Page 105 of Shardless

Dearest sister,

If you can spare your son, I have need of a healer. To my great surprise and most ardent joy, Abel returned from the front last month. However, I have noticed a change in him. At first, I believed that, given time, he would be able to move past the horrors of the front, but now, I fear it may be something else. From the smell, I suspect a lingering infection.

All our village’s earth mages have been called to the front line, and our menders aren’t able to diagnose him. They have prescribed a draught to help him sleep, but it hasn’t helped. He never sleeps, he barelyeats, and he has begun to lapse into fits of delirium. Occasionally, he’ll come back to himself and speak a few words. In those brief moments of clarity, I’ve been able to make him eat a few bites of food, perhaps lie down to rest, but these instances are becoming more and more rare.

I pray this letter reaches you. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I love my husband, but sometimes when I catch him looking at me, I start to wonder if something else came back in his place.

All my love,

Abigail

Taly lay on her back watching the slow creep of sunrise brighten the dome of the library with a smoky glow. It was still raining outside, and behind the film of streaked raindrops painting the glass overhead, she could just spy the faint blush of dawn peeking through the clouds. Petal pinks, inky blues, the warm glow of tangerine—a palette of soft hues painted against a backdrop of gray.

Having grown tired of poring through the endless stacks of books, Taly had retreated to an old couch she’d found tucked away in a forgotten corner. The aged and cracked leather creaked every time she shifted, the only other sound besides the patter of raindrops and the crash of thunder to penetrate the silence of the library. Her fingers nervously toyed with the pendant at her neck, and she’d pressed her feet between the cushions to keep from fidgeting. She took deep,calming breaths, but her heart continued to beat a sharp, staccato rhythm in her chest:what now, what now, what now…

Kato. When he grabbed her, she had felt a stabbing swell of pain rush through her—like a whip cracking against the skin of her arm. He’d thought his own magical discharge had caused her to flinch away, but he’d been wrong. Something inside her, possibly one of those strange spells inscribed on her arm, had snapped.

What now, what now, what now…

This thing inside her was becoming impatient, straining against an invisible wall. Taly couldfeelthat wall now. She could see it in her mind’s eye, a vast expanse of black marble streaked with violet veins of glittering energy. It was crumbling—brick by brick, stone by stone—and there were large, gaping holes all up and down the barricade, places where she had forcibly broken through in a desperate attempt to tap into that hidden well of power.

She could even sense a bit of Skye along the magical barricade—faint wisps of his aether still clung to the edges of one of the smallest gaps. He had unintentionally removed the first brick that day in the sparring ring nearly a year ago. She was sure of it.

What now, what now, what now…

Taly closed her eyes against the relentless doubt clouding her mind. Her magic seemed to be sensitive to strong emotions, so she needed to remain calm. Two more of those strange spells had severed before she’d figured out how to shove the flood of power back behind the wall, stoppering up the gaps with will alone.

Without Aiden here, she had no one to talk to,no way to figure out just what was happening to her, and no allies. That left her with only one option. She needed to tell Skye.

He was going to be angry (well, furious), hurt, confused... He may even decide that this lie she had repeatedly told him over the past year, that she was nothing more than human, was unforgivable. That being a time mage was unforgivable. But he would know what to do. Even if he hated her, he would still help her get back to Ryme and Aiden and safety. He would never betray her.

“There you are.”

Although Taly didn’t jump, her heart started beating faster as she heard footsteps approaching.Skye—would it make her a terrible person if she let him kiss her one more time before telling him that she was a time mage? Would he be disgusted when she told him? What if he was already disgusted? What if it really had been an accident, a fluke, and he was repulsed by the very idea of having kissed a human?

Opening one eye, she saw Skye staring down at her as he leaned over the back of the couch. The sincere, open affection in his expression left her slightly breathless.

“Oh look,you’reback.” She turned onto her side when she felt her cheeks start to warm. “I already sent your brother to bed.”

“Ah… so you figured that out?” Skye asked somewhat sheepishly. She didn’t need to look up to know that he was raking a nervous hand through his hair.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

Skye sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. Kato caught me off guard yesterday in the courtyard. I had noidea he was on the island, much less a part of the Gate Watchers, and I didn’t want to say anything until I got a chance to talk to him—figure out just what he’s up to. I meant to tell you last night, but…”

She heard him shift his weight, heard the low tap of his boot on the marble tile.

“Let’s just say I gotdistracted.” A pause and then, “You see, there was this beautiful woman. We were interrupted before I could get a chance to properly kiss her, but then when she practically threw herself into my bed, well—"

“You know, I’m starting to see the family resemblance.” Taly still refused to look at him. If her face got any redder, she might actually combust.

“My brother and I look nothing alike.”

“Says you.” Sitting up, Taly mustered her best glare. Skye had been just as much of an eager participant in that kiss as she had. Why should she be embarrassed? “You’re both shameless flirts, for one.”

Skye shrugged, a wide, toothy grin splitting his face when her eyes found his. “I like to think I’m a little more discerning than my brother,” he said as he pulled a hand out from behind the couch and presented her with a fresh cup of coffee.

With a mumbled “thanks,” Taly accepted the mug, relishing the warmth of the white ceramic against her chilled skin.

---