Page 64 of Shardless

“Oh!” Taly sat up and pulled out her notesagain. “I was right. The tree’s been cleared. My contact didn’t know anything about the wards, though. I figure we can take our chances with the main road tomorrow, but I should still sit down and chart out a few alternatives tonight just in case.”

“Let me watch when you do. I want to see these so-called ‘hunting trails.’ Maybe then I won’t get so easily manipulated next time.”

Taly laughed as she put away the roll of papers. “Sure thing. Although, I think you might be a lost cause. Your sense of direction was always pretty pitiful.”

Ignoring the obvious bait (he’d gotten them lostonetime), Skye just smiled, content to enjoy the comfortable silence that had settled between them as they waited for their food.

As soon as their meal came, Taly tore into it with an eagerness that was a little disconcerting. He opened his mouth, a teasing comment at the ready, but a commotion from across the room caught his attention.

“Lord Emrys!” a woman called from the doorway. Skye looked up, his eyes widening in surprise as he caught sight of one of the very last people he had expected to see in Della. The great-granddaughter of a high-ranking Countess, the woman currently weaving her way across the room had the kind of elegance and grace that most ladies at the Dawn Court could only dream of—a vision of loveliness, even among the highborn fey. Everything about her, from the demure upsweep of her inky hair to the light brush of color across her cheeks, only served to highlight and enhance her flawless beauty.

“Lord?” Taly mouthed, rolling her eyes.

“Behave,” he mumbled under his breath. “Or I’ll tell Sarina that your year spent salvaging made you forget your manners.” Taly made a face at him, but she complied, schooling her expression and sitting up a little straighter in her chair.

“Lord Emrys, what a pleasant surprise,” the woman crooned as she approached, fluttering her unnaturally full lashes. She gave him a deep curtsey and then waited for her manservant, a scrawny lowborn teen, to bring over a chair. Taking a seat, she waved the boy away with a delicate gesture.

“Lady Spero,” Skye acknowledged, slipping on his noble façade like a second skin. “Talya, this is Lady Adalet Spero of House Tira. Lady Spero—Talya Caro, the Marquess Castaro’s ward.”

“My Lady,” Taly said, bowing her head as the other woman’s superior station required.

Adalet’s bright sapphire eyes lit up. “Oh my! You must bethatTalya!” She placed a familiar hand on Skye’s arm. “Skylen’s told me so much about you.”

“Has he now?” Taly replied cautiously.

“Oh, yes. Skylen and I go way back.” Adalet’s hand moved down his arm, caressing the skin of his wrist in a way that made shivers go down his spine. Her voice dropped, and a seductive smile curved her lips. “Wayback.”

Taly’s eyes flashed and her lips pursed, but otherwise, her expression remained respectfully neutral. “Ah. I see,” she replied evenly.

“Oh, Skylen,” Adalet said with a sigh, pulling on his arm and leaning in so that he could see the generous swell of her breast spilling out of her pale blue bodice. Her household’s crest—a spiraling gust of wind—was artfully tattooed along thelength of her collarbone and four thin lines streaked the skin between her breasts. The pale white ink nearly disappeared into her skin. “I dare say I’m not the only one that missed you at court last season, but I can say with certainty that I missed you the most. Where were you?”

Skye laughed lightly. Adalet was perhaps the only thing he had ever truly enjoyed about his visits to the Dawn Court. He had met her when he was 19, during his second season at court, and after their first night spent together, he had continued to seek her out every season since.

“I’m sorry,” he replied smoothly. The noblewoman smiled coyly when he intertwined his fingers with hers and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. He could almost hear Taly rolling her eyes in the background, but he paid her no mind. The lie he’d rehearsed a million times in his head slipped past his lips. “I had matters to attend to in Ghislain. My father was insisting that I start helping with the Mechanica, and then Marquess Castaro called me back early to assist with the Aion Gate.”

Adalet smiled, her eyes raking over him appraisingly. Even though Skye knew that she had no personal interest in elevating her current station, he chuckled slightly when he saw the light flush in her cheeks at the mention of his family’s claim to wealth and power. The Mechanica was a famed legion of armored knights. Their mechanical suits could grant the strength and agility of a shadow mage to anyone, even a mortal, and House Ghislain alone knew the secrets behind the crystal-powered armor.

“Well, duty calls, I suppose,” Adalet replied airily. “Although, now that I’ve seen it in person, Isimply cannot fathom why you chose to stay on this island rather than attending the university in Arylaan. For Shards’ sake, everyone still gets around using horses, of all things. I’m surprised you even have running water.”

Skye flicked a piece of dust from his trousers. “Now, Adalet. Tempris is not that bad. True, it isn’t as grand or progressive as Arylaan, and we’re still working on repairing the air trams in addition to a few other things, but if you can look past all that, the island has its charms.”

Adalet raised a skeptical brow. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” Leaning in, she remarked, “You missed out on one of the most eventful seasons to date last winter. Lord Tidas…” Adalet stopped, clearing her throat as she turned to Taly. “I’m terribly sorry. Lord Aaron Tidas. He’s the heir to House Corvell.”

Taly smiled politely. “I know who he is. You’ll find that I’m quite well-versed in both the standings of the current noble houses and their genealogies.”

Adalet’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! How refreshing! It’s so rare to encounter mortals with any meaningful knowledge of the nobility. Well, as I was saying, Lord Tidas made a public announcement at the Crystal Masquerade. Apparently, he’s planning to form a” —she turned her head from side-to-side before continuing in a conspiratorial whisper— “soul bond.”

“Now thatisscandalous,” Skye said as he took a sip of his ale. “But then again, Lord Tidas always was a fool.”

“I’m sorry,” Taly interjected. “Perhaps I’m missing something. What’s soscandalously foolishabout forming the bond? Exchanging a piece ofyour soul with the person you love most? I think that sounds romantic.”

Adalet looked at Taly pitifully. “Oh, poor dear. How adorably quaint.” Skye saw Taly arch a brow, but she remained quiet as Adalet continued on. “I suppose if I only had a century to live, then perhaps I would be satisfied with a single mate too. With our lifespans, however, it makes no sense to permanently tie ourselves to just one partner. There’s far too much to do. Too much totaste.” Here, Adalet turned to Skye, pressing her leg against his underneath the table. Skye covered his smile with his hand, feeling the back of his neck flush slightly at the memories her words evoked.

“So, what you’re saying” —Taly paused for a moment, waiting until she had Adalet’s full attention— “is that your entire species is afraid of commitment?” Taly’s lips quirked to the side when she saw Adalet frown indelicately. “Except, of course, for Lord Tidas.”

Skye bit back a laugh. “No, Talya,” he said when he heard Adalet suck in a sharp breath, preparing to speak. The woman had a barbed tongue, and the last thing he wanted was to see her turn it on Taly. Reaching for the lessons that had been drilled into him when he was still just a young boy in Ghislain, he said, “The real reason the highborn avoid soul bonds is practicality. The bond is permanent, and almost always precludes the execution of breeding contracts—something that, in addition to helping us mitigate the effects of our declining fertility, is used to form political alliances between households.”

When Taly continued to stare at him with that familiar, raised eyebrow, Skye tried to elaborate. “Let’s take Lord Tidas as an example.He’s currently serving out the term of a breeding contract with a lady from House Arylaan. If he were to take a bondmate right now, the magic that forms the bond between him and his intended mate would nullify the spells sealing the breeding contract. In other words, the contract would be rendered null and void.

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