Shardless

by Stephanie Fisher

  “No,” Skye said tersely as he handed off yet another stack of paperwork to a young fire mage. The petite woman almost had to run to keep up with him as he strode into the main building. “Tell Carlin that the mortals stay inside the keep. The other fey can complain all they want, but the fact of the matter is they’re better equipped to deal with the cold. Mortals get sick far more easily, and we barely have enough earth mages to go around as it is. If more fights break out, open up the dungeons downstairs and throw the dissidents down there to cool off. Also, inform Geran that I won’t be able to meet with him until later this evening.”

  “Yes, sire,” the girl replied, sounding almost as harried as Skye felt. “And Lord Emrys? Er… the other Lord Emrys? What shall I tell him?”

  Skye stopped at the entrance to the servants’ stairwell, shaking his head. Kato had been clamoring for his attention all morning, but he just hadn’t found the time to meet with him yet. He barely had time for his current errand. “Tell my brother that unless it’s urgent, he’s going to have to wait. I’ve got 20 different people bending my ear right now, and they all want something different.”

  “Yes, sire.” The girl bobbed her head before turning and disappearing into the crowd milling about the great hall.

  It was just after midday, and Skye breathed a sigh of relief as he started taking the stairs two at a time. This was the first moment of peace he’d had all morning. Between organizing the teams responsible for scrounging the surrounding area for supplies and trying to devise a training regimen to teach the civilian mages basic combat formations, he was starting to regret stumbling out of bed before the fifth bell had struck just to tag along with Taly to do a little pre-dawn research.

  There’s a lie, he thought, grinning like a fool as he ascended the final stair to the top floor of the living quarters. The worn carpet muffled the sound of his footsteps as he made his way to the end of the hallway, to the suite he and Taly had shared. Yes, he was tired. Well, exhausted. But he didn’t regret a single moment of that morning. From waking up with Taly in his arms to that life-altering kiss they had shared in the library—he wouldn’t change a thing. Except for the part where Kato had interrupted them. That he would change.

  Skye came to a stop in front of the door to their room, and his hands were shaking as he combed his fingers through his hair. Why am I so nervous? he wondered, attempting to straighten his wrinkled shirt. It was just Taly. Not much had changed since that morning. Except for everything. Only everything had changed.

  What if she says no? That thought had occurred to him at least once or twice since they had parted ways. He had asked her what she wanted, and she had never given him a clear answer. Yes, she had let him kiss her again—seemed open to his advances—but she could still change her mind. She could still decide that she just wanted to be friends.

  Before he could second-guess himself, Skye pushed open the door and then quietly closed it behind him as he stepped into the antechamber. He could see Taly just beyond the doorway, her back hunched as she leaned over a writing desk that had been shoved into a corner. Her hair had been swept to the side and braided, and she had changed into a plain white linen shirt with long tapered sleeves that were pulled down and buttoned at her wrists. The toe of her boot tapping out an absentminded rhythm was the only sound breaking the silence as she studied whatever was on the desk in front of her with rapt interest.

  “Hey, Tink?”

  Taly whirled around, her hand clutching her chest. “Shards!” she yelped, her gray eyes wide. “Wear a bell or something!”

  Skye chuckled, his hands in his pockets as he came closer. To his great surprise and delight, she hadn’t buttoned her shirt yet, and he could clearly see the lace of her undergarments peeking out from underneath the sheer fabric of her camisole. The long lines of toned muscle, the sharp curve of her waist, the generous swell of her breasts—all were on full display to his eager eyes. Beautiful. Strong. A far cry from the half-starved waif he’d had to coax and cajole into talking to him as he walked her back to the manor only a few short weeks ago.

  Noticing his intense scrutiny, Taly tensed, her fingers twitching. But she didn’t tug at the edges of her shirt, not even when he let his eyes drift down and linger—tracing and retracing the feminine contours of her body.

  “What are you staring at?” she muttered, her back stiff as she turned back to the desk.

  Closing the remaining distance between them in a few long strides, Skye wrapped his arms around her, pulling up the fabric of her camisole and letting his hands rest on the smooth skin of her stomach. “You,” he murmured, delighting in the slight flush that reached even the tips of her ears. Pressing his nose into the crook of her neck, he finally allowed himself to fully take in her scent. Even after he had been cleared to use his magic, he had abstained back in the library, afraid that the extra layer of stimulation might break his already tenuous restraint.

  “You know I don’t like it when you do that,” she said with a soft sigh, one hand coming up to tangle in his hair.

  “Do what?” he asked, slightly dazed. Shards, she smelled good—like mint and sage, with just a hint of jasmine. There was a faint tickle of iron, just around the edges—distinct but easily ignored.

  “I don’t like being scented. You know that. Besides, you’re a shadow mage, not a dog. I know it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes but—"

  Skye pinched her sides, just where he knew she was ticklish. “I could be a dog,” he said, his own laughter mixing with hers. “If you feed me, I’ll just keep coming back.”

  She turned in his arms, placing a hand on his chest. It was just enough to make him pull back. Yes, he wanted to push her, but, first and foremost, he wanted her to want to be pushed.

  “Spoilsport,” Skye muttered, pressing his lips to her brow. “I’m sorry, but that shadow mage in Ryme didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, and you should never have given him a second thought. Humans do not reek of iron. That was a gross exaggeration.”

  “Says you,” she quipped. Her hands twisted in his collar, pushing the fabric aside. Skye shivered when he felt her fingertips ghost across his skin. “But then again—"

  Unable to resist the urge any longer, Skye pressed his mouth to hers, a low moan escaping him when her hands found their way into his hair, teasing and tugging as she eagerly returned his kiss.

  She was the first to pull away, and he followed her, placing one last gentle kiss just at the edge of her mouth. “I’ve been wanting to do that all morning,” he murmured against her lips, not ready for the moment to be over just yet. “You were saying?”

  “What are you doing back so early?” she asked breathily, turning back to the cluttered tabletop. “I wasn’t expecting you until tonight.”

  “I’m between meetings, so I thought I’d come check on you.” Looking over her shoulder at the faded map spread out on the desktop, he added, “See if I needed to put you to bed.” That earned him a sharp elbow to the ribs, and then another when he just laughed shamelessly. “Seriously, though, how are you feeling? You had me worried.”

  “Fine.” Taly’s head snapped up. “I’m fine,” she repeated, turning back to the map. “Tell me, have you talked to Kato yet?”

  “Nope.” Skye dropped down into the desk chair that had been pushed off to the side. “He’s been trying to track me down, but I’ve been tied up with Kane all morning. Why?”

  “No reason,” she replied a little too quickly.

  “What did he do?” Skye asked, bristling. If his brother was trying to mess with Taly just to get to him… and when they were dealing with shades on top of everything else…

  “Please.” Taly glanced at him from the corner of her eye, giving him a sly wink that made his heart stutter. “I think I know how to deal with you Emrys boys by now.”

  “And I like to think I still have a few tricks you haven’t seen,” Skye drawled. Although, he would be more than happy to divulge every trick he knew if it would convince he
r to crawl into his bed and never leave.

  Standing up straight, Taly began buttoning her shirt, rolling her eyes when he pouted. “I have something to tell you, and I don’t think you’re going to like it,” she said, suddenly serious. “I’m going to Plum. I’m going to try to make it to their scrying relay.”

  “Are you kidding? That’s a terrible idea,” Skye said, his eyes narrowing. For the first time since he’d walked in, he noticed that her pack rested at her feet, and panic coiled deep in his belly.

  Taly began pacing in a nervous circle as she tucked in her shirt tail. “Skye, we have no way of knowing if the other villages have been hit yet. Sure, this might be a one-off thing, but it might not be. Send me to Plum. There’s another relay there—one that might still work. If not, then I can move on to Vale, even Bago if I need to. If I can find a relay that’s still operational, I might be able to get a message out before this happens again. Or, at the very least, contact Ryme and get you the backup that you need.”

  Grabbing her by the arm as she passed, Skye said, “No. Were you not there this morning when we all unanimously decided that going to Plum would be suicide?”

  “For a fey, maybe,” Taly said, pushing him away. “But I’m not fey. I’m human—that means no aether. If I’m careful, I won’t attract beasts or shades. And if something does go wrong, I know how to defend myself.”

  Skye shook his head. “Taly, this is not the time to go off and play hero. If you want to help, then stay. You can contribute more right here than off in the woods somewhere.”

  “That’s not true,” she argued stubbornly. “While I might be good for digging through a pile of old books and repairing a rusty tower gun, I’m just going to be another liability on the road. I’ve already looked at the preliminary census data, and anything I could contribute would just be redundant. I have no value here. But out there…” She looked at him pointedly. “I need to do this, Skye. I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”

  Skye was silent for a long moment, his eyes taking in her wide stance and crossed arms. She wasn’t going down without a fight. “I’m sorry, Taly. I can’t let you go off alone.”

  “You don’t get to make that choice,” she replied simply. “I know the way, and I can handle myself. I’m going.”

  Standing, Skye took her in his arms, pressing his nose to her hair and noting the way her arms came up to circle his waist—despite the look of defiance he’d seen in her eyes only moments before. “No.” When she tried to push him away, he held on. “Just think about this for a minute. I know you can handle yourself, but you were lucky to get away from those things the first time. We’re both lucky to be standing here right now.”

  “I’m going, Em,” she said more forcefully. She pushed against him, stumbling slightly when he let her go. That rebellious flame had been rekindled and shone brighter than he’d ever seen it. “We both have a part to play right now. Let me play mine.”

  No, no, no! his mind screamed at him. It was madness. Had she hit her head yesterday? That was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with to describe this insanity. His fists clenched at his sides as he suppressed the urge to sling her over his shoulder and force her to see the healer. He had dealt with Taly’s stubbornness before. He just needed to remain calm and reason her out of this corner she had somehow backed her way into.

  “Look, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do,” Skye said. “I can’t make you stay. But here’s what I will do. I’ll make you a deal. It’s going to take us a few days until we’re ready to move, and we’re not giving up on fixing the scrying relay here. Let’s see if we can bring it back online. If we can’t, then come with us to Della. It’s not far, and there’s a relay there. If that one’s down too, then we’ll regroup—reopen the discussion about going to Plum or Vale. If we get a foothold in Della, then that becomes a far more reasonable distance to travel—a few hours there and back. We could even spare a team. That sound fair?”

  “That’s a great plan, Em, but it’s going to take too long. The other villages on the island might not have a few days. I’m going. You can’t stop me.”

  “Fine!” Skye snapped, rounding on her. She refused to give up any ground, her chin raised high as she stared up at him defiantly. “If you want to go get yourself killed, you have to see the healer first.” He couldn’t help but laugh when her eyes widened. It had been a gamble, but it paid off. While he had no idea why she seemed so reticent to let the earth mages examine her, if he could use that to his advantage, he would.

  “I don’t need to see the damned healer,” Taly ground out, a low inhuman, nearly fey growl emanating from deep within her chest.

  Skye started at the sound but quickly shook off his surprise. Before she could argue any further, he said, “Prove to me that you’re of sound body and mind, and I’ll send you on your way. After all, I’m certainly in no position to turn down volunteers at this point.”

  “Em—”

  “Oh, don’t ‘Em’ me,” Skye shot back. “If you won’t see the healer, then I’m not going to get behind this. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Eula—I’m not going to send our men and women to their deaths. You collapsed on me not two hours ago, but now you’re saying that you’re fit to trek halfway across the island? And fight shades on top of that? I don’t buy it.”

  “Shards, stop being so overprotective. You’re as bad as Sarina.”

  “Really? That’s your go-to argument right now?” he asked dubiously, reaching for her wrist and pushing up her sleeve so he could study the web of discoloration. When she struggled against him, he let her go. “You were supposed to go see the healer this morning for those bruises, but you notice I didn’t say anything about that.”

  “Because I don’t need a healer. This” —Taly held up her wrist after checking to make sure that the cuff was securely buttoned— “looks worse than it actually is.” When Skye looked at her, a single eyebrow arched skeptically, she stuttered, “I-it doesn’t hurt—much. I don’t know why it looks so bad. I think I’m just getting clumsier.”

  Skye snorted a laugh. “You always did have a knack for running into anything with a sharp edge.” Reaching over, he tucked a finger under her chin, pulling her eyes back to his. “Look, we’ve both had a rough few days, and I think we’re both feeling it. You’ve already done enough for today. Get some sleep, and then we’ll talk again tonight.”

  When it looked like she was about to protest again, he wrapped his arms around her. “Please, Taly. Just work with me here. In the past month, I’ve watched you almost die twice, and that’s not including the time I spent yesterday thinking I might not get to see you again. I’m pretty sure I saw a gray hair in the mirror last night, and that’s something that shouldn’t happen until I’m well past the age of being an elder. So please, for the sake of my sanity and my hair, just give me some time to work through all of this. We’ll come up with something. And you have my word that if I see a way you can help, I’ll use you.”

  Taly was silent, her lips pressed together in a frown as she fidgeted with one of the buttons on his shirt. She had that look on her face that Skye knew all too well. The look that said she was just getting started.

  Shards, he hated that look.

  He braced himself, getting ready for the next argument, the next wave of stubborn anger. But it never came. Her eyes briefly flicked to her pack before finding his. Something had just been decided, even if he wasn’t quite sure what that was. Then, in a surprising turn of events, her face relaxed, and she gave him a gentle smile.

  Skye felt breathless as she reached up and ran a hand through his hair—as though that simple touch had sucked the aether from his veins. Her fingertips lightly grazed his scalp, and a visible shudder shook his frame when he felt the whisper of her touch against the pointed tip of his ear. Still smiling, she said, “Well, I think you’re lying about the gray.”

  Did she just… yes. Yes, she did.

  Skye barely managed to bite back a
moan as she let her fingers boldly trail along the shell of his ear, bringing her hand down to rest on his chest. Whether she realized it or not, she had just done something very intimate, at least as far as the fey were concerned. Something he desperately wanted her to do again.

  A large yawn suddenly overtook her, and she buried her face in his shoulder. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need a nap.”

  “I think that’s a wise decision,” Skye murmured. He released a sharp breath when he felt her lips press against the side of his neck. “But first, I need to hear you say it.”

  “Say what?” she asked, her tongue darting out to taste his skin.

  Oh Shards, she was trying to kill him. He was sure of it now.

  “You know what.” Skye had to force himself to pull back as that sweet little mouth continued to assault his neck. “Miss I didn’t lie, I just didn’t correct you when you made certain assumptions? I’m not taking any chances. Say it—out loud.”

  Taly glared at him before finally rolling her eyes. “Fine. I’ll get some rest, and we can talk about Plum later. Happy?”

  “Thank you,” Skye said, squeezing his eyes shut and trying his best to redirect some of the blood flow back into his brain. “Now… I need to go. I was supposed to be downstairs ten minutes ago to meet with Eula, and then I can’t even remember what I’m supposed to do after that. Apparently, I’m also supposed to find time to meet with Kato as well.”

  As soon as he mentioned his brother’s name, Taly’s eyes became shuttered and her body tensed. Although he was tempted to ask what had happened, Skye didn’t push her. Kato had clearly done something to upset her, and when she was ready to tell him, he would listen. Then, he would go pound Kato into the ground. At the very least, he had that to look forward to.

  Skye moved to release her, but her fingers coiled in his shirt.

  “Wait,” she said, peeking up at him through a veil of dark lashes. “Just… not yet.”