deadly competition without a little danger?”