Page 16 of Shardless
He thought he saw the corners of Taly’s mouth twitch, but he also could’ve been imagining it. Her posture remained stiff and tense, and she continued to stare straight ahead, pretending to ignore him.
Kicking at a rock on the side of the road, Skye sighed as he pulled at the lapels of his greatcoat. They were approaching the outer edge of the manor grounds, and tiny bell-shaped blooms blanketed either side of the gravel road. Though it was a little late in the season for snowdrops, it seemed even the manor itself was trying to thaw the girl’s icy demeanor. Taly had always had a special appreciation for the little flower. For years, Sarina helped her plant countless bulbs at the first signs of spring, and they had eventually enlisted Skye’s help as well. As time passed, the snowy blossoms had completely taken over the surrounding area.
Looking down at his silent companion, Skye felt a twinge of irritation. Maybe he’d been wrong earlier. Maybe the little brat did need goading. After all, if she wasn’t going to make any effort at playing nice, why should he?
“You’re not in the talking mood. I get it,” Skye said, waving a hand. “That’s no problem. Since it’s been a while since we’ve gotten a chance to catch up, why don’t I tell you about everything that’shappened at the manor since you’ve been gone?”
Taly huffed as she finally turned to glare up at him through narrowed eyes.
“I’ll take that as a yes!” Skye proclaimed enthusiastically. “Let’s see… where to start? Sarina took up knitting a few months ago. That’s been interesting. There’s yarn everywhere now. I know you were always a bit allergic to wool, so watch out for that. And then… oh, shit! Oh no…” Skye brought a hand up to cover his smile when he saw Taly glance over at him before whipping her head back around to stare at the road. “I just remembered. Our hot water went out this morning.”
Although Taly’s expression remained stoic, she couldn’t fool Skye. He had been using his magic to read her reactions since they were children. While most shadow mages liked to channel their aether in order to increase their stamina, speed, or strength, Ivain had taught him that aether augmentation could be an even more effective tool when wielded with a slightly subtler hand.
Skye bit back a sharp bark of laughter when his magically enhanced ears picked up a sudden spike in her heart rate.That got her attention, he thought, making a show of clearing his throat as he tried to suppress another chuckle. If there was one thing that Taly Caro felt strongly about, it was hot water.
Skye rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah… sorry. I probably should’ve mentioned that before. There was an aether surge this morning, and it overloaded the shadow crystals powering the primary water heater. There’s no hot water at all, and the plumber that came out said it would beat leasttwo weeks until he could get around to replacing the shadow crystals in the damaged circuit.”
“You’re lying,” Taly muttered. “You and Ivain are both shadow mages. Either one of you could fix it.”
Skye did his best to suppress the wide grin he could feel tugging at the corners of his mouth. At least she was talking to him now. “True, but we’re bothsobusy right now with the Gate Watchers—what with the Aion Gate connection and everything that goes along with it. This is my first charging cycle acting as a full-fledged Watcher, and I’ve got so much…stuffthat I need to do. And don’t get me started on the things. Shards, the things! And then after the things, more stuff.” Skye peeked at Taly from the corner of his eye, noting the way she fidgeted with the sleeve of her coat. She was agitated now.
“Let’s see, what else?” Skye tilted his head and then snapped his fingers. “Oh! Your room. You might notice a few changes. I was getting tired of having to goall the wayout to the workshop when I needed to work on something, so I converted it into a secondary crafting space. I mean, you weren’t using it anymore, and it was right across the hall.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Taly ground out through clenched teeth.
“I was hoping you would say that,” Skye said with an exaggerated sigh of relief. To his growing amusement, he could see that one of her eyes had started to twitch. “I’m actually really excited for you to see what I did with your bed. It’s a weapon rack now. When I started the project, Ivain said that you still needed to be able to use the room incase you wanted to stay the night. So, here’s what I did—the rack folds down into a bed. Genius, right? Granted, I’m still working out some of the kinks. For example, you might feel something poking you in the back if you try to lie down. If that happens, don’t worry about it. That’s a known issue.”
Skye scratched the back of his head. “No… actually, on second thought, you probably should worry. Because it might be a dagger. Or a sword. And Shards, you humans are so fragile. One cut, and you just bleed all over the place.”
Taly’s hands fisted at her sides, and she opened her mouth to say something before thinking better of it.
“Youespecially,” Skye continued. “I mean, you were always kind of small, but now? I’m starting to think you moved out just so you could go on a diet. I think you even lost height. Yeah… you’re definitely shorter.” He held out a hand just above her head, laughing when she slapped it away. Taly had always been self-conscious about her height. Even when she was stretching, she barely came up to his chin. “I guess that means we won’t be sparring anymore. You’re just too… what’s the word? Dainty? Yes,daintyis a word I would use to describe you now.”
Taly let out a frustrated growl before muttering under her breath, “No, he’s not worth it.” Skye was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to hear that, but, oh well. It’s not like she wasn’t well aware of how aether augmentation worked.
Skye tilted his head as he pretended to consider something. “That might explain why Sarina has been shopping so much lately. Just the other day, she was telling me that she was justdyingto get you into a ballgown. I know you used to hate formal wear, but I really think satin and lace will suit you much better now. You know, because you’re sodainty. And delicate. Yes!Delicateanddainty—that describes you perfectly now.”
Taly’s cheeks were starting to get red. When she blew at a piece of hair that had fallen into her face, Skye’s eyes were once again drawn to the tangled mop that curled around her shoulders. Truthfully, he had been a bit startled when he saw that she’d cut her hair. For as long as he’d known her, she had kept it long, either falling in loose waves down her back or pulled back into a tight plait. Now, the short, flaxen strands stuck out in a style that strangely suited her.
Unable to resist the urge, he tugged on an errant lock. “I don’t know what Sarina is going to do with this mess, though. Did you cut it yourself or something?”
Taly’s face scrunched up, and she rounded on him. “Shards! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” she cried as she started punching and shoving him. “You’re a jerk!”
“Finally!” Laughter bubbled up out of his chest as he fended off her assault. “I was starting to think I’d picked up the wrong girl!”
“I amnotdainty!” Taly let out another scream as Skye grabbed her fists.
“I’m sorry,” he managed to gasp before he doubled over.
“No, you’re not!” Taly stumbled when he let go of her fists, and the look of embarrassed outrage painted across her expression before she started trying to pummel him again just made him laugh harder.
“I am! I swear I am,” he howled, the tears streaming down his face somewhat belying his words. “I’m sorry!”
“Liar!”
“Okay. Okay!” Standing to his full height, Skye held his hands out in supplication. Taly’s eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed, but she backed off slightly when she saw that his laughter was starting to die down. “You’re right,” he conceded, a devilish smirk curling his lips. “I’m not sorry. Not even a little bit. You’re just sodaintynow! It’s adorable!”
With an indignant cry, Taly renewed her efforts, sending Skye straight into another fit of uncontrollable laughter. After letting her get in a few good hits, he easily seized her wrists in one hand and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close so she couldn’t kick at him. She continued to struggle for a few moments, each trailing chuckle that rumbled through his chest fanning the flames of her ire.
