Page 95 of Shardless

“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” Skye asked.

Taly wrapped her arms around her knees. “My hands were shaking so badly, I only managed to clip it on the foot—just so it couldn’t get away from me. It looked so pitiful, and it was crying, and… I just didn’t have it in me to pull the trigger again. I had to sell my coat just to get enough coin to have the menders heal it.”

“What’d you name it?” Skye asked knowingly.

Taly’s ears flushed. “How do you know I named it?”

“Because this isyouwe’re talking about.” Reaching for the iron poker near the mantle, Skye stabbed at the fire. “You used to name every chick in the chicken coop. Of course, you named the rabbit. You probably named it before you tried to kill it.”

“Fine…” Taly chewed on her bottom lip, looking up at him sheepishly. “I named it Marshmallow.”

“Marshmallow?” Skye arched an incredulous brow.

“Yes,” Taly replied with a small smile. “Like the human snack? It was a very fitting name, or at least I thought so at the time. Marshmallow lives beneath the tavern now, and Laurel feeds him leftovers from the restaurant. Actual leftovers—none of that shit Jay makes and then tries to pass off as food.” When Skye started laughing, Taly tried to glare at him, but it was a feeble attempt at anger. Moments later, she ducked her head, smiling.

“I guess I don’t have to ask you the same question,” she said, playfully elbowing him in the side. “You used to go hunting with Ivain every spring. And doesn’t your family host giant hunting parties every year after the summer court season concludes?”

Skye fiddled with a stray thread on the cuff of her sleeve. “Yes, they do. Still, I don’t think a few hunting trips could’ve prepared me to face an army of dead men. Not even last summer could’ve prepared me for that.”

Taly turned in his arms. “What happened lastsummer?”

Damn. He hadn’t meant to bring that up. “It’s nothing,” Skye muttered with a dismissive wave.

“There’s a lie if I ever heard one.” Her eyes looked unnaturally bright in the flickering firelight as she stared him down. “Tell me,” she demanded.

Skye held her gaze. While he would’ve preferred never to have to tell her what he’d done, Kato had sort of forced his hand. Taly would find out eventually and better she hear it from him than his brother.

“Fine… I… well, I…” Turning away, Skye took a stuttering breath. “Shit.”

“Hey,” Taly said gently. “It’s just me.”

“I know. It’s just…” A sharp pop sounded from the fireplace, and Skye reached out once more to stoke the blaze. She was right. As he let his eyes take in the soft, familiar curves of her face, he knew she was right. If he couldn’t tell Taly about one of the worst experiences of his life, then who could he tell?

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she said after a few moments had passed.

“No, it’s alright,” Skye conceded, throwing the fire iron to the side and using both arms to pull her closer.

“Last summer,” he began, “just after you left, I decided to go back to visit Ghislain a little early. My great-aunt had just had a child—the first highborn birth since I was born 25 years ago—and my mother wanted me present for all of the pomp and circumstance.”

Skye stopped, picking out a small tangle in her hair as he tried to find the right words. “So, I’m sure you know that the noble families alwayshire extra security when new children are born. Even with the decline in our fertility and our dwindling numbers, there’s been a rise in the number of highborn assassinations.”

Taly nodded. “Mostly from rival families, right?”

“Yes,” Skye answered soberly. “One evening, House Thanos was throwing a ball in my great-aunt’s honor, so everyone was away from the estate except for the child, the wet-nurse, and the household staff. Just by chance, I came back early that night. My tolerance for what you and Sarina like to call ‘courtly claptrap’ was running low.”

“Personally, I think you should just give in and embrace Ivain’s tactic of never showing up to family functions,” Taly interjected.

“I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Skye gave her a tight smile. “Anyways, when I came back to the estate, I could tell something was wrong. It was too quiet, and there were no guards on duty. We’re still not sure how it happened, but House Myridan managed to infiltrate the security team with three of their shadow mages. While the family was away, their spies compelled several members of the household staff.”

“Compelled?” Taly asked. Her hand had found its way into his, doing her best to offer him comfort. “Isn’t that like ascension?”

Skye grimaced. “Yes and no. Ascendancy is forbidden magic. It allows a shadow mage to essentially turn another individual into a thrall by removing a piece of their anima. The person will retain most of their personality, their magic, even some measure of awareness—but their free will is taken from them. Compulsion is… different. Unlike ascension, compulsion only allows for a single command, and it puts the subject into a fugue until they complete their task.”

Horror crept into her expression as the implication set in. “Shards. They compelled the servants to kill the child, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Skye said with a defeated sigh. “They did. They compelled six of our servants. I managed to subdue five of them, but the wet-nurse… she got away from me. She managed to get to the crib.”

Skye braced himself, fully expecting Taly to pull away from him when she found out what he’d done. “I was across the room and never going to get there in time—even with my magic. So, I reached for the first thing I could find. There was a knife nearby. The wet-nurse—Ava—had been peeling an apple. I threw it, and it hit her in the neck. Mortals… even once they’re turned into Feseraa, they get hurt so easily. She bled out in minutes.”

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