Page 89 of Shardless

“Just a little longer!” Taly shouted back.

“That’s it!” Skye’s voice said over the comm. “I see the crystal! Cease fire! I’m going in!”

Through the haze, Taly could see Skye reachinto his pocket, pulling out a cluster of shadow crystals. The air around him began to glow as he drained the aether from the crystals, each one dropping to the ground as the light within was extinguished. He kept reaching into his pocket, draining crystal after crystal until a brilliant blaze of shadow magic completely enveloped his form, wispy tendrils of smoke lashing at the air around him.

His head turned, his attention momentarily diverted. Time seemed to slow as his eyes scanned the top of the tower, searching for her. Although she could barely make out his face at this distance, she knew that he could see her clearly.

Turning back to the monster, Skye took a single step toward the creature, his body tensing as he rushed forward. He almost seemed to blink out of existence as he charged the beast, traveling at a speed that Taly’s human eyes couldn’t follow.

A set of arms grabbed Taly around the waist, roughly pulling her off the platform. She let out a sharp cry as she was thrown on the ground, going still when Kit covered her body with his own just seconds before an explosion rocked the tower.

Taly could feel Kit’s harsh breathing fanning out across the skin of her neck as he pressed her into the ground. Lifting a trembling hand to her ear, she listened for voices. All she got was static.

As panic set in, she pushed at Kit’s shoulder. “Skye… what happened to Skye?” Wriggling out from underneath the exhausted shadow mage, Taly scrambled to her feet. Thankfully, the explosion had been relatively minor, and only the immediate area around the tower gun had been scorched. Though the wiring underneath the platform was still on fire, it was already burning itself out.

There was no movement in the square below. The shadow mages watched the area where the beast had thrashed about just moments before with wary eyes, massive girders and beams held in their hands as they tried to decide whether to attack or retreat. A heavy silence fell over the fey still crowding the wall as they all waited.

Taly leaned against the edge of the tower balustrade for support. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she grasped at the stone ledge until her knuckles turned white. Kit came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Lord Emrys?” Eula’s voice cut through the static on the comm. “Skye, report. Are you okay?”

Taly clasped her hands in front of her. “Please, please, please,” she prayed silently as Kit’s grip on her shoulder tightened.

Something moved in the cloud of smoke, and the circle of shadow mages took a step back. As the wind picked up, blowing at the debris and dust that hung in the air, a silhouette began to emerge, the edges of his slender form sharpening as the breeze cleared away the last of the fog.

Taly’s shoulders shook, and she wasn’t sure if she was laughing or sobbing. “Skye,” she breathed, covering her mouth with her hands. “Thank the Shards.”

Even from the tower roof, Taly could see Skye’s chest rising and falling as he gasped for air. He stood over the unmoving creature, his armor and skin covered with gore, violet flames of shadow magic still lapping at his skin. His sword protruded from the beast’s charred flesh. Though his arm hung limply at his side and fresh rivulets of blood now streaked his sleeve, Skye clutched ata single shadow crystal, torn from the gaping hole carved into the side of the beast.

“Holy shit, he did it,” Kit whispered from beside her. “He actually did it.”

Skye moved to take a step, but he stumbled, the crystal dropping from his hand. The other mages rushed forward, grabbing at him before he could fall to his knees. Propping him up, they had to half-carry him off the battlefield.

Taly turned to look up at Kit with wide eyes. “Skye’s hurt. I thought shadow mages couldn’t get hurt when they’re channeling that much aether. What’s wrong with him, Kit?”

Kit wrapped his arms around Taly, pulling her closer when her shoulders started to shake. “I don’t know. But I promised to deliver you to your Lord Emrys, and that’s what I intend to do.” Pulling away, he forced her chin up and looked her in the eye. “Let’s go find him.”

Chapter 19

-An excerpt from the Moonfall Morning Post

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“Ow! Fuck!” Skye yelped. A long string of muttered curses fell from his lips as he felt the waves of earth magic lapping at his skin, knitting his broken and battered body back together. His stained armor and tattered shirt lay off to the side, and he sat in a secluded corner of the courtyard, allowing one of the earth mages to tend to his wounds.

In the wake of the battle with what they were now calling the “abomination,” the shadow mages’ outdoor crafting area at the compound had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. A babel of pained cries filled the air, almost drowning out the steady patter of heavy rain striking the metal awning that sheltered the wounded.

Most of the injured fey sat quietly, their eyes closed in meditation. The fey’s natural ability to heal was directly related to how much aether saturated their blood, and nearly every mage in the keep had thoroughly drained their magic over the course of the past day. An assortment of fading bruises and half-healed lacerations marred the immortal bodies scattered throughout the courtyard, their injuries slowly fading as they focused their will on increasing their body’s natural rate of aether absorption.

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