Page 201

Skye nodded as if to say,yeah, that was pretty much the gist.

Kato laughed. Then laughed again. He had to stop what he was doing because precision work and raucous laughter didn’t mix.

“Oh my Shards,” he wheezed, wiping at his eyes. “I can’t even yell at you properly because I’m too impressed by how stupid this is.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you think this was a support group?” Kato re-angled his pick, carving another line. “I warned you. Bloodcrafting is dangerous. And really, if you think about it, it’s not Taly you should be afraid of. It’sMom. Just wait until she hears that I’m no longer the family fuck-up. I’m sure she’s going to love that,” he muttered.

“Yeah, well, Mom’s not here right now,” Skye said, turning a dial and watching the flickering lights steady. “You know who is, though?Taly. And she… well, let’s just say she’s not going to react well.”

“Oh, you don’t need to explain. I get why you lied.”

“I didn’t lie. I just… haven’t told her yet.”

“Right, that’ssodifferent.” Kato glanced up from the open hatch, wiping grease off his fingers. “So, what’s your planthen? Because I see this ending in two ways: either you tell her yourself or let her find out the hard way. And believe me, that second option…?” He shuddered, shaking his head. “It was nice knowing you, little brother. I’ll tell Mom you died bravely. Avoidably, but with courage.”

Skye exhaled sharply. “It’s not like I’mtryingto keep secrets from her. I just—need to find the right way to tell her.”

“Oh. Can’t wait to hear this.Do tell—how exactly do you plan to break the news that you permanently screwed yourself?”

Skye ran a hand through his hair, staring at the flickering screen in front of him. “I don’t know. Maybe I could ease her into it. You know, get her comfortable with the idea of bloodcrafting before actually breaking the news.”

Kato raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly do you plan toease her into it? Leave a few bloodcrafting manuals lying around the house? Casually mention it over dinner?‘Hey, babe, pass the salt, and also, how do you feel about ethically sourced blood rituals?’”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?” Skye shot back. The lines of the data on the monitor blurred. A quick tap brought them back into focus. “Just go up and say,Hey, so I turned myself into a monster, and I did it all for you…Because that’s going to go over so well.”

“Hey, I don’t know what you want me to tell you. Bloodcrafting isn’t exactly a love letter, little brother. Then again, maybe Taly would be into it. She seems like she would be a little freaky.”

“Kato, please.”

“What?”

“I’m asking for your advice.”

Kato blinked, nearly dropping the pick between the tuning mechanism and the conduit array.

This… was a first. A monumental, never-seen-before-in-the-history-of-their-dysfunctional-dynamic first.

He wasn’t sure what was more shocking—that Skye trusted him enough to ask or that he might actually try to answer.

“Okay, how about this,” he said, straightening slightly. “Wait until you’re in the middle of a dangerous situation—it’s Taly, so I’m sure you’ll get your chance soon. Maybe someone kidnaps her, maybe she just wakes up and chooses violence. Either way, when things go south, use your bloodcrafting to save the day. As she’s swooning into your arms, say to her,‘I didn't want you to find out like this, but now you know.’”

Skye considered a moment. “That’s… not terrible, actually. Plus, Taly does take bad news better after punching something.”

“Sarah was the same.”

Apparently, the men in their family had a type.

“Okay, I think we’re ready to fire this puppy up,” Kato said, shoving the wires and tubes back into the base and shutting the hatch.

Skye moved to the main control panel, his hand hovering over a flickering glyph. He glanced at Kato, who nodded with barely contained excitement.

Skye’s aether flared and sank into the glyph. The ring twitched with a groan of metal and nothing more. “That was underwhelming.”

“Just give her a moment,” Kato said. “She’s old. She needs to stretch before she starts dancing.”

The rings gave another twitch. Then with a lurch and a screech, they stumbled into motion.