That asshole! He had always known how to get under her skin and leave her floundering. He wasn’t sorry about what he said. He just wanted to fluster her. Scowling, Taly muttered, “Yeah, well. Mind telling me why you and Sarina decided to ambush me this morning?”
“Ivain has a job for you.”
“I don’t want it,” Taly said abruptly, turning on her heel.
She heard Skye jog after her, so she quickened her pace. He could catch her easily if he had a mind to, but hopefully, he would take the hint and go away.
A hand reached out and grabbed her arm, and she instinctively twisted her body and drew her blade in a single, fluid motion. By the time she had managed to process the situation, her knife was already pressed against Skye’s stomach.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Put that thing away before you hurt yourself,” he said, his voice low.
Clenching her teeth, Taly deftly flicked her blade, cutting off one of the gold buttons on his waistcoat and catching it in the palm of her hand. She promptly flung it at his face. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people.” Once again, she turned to leave.
“Would you just wait?” he called after her, frowning as he pulled at the loose threads on his coat. He sounded more desperate this time. “You don’t even know what the job is.”
Taly rounded on him. “You want me to take you to the Aion Gate. Sarina already made the pitch, and since I’m not really in the mood to take on any guide work at the moment, that doesn’t leave us much to talk about. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think we’re done here.” She really shouldn’t have enjoyed how out of sorts he looked. He was almost pouting.
Taly turned to leave again, but he wasn’t done quite yet.
“Would you just come to the manor and talk about it? I promise it’s official Gate Watcher business, and Ivain is willing to pay you good money.” When she paused, he added, “Please, Taly. We’re in a tough spot. Ivain and I haven’t been to the Aion Gate since the last time it opened—almost five years now—and you know how unreliable the roads on the northern part of the island can be. We need a guide, and Sarina says that you’ve been making the trip pretty regularly.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Skye.” Taly kept her back to him but made no further movement to leave.
He sighed and stared at his feet. “It’s your birthday, right? Just come to the house. I’m sure Eliza would make lamb and noodles for dinner. The kind with cream and garlic. Your favorite.”
Taly remained silent. Despite the melancholy and loneliness that still burned deep in her belly, it wasn’t really her birthday—just a random day they had chosen to celebrate every year. Since she couldn’t remember anything from before the fire, she didn’t know when her “real” birthday was. Still, real or not, she couldn’t deny that it might feel good not to spend the day alone. And it had been a lean month. If there really was a job, she could use the coin.
No! the rational part of her mind screamed. No, no, no…
Going back to the manor just wasn’t a good idea. She had worked too hard trying to separate herself from her old life to walk right back into it. She needed to walk away. And she would.
Any minute now.
Skye took a step towards her, slowly rounding on her like he would a wounded animal. “You can take a bath. We have hot water.” He watched her closely and smiled when he saw her lips quirk. He had her attention, and he knew it. Bending at the waist, he caught her eye. “Remember how Ivain had the fire and water crystals in your bathroom replaced? You could run enough hot water to last a week. I think Sarina even has some of that fanged rose oil you used to like so much.”
Taly bounced on her heels, conflicted. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to take a proper bath. And hot water would feel so nice right about now. Especially since she was still soaked through and shivering.
Damn wyverns. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up getting sick. That would make earning coin even more difficult.
Taly growled and kicked at the dirt. “Okay. Fine. But just to be clear. I’m in this for the coin. And the hot water, but mostly the coin.” She shook her head. She was getting distracted. “I’ll listen to the pitch, but I can’t waste all day there. I’ve got other things I need to do today.”
“Understood.” Skye smiled, standing to his full height.
He offered her his arm, but she pointedly ignored him as she marched ahead. She was irritated, and she wanted him to know it. True, most of her irritation was directed at herself for giving in so easily, but he didn’t need to know that.
Skye blew out a slow breath and watched her despondently. After a moment, he jogged to catch up, falling into step beside her as they walked towards the manor. He didn’t press her to speak, and when Taly glared up at him, he just grinned and shrugged. It seemed he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut now that she had agreed to accompany him.
As they approached the city gate, Taly spotted a flash of gold in her peripheral vision. Her heart began to race, beating a deafening rhythm in her ears, but she didn’t dare turn her head to look. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out the ghostly golden forms of a family walking past them as they made their way into the village. They were ethereal, almost translucent, but no one on the street reacted to their sudden appearance. The villagers went on about their day, completely unaware.
Moments later, a barghest appeared on the road, pulling at its master’s leash. The dog and its owner unknowingly barreled through the spectral procession. The golden haze stuttered for a moment but then reformed around the disturbance, the edges of the strange hallucination even more defined than before.
Closing her eyes, Taly took a deep breath, willing the vision to disappear. Please, please go away. I don’t need to deal with this right now. She swallowed past a lump in her throat, silently pleading with whoever might be listening. When she opened her eyes again, she was relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary.
Skye nodded his head in greeting as they passed a farmer and his young family coming in through the gate, turning when a loud peal of childish laughter pierced the air. Taly didn’t have to look back to know that the little boy sandwiched between his parents had run ahead to pet the barghest as it waited on its master at a nearby fruit stand or that the gentle beast had proceeded to cover the child in slobber. She had already seen the scene play out in its entirety only moments before.
I hope this isn’t a mistake, she thought, staring straight ahead as they turned down the road that would lead them to Harbor Manor.
Chapter 3
-From the personal notes of Ivain Castaro, Marquess of Tempris
The 32nd day of the month Meridian, during the 250th year of the Empty Throne
It’s been a long time since I took the time to write down my thoughts, but today is one of the worst days I can recall in recent memory. Taly, my little one, is gone. She ran away during the night while everyone was asleep.
I’ve always known that she would want to assert her independence one day. Human lives are so fleeting, and they leave their families so young, so much sooner than any fey could ever dream of sending away a youngling. I knew that when we took her in. I knew and yet now that the moment is here—I wish we’d had more time.
We are all devastated, but Skye is taking her departure the hardest. He believes that the incident in the training yard yesterday afternoon is to blame and set out to find her. Those two have always had a very special bond, ever since we first brought Taly back to the manor. I fear he may have a difficult time adjusting to not having her here.
Sarina is making her own inquiries into where Taly may have gone, and considering my sister’s connections, we should know something soon. Though Taly is stubborn and headstrong—would probably refuse my help if I offered outright—I have no intention of letting her leave my care completely unaided.
Skye let out a sigh of relief as he watched Taly march ahead of him. He’d done it. He’d actually managed to sweet-talk
the little hothead into coming back to the manor. When Sarina had suggested he hire Taly as a guide, he’d thought she’d finally lost her mind. And when she still insisted on going through with her plan even after Taly had hidden underneath a tarp just to avoid talking to him, he’d thought the noblewoman was just in denial—too stubborn to accept the fact that the two children she raised together were no longer friends. However, not for the first time, he realized he needed to stop doubting his old governess’ schemes.
Falling into step beside her, Skye eyed the girl walking next to him nervously. Taly was clearly irritated with him, but that wasn’t anything new. When they were growing up, she was always mad at him for one reason or another. And to be fair, he had usually done something to deserve her ire.
He shouldn’t have goaded her today—that was on him. Granted, his apology for what he said all those months ago was completely sincere. When she had first left the manor—no explanations, no goodbyes—he had said some things that he truly regretted when he finally managed to track her down. She had refused to come with him, and he had not taken it well. Still, his own remorse aside, that didn’t mean he hadn’t enjoyed seeing her get flustered when he took away her reason to be mad at him before her anger was completely spent.
“So,” Skye said, plastering on a smile as they turned onto Harbor Manor’s private drive. Taly walked beside him, her hands stuffed in the pockets of an oversized coat that made her look far younger than her 21 years. “How have you been?”
“Fine,” she replied in a clipped tone.
“That’s good,” he said, unfazed by her surly attitude. At this point in their relationship, he was well acquainted with her moods. “I heard you took up salvaging. How’s that working out for you?”
“Great.” Again, she kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, and her voice held a note of irritation.
Skye’s smile faltered, but he quickly recovered. “Good to hear.” When she still showed no indication that she was going to pick up the thread of the conversation, he tried again. “I tried writing to you at Jay and Laurel’s tavern, but my letters got sent back. Did you move? Where are you living now?”
“Nowhere,” she said immediately, still refusing to look at him.
“Really?” Skye exclaimed with feigned enthusiasm. He smiled when he saw her start in surprise. “What a coincidence! I love Nowhere. My family has business dealings with the Noones—lovely people, by the way—so I visit all the time. There’s this little bakery at the corner of None of Your Business and Uncomfortable, Stony Silence that sells the best pie. I really think you’d love it.”
He thought he saw the corners of Taly’s mouth twitch, but he also could’ve been imagining it. Her posture remained stiff and tense, and she continued to stare straight ahead, pretending to ignore him.
Kicking at a rock on the side of the road, Skye sighed as he pulled at the lapels of his greatcoat. They were approaching the outer edge of the manor grounds, and tiny bell-shaped blooms blanketed either side of the gravel road. Though it was a little late in the season for snowdrops, it seemed even the manor itself was trying to thaw the girl’s icy demeanor. Taly had always had a special appreciation for the little flower. For years, Sarina helped her plant countless bulbs at the first signs of spring, and they had eventually enlisted Skye’s help as well. As time passed, the snowy blossoms had completely taken over the surrounding area.
Looking down at his silent companion, Skye felt a twinge of irritation. Maybe he’d been wrong earlier. Maybe the little brat did need goading. After all, if she wasn’t going to make any effort at playing nice, why should he?
“You’re not in the talking mood. I get it,” Skye said, waving a hand. “That’s no problem. Since it’s been a while since we’ve gotten a chance to catch up, why don’t I tell you about everything that’s happened at the manor since you’ve been gone?”
Taly huffed as she finally turned to glare up at him through narrowed eyes.
“I’ll take that as a yes!” Skye proclaimed enthusiastically. “Let’s see… where to start? Sarina took up knitting a few months ago. That’s been interesting. There’s yarn everywhere now. I know you were always a bit allergic to wool, so watch out for that. And then… oh, shit! Oh no…” Skye brought a hand up to cover his smile when he saw Taly glance over at him before whipping her head back around to stare at the road. “I just remembered. Our hot water went out this morning.”
Although Taly’s expression remained stoic, she couldn’t fool Skye. He had been using his magic to read her reactions since they were children. While most shadow mages liked to channel their aether in order to increase their stamina, speed, or strength, Ivain had taught him that aether augmentation could be an even more effective tool when wielded with a slightly subtler hand.
Skye bit back a sharp bark of laughter when his magically enhanced ears picked up a sudden spike in her heart rate. That got her attention, he thought, making a show of clearing his throat as he tried to suppress another chuckle. If there was one thing that Taly Caro felt strongly about, it was hot water.
Skye rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah… sorry. I probably should’ve mentioned that before. There was an aether surge this morning, and it overloaded the shadow crystals powering the primary water heater. There’s no hot water at all, and the plumber that came out said it would be at least two weeks until he could get around to replacing the shadow crystals in the damaged circuit.”
“You’re lying,” Taly muttered. “You and Ivain are both shadow mages. Either one of you could fix it.”
Skye did his best to suppress the wide grin he could feel tugging at the corners of his mouth. At least she was talking to him now. “True, but we’re both so busy right now with the Gate Watchers—what with the Aion Gate connection and everything that goes along with it. This is my first charging cycle acting as a full-fledged Watcher, and I’ve got so much… stuff that I need to do. And don’t get me started on the things. Shards, the things! And then after the things, more stuff.” Skye peeked at Taly from the corner of his eye, noting the way she fidgeted with the sleeve of her coat. She was agitated now.
“Let’s see, what else?” Skye tilted his head and then snapped his fingers. “Oh! Your room. You might notice a few changes. I was getting tired of having to go all the way out to the workshop when I needed to work on something, so I converted it into a secondary crafting space. I mean, you weren’t using it anymore, and it was right across the hall.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Taly ground out through clenched teeth.
“I was hoping you would say that,” Skye said with an exaggerated sigh of relief. To his growing amusement, he could see that one of her eyes had started to twitch. “I’m actually really excited for you to see what I did with your bed. It’s a weapon rack now. When I started the project, Ivain said that you still needed to be able to use the room in case you wanted to stay the night. So, here’s what I did—the rack folds down into a bed. Genius, right? Granted, I’m still working out some of the kinks. For example, you might feel something poking you in the back if you try to lie down. If that happens, don’t worry about it. That’s a known issue.”
Skye scratched the back of his head. “No… actually, on second thought, you probably should worry. Because it might be a dagger. Or a sword. And Shards, you humans are so fragile. One cut, and you just bleed all over the place.”
Taly’s hands fisted at her sides, and she opened her mouth to say something before thinking better of it.
“You especially,” Skye continued. “I mean, you were always kind of small, but now? I’m starting to think you moved out just so you could go on a diet. I think you even lost height. Yeah… you’re definitely shorter.” He held out a hand just above her head, laughing when she slapped it away. Taly had always been self-conscious about her height. Even when she was stretching, she barely came up to his chin. “I guess that means we won’t be sparring anymore. You’re just too… what’s the word? Dainty? Yes, dainty is a word
I would use to describe you now.”
Taly let out a frustrated growl before muttering under her breath, “No, he’s not worth it.” Skye was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to hear that, but, oh well. It’s not like she wasn’t well aware of how aether augmentation worked.
Skye tilted his head as he pretended to consider something. “That might explain why Sarina has been shopping so much lately. Just the other day, she was telling me that she was just dying to get you into a ballgown. I know you used to hate formal wear, but I really think satin and lace will suit you much better now. You know, because you’re so dainty. And delicate. Yes! Delicate and dainty—that describes you perfectly now.”
Taly’s cheeks were starting to get red. When she blew at a piece of hair that had fallen into her face, Skye’s eyes were once again drawn to the tangled mop that curled around her shoulders. Truthfully, he had been a bit startled when he saw that she’d cut her hair. For as long as he’d known her, she had kept it long, either falling in loose waves down her back or pulled back into a tight plait. Now, the short, flaxen strands stuck out in a style that strangely suited her.
Unable to resist the urge, he tugged on an errant lock. “I don’t know what Sarina is going to do with this mess, though. Did you cut it yourself or something?”
Taly’s face scrunched up, and she rounded on him. “Shards! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” she cried as she started punching and shoving him. “You’re a jerk!”
“Finally!” Laughter bubbled up out of his chest as he fended off her assault. “I was starting to think I’d picked up the wrong girl!”
“I am not dainty!” Taly let out another scream as Skye grabbed her fists.
“I’m sorry,” he managed to gasp before he doubled over.
“No, you’re not!” Taly stumbled when he let go of her fists, and the look of embarrassed outrage painted across her expression before she started trying to pummel him again just made him laugh harder.
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