His head turned, his attention momentarily diverted. Time seemed to slow as his eyes scanned the top of the tower, searching for her. Although she could barely make out his face at this distance, she knew that he could see her clearly.
Turning back to the monster, Skye took a single step toward the creature, his body tensing as he rushed forward. He almost seemed to blink out of existence as he charged the beast, traveling at a speed that Taly’s human eyes couldn’t follow.
A set of arms grabbed Taly around the waist, roughly pulling her off the platform. She let out a sharp cry as she was thrown on the ground, going still when Kit covered her body with his own just seconds before an explosion rocked the tower.
Taly could feel Kit’s harsh breathing fanning out across the skin of her neck as he pressed her into the ground. Lifting a trembling hand to her ear, she listened for voices. All she got was static.
As panic set in, she pushed at Kit’s shoulder. “Skye… what happened to Skye?” Wriggling out from underneath the exhausted shadow mage, Taly scrambled to her feet. Thankfully, the explosion had been relatively minor, and only the immediate area around the tower gun had been scorched. Though the wiring underneath the platform was still on fire, it was already burning itself out.
There was no movement in the square below. The shadow mages watched the area where the beast had thrashed about just moments before with wary eyes, massive girders and beams held in their hands as they tried to decide whether to attack or retreat. A heavy silence fell over the fey still crowding the wall as they all waited.
Taly leaned against the edge of the tower balustrade for support. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she grasped at the stone ledge until her knuckles turned white. Kit came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Lord Emrys?” Eula’s voice cut through the static on the comm. “Skye, report. Are you okay?”
Taly clasped her hands in front of her. “Please, please, please,” she prayed silently as Kit’s grip on her shoulder tightened.
Something moved in the cloud of smoke, and the circle of shadow mages took a step back. As the wind picked up, blowing at the debris and dust that hung in the air, a silhouette began to emerge, the edges of his slender form sharpening as the breeze cleared away the last of the fog.
Taly’s shoulders shook, and she wasn’t sure if she was laughing or sobbing. “Skye,” she breathed, covering her mouth with her hands. “Thank the Shards.”
Even from the tower roof, Taly could see Skye’s chest rising and falling as he gasped for air. He stood over the unmoving creature, his armor and skin covered with gore, violet flames of shadow magic still lapping at his skin. His sword protruded from the beast’s charred flesh. Though his arm hung limply at his side and fresh rivulets of blood now streaked his sleeve, Skye clutched at a single shadow crystal, torn from the gaping hole carved into the side of the beast.
“Holy shit, he did it,” Kit whispered from beside her. “He actually did it.”
Skye moved to take a step, but he stumbled, the crystal dropping from his hand. The other mages rushed forward, grabbing at him before he could fall to his knees. Propping him up, they had to half-carry him off the battlefield.
Taly turned to look up at Kit with wide eyes. “Skye’s hurt. I thought shadow mages couldn’t get hurt when they’re channeling that much aether. What’s wrong with him, Kit?”
Kit wrapped his arms around Taly, pulling her closer when her shoulders started to shake. “I don’t know. But I promised to deliver you to your Lord Emrys, and that’s what I intend to do.” Pulling away, he forced her chin up and looked her in the eye. “Let’s go find him.”
Chapter 19
-An excerpt from the Moonfall Morning Post
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“Ow! Fuck!” Skye yelped. A long string of muttered curses fell from his lips as he felt the waves of earth magic lapping at his skin, knitting his broken and battered body back together. His stained armor and tattered shirt lay off to the side, and he sat in a secluded corner of the courtyard, allowing one of the earth mages to tend to his wounds.
In the wake of the battle with what they were now calling the “abomination,” the shadow mages’ outdoor crafting area at the compound had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. A babel of pained cries filled the air, almost drowning out the steady patter of heavy rain striking the metal awning that sheltered the wounded.
Most of the injured fey sat quietly, their eyes closed in meditation. The fey’s natural ability to heal was directly related to how much aether saturated their blood, and nearly every mage in the keep had thoroughly drained their magic over the course of the past day. An assortment of fading bruises and half-healed lacerations marred the immortal bodies scattered throughout the courtyard, their injuries slowly fading as they focused their will on increasing their body’s natural rate of aether absorption.
The mortals and weaker lowborn fey, those that couldn’t take in enough aether to heal their wounds, were not so lucky. They lay prostrate on the ground, their faces and bodies contorted in agony. The menders, though they could do little more than offer simple first-aid, cleaned and bandaged wounds, offering comfort where it was needed.
Skye let out another low groan as he felt something in his shoulder snap back into place.
“Hold still,” the willowy earth mage reprimanded.
The severe woman pushed back a tendril of silvery hair from her face, and she rubbed at her eyes tiredly, the movement pulling at her almost translucent skin. When she looked at him again, Skye felt an uncomfortable shiver run down his spine. The members of House Agno had the most disconcerting eyes he had ever seen. When he wasn’t channeling aether, he couldn’t distinguish the subtle ring of her pupils from the inky black of her irises, making her eyes seem almost like a bottomless, fathomless void.
“I should be scolding you,” she said, her voice full of reproach. Her pale, bloodless lips lifted into a peculiar smile that seemed out-of-place on her smooth complexion. “Using that much aether at one time is stupid, even for a member of House Ghislain. You’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself.” She gave his arm a rough tug as she realigned the joint, paying no mind to Skye’s sharp cry of pain.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “Could you be a little gentler?! I did just take out some sort of half-dead abomination.”
This earned him a skeptical look from the woman. “Technically true, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re lucky to be alive. Yes—you succeeded. But your plan was still spectacularly stupid.”
Not bothering to wait for his response, the woman checked the bandages wrapped around his shoulder and bicep. “I don’t want you channeling aether for the rest of the day. If you need to restore your aether reserves, do what the rest of us do—meditate and wait for your magic to regenerate naturally. Also, drink this,” she said, handing him a cup. “It’s faeflower.”
Skye took the cup and downed the medicinal draught in one gulp, suppressing a shudder at the taste. Almost immediately, the dull burn in his lungs, a testament to just how little aether he had left, started to abate. “After so many millennia of drinking faeflower for aether burnout, you’d think someone would’ve found a way to make it taste better.”
The healer puffed out a snort as she washed her bloodied hands in a quenching tank. “I have other patients to attend to,” she said, ignoring Skye’s complaint. “I’ll be back to check on you. Sit here and rest—don’t move.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
&nbs
p; Skye pulled on his shirt before leaning back, his eyes following the lithe highborn woman as she weaved through the crowd, occasionally bending down to check on one of the wounded.
Meditate. How long had it been since he’d had to meditate?
Closing his eyes, Skye took a deep breath. Every mage, no matter their school of magic, learned to manipulate their aether regeneration through meditation. It was an essential skill, just not one he’d chosen to use in a very long time. After all, why would he need to sit quietly in a corner for hours on end when he could just take raw aether from the air and push it directly into his blood?
Just when he had almost managed to clear his mind, a familiar scent tickled his nose. Even without his magic, he’d recognize her anywhere—Taly.
When he opened his eyes, she was much closer than he would’ve guessed, but that wasn’t surprising. His senses were annoyingly dull at the moment. Already halfway across the courtyard, her worried gaze scanned the faces of the wounded as she searched for him.
“Psst… Tink!” he said when she got close enough to hear him.
Her head whipped around, and when her eyes found his, Skye decided that if he died tomorrow, he wanted that smile to be the last thing he remembered. It made the air around her seem just a little bit lighter, and he could feel the warm glow of her joy and relief slowly seep into him, chasing away the cold.
She rushed towards him, gracefully sidestepping the bodies of the wounded, and by the time she made it to his side, her eyes were red and glassy. “Stupid idiot!” she cried, throwing herself onto the bench and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Arrogant highborn jerk…”
“Hey now,” Skye said as he readily returned her embrace. “Is that any way to talk to an injured man?”
Pulling away, she gave him an irritated glare, the severity of which was belied by the tears welling in her eyes. “It’s a term of endearment at this point.”
“Is that so?” Skye huffed good-naturedly, reaching up to give the end of her disheveled braid a gentle tug. “If that’s the case, then your pillow talk really needs work. Don’t worry. I’m here to help, and I’m willing to go all night if need be.”
“Shards, you’re an idiot.” She raised a fist to give him a sharp punch on the arm but thought better of it when she saw the bandages peeking out from underneath his shirt. “I thought you were really hurt, but you’re fine.”
Her fingers traced the edge of one of the strips of linen wrapped around his shoulder. After a long pause, she shrugged and gave him a teary smile. “Although, it’s too bad coming face-to-face with whatever that thing was didn’t do anything to improve your sense of humor.”
Skye let his head fall back against the wall with a thud. “Low blow, Tink. Low blow… You know, you should be nicer to me. After all, I think I’m owed a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from my favorite mortal right about now. Those were some impressive feats of strength out there. Some people might even consider me a hero.” He lapsed into silence, staring at her expectantly.
Unable to punch him, she flicked his ear, knowing full well that fey ears tended to be more sensitive than her own human ears. When Skye winced, she gave him a satisfied smile.
“Fine. Ooooh… ahhhhh…” she conceded with a pained sigh.
Skye grinned despite the physical and mental fatigue that had permeated every cell and fiber of his body. Had it really only been yesterday when he’d laid down his conditions for bringing her along? That already seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Thank you,” he said a little too sincerely. “You know, when people eventually ask me why I did it, I’ll tell them it was for the little people.” Even though she was sitting next to him, he held a hand over her head, pretending to measure her height compared to his. “That’s you by the way.”
Taly slapped his hand away, suppressing an exasperated chuckle. “Seriously, though, are you okay? Why haven’t you healed yet?”
Skye tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, doing his best to give her a reassuring smile despite the pain the movement triggered. “I’m fine. It’s just a little aether burnout.”
“Aether burnout?”
“It’s…” Skye paused as he tried to think of a way to explain it. “It’s like spraining a muscle. I channeled too much aether all at once, so now I need to take it easy—let my magic recover.”
Taly released a shuddering sigh, and Skye used the pad of his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. “Tink, I’ll be fine after a hot meal and a good night’s rest. And you say I worry too much.”
Taly shook her head vehemently as she reached up and grasped the hand at her face. “No… I’m just really relieved. For a minute, I thought… when I saw you fall—”
“Taly!” a voice rang out.
His eyes scanned the courtyard for the source of the sound, and Skye grimaced when he saw a familiar brassy-haired mage duck underneath the awning. What was he doing here?
“Kit!” Taly waved, drawing the man’s attention. “Skye, that’s Kit,” she said excitedly. “He helped me repair the tower gun.”
“Interesting.” Skye watched the man approach and found himself sitting up just a little straighter. “And he said his name was Kit? K-I-T?”
“Yeah. Is something wrong?” Taly asked when she saw the look of confusion on his face.
Skye shook his head. He would deal with this unexpected situation when Taly wasn’t around.
“Shards, Taly,” Kit said when he was close enough. His hair, wet from the rain, clung to his forehead, and Skye couldn’t remember ever seeing the usually put-together noble look so out-of-sorts. “For a little thing, you’re fast.”
“Hello, Kit,” Skye greeted icily. “Taly tells me that I have you to thank for getting the tower gun powered up.”
Seeming to notice him for the first time, Kit raised an eyebrow, smirking as he bowed mockingly. “Truthfully, I didn’t do much, milord. I am but a humble aether battery.” Catching Taly’s eye, Kit gave her a subtle wink, eliciting a soft snicker from the girl at the apparent inside joke.
“I see,” Skye replied, his jaw clenching.
Taly, oblivious to the tension between the two men, glanced at Skye. “Kit says that he’s also from House Ghislain. A cousin, right?” she asked, turning back to Kit.
“That is correct, Taly,” Kit replied warmly. An almost genuine smile curved his lips, one that Taly returned.
Placing a possessive arm around Taly’s waist, Skye couldn’t suppress the cocky grin on his face when he saw the other man’s eyes narrow. “You’ll have to forgive me. I have so many cousins; it’s sometimes hard to match the name to the face.”
“Our family is quite large,” Kit replied with false civility. “But if you’re already having trouble remembering things at your age, then you’re going to have a real problem in a few centuries. You probably won’t remember half the people you meet.”
A tense silence settled over the two men as they stared each other down. Kit was baiting him, his eyes full of defiance and derision as he silently dared Skye to publicly call him out and sully the image of Taly’s new friend. When Skye almost imperceptibly shook his head, an action he knew the other shadow mage’s magically enhanced eyes would pick up, Kit’s entire demeanor transformed.
“Well!” the copper-haired Gate Watcher exclaimed, his face the very picture of affable sincerity. “I’ve fulfilled my promise, Miss Caro. I delivered you to your Lord Emrys. I should go see if I’m needed elsewhere.”
Rising from the bench, Taly embraced Kit, a gesture he readily returned. “Thank you,” she said when she pulled away.
Kit placed a hand on her head, giving her a soft, sincere smile. “Anytime.” Turning back to Skye, Kit gave him another mocking bow. “Milord.”
Taly watched Kit walk away, and when he ducked his head to dash back out into the rain, she said, “So that was awkward. Kit told me that you two had never met. I take it that’s not the case?”
“Oh, we’ve met,” Skye grumbled, leaning back and cl
osing his eyes. When Taly settled back beside him, he frowned. Even without his magic, he could just make out the other Gate Watcher’s scent clinging to her. “It’s a long story, one I’ll tell you later—maybe after a few drinks. Needless to say, we’ve never gotten along.”
“I can see that,” Taly replied with a wry smile. “Can’t say I’m surprised, though. You’re kind of an ass.”
Skye chuckled tiredly. “Because it’s all my fault, right?” Opening one eye, he just managed to see her nod in wholehearted agreement. “I just can’t win with you, can I? I suppose, at the very least, it’s nice to know that no matter what I do, I’ll always have you here to put me back in my place.”
“Well, not always,” she replied casually. At Skye’s questioning stare, she shrugged, and her expression sobered. “I’ll be there for as long as I can, but we’re going to have to say goodbye someday. It’s kind of inevitable.”
Skye’s throat tightened at the implication of her mortality. It was always so easy to forget that she was just a human—that she would die. Before he could reply, she hopped to her feet and stretched, her hands flying to her side as her face contorted in pain.
“Ow… I forgot about that.”
“Let me see.” Skye grabbed her arm and turned her so that he could get a look at the gash at her hip. It was a deep wound, and he could already see small rivulets of pus mixed in with the blood that stained her skin and clothing. “Okay, you’re seeing the healer.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Iona!” Skye called when he saw the same waifish earth mage from House Agno turn the corner. As the healer approached them, she ran a critical eye over Skye. “I haven’t moved,” he said, pointing a finger at Taly. “This is for her.”
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