Page 68 of Shardless

Skye barked out a laugh. She was back to flinging insults and telling him he was filthy. That had to be a good sign. “I get that I can’t stay here, but can I at least use your shower?”

Taly nodded, turning away as she settled back on the bed.

Digging through his pack for a fresh set of clothes, Skye decided to take a chance and ask a question that had been eating away at him allevening. “So… Ivain’s never hosted Lord Achard, and, as far as I know, you’ve never met him. How do you know what he looks like?”

Taly laughed, her face lighting up. “I don’t.” When Skye raised a brow in question, she shrugged. “What? You think I actually saw him?”

“Didn’t you?”

“No,” she said as though it should’ve been obvious. “My contact here at the inn told me that Achard arrived last night with his new human consort and that they haven’t left their room since they checked in. My contactalsotold me that he asked for this specific Feseraa by name—beforeshe’d had her first child—and that he very nearly came to blows with House Tira’s representative when he was informed that the girl had been promised out to no less than three other men. Apparently, he knew her before she joined the Feseraa. At least, that’s the rumor.”

“In other words, you were gossiping with the drunks at the bar. Let’s skip ahead to the part where you decided to make trouble.”

Taly’s smile widened. “Well, I know you were a little distracted back there, but that’s a very different story than what Jezebel was trying to sell us. And she was already being such a bitch. I figured that if I was going to have to sit there and watch while she tried to feel you up beneath the table, I should at least get to have a little fun. So, I took a chance. Did you see how angry she got? It almost made having to talk to her worth it.”

“Shards,” Skye groaned, shaking his head and grinning. “How do you fit so much evil into such a tiny body?” Tossing the bottle of brandy on the bed, he said, “Here. Set up the drinking game while I’m in the shower.”

“Drinking game?”

“Yes. I’ve decided to get you drunk. You’re much nicer to me when you’re drunk.”

“You’re less of an ass when I’m drunk.” Taly reached for the bottle and popped the cork in a single, practiced move. “Well, if we’re doing a drinking game then I want to play Lords and Ladies.”

Skye rolled his eyes. “Of course, you do. But let me ask you this—are the cards you brought with you glamoured?” When Taly shrugged, he said, “No. It’s no fun if you cheat. My vote’s for Coins.”

“That’s boring.”

“Then let’s make it more interesting,” Skye called out as he closed the washroom door. He breathed a sigh of relief as he peeled off his dusty armor and dropped it on the floor. Lifting his arms high overhead, he groaned as he felt the muscles of his back stretch and shift. “Whoever manages to put a coin in the glass, the other person has toeither—and here’s where it gets interesting—answer a questionhonestlyor take a drink.”

A loud bang resounded through the thin, wooden partition, making Skye jump. “What was that?”

“I’m practicing,” Taly called from the other side of the door. “I’m going to learn all your secrets tonight, Em.”

Skye took a quick shower, the dull thump of coins bouncing off of wood followed shortly by the clink of glass spurring him to hurry. Her aim was starting to get a little too accurate.

Dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a casual shirt, he toweled off his hair as he opened the door, gathering up the scattered collection of coinslittered across the floor.

“You ready to do this?” he asked as he flopped onto the bed. Taly leaned against the wall, so he pulled himself up into a sitting position beside her. He grabbed the bottle out her hands and took a long swig.

“You’re going down,” she said, jingling a bag of coins.

They started out easy, asking silly questions that both already knew the answer to. While Taly’s aim was pretty good, Skye’s was better. He may have been using just the tiniest bit of aether, but, in his defense, they hadn’t laid down any rules against using magic.

When Taly’s cheeks were starting to look flushed from the alcohol, Skye decided to get a bit more daring. Flicking his wrist, he smiled when the little brass coin landed in the glass. “Okay, serious question now,” he said, waiting for her to turn to him. “Why did you run away last year?”

Taly frowned. “I thought you promised you wouldn’t pry.”

“I never said for how long,” Skye replied with a shrug.

Taly held his gaze as she took a generous drink from the bottle. She missed her next turn, and Skye laughed at the forlorn pout on her face when he made his next shot.

“Same question,” he said.

Taly took another nip from the bottle. They repeated this cycle two more times until she exclaimed, “You can keep asking, but I’m just going to keep drinking.”

Damn. He was hoping that would work. A few more drinks, and maybe it would have.

“You’re going to have to tell me someday,” hesaid quietly.

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