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She shrugged. “Just because you don’t understand a system of organization doesn’t meanit’s lacking. I know where everything is in that room.”

Skye was almost embarrassed by the stab of knee-wobbling relief that shot through him. What she had, of course, meant to say was that she had some overly complicated system of organization that only made sense to her and other like-minded basket cases, and… it was nice to see that not everything had changed.

He looked her up and down, noting with no small amount of satisfaction that the color returned to her cheeks. “I like the dress, by the way,” he said as he turned back down the hall. “You look nice.”

There was a small gasp, and he heard her heart stutter. After a moment, she followed, pushing past him. Even the tips of her ears were red as she led them back into what looked like a dining room. There was a set of silver serving dishes on the table, all covered.

“Dinner,” Taly explained. “I found it waiting outside the door.”

The smell of chicken and potatoes and spices hit his nose. Simple, hearty food. His mouth was already watering, but he shook his head. He needed to get her talking first. For his own sanity. “Did you really think that was going to work? That you could just wave a plate under my nose, and my mouth would suddenly be too full to ask questions?”

“I never said that,” she mumbled, though from the look on her face, the thought had crossed her mind.

“Tink—I got stabbed three times today. I think that’s earned me an explanation.”

“For which part?”

Skye pretended to think. “How about… all of it? Let’s just start with all of it. The magic, you running away from the manor, the spells Kato found, that time you ran away for a second time in Ebondrift, the Vale relay, Vaughn, how you managed to become a resident of a homicidal Genesis Lord and her court of ghostly minions… Do I really need to keep going?”

Taly picked at her skirts, refusing to look at him. “That list could take a while. Are you sure you don’t want to start with something easier?”

His temper flared, but he stopped. Then took a breath. His ribs ached at the movement. Taly had done a decent job patching him up, but mistlewick venom was painful and long-lasting. It would take a few days for his aether to fully regenerate and his body to heal.

She saw him wince, and her face fell. “I should’ve told you.”

“Yes.”

“A long time ago.”

“You could’ve told me at any point, Taly, but you didn’t. Instead, you spent ayeardigging through gate rubbish. You nearly died because we didn’t know how to treat you for the harpy venom. You’ve had countless opportunities, and the closest you ever got was in Ebondrift, but even then—you didn’t. You ran away.Again. You decided you didn’t trust me—”

“Skye, I—”

“You should’ve trusted me.” Taly hung her head. “I shouldn’t have had to find out that you hadtime magicfrom Aiden when I accidentally got him too drunk to keep his mouth shut.”

She attempted a smile. “I suppose that explains a few things. Aiden always was a chatty drunk.”

She had a point, but— “Stop deflecting.”

“I’m not, I…” But then her voice trailed off, because yes, she was—deflecting. “I just wanted to protect you,” she said softly. “That’s all I ever wanted to do.”

His brows rose.

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but I… I don’t even know how to explain any of this anymore. Everything got so out of hand, and every time I try to think of what I need to say, I just…” She sighed, slumping down into a chair at the table. “I wish you could see inside my head sometimes. Everything I need to say is in there, but I just can’t get it out.”

There was a decanter of something red and fizzy in the middle of the table. Shard wine by the smell of it. Taly never would’ve been able to drink this as a human. Two sips and he would’ve been holding back her hair while she retched.

Though he supposed that wasn’t a concern anymore as he reached for the decanter, filling both their glasses.

“Just start at the beginning,” he said and claimed the chair across from her. “Start with the day in the training yard. Tell me what happened when I discharged your dagger. Tell me why you started screaming.”

And so, she did. She told him about how she suspected now that the encounter in the sparring ring had weakened the hidden wards inscribed on her arm. How the visions had started soon after. She told him about how panic had taken over once she figured out what they were and the fear thathad ruled over every moment of every day for nearly a year.

And even though he’d already guessed at most of the story, hearing how the pieces fit together—it left him speechless. And heartbroken. He hated every lingering fragment of pain he could still read in the lines of her face and the tension in her body. The specter of fear he could still see looming behind her eyes.

When she came to the subject of Ebondrift, however, even though he could still see that same pain and fear, it was all he could do not to reach across the table and shake her. She was scared, she claimed. And her magic was becoming more uncontained. And then, when Kato confronted her, she wassureshe’d been discovered,surethat he was going to reveal her,surethat she was what their enemy wanted.

So, she ran.