Page 25 of Shardless
Dirt crunched underneath her boots as she entered the training yard, circling him thoughtfully. When he lowered his dagger, she sauntered towards him, trying to muster some bravado. “I get it. You’re scared.” She punctuated the statement with an arrogant smile.
Skye frowned. “Scared of hurting you, yes.” He grabbed her hand and held it up between them. “Here’s the evidence, right here.” His thumb grazed the small scar centered at the base of her palm. “You’re too fragile, Tink.” When Taly arched a brow in response, he said, “Don’t give me that look. You know exactly what I mean. You’re human, I’m fey. I could kill you without even trying.”
He had a point there. Still...
“This?” Taly squeaked, jerking her hand away. “This was just a fluke. You know that. I know that. But if it makes you feel any better, you couldnotuse your magic. I hardly think it’ll be a fair fight, though.” She pursed her lips and shrugged in mock sympathy. “You always were a little slow when you weren’t using aether.”
She knew the exact moment she had him. That narrowing of his eyes. That smirk. She had to consciously fight the urge to crow victoriously.
He raked an appraising eye down the length of her body. “Okay,Caro. But first—terms.”
“Oh, so you’re a betting man now?” she taunted, taking a few steps back as he started to round on her. “Name them.”
“If I win…” He paused, making sure she wasn’t going to say anything cheeky. She gave him aninnocentsmile, so he continued, “If I win, you have to come to the manor once a week for dinner.”
“No deal.”
“Fine, once every two weeks.”
“Skye,” she warned. “No.”
“I’m not backing down on this. You’ve lost too much weight since you moved out.” Taly grimaced, but either Skye didn’t see it, or he chose to ignore it. “And you have to start using me for all of your weapon crafting and crystal maintenance. Exclusively—none of that overpriced back-alley shit anymore. Whoever inscribed your fire crystals ripped you off. You need to start using better vendors, which I happen to have access to.”
Taly opened her mouth to speak, but Skye interrupted her. “And,you have to let me give you a better dagger.”
Taly stared him down, quietly considering his terms. She knew that she shouldn’t take this bet. Skye was feyanda highborn. Even without magic, a highborn’s reflexes, strength, and speed were far superior to their lowborn brethren and orders of magnitude above what a mortal could manage. Taly had been sparring with Skye for almost ten years, but as a human, no amount of training would ever allow her to match his natural gifts. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t beat him. Not without help.
Of course, she wasn’t completely without help, now was she? Taly smiled when she saw a gold aura materialize around Skye. His ghostly shadow peeled away from his body, walking one step ahead of him as he circled her. If she knewwhathe was going to do,wherehe was going to be, before he did, that skewed the odds in her favor. And while it was probably a little stupid toencourage this ability to manifest, she wouldreallyenjoy being able to beat Skye without having to wonder if he’d let her win. Just once—just to know what that felt like.
She opened her mouth to speak, but not before pausing momentarily to make sure Skye was finished with his extensive list of demands. When he nodded his assent, Taly said, “Wow! You want a lot. You’re going to have to let me think about this a minute. Let’s see. What do I want? What would even be comparable?” She stopped, pretending to consider his potential punishment carefully.
Oh, she thought excitedly.That would be fun.She had the perfect punishment for Skye. It was a little mean, but he’d probably done something to deserve it.
While Ivain entertained the Bryer siblings every summer because they were family, Aimee had never hesitated to make her true intentions known. She planned to marry Skye in the hopes of becoming the future Duchess of Ghislain. However, throughout the years, her clumsy and aggressive attempts to woo the future duke had not gone quite according to plan. In fact, she had only been successful, so far, in making Skye dread her presence at the manor only slightly less than Taly did. In this particular case, Taly could use that to her advantage.
With a snap of her fingers, Taly announced, “If I win, then you, Skylen Emrys, have to tell Aimee that you’re in love with her.”
Skye stared at her with wide eyes for a long moment, his mouth slack. Just when she was starting to think that she had broken him, he doubled over, his body shaking withuncontrollable laughter. As much as she tried to remain serious, Taly felt herself start to smile. “That’s so mean,” he gasped, glancing up at her. “You know if I do that, she’ll never leave. She will be here forever.Forever. A resident, overzealous, annoying pest.”
“Oh, I’m aware,” Taly said with a poorly suppressed chuckle. “But if I win, I won’t be here to witness that. I’ll just get to sleep soundly at night knowing thatIwas responsible for your future marital bliss.”
“It’ll be a cold day in hell,” Skye replied with a grimace. He hesitated for a moment, running a hand along his chin as he considered her proposal. A slow smile emerged. “Okay, Caro. You’re on,” he said, already confident in his victory. “I take it the usual rules apply?”
“No weapons and no magic. Three hits or a pin to win,” Taly agreed with a nod. She shrugged out of her coat and threw it off to the side. Then, pulling her old pistol from her boot, she tossed it onto the pile.
Skye followed suit, depositing his dagger and greatcoat with her gear, before stepping back and eyeing her up and down. Taly did the same. Even if she could predict his attacks, she shouldn’t underestimate him. He was bigger, faster, and better in close combat. A single mistake would cost her.
She watched him carefully, waiting for him to make the first move. He sidestepped around her, looking for an opening. Then she saw it. A faint golden specter—almost an afterimage—lunging forward. Even before Skye began to move, she shifted her weight, narrowly avoiding his attempt to grab her. He looked slightly taken aback, but hequickly recovered, twisting his body as he reached for her again.
He’s trying to grapple me. That was his best strategy, with his superior weight and strength.
Taly dodged his second lunge easily. She could sense his confusion—his ghostly aura was chaotically dancing this way and that in her peripheral vision as he planned his next move. He wasn’t certain what to do. Taly had always been quick on her feet, but he’d always been quicker.
Sensing his hesitation, she sprinted forward, punching him in the gut. He managed to slip to the side, partially deflecting the blow, but that didn’t matter. Even a partial blow counted. Those were the rules.
“That’s one!” Taly cheered, dancing backward out of his reach.
“Not bad, Caro,” he replied grudgingly.
