Page 39 of Shardless

She was going to die here. The realizationmade her feel cold. Up until that moment, she hadn’t truly believed it. She thought maybe—just maybe—she might find a way out. She always had before.

Not this time it seemed.

“Please stop!” Taly screamed hopelessly, pounding her fists against the stone. “Stop! Just stop!”

As she shrank away from another sharp rake of the harpy’s claws, her skin began to tingle. It was faint at first, easy to ignore, but the prickling sensation soon began to intensify, morphing into a dull burn that started at her fingertips and radiated all the way up to her shoulder. The searing pain continued to surge, overpowering the collective agony of all her other wounds and adding to her desperation.

“Please!” she wailed. “I don’t want to die here! Just stop! Please stop! Stop!Stop!”

The scar on her palm started to glow an angry violet, illuminating the small space as strange markings flickered to life across the skin of her arm. The pain pulsed, setting her blood on fire as she tipped her head back and let out an agonized scream.

And then, as if in reply to her desperate pleas, everything went quiet. Her ears rang in the unexpected silence, and she wondered briefly if she was dead. But the pain still wracking her body with every tortured breath quickly told her that she was still very much alive.

For now, at least.

When Taly finally opened her eyes, she saw that the beast stood frozen before her. Its gnarled arm was still extended, its claw fixed in place as it raked across her shoulder. But all movement hadceased. Delicate golden threads spanned the narrow divide, tangling together as they encircled the harpy’s body in a gilded, flickering web.

“What the hell?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the sound was deafening in the strange silence.

She had no idea how or why this was happening, but she wasn’t going to waste this chance. She looked for a way around the beast. Maybe with enough time, she could climb over and out? If she could get her legs to work, that is. She tried to push herself up, but the stone raked against her wounds, momentarily paralyzing her as a fresh wave of agony shuddered through her.

She didn’t have time to try again. A feeble whimper fell from her lips as the harpy started to move, exaggerated and slow at first but quickly gaining speed as it shook off whatever magic spell had stopped it in the first place.

Taly’s body started to shake as she finally gave in to the hiccupping sobs. The tears rolled freely down her cheeks, streaking the patina of blood smeared across her face. If she were lucky, maybe the harpy would puncture some vital organ, killing her before it managed to drag her back to its nest. Or perhaps she would bleed out, stuck inside this stone prison.

Closing her eyes, Taly pressed her face against the rock face, trying to force her mind to think of something happy. She didn’t want her last thoughts to be filled with pain and fear. There had to be something that would take her away from this hell. Like… like the first time she bested Skye in the sparring ring. That was a good day. She was pretty sure he had let her win, but even now, she still didn’t care.

She did her best to recall every detail about that moment. The color of the sky. The smell of the grass. The look on his face when she’d tackled him during her victory dance.

Slowly, the harpy and the pain melted away as she lost herself in the memory.

Her consciousness began to fade, and a soft darkness crept in at the edges of her vision. It beckoned her, its honeyed voice promising a blessed release from the pain and fear.

This is it, Taly thought as she embraced the icy tendrils twining around her thoughts. These were her last moments in this world. She’d had a good life with no real regrets save one—Skye. She wished she could have told him the truth—given him the answers he so desperately wanted. At the very least, she had gotten to see him again. She had gotten to spend one more perfect night sprawled out next to him in the space between their rooms, playing chess and nursing a bottle of champagne long after everyone else had gone to bed. That thought brought her a small amount of comfort as her eyelids fluttered closed.

A loud crunch punctuated the chaotic din, startling Taly awake. The harpy stopped reaching for her as it went quiet, its mouth gaping and its body twitching. The tip of a sword peeked out of the creature’s chest, and flames lapped at the edges of the wound. As Taly looked into the beast’s mournful, glassy eyes, she felt a small pang of sadness as the light slowly dimmed and then faded away completely. The harpy was dead, its thirst finally sated.

She heard a grunt from beyond the opening as the harpy’s limp carcass was forcefully removed and thrown to the side.

“Taly?!” came a panicked voice.

Taly wanted to cry in relief. It was Skye. She had never been so happy to see that arrogant bastard in all her life. “I’m here,” she croaked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Thank the Shards!” His face came into view, sweat and blood streaking his skin. “Take my hand!”

Taly shifted, trying to extend her arm, but her body didn’t want to obey her commands. She tried again, but the tight space and sudden lethargy pinned her in place. “I can’t,” she said, her words starting to slur together.

Skye crammed his body farther into the gap and reached for her. His fingers grazed the tattered remains of her sleeve, and he attempted to pull her forward. “Please, Taly! You have to help me!”

“That hurts, Skye,” Taly murmured tiredly as he continued to tug at her. “Stop… that hurts.” Despite her protests, when his searching hand found hers, she grasped it instinctively.

The rock pulled at her clothing and skin as he edged her forward.

“How did you find me?” she asked as he gently laid her against the cliff face. The cool air felt wonderful as it wafted across her bloodstained skin. “There are no roads on this part of the island.”

Skye barked out a mirthless laugh. “Aiden was able to cast a locator spell once you hit the ground. I followed you on foot. Aiden and Aimee are behind me with the horses.”

Now that the danger had passed, everything seemed much less urgent. Even the pain had started to fade into the background. For somereason, Taly was having a hard time remembering why Skye looked so concerned. Her eyelids fluttered as her exhaustion started to overtake her.

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