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He paused, letting the implication of his words hover in the air.

“Then don’t,” was all Skye offered in reply.

“I could also mention that you’re breaking at least twelve laws just by having these in your possession.”

Silence.

Kato sighed in frustration. This was worse than he’d expected, and he could only wonder if Eula had known just how far Skye was capable of falling when she insisted that he come by.

His eyes slid over a separate stack of papers and diagrams. “Is there a reason you’re also studying human first aid?”

Again, no answer as Skye scrawled something in the margin of the map in front of him.

“I feel like I’m just talking to myself now.” Kato reached for the necklace sitting off to the side, frowning when Skye immediately slapped his hand away.Well then…If his idiot brother was going to play this game, then he knew at least one way to get a rise of out him.

“You’re going after her, aren’t you? You’re going to find yourmate.”

A pause.

Skye finally looked up. “Taly’s not my mate,” he said stiffly.

Kato huffed out a laugh. “I take it that’s not by choice. She reject you, little brother?”

Skye ignored the barb, his expression giving away nothing. Save for concern. And grief. Even if they hadn’t been lovers, Taly had still been dear in a way that many fey sought to avoid. Humans were so transient—their lives, even their loyalties. Loving one was always a risk.

“The armor’s not ready,” Skye said, going back to the mess of papers spread across the workshop table.

“Oh, I can see that,” Kato drawled, glancing at the Mechanica suit still strung up on chains. “But I’m under orders to retrieve it, and some of us actually follow rules.”

“Come back later tonight.”

“Will it be ready then?” Kato watched as Skye produced a map of the palace. “Because I kind of have a feeling it won’t be.”

Skye made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a huff before lapsing back into silence.

“Didn’t the Marquess give you a direct order? You were supposed to be working on the armor, Skye. Not… whatever the hell allthisis.”

Kato dragged a hand through his hair. The healing books were obvious. One nick in just the right place could kill a human in under a minute, and if Taly was still alive after so many days on her own, she was likely injured. Badly.

As for the bloodcraft… Kato sighed. He wasn’t sure why Skye would need forbidden magic to rescue a human, but that was exactly the kind of stupid he would expect from a Highborn grieving the loss of a mate. The fey were territorial by nature, and that instinct, that need to protect those things they held dear, could be overwhelming even at the best of times.

And this was most certainly not the best of times. The farthest thing from it, in fact. His brother had just had the thing he loved most ripped away, taken to a place beyond his ability to protect and defend, and Kato knew from experience that wasn’t a wound that would heal easily. If it ever healed at all.

Over a century and he was still waiting to find out.

“Hey.” Kato placed a hand on Skye’s shoulder, backing up a step when he immediately flinched away. “Look, I know we’re not what you might call close, but I heard that the earth mage found Taly’s horse, and… well, I know that can’t be easy. I’m here if you need to talk about it.”

“No thanks.”

“Are you sure?”

Skye rounded on him, coming toe-to-toe as his aether flared around him. “We might be stuck in this village together,” he said, each word tight and clipped, “but don’t think for one moment that means you get to come in here and start acting like the concerned big brother. You’re no friend of mine—just some bastard I happen to share a little bit of blood with. Even if you’ve managed to convince Ivain that you’re not as much of a prick as you come off as you’re still the absolute last person I would ever want to talk to about anything.”

Ouch. Granted, there was no love lost between them, but that one stung—just a little bit.

Although, he was glad to hear that his efforts to impress the Marquess hadn’t gone unnoticed. He’d take that as a win.

When Skye once again turned away, his hands shaking as he began sketching out what looked like coordinates, Kato backed up another step, glancing around the corner at the suit of armor on the lift. There were two identical suits slumped on the floor, both in similar states of disrepair.