Page 66 of Shardless

“Are you sure?” Taly pressed. She shifted her weight, readjusting her pack. “I thought you said you wanted to help me go over the map tonight.”

“You don’t need me for that.” Finally sparing Taly a glance, he felt a sharp pang when he saw a flicker of hurt in her eyes. She schooled her expression in an instant, and the icy glare she gave him bolstered his resolve.

“I see,” Taly replied tersely. “Well then… I guess this is goodnight.” She gave him a saccharine smile before turning to Adalet and inclining her head. “My Lady.” Then, without a backward glance, Taly turned and walked away, her head held high.

Skye watched Taly as she made her way towards the front of the tavern. She gracefully navigated the crowd, but… wait. When she turned, dodging a rowdy patron… were those tears? He leaned forward, ready to go after her, but stopped short when Adalet ran a gentle finger along the line of his jaw. The small blip in his attention lasted only a moment, but by the time he looked back towards the crowd, Taly was already gone.

As Skye leaned back, he swallowed down his uncertainty as he tried to find his composure. He was just letting her get to him. Turning back to Adalet, he slipped back into character. He could deal with Taly tomorrow. Right now, he had a beautiful, willing woman practically throwing herself at him, and that was all he needed.

Chapter 14

-From the personal diary of Talya Caro

Shards, I hate that man sometimes.

Skye’s still down there right now—with Adalet. When I came up to the room, he stayed—just waved me away with that stupid flick of the wrist that I’m sure all nobles sit and practice until it feels appropriately indifferent. Shards, why would he want to stay with that awful shrew? What does he even see in her? Yes, she’s beautiful, but the woman has the kind of personality that makes a harpy seem almost cuddly.

I should be angry at him. Anger is the only thing that I should feel right now. After all, he laughed at me tonight. Yes, let’s not forget that. After all the times that I’ve ever had to sit across the table from “Lord Emrys,” tonight is the first night he made me feel like I didn’t belong there. When that bitch calledme “quaint” and “passionate” like I was some poor, mindless pet, he just laughed and agreed with her.

Shards, I want to be angry. Anger would feel so much better than whatever it is I’m feeling right now. Really, what is this? My chest feels tight, I feel sick to my stomach, and my eyes won’t stop leaking.

For Shards’ sake, why am I crying? None of this makes any sense.

Skye started when he felt a hand brush against his neck.

He needed to stop doing that—letting his mind wander. Thankfully, Adalet hadn’t noticed. She was still prattling on about something someone did at court. Or maybe they had said something? Skye nodded, breathing a sigh of relief when she moved on, apparently pleased by his reaction.

If Taly was here… well, she wasn’t here, so that didn’t really matter. Shards, he hoped she was okay. He was starting to wish he’d gone after her, just to make sure. While he could deal with her anger—went out of his way to provoke it—he had never been able to stomach her tears.

“Skylen, darling, I can’t help but notice that you seem a little distracted,” Adalet said suddenly, breaking into his thoughts.

Damn. He’d done it again. “Sorry. It’s just been a very long day.” Leaning back, he smiled when he felt Adalet press herself more firmly against him, her fingers still toying with the collar of his shirt. This felt nice. Familiar. He’d nevermade a habit of sleeping with women on the island, and since he skipped court last season… it had been a very long time. In fact, his body was already responding to the feather-light touch of her fingers against the skin of his neck. If he could just push all thoughts of Taly to the back of his mind, he might actually be able to enjoy the rest of his evening. After all, Adalet was a very beautiful woman, and even though he knew every curve of her body, she was always finding ways to surprise him.

“You know, I daresay I’m quite impressed,” Adalet said, changing the subject. Sitting back in her chair, she unbuttoned her cloak, gracing him with a seductive smile when his eyes dipped down. “The Castaros have done a remarkable job with that little shardless of theirs. Young Talya is going to be worth a fortune once they finally decide to make her a Feseraa.”

Skye pulled back from where Adalet leaned against him, his eyes narrowing. In all the years that he’d known her, he’d never heard her speak so tactlessly before.

The noblewoman smirked as she reached for his glass. “Oh, don’t give me that look, darling. I know they’ve denied it for years now, but you can’t honestly sit here and tell me that the Castaros don’t plan to make her a Feseraa someday. Not after all the time and coin they’ve invested in grooming their little pet.”

Skye felt a muscle in his jaw start to twitch. “You should watch your tongue, Adalet,” he said, his voice edged. “I can tell you with complete certainty that the Marquess has absolutely no intention of selling Talya. She is not property. Also, she is my friend, and I do not suffer thosethat speak ill of her.”

“I meant it as a compliment, but fine,” Adalet conceded disingenuously. “Oh, Skylen, I know you’ve always been fond ofthatone, but, at the end of the day, she’s just a human. In a few centuries, I doubt you’ll even remember her name. Just ask your brother if you don’t believe me.”

Skye leaned away when Adalet moved a hand up to toy with his hair. If she noticed his growing disinterest, she didn’t let on. Instead, she allowed her hand to drop down and rest on his arm.

“You know my household started using Feseraa a few years ago,” she continued, still sipping at his ale. “It’s been an interesting experiment, to say the least. My cousin is pregnant, but, thankfully, our matriarch stopped making me try to breed with one of those things when it didn’t take the second time. Now, I pride myself on being open to new experiences, but that… well, it was like lying with an animal. With any luck, Achard will come to his senses soon. I have a hard time even being in the same room as him after he’s been rutting that beastly little creature he wanted so badly.”

Adalet went on, and Skye’s eyes grew wide as he continued to sit there, listening. Until finally, he couldn’t help but ask himself:What the hell am I doing?

Taly had just come back into his life not three weeks ago, and now he had gone and pissed her off for… for what? An easy lay with a woman who was quickly revealing herself to be a hateful bitch? A year and a half of celibacy hadn’t confused him. It had made him stupid.

“Well,” Adalet purred, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. Despite himself, a shiver randown his spine. “How about we take this upstairs?”

Clearing his throat, Skye carefully removed the hand that had made its way back to his thigh. “Actually, now that I think about it, I do have an early morning ahead of me. Maybe some other time.”

“Oh! Of… of course.” She sounded surprised. Her perfectly arched brows shot up, and a slight frown tugged at the corners of those bowed lips. “Of course, I understand. You must be very busy right now with your Gate Watchers’ duties. However… if you change your mind, I have the top floor all to myself. Please don’t hesitate to knock—no matter the hour.”

Skye watched as Adalet rose from her chair and glided across the room, heavily suspecting that the exaggerated sway of her hips was for his benefit.

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