Page 39 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 39

Matthias

I should have left the bastard lying in the hallway, but if he woke up and told anyone what had happened to him, it could create problems for the queen and jeopardize this tournament and my chances of learning the truth about Brennan’s death. So, here I was, with Korben’s blade tucked safely back in its sheath and hidden in my boot, dragging the good-for-nothing male back to the healers while my weary body protested every movement.

By the time we reached the closed door of the infirmary, the ache in my feet had traveled up my legs until they were shaking with fatigue. My shoulders throbbed from the heavy load, and my fingers—their tips severely chafed from gripping him by the rough leather he wore—finally gave up, dropping him to the floor with a dull thud. It took every bit of energy I had left not to crumple to the ground beside him.

Resisting the urge to kick him, I rounded on the door and knocked.

I leaned forward, straining to hear any trace of a footstep, but there was nothing but silence. Hadn’t I just been here? Had Ami left? And if so, had she not witnessed Korben’s attack?

Pushing out a pained sigh, I let my shoulders fall heavily with the realization that I’d have to keep moving him by myself. I flexed my hands a few times and rubbed my fingertips against my thumbs, trying to soothe away the discomfort before I had to lift him again.

I had just gotten his shoulders and head off the ground when a pair of footsteps pulled my attention around behind me. Ami and another female rounded the corner. Their eyes flashed from Korben to me as they approached, though no sign of alarm showed on their faces.

“What happened here, general?” Ami asked.

Her words, while not terribly loud, bounced painfully around my head, forcing me to clench my eyes shut as I turned back to Korben and let him fall at my feet. Touching my fingers to my temple, I worked to massage away the throbbing headache as I moved to speak with the healers.

I gestured to my still-swollen face. “Korben happened.”

The females exchanged a quick glance. The younger one—her cheeks dotted by warm freckles and framed by a cascade of dark red hair—eyed me curiously.

“And what happened to him?” she asked.

“He attacked the wrong male,” I said, frowning casually.

“You did this?” Ami asked. “In your condition?”

“Never underestimate what someone can do when their life is threatened,” I explained, lifting a shoulder in a painful shrug.

“Let’s get him inside,” Ami said. “General, could you get the door for us?”

I started to protest and offer to help carry him, but the pain in my ribs flared up as if my body begged me not to do more until I was healed. Sliding the door open, I watched in a bit of amazement at how easily the two females lifted the male and carried him inside to a cot opposite the one that had been mine.

“Don’t look so impressed,” Ami said, winking as she passed by me. “It’s a bit easier when you have someone else helping.”

“Or when you’re not recently injured—or poisoned,” chimed in the other.

“And you are Jocelyn, I presume?”

She nodded, smiling sweetly, though not going pink as Brit had.

After they settled him onto the cot, Ami looked over his face and neck, shifting his head from side to side. She didn’t look up at me when she asked, “And you did this?”

“He was about to stab me,” I said, nodding.

She peered up at me from where she was still hunched over Korben. “That’s not an answer.”

Smirking, I narrowed my eyes at her. “You miss nothing, do you?” She gave no response, not even a slight lift of a brow or tiny twitch of the mouth, so I dipped my chin. “Yes, I did.”

Her gaze slid over to Jocelyn, who stood on the other side of the cot, checking Korben’s pulse.

“We will take it from here,” Ami said. “You still need to find General Marlowe, no?”

“Indeed. Will he be okay though?”

This time it was Jocelyn who answered. “He should be fine. Not the first time we’ve seen?—”

“He’ll be fine,” Ami interrupted, shooting a glare Jocelyn’s way.

I pretended not to notice the silent reprimand. “Good. I’d hate for him to miss out on the next trial.”

Jocelyn smiled, ignoring the way Ami still glowered at her disapprovingly. “Well, they’ve postponed it several days for you already. No doubt they’ll do the same for Mr. Hoff here as well.”

Nodding, I started to turn for the door but stopped. “You don’t happen to have anything to help with this pounding headache, do you?”

“Of course,” Ami said, but she directed Jocelyn to go and fetch it for me. “You may find you don’t heal quite as quickly as usual.”

“You mean the poison’s still lingering?” I asked, genuinely curious how it worked.

“Not really, no. More like the poison damaged your body’s ability to heal.”

“Permanently?” I asked. This was certainly going to make the remaining trials—let alone the rest of my military life—more dangerous.

Ami pursed her lips as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer, but finally said, “We aren’t sure, to be honest.”

“Well, can’t expect you to have all the answers, I suppose. What should I tell the general about…” I waved my hand in Korben’s direction.

“The truth usually works nicely,” Ami said just as Jocelyn returned holding out a small leather pouch.

“Dissolve this in water and take as needed for the pain,” she explained. “Also maybe see about getting some ice for that nose of yours. It’s not broken, but you won’t be pretty again until that swelling goes down.”

Angling my head toward my shoulder, I grimaced as if I’d just tasted something bitter. “Are you saying I’m not pretty anymore, Jocelyn?”

She lifted a hand to my cheek and patted it tenderly. “You’ve had better days.”

The healer hadn’t been lying about the delayed healing. With the wound on my leg burning, my head throbbing, and my face and ear aching—not to mention my body being utterly exhausted from my ordeal with Korben—it took me an embarrassingly long time just to reach the second floor of the castle. Why did Isa’s office have to be on the fourth?

My lungs screamed at me to stop and rest, so I turned the corner to lean against the wall, trying to look casual as I gave my body time before continuing the rest of the way. Thankfully none of my other five competitors came by, and the few staff members I met averted their eyes and scurried past me without a word.

I’m the fucking leader of the Emeryn army, and I’m here holding up the wall.

What the hell is this competition doing to me?

Fuck this. I can rest once I get to my room. Find Isa, then go lie down.

Pushing away from the wall, I pivoted back around the corner, only to collide with someone who had just ran up the stairs. She backed away immediately, nearly falling down them, but I caught her by the shoulders.

“Watch where you’re go—” she barked out, stopping herself when her brown eyes met mine. The fiery irritation in her features vanished. “Oh, General Orelian. I didn’t see you there.”

“I hope not, or it might make things awkward when I win this tournament,” I said, giving a half-hearted smirk.

She angled her head slightly. “Awkward how?”

“You throwing yourself at me like that could make Her Majesty jealous.”

Isa scoffed. “She’d have to witness it to be jealous.”

I pressed my hand to my chest. “But my conscience would not allow me to keep such a secret from my bride.”

That last word tasted wrong on my tongue, but it was worth it for how perturbed the general became, gazing up at the ceiling and sighing.

“I really should be going,” she said, attempting to skirt around me. But I moved out of her way at the same moment, inadvertently stepping into her path.

I bowed my head in apology and shifted away from her. She rushed past me, seemingly careful to give me a wide berth. She was halfway up the next flight of stairs when I suddenly remembered I’d actually been looking for her. Maybe that poison messed with more than just my healing abilities.

Or maybe I’m just tired.

Either way, I needed to stop the general before she got further away and forced me to climb more stairs.

“General!” I called out, doing my best to hide my limp as I hobbled over to the center of the staircase and looked up at her.

She glanced over her shoulder at me, but didn’t fully turn as she raised a brow. “Yes?”

“Your healer, Ami, told me to check in with you. I was actually on my way to find you when you accosted me.”

“I didn’t…” Her protest faded into a long exhale, and she reluctantly turned and came back down, stopping a step or two higher than the landing so that her eyes easily met mine. “What’s her message?”

“Oh”—I frowned—“no message from her really. Just wanted me to inform you that I was awake, well, and planning to stay in my own room rather than in the infirmary.”

Isa’s features pinched as she studied my face. “You’re well, are you?”

“Well enough,” I said. “It’s nothing really.”

“You were poisoned though. That’s not nothing,” she said.

Shrugging, I smirked. “I’ve had worse.”

“I’m sure you have. I don’t recall you having these injuries when you exited the forest though. Did our healers rough you up a bit?”

I watched her for a moment. Something in her tone and the little curve at the corner of her mouth indicated she knew more than she was letting on. Of course she knew. No doubt the queen had gone to her at once. Isa was testing me, baiting me to divulge what I knew or suspected.

I could have played dumb, but Isa’s previous words to Beck during our registration echoed in my mind. Lying would not go over well with this general. Better to use this moment to my advantage.

Pointing to my face, I chuckled lightly. “Oh, this was a get well present from Korben. Along with this,” I said, pulling the male’s blade from my boot.

She feigned surprise, almost too convincingly. Perhaps she was more shocked that I’d actually told the truth.

Taking the blade from me, she slipped it carefully into her belt and said, “Well, I assure you, General Orelian, we will see that he is rightly punished for attacking you outside of the trials. But, I am curious. How did you get away? Ami said your injury along with the poison would weaken you quite a bit even after you awoke.”

I rubbed my still-sore fingers along my stubbled jaw and looked to the ceiling as if contemplating my next words. “I think you know, general.”

Isa’s expression remained still, but she shifted her weight slightly—enough of a confirmation for me.

I leaned in slightly and lowered my voice to a whisper. “No need to fret, though. I deposited him back at the infirmary and informed the healers of what happened.”

“Which was?”

“He attacked me, and I subdued him.”

“You? In your condition? And our healers believed you?”

I flashed a wink that was probably more grotesque than charming given the state of my face. “I can be quite convincing, I promise.”

“We’ll see. I plan to go speak with them later this morning. Will you be visiting Oryn? I know you two had a bit of a connection.”

“Actually, I intended to after I found you, but I’m a little worse for wear than I anticipated. I may need to rest first.”

“Very well. I’m also more than willing to postpone your time with the queen for tomorrow if you prefer.”

I recoiled slightly but hopefully recovered quickly enough with a half-smile. “What time with the queen? Is this the second trial?”

Isa waved a hand between us. “No, not a trial. Just a casual meeting with Her Majesty.”

My huffed laugh brought her brow low over her eyes. “Sorry, sounds rather funny to use the words casual and majesty in the same sentence.”

The general mulled that over for a bit. “I suppose you’re right. Still, this is more a chance for Calla to get to know each of you a little better.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound like it was her idea.”

Shaking her head, Isa blew out a tired breath. “No, it wasn’t, but it’s necessary all the same. Would you like to postpone?—”

“No,” I said, a little too quickly. “I’m happy to see her this evening. Just let me know when and where.”

“Very good,” Isa said, lifting her chin. “I’ll get the information to your valet as soon as I have it settled.”

A heavy thumping of boots woke me from my dreamless—yet still restless—sleep, and I clutched my head as I rolled over to find my valet stomping across the room to open the drapes and let in streams of deep gold afternoon sunlight. When the final curtain slid open, throwing bright light across my face, I winced with a low groan and tried to roll over, but that only stoked pain elsewhere in my body.

Was this how humans felt when they got hurt?

No wonder humans were such a miserable lot.

“Mr. Orelian,” Giles said, tapping his heels loudly together. I peeked back over my shoulder but kept my eyes squinted against the brightness as I hummed in recognition. He let out a weary breath, as if talking to me was the last thing he wanted to be doing. “General Marlowe expects you to present yourself in one hour to Her Majesty in the solar on the uppermost floor.”

I groaned again at the thought of climbing more stairs.

“And she said this wasn’t a trial,” I muttered to myself.

Giles responded all the same. “It is not a trial, and I am to offer my assistance should you require it.”

“No need for that,” I said, sitting up and dropping my feet to the floor. Though my back was to the valet, his relief was evident in his next words.

“Very good, sir. I have taken the liberty of drawing a bath for you.”

“Thank you.” I pushed myself to stand. “And don’t worry, I don’t need any assistance with that either.”

Giles nodded and promptly fled the room, as if my injuries were contagious.

I bathed as quickly as I could—and as well as I could—with my body still protesting every movement. Selecting a plain black button-down shirt and dark gray trousers, I dressed and afforded one brief glance in the mirror. At least the swelling had subsided enough that I looked somewhat like myself again. My first step toward the door sent a jolt of pain shooting down my leg, and I grimaced and hissed through each subsequent step I took back to my bedroom, where the healers’ pouch and a glass of water sat on the bedside table. Thankfully, the herbs—as nasty as they were—took effect almost immediately, and by the time I reached the door, my pain was barely noticeable at all.

Oryn’s room was at least close by, making my visit an easy detour before I needed to meet Calla. I knocked on the door and a stout little female whose round smiling face greeted me in stark contrast to my valet’s.

“Yes, sir? How can I help you?” the female asked, her pleasant voice washing over me like a warm blanket on a crisp day.

I intended to ask after Oryn, but a different question came out when I opened my mouth. “Why couldn’t I have gotten you as my valet?”

Her laugh, hearty yet still somehow quiet, put me at ease, though I couldn’t understand why.

“Ah, sir, I’m the one they call on when someone is in need of comfort.”

“Ahh,” I said, realization dawning on me. “So this warm fuzzy feeling is thanks to you.”

She smiled kindly. “You’re welcome. Name’s Hilde.”

“Not sure I like it, to be honest,” I said. Even with the comfort she manipulated within me, it was unnerving to know someone else was mucking with my emotions.

She didn’t seem at all offended by my candor, nodding with that same smile on her lips. “It’s not for everyone, but I am at least able to shield others from pain when there are no other alternatives.” She waved a hand loosely in the air. “Never mind all of that. Are you here to see Oryn?”

“If I may. I can’t stay long, unfortunately.”

Without a word, she beckoned me inside and across the living space to where Oryn was tucked soundly into bed. His chest rose and fell evenly, and apart from the bandage wrapped around his head, he showed no sign of being injured. In fact, he looked so at peace, I half-expected him to open his eyes at any moment.

“He doesn’t have long, I’m afraid,” Hilde whispered beside me.

“Is there no way he can be sent back to his family?” I asked.

She shook her head and shrugged. “Not my decision. That’s up to Her Majesty and her general.”

I peered down at her and smirked. “Guess I’ll just have to speak to the queen then.”

Her smile vanished instantly, and something akin to fear filled her eyes. “It’s not worth the risk,” she whispered, her gaze shifting around the room as if Calla herself might be lurking nearby, listening.

“There’s no risk. Her Majesty and I have…a bit of a rapport.”

Eyes widening, recognition lit across her face. “You’re the Emeryn general everyone’s going on about. You carried her to the castle. Danced with her at the dinner. You of all people should know better.”

“Know better about what?”

Hilde lighted a hand on my forearm. “How dangerous and volatile she is. After what she’s done to the Emeryn royal family?—”

“What do you mean?” I asked, lowering my face toward hers slightly.

Lifting herself onto her toes, she hid her mouth behind her hand—as if needing to ward against any eavesdroppers—and whispered, “She killed her husband.”

I released a long, slow breath, dropping my shoulders wearily. “Yes, I’ve heard the rumors.”

“It’s more than mere rumor; it’s the truth.”

“How do you know?” I asked, not wholly convinced this female was a reliable source regarding the queen’s possible guilt.

“I can soothe others’ emotions, general, but in order to do that I have to?—”

“To feel their emotions yourself.” I completed her sentence for her as she nodded along. “And you sensed the queen’s.”

“I did. When she first returned home from the burial, I was there in the entryway. The guilt she carried—and carries even now—is more than that of one who simply wishes they could have prevented a death.”

“Emotions can be difficult to interpret, even when we are the ones experiencing them firsthand, let alone sensing them as a bystander. That’s quite the accusation to make based on only that.”

Grabbing my arm, she turned me to face her, her brows reaching for her hairline. Her eyes searched mine frantically as if desperate to make me believe her.

“You didn’t see the delight she took in ripping those poor women apart,” she said, horror dripping from every syllable. “I could feel it, as clearly as if it were from my own heart. And she laughed, such bone-chilling laughter I’d never heard before. I’ll never forget it either.”

Memories of those children covered in their mother’s blood snapped into focus in my mind, and the bottom fell from my gut. How had I forgotten them?

Yet even now, reliving their deadened stares and silent tears, I couldn’t reconcile that horror with the queen I’d encountered both here and before Brennan’s death. Was she the monster Hilde believed her to be, or was someone spreading the rumors to oust her from power?

It could be both.

Hilde whispered something else, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to catch it.

“Excuse me?”

“No poison,” she said. I pinched my face, not quite following what she meant, and she clarified. “The king. There was no poison in his system. No marks on his body.”

“How do you know this?”

“When you have talents like mine, you work rather closely with the healers. I wasn’t there when they examined him, but I heard them discussing the peculiarities of his death.”

“Do you know how he died?” I asked cautiously, expecting her to withhold information as Ami had.

“Suffocated,” she said. “Like something choked him without touching him.”