Page 103 of Shardless

“So Ididinterrupt something.” Kit’s eyebrows waggled suggestively as he claimed Skye’s abandoned seat.

“Don’t get cute,” Taly replied, staring at him pointedly, “Kato.”

That good-humored expression never budged. “Ah. I see he told you.”

“Nope.” Taly smiled a feline grin. “Youjust did.”

The aforementioned Kit balked, his mask finally cracking. Then, a loud peal of laughter erupted from his chest, the sound echoing through the cavernous library. “I must say I’m a littlestunned, Miss Caro. If my dear baby brother didn’t tell you who I was, what gave me away?”

Taly shrugged as she continued to casually flip through the book. “It wasn’t hard to figure out. You’re a member of House Ghislain, a shadow mage, and you speak fluent Faera—something that Skye said is only taught to members of the primary bloodline. That would include Skye and his siblings, maybe a handful of cousins. Certainly not a distant relation, which you claimed to be when we first met. You also managed to get underneath Skye’s skin well enough to get assigned to funeral pyre duty.” She grabbed one of Kato’s hands. Though his clothes were clean and his skin had been washed, there was ash underneath his fingernails. “That’s Ensign work. And I’d guess you’re at least a Marshal since you were commanding the search and rescue team yesterday.”

Kato’s grin widened. “Beautifulandclever. I can see why my little brother likes you so much.”

“So why did you lie to me?” Taly asked, ignoring his attempt to flirt with her.

“And blunt.” Kato looked slightly uncomfortable now. “In my defense, I didn’texactlylie to you about my name.”

“Go on.”

Kato sighed, running a nervous hand through his hair in a way that was strangely similar to Skye. There were seven violet lines tattooed on the underside of his wrist—each one a testament to his training as a shadow mage. “Kit used to be a nickname. It was given to me by the last woman that managed to stab me, and I haven’t used that name since we… parted ways. Considering that you were standing there with my blood on your dagger and the world had just gone to hell… I don’t know. It seemed fitting at the time—almost poetic.”

Taly snorted. “I’m not sure I believe all of that, but since you were such a good aether battery yesterday afternoon, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” Kato sagged in relief but tensed when Taly added, “And the cousin bit?”

“Split-second decision?” he said sheepishly. Taly gave him a withering glare, and his shoulders slumped. “Fine. When you said that you were traveling with Skye, I figured out pretty quickly that you were more than likely the little mortal companion that my brother hasn’t shut up about since he was ten years old. And considering that the two of us aren’t what you’d callclose—”

“You mean belligerent, bordering on hostile?” Taly interjected.

Kato snapped his fingers. “She has a way with words—I’ll add that to my list.” He gave her a sly wink before continuing, “Since I figured Skye had probably already told you some things about me, none of them good, I thought it would be safer to lie about our relationship until I got you back to the compound. While we were out in the open, still in danger of being attacked, I needed you to trust me.”

Taly pretended to read the page in front her, suppressing a grin when she heard him shift uncomfortably. After a long pause, she said, “You do see the irony in that, don’t you? Lying to make me trust you?”

Kato held up his hands in supplication. “Like I said when we first met, I’m not a smart man.”

“There’s another lie.” And it was. Taly could see cunning behind that boyish facade.

“I take it you’re not mad?” Kato reached for Skye’s discarded cup of tea. “According to my brother, your temper is something to behold. I figure if I’d committed some grievous sin, I’d be splattered across the tile by now.”

“Well, Skye would certainly know a thing or two about my temper.” Taly threw the book she was reading into the growing pile of rejected tomes. Leaning back, she let her hair hang down past the back of the chair as she rubbed at her eyes. “But I’m too tired to be mad right now. Anger takes energy. If you give me a few hours and ten more cups of coffee, I promise I’ll give you a good beating.”

“And funny.” Kit smiled as he swiveled in his chair. “My list just keeps growing.”

Taly once again ignored Kato’s attempt at flattery. “You’re getting cute again. Besides, I never said I forgive you. I just acknowledge that everybody lies—even honest men.”

“And practical.”

Rolling her eyes, Taly stood and walked to the end of the bookcase to retrieve the ladder. “Why does my forgiveness even matter? Aren’t you just using me to mess with Skye at this point?”

“It matters because I like you,” Kato replied simply, watching Taly climb the ladder a little too closely. “You’re fun, and you don’t seem the type to take shit from anybody, regardless of rank. I might not be the heir anymore, but I’m still a son of the reigning Duchess of Ghislain. All of the sycophants and their incessant groveling gets boring after a while. It’s a nice change to have someone talk back for once.”

Taly reached for a book stacked on top of the bookshelf. “Again—I’m not sure I believe that. Iget the distinct impression that youlikehaving a captive audience.”

Kato shrugged, catching the books as Taly dropped them into his waiting hands. “Let’s just say that ruffling Skye’s feathers would be an added bonus to getting to know you. Besides, if I really wanted to piss him off, I’d tell you about Ava. He really doesn’t want you to know about Ava.”

Taly bristled when she heard a trace of that veiled animosity she’d seen earlier resurface. “I already know about Ava and everything that happened last summer,” she said evenly. “And to be clear, don’t think that I can’t tell the difference between friendly sibling rivalry and a deliberate attempt to undermine your brother’s relationship with me. If you want to play your games, I can’t stop you, but I will not be used as a pawn.”

“Fiery,” Kato said after a pause. “No wonder my brother’s so taken with you.”

Taly blushed, licking her lips to see if she could still taste Skye there. He was taken with her? Sure, he had basically said as much, but to hear it from someone else… “Go to bed, Kato. You look exhausted.”

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