Page 51 of Shardless
“If the variables change, we’ll reassess the plan.” Aiden gave her a knowing smile as he moved towards the door. “Now get some rest, and don’t worry about Skye. I’m sure everything will work itself out.”
Taly leaned back against the mountain of pillows stacked behind her, staring at the closed door long after Aiden had gone. Wiping at her eyes, a slow smile began to emerge, and she couldn’t stop the weak peal of laughter that bubbled up out of her chest.
She was home. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she was finallyhome.
Chapter 10
-A letter from Lady Adriana Emrys, Duchess of Ghislain, to her son, Lord Skylen Emrys
The 27thday of the month Yule, during the 250thyear of the Empty Throne
Skylen,
As you already know, it was not my wish that you stay on Tempris to continue your training in lieu of attending the University in Arylaan. However, I gave you my blessing when you gave me your assurance that you would not further isolate yourself from the nobility in Lycia. As I sit here in my quarters at the Dawn Court, listening to the sounds of the Yule Ball filtering up from down below and preparing my usual excuses for why my son, the heir, is not by my side, I cannot help but think that perhaps I made a mistake in allowing you to stay.
While I cannot deny that Lord Castaro can give you a far superior education than you would receive here, you need to start attending to your duties as Ghislain’s heir—appearing at court with more regularity, forming relationships among the nobility, and at the very least meeting with the ladies the other households present to you before rejecting their offers. Your refusal to even entertain potential breeding contracts or proposals of marriage is beginning to put our family at a severe disadvantage during negotiations with the other noble houses.
You will be receiving another breeding offer from House Arendryl within the coming months. The young lady in question lives in Faro, and I highly recommend that you agree to meet with her when the Aion Gate opens. Otherwise, you and I may need to revisit the matter of where you choose to continue your education.
With all my love,
Your Mother
“Damn it!” Skye cursed, the air crystal in his hand cracking. With a growl, he hurled the offending stone at the nearest wall before slumping over his workbench.
Skye couldn’t help but feel antsy and caged after his confrontation with Taly, so instead of getting some much-needed rest, he’d retreated to the workshop, hoping to lose himself in his work. Unfortunately, what was usually a place that lethim breathe when he was feeling overwhelmed was only serving to amplify his irritation as he broke crystal after crystal trying to fix a simple dagger.
I should’ve just gone to bed, he thought sullenly. After three days with no more than a few hours of sleep at a time, his mind was too dull, his thoughts too fractured, to muster the amount of precision that setting crystals required.
Not for the first time that day, his attention drifted to the dusty little bench in the corner. Taly’s two air daggers, the handgun she’d dropped at the Aion Gate, and those stupid hyaline pistols had somehow found their way onto her old bench. Surprisingly enough, Aimee was the one that had collected Taly’s dropped weapons.
Tearing his eyes away from the bench, Skye stalked to the other side of the room and began picking through the crystal cabinet. Rows upon rows of drawers adorned the massive wooden chest pushed against the wall—just another reminder of the stubborn brat. For years, Ivain had kept all of his crystals together in a single bin—fire, water, earth, air, and shadow crystals of every class and size all mixed together. The jumbled mess had made Taly’s eyes cross the first time she’d seen it, and she’d cried and pouted until Ivain finally relented and let her re-sort the crystals by type, class, and then size. Only eight years old, and she’d already had an incessant need to rearrange everything around her.
“Skye?”
“In here, Ivain,” Skye answered, retrieving another air crystal and slamming the drawer he’d been rifling through shut.
The door to the workshop slid open, letting ina blast of cold air and the scent of rain.
Ivain ducked through the small opening. “This storm came out of nowhere,” he exclaimed, peeling off his morning coat and shaking it off. Droplets of water stained the dull gray fabric.
“How did the call with the High Lady of Air go?” Skye tossed the crystal on his bench, watching it roll across the cluttered surface.
Ivain shrugged and tossed the coat to the side as he began tugging at his tie, revealing a row of parallel violet lines that had been tattooed onto the skin of his neck. There were 10 in total—one for each of the primary training designations, or seals, sanctioned by the Shadow Guild. Skye had only completed four so far, and each seal was marked by a thin, vertical stripe drawn beneath his collarbone.
“As good as could be expected,” Ivain said with a sigh. “You know I grew up with that old bat? Horrible woman. Even as a child, she could suck the joy right out of a room.” The older fey noble crouched and reached underneath a cluttered workbench. “Want one?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Skye laughed as he fell back onto his stool and propped his feet up on a nearby bench. “I was wondering where you’d hidden your stash.” Ivain smiled as he stood back up, two bottles of beer and a sleeve of cigars in hand. “Sure, why not? All I’m doing is breaking things over here, so I should probably call it a day.”
“A wise choice, and one my coffers would thank you for.” Ivain twisted the cap off one of the bottles and handed it to Skye before sinking down onto the stool next to him. He sighed as he removed one of the cigars and brought it to hisnose. “I’ve been saving these. It’s the last Arendryl tobacco I’ll see before the Aion Gate opens. Better to smoke them now, though, before Sarina finds them. Shards, that woman was in a mood when she got back from town today.”
“What happened?”
Ivain grimaced. “She finally went by Jay and Laurel’s tavern and saw that none of the repairs we paid for had been completed. Jay pocketed her investment and tried to do the repairs himself. Unsuccessfully, I might add.”
Skye arched a brow. “Since when does Sarina invest in third-rate taverns in what might possibly be the worst part of Ryme?”
“Since she found out that Taly was having trouble finding someone willing to rent a room to a human.” Ivain scowled as he began clipping the cigars. “Jay and Laurel already owed us a few favors, so all it took was a little gold to convince them to ease their policy on mortals.”
