Page 63 of Shardless

Taly’s nose scrunched up as she glowered at him. “You’re a jerk.” Picking up her reins, she gave her horse a sharp kick and proceeded to race ahead of him.

The sun had just begun to set when they stopped to board the horses. Taly stopped at the town message board, flipping through the various flyers while Skye paid the stable boys. As he came up behind her, he frowned in confusion. There seemed to be an unusual number of missing person notices. Glamographs of their faces blanketed the board. While there was always a slight uptick in these sorts of issues when the Aion Gate was charging, Skye couldn’t remember ever seeing so many sets of eyes staring back at him from the patchwork of leaflets and flyers papering the wall.

“I know some of these people. They’re salvagers,” Taly said, her forehead puckering. She gingerly fingered one of the notices. There was no glamograph for that person, just a name and a short description.

Skye placed a hand on her shoulder. “Well, salvaging is dangerous work, especially when the Aion Gate is charging.”

“Only if you’re stupid,” Taly replied with a snort. “These guys weren’t stupid.”

“Even so, I’m glad you’re not out there anymore.”

Taly’s lips quirked to the side. “I was doing just fine until your girlfriend tried to take me out.”

“Would you please stop calling Aimee my girlfriend? It wasn’t funny the first time, thesecond time, or the 100thtime, and it’s not funny now.” Skye smoothed out one of the notices for a lowborn man he recognized. He’d seen him delivering meat to the Gate Watchers’ compound in Ebondrift just a few months ago. “Believe me when I say that Aimee and I are never going to happen,” he added distractedly.

“Really?” Taly asked, and if Skye had been paying attention, he would’ve seen the sly gleam in her eye. “You and she have never… not even once?”

Skye’s head whipped around. “Are you kidding? I can’t believe you would even ask me that. You know I can’t stand that woman.”

Taly shrugged. “Last time I checked, you didn’t have to like a person to go to bed with them.”

And just like that, Skye’s bad mood settled back over him like a cloud. “And you would know that how?”

“Sorry, Skye,” she said, enjoying herself a little too much. “You’re going to have to buy me a drink before you get to hear about myconquests.”

Sighing, she gave the pictureless missing person notice one more look before turning and making her way towards the tavern. “I’m sure Caleb’s fine. Knowing him, he’s drunk off his ass in a bar somewhere and forgot to check in.”

“Sounds like you were running with a great crowd,” Skye muttered as he followed her down the dusty path.

The tavern in Della was housed in what Skye could only guess used to be a fine hotel. The columns that flanked the entrance were stained but made of marble, and massive blocks of smooth granite formed the exterior walls. An old sign hung out front, and though the letters had faded,he could still make out the words “The Radiance Hotel.”

“I need to go see someone before she heads out,” Taly said as they ascended the wide stone steps that led to a large, weather-worn veranda. “I’m hoping she’ll have more information on whether that downed tree affected the wards.”

“Sounds good.” Skye reached over and grabbed her pack, slinging it over his shoulder. “While you do that, want me to order you something to eat?”

Taly turned and bounced up and down, her face lighting up with excitement. “Oh, Shards, yes! I’m starving.”

“Again?” Skye asked, laughing. She had downed at least three packets of nutrient paste since they had left the Swap. Considering how little nutrition humans generally needed, he wasn’t quite sure where she was putting it all.

Taly attempted to glare at him, but the effect was lost when she immediately cracked a smile. “Don’t judge me,” she said. “I danced with a harpy and lived to tell the tale. I think that entitles me to a few snacks.” Not waiting for his response, she gave him a wave as she stepped through the open doorway of the dilapidated hotel and made her way to the bar.

The room wasn’t overly crowded, and Skye managed to find a table set against the back wall. Slumping down in an open seat, he watched the patrons as they came and went, patiently waiting for the barmaid to return with their food. A mishmash of people filled the room—some were native to the island, but he noticed quite a few travelers from the mainland as well.

Taly was leaning against the bar in theadjacent room, speaking with a human woman that, though advanced in years, looked strong beneath the worn leathers she wore.

A hunter,Skye thought, eyeing the bow at the woman’s feet.

The old woman scratched at her shorn head while Taly hunched over the bar top, hastily scribbling notes. When the bartender poured two shots from a bottle of what looked like moonshine, the ladies toasted, drank, and then slammed their glasses back on the bar. Taly choked and coughed, and the hunter let out a throaty laugh, slapping the younger woman on the back as she struggled to swallow what was most assuredly an overly strong and foul-tasting liquor.

They exchanged a few more words before Taly started scanning the room for him. Skye gave her a wave before leaning back, his eyes following her as she deftly navigated the narrowly spaced tables.

“Hey! What’d you get?” she asked as she threw herself down into the chair next to him.

“Hydra stew,” Skye replied. “Sounded better than bugbear. I also got us some ale.”

Taly chuckled and rested her elbows on the table. “Wow. Buying me a drink already? Do you really want to hear about all of my many jilted lovers that badly?”

Skye threw up his hands. “Okay, you made your point. You’re an adult, and you can do whatever you want with whomever you want. I get it. I shouldn’t have said anything, and I’m sorry.” He drummed his fingers against his thigh, fidgeting with one of the buckles on his armor. “What’d you find out about the road?”

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