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Blood drained into metal pans. The bone saw whined.

Skye wasn’t sure if the liquor was helping or making things worse. Even if his mind managed to seize on the sheer, overwhelming wrongness of it all—just as fast, the thought was gone.

His nerves fired at random, muscles twitching without his permission.

A chisel—at least, that’s what it felt like—pressed against bone, tapping, carving, making space. The vibration rattled through his skull, down his spine, a foreign pressure shifting things that shouldn’t be moved.

Then something crawled inside him.

A creeping pressure worked its way through his back—thin, needling strands slithering beneath his skin, wrapping around his nerves like roots searching for purchase. Every inch they claimed sent fresh fire through his limbs.

Skye approached the mirror on the back wall.

He didn’t look any different. At least, he didn’t think so. No new scars, no bruises, no swelling despite feeling like he just came limping back from a losing fight.

Pulling at his waistband, he sighed with relief. Everything important was still intact.

He wasn’t sure what the keeper had done, not exactly. The memories were a jumbled mess of pain, distorted images, and snatches of conversation that made no sense. Words like “building blocks” and “potential” floated in the haze, but they felt… disconnected.

“Good, you’re up.”

Skye turned to find Taly standing in the doorway. A very human-looking Taly. Yet even through the glamour, he knew that this Taly was his. The bond rejoiced at her nearness, a resounding chorus compared to Cori’s fading echo.

She looked beautiful. Her hair had been gathered at the nape, curled, pinned, and woven with red ribbons to match her gown’s rich, gauzy fabric.

Swathes of it banded around her torso in artful convolutions, embracing all those lovely curves while leaving whispers of skin delightfully bare.

From a cinched waist, gauzy, red skirts bled to white near her feet.

I watched her tear through armies like they were made of paper.

He locked his jaw, exhaling slowly. That future wasn’t real. And it never would be.

Taly’s brow furrowed. “Are you alright?”

Skye blinked. “Yeah. Why would you… why?”

“You’re pale. And you’re shaking.” She stepped into the room, reaching for him—

Those eyes… the same eyes but empty…

He flinched back, hoping she missed it.

“Did you really just flinch away from my touch?”

Damn it.

“I... I’m fine,” he lied, his voice rough. “Just a… a bad dream. One of those where you wake up and can’t tell what’s real.”

Concern tightened her features. “Was it the one about my funeral again?”

No. But great, now he was thinking about that too.

He needed to get a grip. “You look nice. Where are you headed?”

Taly huffed a laugh. “Are you serious?” He only stared. “Kalahad’s party. I know you and Ivain have been working nonstop, but damn—how hard did you crash?”

Kalahad’s party… so, he hadn’t lost any time. Small victories. He’d take what he could get at this point.

Taly was waiting for him to say something.

“Yeah, I should probably slow down on the training.” He dragged a hand over the back of his neck. The movement tugged—not wrong, exactly, but not right either. “Between him wearing me out and you… well, wearing me out, I haven’t exactly been getting much sleep.”

He took a shallow breath, trying to ignore the way his own pulse seemed to echo that strange, internal pressure.

He needed to shake this off. Clear his head.

Focus . Taly already had enough to worry about with the dinner.

The last thing he wanted was her worrying about him instead of keeping her head in the fight.

Later. When he had the answers, when he could make sense of it—then, he’d tell her.

Taly arched a brow, lips twitching. “Sounds like you need to manage your time better. Otherwise, I’m going to have to send you to bed early.”

He smirked. It was a reflex. “If you’re tucking me in, I won’t argue.”

Taly sighed—part exasperation, part amusement, and maybe a little bit of I walked right into that one . “Of course, you wouldn’t.” She held up her necklace, the one he’d given her. “Will you help me with this?”

She turned. He fumbled with the clasp. His fingers were clumsy as sausages.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, forcing a casual tone. “Nervous?”

“About tonight?” Taly shrugged, fidgeting with the beading at her waist. “I wouldn’t say nervous, exactly.

Am I looking forward to being used as a political prop by some jackass noble?

No . Five coppers say someone makes a joke about selling me into the Feseraa within the first ten minutes.

The men especially always think that one’s soo hilarious.

” He could hear the roll of her eyes. “Mostly, I’m just praying for the strength to get through the night without kneeing anyone in the balls. ”

“As long as it’s not mine.”

“Don’t piss me off, and it won’t be.”

“In that case, I’ll be on my best behavior.” Even if he had the energy to goad her, his too-long neglected parts were finally getting some use, and he’d rather not jeopardize their comeback tour.

Skye finished with the necklace, leaning down to brush a kiss to her bare shoulder.

He ran his nose along her skin. Her scent was a balm to banish the afternoon’s horrors—jasmine from her hair, sage from her soap, a trace of her favorite mint tea…

and iron. It wasn’t as appealing as what he remembered.

Aimee had used a heavy hand with the glamour.

But it was familiar. Familiar enough to stir an ache, both sweet and sharp.

He inhaled one last breath, letting it settle him. Then, slowly, he stepped back.

He didn’t trust his body. A static charge buzzed beneath his skin, the sensation crawling up his spine and into his limbs. His back throbbed. He felt twitchy—not ideal, considering a careless twitch from him could put someone through a wall.

The thought of touching her, of potentially… Shards, he didn’t even want to think it.

Taly, damn her perceptiveness, tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Skye?” she began, a question in her voice.

“Shower,” he blurted out. “And I still need to, uh, pick a suit. You know how Sarina gets when we’re late.

He forced another smile, a flimsy, cracked thing, and practically bolted for the washroom, leaving Taly standing there, looking as stunned as she had the time his experimental flight spell backfired, sending them both plummeting into the rose bushes.

He needed time. Space. He needed to figure out what the hell was crawling around inside him.