Shardless

by Stephanie Fisher

  “Yes,” Aiden shot back, “you will. My obligation is to keep you safe. You’re either going to agree to my terms, or I’m going to tell Skye and the Castaros what you just told me. Either way, you’re staying right where you are.” When Taly looked away, Aiden came to sit beside her on the bed. “The harpy venom isn’t completely out of your system, and I’m just assuming from this point on that I need to treat you the way I would a fey. That means you’re still in danger of relapsing. If you go somewhere where the aether is thin, like Ryme, you will die. You need to stay close to an aether core, and Harbor Manor just so happens to have its own private system.

  “On top of that, you’re not going to be able to get by on your own—not anymore. If you have enough aether in your blood that a harpy would go after you with a water mage casting right next to it, you’re going to have a very hard time going out to the gates to salvage. The magical beasts are rabid right now and drawn to the same places you would need to go to make your living.”

  When Taly remained silent, stubborn pride still shining in her eyes, Aiden threw his hands up. “Okay—still not convinced? How about this? The High Lord of Earth’s brother has been spreading all kinds of inflammatory rhetoric about humans and Feseraa at the Dawn Court. Tempris is generally pretty isolated, but the effects of that are going to come here eventually. Mortals already have a tendency to go missing when the Aion Gate is charging, but this year is going to be worse. Ivain and Sarina and especially Skye can insulate you from that. Believe me when I say that no fey—highborn or otherwise—is going to piss off the heir to Ghislain. His family has too much power.”

  “I’m not going to endanger Skye and the Castaros so that I can hide behind their noble rank,” Taly snapped, reaching up and grasping her necklace.

  Aiden sighed, adopting a more placating tone, “Look—you don’t have a choice right now. You need the Castaros’ help and the protection that being close to Skye will grant you. And it’s like you said—if they don’t know what you are, it will be much more difficult for the Sanctorum to go after them if you’re discovered. While the statutes have never been tested, there are laws that protect those unknowingly harboring time mages.”

  Taly ran a finger over the pendant, feeling the small divot in the center. “You’re assuming that Skye will even want me around at this point. I don’t think he’s going to forgive me this time. I went too far.”

  Aiden laughed as he pushed himself off the bed. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Just talk to him. Be as honest as you can. That’s all he wants.”

  Taly chewed on her lip as she considered Aiden’s proposal. It was a good plan—better than any she had come up with so far—and a part of her was desperate to embrace this unexpected ally. After a year of harboring this secret on her own, she couldn’t deny that it would feel good not to be alone in this anymore.

  I’d get to come home, she thought, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. There would be no more nights spent in a shitty room with a roof that leaked, shivering underneath a threadbare blanket because the heating element in her stove hadn’t been replaced since before she was born; no more days where she was so hungry that even Jay’s “leftovers” started to look appetizing.

  And… she’d get her family back.

  She would no longer have to pretend that she hadn’t missed Skye, Ivain, and Sarina every single moment of every single day since she’d made the decision to leave.

  Taly’s voice was shaky and uneven when she finally said, “Okay, Aiden. You win. But if anything happens… anything at all—"

  “If the variables change, we’ll reassess the plan.” Aiden gave her a knowing smile as he moved towards the door. “Now get some rest, and don’t worry about Skye. I’m sure everything will work itself out.”

  Taly leaned back against the mountain of pillows stacked behind her, staring at the closed door long after Aiden had gone. Wiping at her eyes, a slow smile began to emerge, and she couldn’t stop the weak peal of laughter that bubbled up out of her chest.

  She was home. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she was finally home.

  Chapter 10

  -A letter from Lady Adriana Emrys, Duchess of Ghislain, to her son, Lord Skylen Emrys

  The 27th day of the month Yule, during the 250th year of the Empty Throne

  Skylen,

  As you already know, it was not my wish that you stay on Tempris to continue your training in lieu of attending the University in Arylaan. However, I gave you my blessing when you gave me your assurance that you would not further isolate yourself from the nobility in Lycia. As I sit here in my quarters at the Dawn Court, listening to the sounds of the Yule Ball filtering up from down below and preparing my usual excuses for why my son, the heir, is not by my side, I cannot help but think that perhaps I made a mistake in allowing you to stay.

  While I cannot deny that Lord Castaro can give you a far superior education than you would receive here, you need to start attending to your duties as Ghislain’s heir—appearing at court with more regularity, forming relationships among the nobility, and at the very least meeting with the ladies the other households present to you before rejecting their offers. Your refusal to even entertain potential breeding contracts or proposals of marriage is beginning to put our family at a severe disadvantage during negotiations with the other noble houses.

  You will be receiving another breeding offer from House Arendryl within the coming months. The young lady in question lives in Faro, and I highly recommend that you agree to meet with her when the Aion Gate opens. Otherwise, you and I may need to revisit the matter of where you choose to continue your education.

  With all my love,

  Your Mother

  “Damn it!” Skye cursed, the air crystal in his hand cracking. With a growl, he hurled the offending stone at the nearest wall before slumping over his workbench.

  Skye couldn’t help but feel antsy and caged after his confrontation with Taly, so instead of getting some much-needed rest, he’d retreated to the workshop, hoping to lose himself in his work. Unfortunately, what was usually a place that let him breathe when he was feeling overwhelmed was only serving to amplify his irritation as he broke crystal after crystal trying to fix a simple dagger.

  I should’ve just gone to bed, he thought sullenly. After three days with no more than a few hours of sleep at a time, his mind was too dull, his thoughts too fractured, to muster the amount of precision that setting crystals required.

  Not for the first time that day, his attention drifted to the dusty little bench in the corner. Taly’s two air daggers, the handgun she’d dropped at the Aion Gate, and those stupid hyaline pistols had somehow found their way onto her old bench. Surprisingly enough, Aimee was the one that had collected Taly’s dropped weapons.

  Tearing his eyes away from the bench, Skye stalked to the other side of the room and began picking through the crystal cabinet. Rows upon rows of drawers adorned the massive wooden chest pushed against the wall—just another reminder of the stubborn brat. For years, Ivain had kept all of his crystals together in a single bin—fire, water, earth, air, and shadow crystals of every class and size all mixed together. The jumbled mess had made Taly’s eyes cross the first time she’d seen it, and she’d cried and pouted until Ivain finally relented and let her re-sort the crystals by type, class, and then size. Only eight years old, and she’d already had an incessant need to rearrange everything around her.

  “Skye?”

  “In here, Ivain,” Skye answered, retrieving another air crystal and slamming the drawer he’d been rifling through shut.

  The door to the workshop slid open, letting in a blast of cold air and the scent of rain.

  Ivain ducked through the small opening. “This storm came out of nowhere,” he exclaimed, peeling off his morning coat and shaking it off. Droplets of water stained the dull gray fabric.

  “How did the call with the High Lady of Air go?” Skye tossed the crystal on his bench, watching it roll across the cluttered surface.<
br />
  Ivain shrugged and tossed the coat to the side as he began tugging at his tie, revealing a row of parallel violet lines that had been tattooed onto the skin of his neck. There were 10 in total—one for each of the primary training designations, or seals, sanctioned by the Shadow Guild. Skye had only completed four so far, and each seal was marked by a thin, vertical stripe drawn beneath his collarbone.

  “As good as could be expected,” Ivain said with a sigh. “You know I grew up with that old bat? Horrible woman. Even as a child, she could suck the joy right out of a room.” The older fey noble crouched and reached underneath a cluttered workbench. “Want one?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

  Skye laughed as he fell back onto his stool and propped his feet up on a nearby bench. “I was wondering where you’d hidden your stash.” Ivain smiled as he stood back up, two bottles of beer and a sleeve of cigars in hand. “Sure, why not? All I’m doing is breaking things over here, so I should probably call it a day.”

  “A wise choice, and one my coffers would thank you for.” Ivain twisted the cap off one of the bottles and handed it to Skye before sinking down onto the stool next to him. He sighed as he removed one of the cigars and brought it to his nose. “I’ve been saving these. It’s the last Arendryl tobacco I’ll see before the Aion Gate opens. Better to smoke them now, though, before Sarina finds them. Shards, that woman was in a mood when she got back from town today.”

  “What happened?”

  Ivain grimaced. “She finally went by Jay and Laurel’s tavern and saw that none of the repairs we paid for had been completed. Jay pocketed her investment and tried to do the repairs himself. Unsuccessfully, I might add.”

  Skye arched a brow. “Since when does Sarina invest in third-rate taverns in what might possibly be the worst part of Ryme?”

  “Since she found out that Taly was having trouble finding someone willing to rent a room to a human.” Ivain scowled as he began clipping the cigars. “Jay and Laurel already owed us a few favors, so all it took was a little gold to convince them to ease their policy on mortals.”

  Skye frowned at the mention of Taly but said nothing. He had always suspected that the Castaros were far more involved in her new life than they let on. It was nice to know his instincts had been correct.

  The older man’s expression turned wistful. “Anyways, my baby sister went on a tear as soon as she got home. She even managed to find my reserve of Ghislain tobacco and then proceeded to lecture me on how I needed to be a better influence on Taly or something or other. As if that girl’s cigar habit is my fault.”

  Skye took a long sip of his beer, drawing in a slow breath as he finally felt some of the tension in his shoulders start to ease. “Well, you are the one that taught Taly how to blow smoke rings.”

  “Yes, that was a mistake in hindsight.”

  “Don’t tell me you agree with Sarina now about tobacco smoke being bad for humans.” Skye took one of the cigars from Ivain and reached for a fire dagger that lay forgotten on his bench. Depressing the toggle underneath the hilt, he lit the end of the cigar with the flame that zipped along the blade.

  Ivain chuckled as he waved the end of his own cigar through the flare of fire magic. “No. It’s because as soon as I taught that girl how to blow a little smoke, she was always stealing my cigars. And not the cheap ones either. That girl likes her cigars the way she likes her brandy—expensive and from Arendryl. At least you always had the courtesy to swipe the ones you knew I wouldn’t miss.”

  Ivain took a long drag. Then, tapping his cheek, he blew out three perfect smoke rings in quick succession. “Your mother wrote to me again.”

  Skye groaned. “Shards, what does she want now?” Flicking the switch on the dagger, he twirled the blade, extinguishing the flame, before tossing it on the bench behind him.

  “The same. She’s unhappy that you’re skipping another season at court.”

  Skye stared out the window, past the droplets of water streaking the glass. “Sounds about right. She’s still mad I ducked out of the winter court season after I cut the summer season so short.” His eyes became shuttered as an image of a dark room and a young woman flashed through his mind. The scent of blood filled his nose, and he once again saw that brief flash of steel.

  Ivain placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, snapping him out of the memory. “What happened last summer was not your fault, Skye. It was a bad situation with no right answers, and you did the best you could.”

  “I know,” Skye conceded quietly. “It just doesn’t feel that way. Not yet. And, while I know I can’t keep putting it off forever, I’m just not ready to go back to the mainland yet, to my family’s estate—especially since Kato insists on reminding me of Ava at every turn. He’s even started writing me letters. The last one started with, ‘The servants finally managed to get the blood stains out of the tile.’ After that, I asked Eliza to throw his letters into the fireplace as soon as they come in the post.”

  “Your brother is a prick and just trying to spread around his own misery. You did nothing wrong.” Ivain began sipping his beer. “I heard you agreed to meet with Lady Lori when the Aion Gate opens. Are you actually considering accepting House Arendryl’s offer?”

  Skye huffed out a laugh. “No. But my mother says I can’t keep turning down breeding contracts without at least meeting with the lady in question. And since this one is in Faro and wouldn’t require me to travel back to Ghislain, I figured I could spend an afternoon with the Lady Lori and her family. Even if I turn down the offer, my mother will be happy.”

  “House Arendryl is a very respectable family. Good people. If I were you, I would consider accepting their proposal.”

  Skye snorted. “Are you joking?”

  Ivain looked completely innocent as he continued sipping his beer. “I’m concerned for you, boy. If you go on much longer like this, you’re going to turn into a monk. You do know that the Gate Watchers don’t require a vow of celibacy, right?”

  Skye rolled his eyes. “I do just fine.”

  “I’d give you the time off,” Ivain went on. “I’m sure one of the other Gate Watchers can take over your duties. I say—go. Spend a few weeks wooing a beautiful woman while your mother re-negotiates Ghislain’s trade agreements. Really, I don’t know why you’re so against the idea.”

  “I don’t know,” Skye mused. “Maybe I don’t want to be a father. That seems like a perfectly valid reason to turn down a breeding offer.”

  Ivain waved his hand dismissively. “Those fertility spells they use to bind the contracts never work, especially on fey as young as you.”

  Skye brought the cigar to his lips, breathing in deeply. “You know, you used to try harder, old man. You think I can’t see through this? You just want to use me to get more Arendryl tobacco.”

  “Now, Skye, you wound me. I would never whore you out just for a little tobacco.” Ivain’s lips twitched. “I need brandy too. I finished off my last bottle of Arendryl liquor last week.”

  Skye gave the man a withering glare.

  “It’s not a bad offer,” Ivain added with a shrug. “You could break that dry spell.”

  “It’s not a dry spell,” Skye muttered irritably. “If I wanted to bed a woman, I could. I just haven’t been back to the mainland in a while.”

  Ivain laughed, stretching out to prop his feet up beside Skye’s as he continued to puff on his cigar. “There are girls on the island, you know. What about… oh, what was her name? Lady Shura? Lovely girl. Very smart. I thought the two of you got along quite well when we visited Starfall Estate over in Strio.”

  Skye took a long swig of beer. “I don’t mess around with girls on the island. You know that.” Not that the thought hadn’t occurred to him as of late. Since he’d managed to avoid returning to Ghislain for the winter season—claiming that his Gate Watchers duties and the upcoming Aion Gate connection made it impossible for him to travel—it had been a while since he’d been with a woman.

  Ivain scrat
ched at his ear. “Why not? You’re 25—Sarina and I wouldn’t mind if you brought women back to the manor. In fact, we were more surprised when you turned 18 and we still hadn’t gotten to embarrass you in front of a girl. You really let us down there, boy. What’s the point of having teenagers around if you don’t get to ruin their lives every once in a while?”

  “I don’t sleep around on the island for the same reason I’ve never seen you bring a woman back to the manor.” Skye tapped his cigar in the crystal ashtray that Ivain handed him. “For the fey aristocracy, sex and politics go hand-in-hand, and the ‘island society’ is the same group of catty highborn that vacation here every summer. Like you, I have no desire to get involved in their petty squabbles. Plus, if I were to stray outside the highborn nobility—stoop below my rank, as my father likes to say—I can guarantee the rumors would reach my mother’s ears before morning. Considering how many breeding offers I’ve turned down just this year, she’d be so incensed she’d come through the Seren Gate and drag me back to Ghislain herself.”

  “Valid points.” Ivain finished off his beer and tossed the bottle into the rubbish bin across the room. “Still,” he mused, a devilish gleam in his eyes, “I can’t help but think that maybe your recent reticence to entertain the young ladies might be because you already have a special one in mind.”

  Skye scoffed, chucking his own beer bottle across the room and into the bin. “I’ve been chained to my desk this past year, the same as you. When the hell was I supposed to have met someone special?”

  Ivain chuckled softly. “Still in denial, I see,” he murmured, shrugging when Skye arched a skeptical brow. “Oh well. Tell me, did you have any luck contacting the Gate Watchers’ compound in Ebondrift yet? With the new timeline in place, we really need them to move to Ryme soon.”

  “Nope. No luck,” Skye said. While there were more shadow mages on Tempris than anywhere else in the fey world, Ivain and Skye were the only two members of the Gate Watchers that chose to maintain a permanent residence in Ryme. The bulk of their forces were stationed at the main compound in Ebondrift near the Seren Gate. “I pinged them on the scrying relay this morning, but I haven’t received a response from Commander Enix or his Precept yet.”