Page 96 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)
Chapter 96
Calla
E ven with everything Niko and Sasha had done for us, allowing us to remain for a few more days until Asher and his brothers’ scales had regenerated, we all seemed more than eager to leave Dolobare and the nightwalkers behind us. We landed back at my castle in Arenysen just as the sun was slipping over the edge of the forest. My guards greeted us, promptly taking Ami to the dungeons to await her trial. My stablehands helped us remove the harnesses and saddles from the dragons’ backs, but to my surprise, only Asher shifted into his human form.
Matthias reluctantly released my hand as I stepped forward to speak to my friend.
“Leaving so soon?” I asked, my gaze flitting to his two brothers briefly.
Asher dipped his chin low. “Afraid so. I need to get back to this job in Wrenwick.”
Matthias rushed to my side, but aimed his question at the dragon shifter. “Wrenwick?” Again Asher nodded, and my mate shot me a sideways glance, lowering his voice. “Think his job has anything to do with a certain curse?”
At this Asher’s eyes widened, his chin jutting forward. “Excuse me?” His eyes darted from Matthias to me. “What curse?”
I stilled except to wring my hands together nervously. Pursing my lips, I caught Matthias’s eye and gestured toward our friend. “Could you tell him?”
Confusion pulled his expression tight, but it shifted quickly with understanding. “Right,” he whispered before looking to Asher. “Calla can’t speak of it herself, but she might have hired a certain mage to punish those responsible for Brennan’s death.”
“ Might have,” Asher repeated, skeptically.
“Meaning she did,” Matthias admitted. Anticipating Asher’s next question, he quickly added, “The Olanders.”
Isa’s hand landed lightly on my arm. “I thought it was Graham.”
Nodding, I explained. “Ultimately it was, but—” My voice gave out as soon as I tried to speak of the Olanders’ role, but Matthias offered the words I couldn’t utter.
“He may have orchestrated it, but apparently the Olanders carried it out.”
Behind Asher, his brothers exchanged a glance. Asher pressed his thumb to his temple, his fingers grazing lightly over the fresh but faint scar that bisected his brow. “And what was this curse, exactly?”
“Don’t know,” Matthias answered for me. “Killer, here, was understandably in no mood to ask at the time, but?—”
“We need to get going,” Asher interrupted, tossing an anxious glance over his shoulder to his brothers, who both gave crisp nods.
“What is it, Asher? Is it something I can help with?” I asked, reaching a hand out to my friend.
“No, there’s nothing more you can do,” he said, stepping forward quickly to wrap me in a strong yet brief hug. Extending a hand to Matthias, he added, “I’m glad I was able to help you out.”
“Me too,” Matthias said, clasping hands with Asher. “If you ever need our help?—”
“I know where to find you,” Asher said, but his smile—though genuine—was short-lived, slipping into a frown that seemed almost nervous. Without another word, he offered a quick nod to Isa and spun away from us, shifting mid-stride into his dragon form and leaping up into the air, his brothers following close behind.
Isa stepped cautiously up to my side and leaned around me to peer at Matthias and me both. “Either of you catch what he just said?”
I stared up to the point where the dragons had disappeared over the treetops. “You mean the nothing more I could do part?”
Isa nodded as Matthias asked, “Think he’s helping the Olanders with your curse?”
“Fuck.” The swear fell from my lips on a sigh.
Matthias planted a kiss to my temple. “Don’t worry about it, Killer. If anyone can handle a curse, it’s Asher.”
“You know, Killer, we should have asked for some more brandy while we were with the Vrani?s,” Matthias said, pouring a small amount into two glasses and walking over to the sofa where I sat waiting for him.
Accepting the glass, I lifted a brow. “You really think I’d waste such an opportunity?” I asked. “Don’t you know me at all, general?”
“I should never underestimate you,” he said around a laugh.
As he settled down beside me, the door to the solar opened, and Isa entered with Phillip close behind. Matthias was on his feet at once, bounding around the sitting room to greet the other male, asking, “You okay? Can I get you a drink?”
A low growl rumbled in my throat. He couldn’t possibly be offering my brandy. Matthias spun his head around to look at me and lowered his voice. “Don’t worry, Killer. I know you don’t like to share.”
Phillip’s eyes shifted nervously between us. “I’m fine, thanks,” he muttered, following Isa over to sit in the pair of chairs opposite me.
“You might want to sit down, Matthias,” Isa said, her voice somber. She lifted an ominous piece of paper and nodded to where I sat.
Matthias obliged, grabbing my hand. “Who died?” When I eyed him disapprovingly, he shrugged and asked, “What?”
“Actually,” Isa said, and we both snapped our attention to her. “It’s King Durand.”
“Oh, shit.” The words fell from Matthias atop a heavy sigh, and he downed the last of his brandy before pointing to the message in Isa’s hand. “Is that from Connor?”
Isa nodded, and though she offered it to Matthias, she relayed its message to me. “He died a couple days ago, while we were on Dolobare. Message was delivered this afternoon just before we arrived. The burial is at the end of the week, and?—”
“I need to be there,” Matthias said, refolding the message and tucking it into his pocket. Isa nodded slowly, and Matthias squeezed my hand. “I missed Brennan’s, and I can’t do that to Connor again.”
My chest tightened at the sound of Brennan’s name, though not as strongly as it once would have. “We will be there for him,” I said.
Isa glanced to Phillip for a second, nodded, and turned back to Matthias and me. “That means we’ll need to leave in two days, giving us little time?—”
“Little time for what?” I asked. Had I missed something? I hadn’t taken more than a sip of my brandy, so it couldn’t be the drink’s fault for my confusion.
Isa drew in a deep breath. “We still need to announce the winner of the tournament. Given all that has transpired, I would like to forego the final trial if that is acceptable to all of you.” She glanced around at each of us, and we nodded in turn. “As Phillip did not complete the third trial, his points remain at one hundred. Matthias found the correct antidote, and even though he didn’t have enough left to actually heal you, Calla, I think this warrants granting him at least ten points, making him the winner.”
Phillip didn’t balk at this pronouncement, but smiled genuinely at Matthias, who cocked his head, his brows knitting together. “Thank you, general. But can I ask why the official announcement requires time? Don’t you simply draw up a memo or declaration of some sort?”
Leaning forward, Isa dropped her forearms to her knees. “Given all of the…drama…over the last few weeks and months, it may be best to do so publicly.”
“How long would it take to inform the villages?” Matthias asked.
Isa noted, “Not long for the closer villages, but the further ones would never be able to travel in time to attend.”
“Would those further away feel slighted if we were to send a declaration instead of an invitation?” I asked, looking to Isa, but Phillip chimed in first.
“If I may…” he started, waiting for me to invite him to continue. “As a citizen and not someone on the royal staff, I recommend inviting who you can. The distant villages will understand, especially if you were to explain all that has happened and why your presence is required in Emeryn on such short notice. Despite what you might fear, we aren’t all so hardhearted.”
The three of us all stared in silence at the male for several breaths after he finished speaking.
“What?” he asked, shifting nervously under our scrutiny.
Matthias pursed his lips and cast a sideways look my way. “Does Arenysen have an official order of succession for royal appointments?”
Isa was already shaking her head, so I didn’t bother answering him with more than a slight smile before I turned back to Phillip.
“While you came here vying for the crown,” I said, “I wonder if you might consider accepting a different position, Phillip.”
“You mean, like on the Assembly?” he asked, his brow collapsing low over his eyes, which lowered to the ground immediately. “I’d never considered it, but perhaps?—”
“Think bigger, friend,” Matthias whispered across the sitting area, and Phillip’s eyes darted up to meet his.
Before he could misunderstand again, I asked more directly. “Would you be willing to serve as royal advisor? While you’d be a part of the Assembly, you’d permanently live here at the castle and work directly for?—”
“Yes,” Phillip interrupted, his face reddening as if he realized a moment too late that he had interrupted his queen. “Of course, Your Majesty. I’d be honored.”
Nodding, I smiled. “In that case, your first order of business will be to help Isa draft the necessary messages to the villages and get those sent out as soon as possible.”