Page 40 of Shardless

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” Skye said, tapping her cheek.

“Stop it,” Taly mumbled as her head tipped forward. Couldn’t he see that she was tired? “Just… leave me alone.”

“No,”he whispered, tucking a finger beneath her chin and pulling her eyes back to his.“I’m not going to leave you alone, I won’teverleave you behind, so you forget that nonsense right now. You’re tired—I know that. But you need to stay awake. Please, just stay awake. Don’t go to sleep.”

He was pleading with her now, pressing his lips to her hair, her brow. His hands trembled as he wiped blood from her eyes. “Please, Tink. Aiden’s almost here. Just stay awake—that’s all you need to do. I’ll take care of the rest. I promise.”

“Skye?” Taly tried to look at him, but her eyes didn’t want to stay open.

The world was starting to go dark now.

Her vision narrowed.

No!her mind screamed, thrashing against the pain, the lethargy, the inky blackness that had started to creep in around the edges.There was something she still needed to tell him. Something important.

Her lips tried to form the words. “Skye… Em, I…”

And then it was gone. Thethought just slipped away from her, like water through outstretched fingers.

“Aiden! Over here!” Skye looked back towards the tree line and waved an arm before turningback to her. “Taly, wake up!” He started to shake her. “You’re not allowed to leave me yet! Understand?! Damn it! Come on, Tink. You just have to hold on a little longer.”

Taly felt a new set of hands poking and jabbing at her. She feebly tried to wave them away.

“This is bad. She’s going into shock.” The newcomer forcibly opened her eyes. “Taly!” he shouted.

“Aiden?” Taly couldn’t really see him. Her eyes just wouldn’t focus. Still, the voice sounded familiar.

Aiden pulled an earth crystal from his pocket. The symbol for cocin was inscribed onto the surface—an enchantment that would allow him to use the crystal as a focusing talisman. Though the fey didn’t need crystals to perform magic, a focusing talisman could exponentially increase a mage’s power—take a simple spell and turn it into something lifesaving.

“What are you doing?” Skye grabbed Aiden’s coat when the healer’s hands began to glow. “What about the venom?”

“She’s lost too much blood,” Aiden replied hastily. “If I try to bleed the venom out, shewilldie. Our best bet is to stop the bleeding now and deal with the venom later. She’s mortal. It won’t have the same effect on her as it would on us.”

Skye still looked skeptical, but he let go of Aiden’s coat.

Aiden’s hands began to glow once more, sparkling green as he summoned the spell. He took deep, even breaths, waving his hands through the air, forming and shaping the growing fog of earth magic.

Taly knew the moment the restoration spell took effect. Her skin itched as her wounds began to knit themselves back together, and her vision slowly refocused. The strange sensation of being sewn back together was excruciating, and her back arched as undulating waves of heat seared her from the inside out. Leaning against the rock face, her breath came in heavy, ragged gasps. Even after her wounds had closed, something inside her still burned.

“Taly?” Skye asked tentatively. He rested one hand on the back of her neck and turned her head to face him.

Taly took a breath to reply but winced when she felt something sharp lance her chest.

“Why isn’t she getting better?” Skye demanded, turning to Aiden.

Her limbs felt heavy, but as Aiden continued to heal her, the pain slowly began to fade. She somehow managed to reach up and grasp the hand that rested on her neck. “It’s been a hell of a day, Em. You’ll have to give me a minute.”

The sound that came out of Skye’s mouth was somewhere between a choked laugh and a sob. His eyes were red and glassy, but he was smiling as he wiped a trickle of blood off her cheek.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Aiden said, mostly to himself. He waved a hand over her, watching the bright pulse of earth magic as it searched for injuries. “No major breaks, but she’s cracked a few bones. Amazingly, no concussion.” Turning to Skye, he asked, “Do you have any more shadow crystals? These restoration spells are taxing, and the aether in the air is so thin—my magic isn’t regenerating as quickly as it would normally. If you can feed me a little more aether, I might beable to cast a second spell.”

“Of course! Why didn’t you ask sooner?” Skye frantically dug into his bag, pulling out a palm-sized shadow crystal. His fingers grazed the faceted surface as he began to prod at the magic stored within, and a violet haze gradually materialized in the surrounding air.

It didn’t take long for the aether to saturate the area. In all her life, Taly had never smelled anything so sweet. The air felt richer, more vibrant somehow, and she took in several deep, shuddering breaths, allowing the heavenly draft to soothe the burning pain that riddled her body.

As she leaned her head back, Aiden continued to work on the spells. If she were to open her eyes, she knew she would see threads of earth magic, almost like ley lines, crisscrossing her skin.

When she could finally take a breath without flinching, she mumbled, “Hey guys?”

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