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But in typical Taly fashion, she just huffed. Then chuckled. Then rolled her eyes, muttering a “Nice try,” as she cut a glance to the balcony railing behind him. “Move,” she said. “I need to wake up now. I refuse to watch you die again.”

He held out an arm when she took a step. “What does jumping off a balcony have to do with waking up?”

Taly shrugged. “Someone told me that if you fall in a dream, you wake up. That’s why I came out here. I wanted a quick exit.”

“Well…” Skye glanced behind him, beyond the railing at the hundreds of ships lining the shore. “I’m not dead.Yet,” he quickly added when it looked like she was going to say something. “See?” He reached for her, pressing her hand to his heart. That brief touch, along with the soft sigh that slipped out of her as she leaned into him, made his knees go weak. “So… what’s the rush?”

She looked up at him through a thick veil of lashes, and for a moment, he could’ve sworn thather eyes seemed to shine with an inhuman light. She blinked, and it was gone.

“I suppose that’s true,” she said, flexing her fingers in the fabric of his coat. “But if a group of shades suddenly burst through that door—”

“I’ll push you off the side of the estate myself.” Skye grinned when she seemed to relax, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. He held out a hand. “In the meantime—dance with me?”

Taly stared at his outstretched hand like it might bite her. “What?”

Skye laughed as he stepped closer, placing a hand at her waist. Even through the dream, she felt warm. “If, as you say, I’m just biding my time until I inevitably die—can’t I at least spend my last few moments dancing with a beautiful woman?”

The scowl she gave him was one of her best—truly well done—but he didn’t miss the way her lips twitched. Just at the corners. A faint blush stained her cheeks, and when she finally huffed, refusing to meet his eyes, he knew he’d won.

The music started up, trickling out from the ballroom. Skye took her other hand in his, waiting for her to gather her skirts before he took a step, then another. She followed his rhythm effortlessly.

“You’re a better dancer than I remember,” Taly said a bit airily as he spun her around.

“Well, it’s easier to lead when your partner isn’t purposefully trying to step on your feet.”

A light snow had begun to fall around them, but Taly’s sharp bark of laughter as he continued to steer her into the dance chased away any cold he might have felt.

The music quickened, but the steps were familiar. They’d learned this dance together, backwhen they were still children. And even though they were older now, and she was wearing a dress instead of trousers and heels instead of boots, the press of her body against his as they eased into the next dance was as comfortable as it was new.

Like coming home, he thought as he pressed his nose to her hair. That was why he had dreamed of this place, this house that he went out of his way to avoid. Anywhere that Taly was… that would be his home.

It could’ve been minutes, hours,dayssince the dance began. And still, they continued to waltz around the small patio, spinning, never faltering, each step perfectly in sync.

The music finally began to fade, and as Skye spun her into the final step of the dance, he dipped her low and pressed a gentle kiss to the hollow of her throat.

Taly’s answering gasp had him smiling against her skin as he slowly dragged his lips along the column of her neck. When he reached her mouth, even though it pained him, he pulled back just enough to find her staring up at him, her eyes soft, the look on her face a mix of breathless desire and gentle affection.

In that moment, it frightened him the things he would do to make sure she always looked at him that way.

“Back in Ebondrift,” he said, and then let his eyes drop to her mouth, “you said I had to ask for permission to kiss you? Does that rule apply in dreams?”

Taly smiled, so warm and lovely, it made everything around them seem just a little bit brighter. “Why? Are you getting tired of asking?”

Skye pulled her out of the dip, snapping her into his arms. “You know I would never ruin your fun. Although, I was thinking that if you intend on enforcing this rule, I’m going to need to come up with a form. It might save me some time.”

Taly angled her head, her hands sliding up his chest to circle his neck. “It sounds like this is something you plan to be doing a lot.”

“Yes,” Skye said, nodding. He still felt the pull of that phantom thread, tugging just a little tighter as he began to lean forward. “In fact, when you come back, I plan to never stop kissing you.”

“Well, that’s just impractical,” she whispered, her lips nearly grazing his. “You’d have to stop some time. To eat. To sleep. And considering how much you love the sound of your own voice, I don’t see you taking a vow of silence.”

“You know you’re not as funny as you think you are.”

“I am exactly as funny as I think I am.”

Her eyes drifted closed. His lips had just barely touched hers when he felt something snap, fluttering just out of reach as the world went dark.

Skye had never seen the streets of Ryme packed so full of people.