Page 108 of Shardless

When he broke away, she was trembling, still pinned in place by the intensity of that vibrant emerald gaze, by the fathomless depth of affection shining from deep within. It made her head spin, her already ragged breathing quicken, and when he slid off the couch and yanked her to her feet, her knees buckled as soon as her feet hit the floor.

Skye caught her, one arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her body up against his. “C’mon,” he said, grinning happily as he traced a finger over one of her rapidly reddening cheeks. “We have a meeting to get to.”

“We?” Taly winced at how breathy her voice sounded. At least her knees were working again, and she took a few steps back as soon as she regained her feet, trying to get some distance. Skye just gave her that stupid smirk, and she did her best to pretend that she couldn’t feel the tips of her ears starting to warm.

“Yes. I want you there,” he said as he stooped to pick up the discarded books.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Taly’s mind flashed to that hidden wall and the churning sea of power she could feel just on the other side. She had no desire to be in a room full of shadow mages with that pool of forbidden magic simmering just beneath the surface. “I mean,” she stammered when Skye gave her a questioning glance, “why is anyone there going to want to listen to a human?”

Skye rolled his eyes. “Human or not, you were the only one smart enough to notice that there were shadow crystals embedded in these things. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, you figured out in a few hours what 15 Ensigns couldn’t in an entire day. I think you could add some useful input, and if anyone in that room has a problem with that, they can take it up with me.”

Taly sighed, once again prodding at the barrier buried deep in her mind. It seemed stable enough for now, and if Skye thought she could help, then maybe she did need to go.

“Okay,” she finally acquiesced. Shrugging on her coat, a supple brown leather duster that tapered at the waist, she turned to follow Skye.

He gave her an encouraging smile as he ushered her towards the stairs. “We should hurry. Eula was in fine form this morning and” —he closed his eyes as he listened more closely— “apparently Kato managed to insert himself into this meeting as well.”

“This sounds like it’s going to be so much fun,” Taly said dryly. She had to practically jog to keep up with his long-legged strides.

“That’s not the word I would’ve chosen, butsure.” Ever the gentleman, Skye waited for her atthe wide circular staircase, placing a hand on the small of her back as they began to descend. In a low voice, he said, “I shouldn’t have to say it, but I will. The leadership is gone, so most of the people in this meeting are going to be Marshals or Lt-Marshals. All of them are relatively new, and they’re all from the mainland. That means they’re power-hungry and stupid. They’ll think they’re better than you by virtue of their birth, but in reality, they’re all a bunch of weak-willed assholes. Don’t for one second be afraid to put them back in their place if need be. I can guarantee that you probably know more about the gates… hell, probably more about shadow magic than all of them put together.”

Taly snorted. “Way to make menotregret this decision. You know, now that I think about it, that couch up there is starting to look really nice. And Ididhave an early morning.”

The hand at her waist tightened. “The couch was a little small. And old. If you’d like, I can tell Eula to push the meeting back, and then I can take you back to bed and—”

Taly gave Skye a hard shove before he could finish that sentence. “Shards, you have a dirty mind.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he said with a devilish laugh. Coming to an abrupt halt a few steps below her, he pressed his mouth to hers—soft and gentle but demanding. There was a faint whisper of that same fire from earlier, but he held it in check. Now wasn’t the time.Later,he seemed to say. He would make it up to her later.

“You didn’t ask permission that time,” she gasped when he pulled away. At some point, she had wrapped her arms around his neck, and herfingers had made a mess of his hair.

“Do I have to ask every time?” Skye sounded just as out-of-breath as she felt.

Taly pretended to think on the matter. “Yes,” she said, smiling when he gave her a good-natured pout. “That sounds like it could be fun for me.”

“You’re an evil woman.” Chuckling softly, Skye reached down and clasped her hand, giving her a tug as they proceeded down the stairs. “And the only thing keeping me going at this point. Never change.”

That soft, heartfelt confession had Taly stepping closer, lacing her fingers with his as they continued to descend.

As they stepped off the final stair and started crossing the public section of the first-floor library, Taly could just make out a group of people gathering outside the beveled glass doors on the other side of the wide vestibule. There was Eula and Kato, but also several fey that she hadn’t been expecting.

“Here we go,” Skye whispered, giving her a wink as he schooled his features into a mask that she was all too familiar with. For once, though, Taly didn’t find herself rolling her eyes at the sudden appearance ofLordEmrys,future Duke of Ghislain. No—for once, she couldn’t help but think that the authority suited him.

She didn’t know quite what to make of that.

Chapter 23

-From the personal notes of Ivain Castaro, Marquess of Tempris

The 26thday of the month Luna, during the 247thyear of the Empty Throne

They’re doing it again—right in front of me. Eleven years and Skye and Taly still don’t think that anyone has caught on to their little game.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why they felt the need to invent their own language. It was primitive in its beginning stages, but now, I dare say, the lexicon has become quite sophisticated. Every time they start this nonsense up again, I always find myself asking the same question: why tapping? They’re both intelligent individuals—surely, they could’ve come up with something less obvious.

Thankfully, their use of this alternative method of communication has tapered off over the years. When they were younger, it was literally a never-ending percussive racket echoing back and forth across the hall. Sarina has always thought this little quirk of theirs to be “cute,” but, as I’ve told her before, she’s not the one that has to hear it vibrating the walls of the house at all hours of the night. Over time, I’ve tried reinforcing the wards on their rooms, playing music, as well as a myriad of other stratagems, but nothing has succeeded at completely drowning out the noise. I believe there was a mortal poet that summed up my plight quite succinctly: “It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.”

I don’t know why I find myself so particularly vexed this afternoon. Perhaps it’s because ever since my two young wards sat down to take their exam for applied interdimensional mathematics, the dull, rhythmic thud of tapping quill tips has pervaded my thoughts, dashing whatever hopes I had of accomplishing any of my own work this hour.

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