Page 4 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 4

Matthias

I had barely stepped through the palace doors when a page appeared out of nowhere, calling my name.

“Mr. Orelian! Sir!” The poor boy said frantically, and I raised a hand, trying to urge him to slow down and relax. He didn’t, continuing to speak breathlessly. “Prince Durand told me to fetch you as soon as you returned. He’s in his study, sir.”

I muttered my thanks, marched past him, and bounded up the stairs to the king’s former office, now Connor’s. While the healers didn’t expect the king’s heart to give out any time soon, his health had taken a decidedly downward turn, and he had insisted on stepping aside to help Connor settle into his future role. That decision had shocked us all, but no one could deny that something in the king had shifted suddenly when Connor and Lieke’s bond had formed a year ago, as if their bond had ripped away a mask he’d donned long ago.

Knocking out of courtesy alone, I entered to find Connor sitting at his desk, his head resting in his hands. Lieke stood behind him, staring out the window with her back to me. The mood in the room was notably somber. Neither acknowledged me even when the door shut loudly.

“Who died?” I joked, but Lieke spun around and Connor snapped his head up to stare at me. That was apparently not the thing to say.

“Are you kidding?” Lieke asked. I shrugged innocently, but Connor angled his chin over his shoulder to speak to his wife.

“He doesn’t know, Sapphire. Give him a break.”

“Know what?” I asked, noting that Lieke’s bottom lip began to tremble as she turned back to the window. I looked to Connor. “It’s not the king?—”

He shook his head, but didn’t bother to explain either.

“Am I supposed to guess?” I asked, trying to keep my mind from jumping to conclusions.

“It’s Brennan,” Connor said, flatly.

I dropped my head to the side. “What about him?”

Connor closed his eyes for a moment, his lips pressing into a tense line as he drew in a long breath. When he finally looked at me again, a mist had rolled in over his golden eyes.

“He’s dead.”

“What? When?”

Before he could answer, though, Lieke turned quickly and rushed for the door, refusing to meet my gaze as she passed me. The slam of the door closing echoed through the large room.

“I see she’s taking it well,” I said, and bit the inside of my cheek as I waited to see how Connor would react to my less-than-proper response.

He showed no irritation, though, only weariness. Running a hand over his mouth before resting his chin in his palm, he remained silent as he shook his head again slowly. After a full minute passed and he still hadn’t said anything, I stepped forward and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“How are you? Really?” I asked. Perhaps it was an asinine query. Connor had spent most of his life protecting his brother from their father’s rage, and while the males had had their differences and their rivalries, Brennan’s death undoubtedly pained him.

Connor lifted his shoulders awkwardly and pushed himself back in his chair. “I just keep wondering if there was some way this could have been prevented. I shouldn’t have forced him to marry?—”

I flicked my hand up into the air to cut his answer short.

“Did you kill him?” I asked, and Connor simply stared back at me as if I’d spoken utter gibberish. “Well? Did you?”

“No,” he growled.

“Then you don’t get to blame yourself for this,” I insisted. When he remained quiet, I asked, “How did it happen? When?”

Connor cleared his throat and scratched at the stubble along his jaw. “Nearly a week ago?” He worded it as a question, as if he couldn’t quite remember. “We got word from them the day before yesterday, but they don’t know what happened yet.”

I leaned forward, my brow tightening. “They don’t know? Or they’re not telling us?” Once again, he lifted a shoulder but said nothing. I huffed out a sigh. “What did the queen say? Can I see the message?”

Connor pointed lazily to a torn envelope on the side of his desk, explaining, “It’s not from Calla, but I don’t fault her for not writing herself. I can’t imagine…” He let the thought trail off and then blinked several times before recovering, explaining, “General Marlowe wrote for her.”

General Isa Marlowe.

Solid warrior. Respectable female. While she hadn’t been as much help with tracking down the rebels as I’d hoped, she’d been more than cooperative and understanding with my requests.

Her note was brief but warm, formal but caring, and held as little information as Connor had indicated. Their healers had found no conclusive cause of death, yet they seemed hesitant to classify it as a murder.

As I tucked the paper back into the envelope, I peered at my friend cautiously. “What do you think?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “With the remaining rebels unaccounted for, we can’t assume they didn’t have some hand in this.”

“Agreed. But what can we do about that?”

Connor narrowed his eyes. “No luck on this last trip?”

It was my turn to shrug. “Some, but not as much as I would like.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“Well, after months on the road, I’d prefer to have an actual rebel or two in custody. It’s been a long year with little more than shit to show for it. Tanner asked why we keep searching when it’s clear the humans have all left.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“The truth—this is the job.”

“You didn’t think to explain beyond that?”

“To be honest, I’m beginning to question the reasons myself.” Connor pinched the bridge of his nose, but I continued regardless. “I understand the desire for peace and for the humans to return, but maybe we need to accept their decision not to.”

“And the rebels? Do you think it’s foolish to keep hunting for them?”

“That’s a more complicated matter, which is why I haven’t argued against it. Oh, I almost forgot.” I paused to reach into my pocket and handed him the letter I’d taken from Mr. Marstens. He raised a brow in question. “It’s for Lieke.”

His eyes dropped briefly to the paper suspiciously. “From?”

“Raven. Or so I’m told. I didn’t read it.”

“Who’d you get it from?” Confusion swirled in my friend’s features as he appeared to be trying to answer his own question. I might have laughed had the circumstances—his brother, the rebels, everything—not been so dire.

“Tavern owner in Engle.”

Connor’s shoulders slumped and his head dropped to one side. “Tell me you didn’t hurt Marstens.”

The corners of my mouth fell as I peered up at the ceiling for a moment before finally replying, “Fine. I didn’t hurt Marstens.”

I had barely gotten the demi-fae’s name out of my mouth before Connor threw the paper onto his desk and growled. “Seriously?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, I explained, “He lied to me.” Connor pressed his fingers to his forehead like a parent exasperated by their child. “You’ve never taken issue with my methods be?—”

“He’s Lieke’s family!” Connor barked, but recovered quickly, adding, “Or as close to family as she has left.”

“Some family, to hold on to that letter for so long,” I noted, but Connor’s glower only deepened. “He shouldn’t have lied to me. Claimed he didn’t know where the humans had gone.”

“And did he know?”

I pointed to the paper on his desk. “Produced that note and said the last of them had all fled Emeryn months back. Raven left that with him a fortnight ago. He believes she left by way of Holsham.”

Slowly Connor opened Raven’s note, and I didn’t bother to question whether that was entirely proper. Mates shared emotions and dreams. No doubt they didn’t mind sharing their private correspondence.

“Well, what does she say?” I asked.

My friend dropped the paper onto his desk. “It’s an apology for not coming to the palace as requested.”

“Seems odd to apologize over a year later. Does it say where she’s heading?”

Connor shook his head. “She says she’s trying to make things right— whatever that means—and asks Lieke to trust her.”

After several breaths of silence, I cleared my throat to get his attention.

“When is Brennan’s burial?” I asked quietly, and Connor blinked rapidly as if confused by the sudden change in topic.

“They arrive in a couple days. Why?”

“I would like to pursue this information from Marstens. If you’ll allow it, of course.”

Connor slowly pushed away from the desk and stood. He didn’t speak or look at me as he went to look out the window. He would soon be shoving his hands in his pockets like he always did when he was uncomfortable.

Sure enough, he did just that.

“It’s been a couple weeks since she passed through?”

“So he claims. Regardless, I’d like to verify and see if we can determine which kingdom she may have fled to. I already lost the trail on that Marin woman. I need to at least check this out.”

Connor pivoted slowly on his heel. His face wore a blank expression. “But you’ve been to Holsham already.”

“Several times,” I conceded. “But this is the best lead we’ve had in over a year. I can’t ignore it.”

“Not even for a few days?”

Standing from my chair, I met Connor’s hard gaze. A pang of guilt nipped at me for abandoning my friend at such a time, but I ignored it and said, “I’ll be back in time.”