Page 73 of Shardless

Taly opened her mouth, ready to defendherself, but her retort died on her lips when he draped an arm across her waist and pulled her closer. “I willalwaysbe there for you, Tink,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving hers. “No matter what. No matter where we are. After all these years, I don’t know why you still can’t see that.”

“I… I thought…” Taly stammered, her heart pounding. Skye’s fingers had begun absentmindedly toying with the thin fabric of her nightdress, inadvertently grazing her skin through the lace. Taking a stuttering breath, she attempted to change the subject. “I thought I told you that you couldn’t sleep here last night.”

With a heavy sigh, Skye buried his face in the pillow. “You changed your mind,” he said, his voice muffled. “You told me I could stay.”

“I did what now?” Taly’s heartbeat spiked erratically—something she knew Skye could probably hear with those irritating enhanced senses of his.

Skye let out a low chuckle. “You did. You told me I could stay. You were all, ‘Em, please don’t go,’ but way more adorable. And then when I insisted that I sleep on the floor—just like you told me I would have to do when you were still sober—you climbed on top of me and refused to move.”

Taly didn’t know what to say to that. Her vague recollection of the event happening exactly the way he described made her distinctly uncomfortable.

“You know,” he mused lazily, “I’d forgotten just how cute you are when you’re trying to fall asleep. You’ve got this little frown, right between your eyes—almost like you’re trying toreallyconcentrate on sleeping.”

Taly instantly forgot what it was she had been about to say, her heart stumbling in a way that had never happened before. Not with Skye, at least.

“Of course,” he added, propping himself up so he could look her in the eye, “I’d also forgotten just how badly you snore.”

Wait… “What?”

Skye smiled, a devilish gleam in his eye. “Once you fell asleep, it was like there was a herd of cattle moving through here. It was uncanny.”

Taly shook him off as she struggled to sit up. “I donotsnore!”

Skye’s hands found their way to her sides, right where she was ticklish. A wide toothy, grin split his face when she gave a shriek of laughter. “Yeah. You do. Loudly.”

Working her way free of him, Taly grasped at the pillow and started pummeling him again. “I do not snore!”

Skye was laughing uncontrollably. Only half-heartedly fending off her frenzied onslaught. When he finally quieted, Taly stopped, the pillow still held at the ready. His expression looked strangely calm considering the feathery thrashing he had just endured. His lips moved, and, for a moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe, he would apologize.

She should’ve known better.

“You know I can see through your nightdress when you do that, right?”

That was the point at which Taly decided she didn’t care if he died. Bringing the pillow down, she didn’t hold back as she tried to smother him.

The rest of the morning was surprisingly uneventful. Once Skye managed to convince Taly to grant him a “stay of execution,” they packed up their things, grabbed a quick breakfast, and settled their bill. As they were leaving, Taly spied Adalet and a man she could only assume to be Lord Achard sitting in a secluded corner of the tavern down on the first floor.

“I think Jezebel is trying to get your attention,” Taly said, jerking her head towards the pair’s table.

“What?” Skye followed Taly’s gaze, a slight frown tugging at his lips when he saw Adalet’s not-so-subtle wave. He gave a polite nod before turning back to Taly. “You ready to head out?”

Taly raised a skeptical brow. “You’re not even going to say ‘hello?’ In highborn society, isn’t that some sort of social heresy?”

“Well, look at that. You do remember your manners,” Skye teased, throwing an arm around her and pulling her towards the stairs. “But no. I had more than enough of ‘Jezebel’s’ company last night. As much as you hate ‘Lord Emrys,’ he at least has enough political sway to get away with snubbing the occasional noblewoman. When my mother hears, I’m sure she’ll have a few choice words for me, but that’s nothing new.”

Despite her reddening cheeks, Taly found herself walking a step closer to him. “Has your mother been pushing you to go back to Ghislainagain?”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Skye said, wincing slightly. “She actually threatened to disinherit me and reinstate my brother as the heir when I said I’d be too busy with the Aion Gate connection to attend my fifth cousin’s wedding as well as the summer court season in Arylaan. She took that back pretty quickly, though, when she realized that nothing would make me happier.”

Taly smiled. “Skipping court and snubbing Jezebel? If you’re not careful, your reputation with the ladies might start to suffer.”

“I don’t give two shits about this so-called reputation you say I’m supposed to have,” he countered as they descended the final stair and hit the first-floor landing. “Besides—between my Gate Watchers’ duties and the fact that I’m supposed to be taking the exam to get my fifth training seal next month, I barely have enough free time to deal withyournonsense. Where the hell am I going to find the time and energy to entertain other women?”

Taly chuckled softly before giving into temptation and twining her fingers with the hand that rested on her shoulder. When she looked up, the subtle-yet-sincere smile on Skye’s face sent a surprisingly pleasant shiver down her spine.

As they stepped through the open doorway of the inn, she glanced over her shoulder and caught Adalet’s eye. To Taly’s great amusement, the catty highborn’s perfect features were screwed up in anger, and her scowl only deepened when Taly gave her a cocky wink.

By the time Taly and Skye retrieved their horses and turned south to head towards Ebondrift, a comfortable silence had settledbetween them. The forest canopy started to thin, and streaks of buttery sunlight sliced through the trees as a gentle wind rustled the leaves overhead. Leaning back in her saddle, Taly let out a pleased sigh. It was a beautiful day, and the sun felt deliciously warm against her skin. She had always loved lying out on the front steps of the manor during the summer, and when they were younger, Skye used to liken her to a lazy cat.

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