Page 121 of Shardless

“We let them in,” he continued, his voice strained, “thinking that maybe the Shards had granted us a blessing. But our joy was short-lived. House Myridan attacked us again that night. Notfrom across the battlefield. From within our own camp.Oursoldiers. They had turned our own people against us.

“We tried to fight back, but you can’t kill something that’s not alive. We slashed and hacked at those that we had welcomed back that morning, but they just got back up, reattaching limbs regardless of whether it had been theirs to begin with. My entire unit was slaughtered that night. The only reason I survived was because I ran. I ran despite the screams at my back. I ran despite the stench of my comrades’ own blood that filled my nose. I and the few others that managed to survive—we’re alive because we ran. We were able to warn the Genesis Council and their commanders because we ran. The war would’ve been lost if not for our cowardice.”

Aiden felt rooted to the spot. He had never heard his uncle speak more than a few words at a time regarding his involvement in the Shade Rebellion. The flickering light from a nearby lamp cast a long shadow over the older man’s haggard face as he continued his story. “This is not an enemy that you can fight with honor, boy. Anyone that has stooped so low as to create shades, to raise the dead and brutalize their bodies for personal gain, has abandoned integrity. We will do what we can to help those that we lost, but you need to accept right now that we won’t be able to save them all. As much as it pains me to say it, sometimes, it will be better to run. Sometimes, the greater good will require the abandonment of the fallen. And as you will come to learn, sometimes, it will be kinder to kill. For those that have already been captured, a swift death would be a mercy.”

Not for the first time that day, Aiden’sstomach sank. Straightening his shoulders, he looked out over the crowd of people that stood along the wall. A few shadow mages stalked up and down the walkway behind him, trying to repair the wards that had been damaged in the initial blast. Thankfully, the protective spells woven between the very stones of the towering city walls had absorbed the brunt of the explosion, sparing the main gates. Lazy wisps of smoke still rippled through the air, blotting out the starlit sky, but Ryme’s defenses were intact.

“Anything?” a new voice asked wearily. “Were you able to find them?”

Turning, Aiden saw Sarina trudging down the walkway. Her clothes had been singed and her skirts ripped, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Closing his eyes, Aiden mentally prodded at the two locator spells he currently had active. After having spent most of the afternoon tending to the wounded, his magic was spent, and he barely had enough aether left to pluck at the strings of the enchantments. Thankfully, he’d had the foresight to cast the spells several days ago, just after he returned to the manor only to find that Taly had decided to tag along with Skye.

“I found them,” he replied, the ardent look of hope that lit up Sarina’s face making his stomach churn. “Skye is in Ebondrift, but Taly’s not with him. I don’t have enough aether left to get an exact location, but I think she’s somewhere just outside of Vale.”

Sarina smoothed back her auburn hair and wiped at a few stray tears that had streaked her soot-stained cheeks. “I should be angry,” she whispered. “Shards, I should be angry at that girl. And you, for letting her leave,” she said, turning toAiden, who hung his head.

Even though Sarina couldn’t know the full extent of his guilt, the reprimand struck at him, wedging open something that had already cracked. He had failed his duty as a Crystal Guardsman. The first link to the Time Shard to surface in over two centuries, and he had lost her. “I’m sorry, Sarina,” he said, looking away. “If I’d known that Taly would immediately up and leave to follow Skye to Ebondrift, I never would’ve cleared her. I would’ve told her she needed to stay in bed.”

Sarina sighed as she came to stand next to Ivain. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” she amended when she saw the stricken look on Aiden’s face. “It’s not your fault. Even on her best behavior, Taly is difficult and headstrong. And honestly, I can’t help but think that everything worked out for the best. If she had stayed, she very well might’ve been all alone at the manor when those things attacked, and we wouldn’t have been able to get to her. Thank the Shards that Aimee just happened to come into town with you today and that the fighting never reached the clinic.”

“I told you Skye would end up taking Taly with him,” Ivain said a little smugly. “You know that boy has never been able to tell herno. He’d cut his own arm off if she asked him to.”

“Yes, yes.” Sarina waved a dismissive hand. “You were right, and I was wrong. Apparently hoping that those two would learn to exercise a little common sense was too much to ask.”

“That’s not the only thing I was right about, little sister,” Ivain replied pointedly.

Sarina did not seem pleased, and the glare she leveled at her brother had Aiden shrinkingback. Ivain wasn’t even fazed, apparently used to weathering his sister’s ire. “Fine, you were also right about the combat training,” she conceded with a huff. “Both for myself and probably for Taly as well. Happy?”

Ivain clasped his hands behind his back as he stared into the darkened forest, his breath puffing in the brisk night air. “Not really. I had hoped that neither one of you would ever have need of those skills. But if there’s one thing the war taught me, it’s that you hope for the best but plan for the worst.”

Sarina placed a hand on his shoulder. “Has there been any news on the scrying relay?”

Ivain shook his head. “Not yet.”

Aiden grimaced. It was luck and luck alone that had allowed them to save the town’s main scrying relay. Two air mages hiding in the relay tower just happened to stumble upon the device that had been rigged to go off, and they were able to use their magic to contain the explosion.

They all looked up when someone came jogging down the walkway.

“Sire,” the young fey girl stammered as she skidded to a stop in front of Ivain, sketching out a stiff bow. She was small, smaller than even Taly, and her inky hair had escaped from the knotted twist at the base of her neck. “It’s the relay. There’s a message coming in from Vale.”

“I stand corrected,” Ivain muttered.

“Go,” Sarina said to her brother. “We’ll catch up.”

With a nod, Ivain pushed past the girl and headed for the stairs at a pace that only a shadow mage could sustain. Aiden and Sarina followed him, taking the stairs two at a time even thoughthey had no hope of keeping up.

Aiden prodded at the locator spell. A little pinprick of light sputtered to life in his mind’s eye, faint but still there. Taly. She was alive and in Vale.

As Aiden followed Ivain and Sarina across town to the relay center, hope began to blossom. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t failed in his duty to the Shards. The last time mage—maybe it was still possible to bring her home.

Chapter 26

-From the personal notes of Ivain Castaro, Marquess of Tempris

The 22ndday of the month Meridian, during the 236thyear of the Empty Throne

It’s days like this that make me question whether we truly deserve to endure as a species. Last night, Vale, Plum, and Bago were burned to the ground. I had heard there was a rumor that someone saw a time crystal near the old palace, but I never thought that a mere rumor would warrant this level of destruction. After almost five decades without a death that could be attributed to the Hunt, I had hoped that the Sanctorum had finally managed to curb their bloodlust. It seems I was wrong—so horribly wrong.

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