Page 16 of Shardless (Tempris #1)

-An excerpt from the 27 th Volume of Shadow Magic: A Manual of Best Practice Standards for the Ethical Application of Aether Contamination Spells

The subject of the forbidden rituals inevitably arises when new restrictions on the practice of shadow magic are proposed. Shadow mages, by their very nature, control the flow of aether. By extension, this applies to the aether of those around them. The power to manipulate another mage’s personal aether pool grants shadow mages the unique ability to exert influence on other fey.

Aether contamination spells (i.e., spells that require blood to be ingested by the target) are among the most hotly debated branch of spellcasting. These enchantments function by allowing the shadow mage to infect or contaminate another mage’s pool of aether with their own. The desired enchantment can then be enacted by penning the correct series of runes onto the subject’s skin.

Though there are various accepted methods to anchor a spell, embedding crystals into the subject’s body is by far the most common approach. If the spell is not anchored, its effects will dissipate as soon as the target is able to metabolize the foreign aether. An anchored enchantment, however, can remain active for decades, sometimes centuries.

Except for aether suppression spells, most classes of spells that require aether contamination are either regulated by the Shadow Guild or banned by formal ruling of the Genesis Council. Ascendancy, desecration, and necrotic renewal are among those rituals that have been forbidden and struck from the public record.

Taly cracked open her eyes. The curtains were drawn, but a thin sliver of sunlight peeked through a gap in the sheets of fabric, blazing a fiery trail across the dimly lit room. Her mouth felt dry, sticky with saliva, and a dull pressure throbbed behind her eyes. The pain ebbed and flowed, sweeping her closer and closer to consciousness with each undulating wave.

Could be worse , she thought drowsily.

Though her memory of the previous night was a little hazy, Taly did recall that she and Skye had managed to finish off the entire bottle of brandy. While Skye, being both a shadow mage and a highborn, probably wouldn’t suffer anything more than a fleeting headache come morning, Taly had fully expected to wake up with one of the worst hangovers of her life. But, strangely enough, even though her head felt fit to crack open, it was nothing a little coffee and a greasy breakfast couldn’t fix. She’d take that as a win.

Something moved beside her, and Taly froze when she felt an arm tighten around her waist. As she swept away the last of the mental cobwebs cluttering her sleep-addled brain, she became aware of a warm body lying beside her. A very warm, very male body. His breath fanned out across the back of her neck, sending small shivers up and down her spine.

What the… How did that happen?! Shards, what’s the last thing you remember?

She and Skye had been drinking and… and what? There were large chunks of last night that she simply couldn’t remember. She still had all of her clothes on—that was a good sign. So did the man behind her—also a good sign.

Wait—she was starting to remember something, faint glimmers from the evening before. Skye had continued prying embarrassing, personal information out of her, and his questions had gotten more and more pointed as the night wore on. They were both pretty far gone by the time he had started asking her about the butcher boy—an adorably awkward lowborn teen that she had briefly dated when she was 17. The childhood fling had never gone anywhere, and their almost-kiss behind his parents’ shop constituted both the beginning and end of Taly’s pitiful excuse for a love life.

That was the last thing she remembered clearly, so that meant the man behind her had to be Skye. After all, it’s not like she would’ve been able to pick up a guy with Skye lurking close behind. Overprotective bastard that he was, it didn’t surprise her in the least that he had decided to stick around.

Skye shifted, pulling her closer and pressing his face into her hair. As the initial surprise at not waking up alone started to fade, Taly found herself relaxing beneath his touch. The way he had his body almost wrapped around hers, the way their legs tangled together, felt so very, very good—warm and safe and…

Woah there, Caro! Taly thought, her eyes popping open. She should not be feeling whatever it was she was feeling. This was Skye , after all. These butterflies in her stomach were completely unacceptable. The way she thought their bodies fit together perfectly… Nope! That thought did not just happen.

She needed to get out of here. Shit, she really needed to get out of here.

If he woke up…

She didn’t want to think about that. She might actually die from embarrassment. And if by some stroke of luck she didn’t expire right there on the spot, Skye would more than likely help her along. Knowing him, he would never let her forget this incident. He would tease her endlessly— mercilessly —until she eventually died from humiliation.

Gently uncurling the fingers twisted in the fabric of her nightgown, Taly lifted the arm that was draped across her waist before she attempted to untangle their legs. It took her a few moments, but eventually, she was able to extract herself from Skye’s grasp.

Her muscles groaned, stiff and sore, as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and the floor was cold underneath her bare feet. She tried to stand, but the floorboards gave a loud creak, eliciting an incoherent grumble from the man beside her. Her heart pounded in her ears as she watched Skye’s hand reach out, searching the empty space next to him, and for one brief, agonizing moment, it looked as though he might wake up.

Thankfully, one of the Shards must have been looking out for her that morning. That’s the only explanation she had when she saw his face relax as he grabbed at her discarded pillow and pulled it closer, sinking back into a deep, if somewhat fitful, sleep.

As she sat perched on the edge of the bed, Taly couldn’t stop her eyes from raking over his sleeping form. He looked almost boyish in the dim morning light, and his mouth curved into a slight frown as he rolled onto his back. The motion tugged at the blanket, pulling it down and revealing a small sliver of skin where his shirt had ridden up. He had always been (and still was) a little lanky, but years of combat training had gifted him with lean, sinewy lines of muscle that flexed when he moved. Even though she would never tell him this, she couldn’t deny that he had grown into a very handsome man.

A warm blush spread across her cheeks at the errant thought. When had she started thinking he was handsome?! This was Skye, after all. He wasn’t handsome ! He was just Skye. Stupid—yes. Uppity—check. Attractive—objectively, but not to her.

Shit. She really did need to get out of here.

Rising to her feet, Taly took a cautious step, and then another, saying a silent prayer of thanks to the Shards that the floorboards didn’t give her away a second time.

“Ow! Damn it!” she yelped—her voice barely above a whisper—when she stubbed her toe on a piece of Skye’s armor. She hobbled as she tried to find her balance, but her foot caught in the strap of his scabbard. His sword started to tip, and she dove, just barely managing to stop it from clattering to the floor. Carefully leaning the weapon back against the wall, she kept her eyes trained on the bed and Skye’s motionless form.

I’ll find somewhere else to change into my clothes , she thought, grabbing her pack. Skye had always been a deep sleeper, but there were far too many obstacles and potentially squeaky floorboards between her and the washroom door. She wasn’t about to press her luck. Not today.

Just as she was placing her hand on the doorknob, a gravelly voice mumbled, “Wow. Just… wow. After last night, this is what I get? You were just going to sneak out without saying anything?”

Taly froze, and her breath caught in her throat. Her head slowly turned. Skye was no longer asleep. No—he was very much awake and staring straight at her.

“I… I was just going to get coffee,” Taly stuttered softly.

“In your nightgown?” Skye asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“I… um… well…” Taly pulled at her nightdress self-consciously, wishing she knew where her robe had gotten to. She didn’t really have a response to that.

Skye glared at her through narrowed eyes. “And here I thought that last night was specia l ,” he said moodily. “But, no. I guess I just get the privilege of being your first one-night stand.”

“Huh?” Taly shook her head, her mind rebelling against the implication of what he was saying. Nothing had happened between them. He was just trying to fluster her. “From what I remember, the only thing special about last night was how especially nosy you were being.”

“Wow. And now you don’t even remember? That hurts, Tink. That really hurts.”

“Stop messing around. There’s nothing to remember,” Taly retorted, hoping that her voice sounded more confident than she felt.

He sprawled on the bed, one hand covering his eyes. “Heartless woman. One would think that after a night of such passionate —”

“Oh no,” Taly groaned as she leaned against the door. She didn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.

“After a night of such enthusiastic —”

Taly shook her head. “No… just no…” They both still had clothes on, for Shards’ sake! Who did he think he was kidding?

“And then I even got dressed and went downstairs to get you food when you said you were hungry. Because let’s face it—you’re always hungry now.” Skye’s head lolled to the side. Those emerald eyes almost seemed to glow in the dim light, unabashedly raking over her form. A slow smile emerged, and he licked his lips. “Although to be fair, I did help you work up an appetite last night.”

The pack dropped from her hands, and she covered her reddening face. “Uh-uh. No. No, no, no…”

“The kitchens were closed, by the way. I hope you know that you’re the only woman I’d ever break into a kitchen for. Can you imagine the kind of things they would’ve said about me at the Dawn Court if I’d been caught? Me? The heir to Ghislain robbing a kitchen at some rundown tavern…”

Peeking through her fingers, Taly spied a small stack of dishes as well as the empty bottle of brandy sitting on the bedside table.

Shit! Her stomach turned, and her knees started to wobble.

“I mean... really!” Skye exclaimed. “After a night of such fervent—” When Taly let out an embarrassed whine and sunk to the floor, Skye’s shoulders started to shake. “ —drinking , I thought I’d get a little more consideration. Geez, Tink. Is nothing sacred anymore?”

“What?” Taly snapped, her head popping up.

“Yes, Taly.” Skye ran a thoughtful hand along the stubble on his chin. “Drinking. A long night of drinking. What were you thinking?”

“Shards,” Taly sighed, relief washing over her like a wave. “Fuck you.”

Skye pretended to gasp. “Wait… did you think that we…” That slow, irritatingly sensual smirk resurfaced. “ Tinker ,” he practically purred, “did you think that I let you have your way with me last night?”

Despite her flushed face, Taly gave him a dirty look.

“Try not to look so horrified,” he said, his smile slipping. “You would be so lucky.”

“Please stop talking.” Reaching for her pack, Taly stood and attempted to retreat to the washroom.

Skye stretched, his head tilting back, and Taly couldn’t stop her eyes from following the movement as his shirt rode up higher. The taut muscles of his stomach shifted beneath his skin. “You know,” he said lazily, “all the ladies at court used to say that I put the lay in Ghislain .”

Taly felt a tremor pass through her, and she visibly winced. Turning to face him, she gave him her best deadpan expression. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. No one said that. No one has ever said that.”

Skye had long since given up trying to hold in his laughter. “Okay, if you don’t like that one, how about this? Once you try a piece of the Skye, you’ll never want to say goodbye. Yes? No?” When Taly just rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, he added, “Your face says no , but just give it a minute to really sink in.”

Though Taly tried to ignore him, his voice followed her into the washroom. “Okay. I’ve got one more. I just came up with this last night, so it’s still a little rough. When you need a little bliss —"

“That’s it,” Taly barked. She bounded back across the room, jumped on the bed, and pulled the pillow out from underneath him. Feathers floated in the air, catching the morning light in their downy tendrils, as she began her assault.

Skye was howling with laughter as he half-heartedly attempted to fend her off. “Temper, temper! What would Sarina say if she saw you right now?”

“She would say ‘beat him harder!’ That’s what she always said because you’d always done something to deserve it,” Taly huffed.

Without warning, one of Skye’s hands shot out, and his fingers curled around her calf. Taly let out a shriek when she suddenly found herself flipped over onto her back. In one graceful movement, he easily plucked the pillow out of her grasp and seized her fists. She tried to kick at him, but he swung a leg over hers, effectively trapping her.

Pressed against him the way she was, she could still feel the laughter rumbling through his chest when he whispered in her ear, “Three hits or a pin, right? You only got one good hit in, so I win.” Taly bucked, trying to free herself, but he tightened his grip. “Calm yourself, Tink. I don’t think passing out beside me warrants the amount of shame required to try to sneak out the next morning. After all, it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”

“Sure, but we were kids.” Taly wriggled, somehow managing to elbow him in the ribs. She smiled when she heard a low “oof.” “I haven’t dreamt about the fire in years.”

“Now there’s a lie if I ever heard one.” Skye was still uncomfortably close, and even though his lips barely grazed the skin of her ear, it sent a violent shiver down her spine. “All that time, you have to know that I could still hear you crying when you woke up at night. A closed door and a few wards weren’t going to stop me from hearing. Why did you start locking your door at night? Why wouldn’t you let me help you?”

“Well…” Taly began, her thoughts drifting to that pervasive nighttime terror that continued to haunt her, even into adulthood. The memory of a particularly violent episode flashed through her mind, and she shuddered. It had taken Skye almost an hour to calm her down—to convince her that she was no longer in that cottage back in Vale and that the heat she could feel burning her skin wa s only an illusion. He’d stayed with her the rest of that night as well as the one after. Her throat bobbed, and she said, “I started closing my door because the nightmares weren’t all that bad anymore—certainly not worth waking you up in the middle of the night.”

Skye huffed out a laugh as he released her fists and stretched out beside her. The bed was barely able to hold both of them comfortably, and Taly was all-too-aware of the places where their bodies still touched. “That’s not a real answer. If you want me to back off, then say so. Otherwise, stop dodging the question,” he grumbled into the pillow. “Something changed that summer. What was it?”

Taly chewed on her lip, unsure. Although they had both shared far more personal information than this only the night before, she almost felt shy now that she no longer had the alcohol burning through her veins, giving her courage. Nevertheless, when he turned his head, his eyes finding hers, she found herself saying, “That was the year your mother decided to introduce you at the Dawn Court, and I realized for the first time that one day when you left to go visit your family on the mainland, you wouldn’t be coming back. You’re the heir to Ghislain, and it was foolish of me to assume that you were always going to be right across the hall, always within reach when I needed you. That summer, I decided it was time I learned how to deal with the nightmares on my own. I couldn’t keep leaning on you.”

Skye gave her a lazy smile. “Shards… you really do come up with some of the craziest nonsense when left to your own devices.”

Taly opened her mouth, ready to defend herself, but her retort died on her lips when he draped an arm across her waist and pulled her closer. “I will always be there for you, Tink,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving hers. “No matter what. No matter where we are. After all these years, I don’t know why you still can’t see that.”

“I… I thought…” Taly stammered, her heart pounding. Skye’s fingers had begun absentmindedly toying with the thin fabric of her nightdress, inadvertently grazing her skin through the lace. Taking a stuttering breath, she attempted to change the subject. “I thought I told you that you couldn’t sleep here last night.”

With a heavy sigh, Skye buried his face in the pillow. “You changed your mind,” he said, his voice muffled. “You told me I could stay.”

“I did what now?” Taly’s heartbeat spiked erratically—something she knew Skye could probably hear with those irritating enhanced senses of his.

Skye let out a low chuckle. “You did. You told me I could stay. You were all, ‘Em, please don’t go,’ but way more adorable. And then when I insisted that I sleep on the floor—just like you told me I would have to do when you were still sober—you climbed on top of me and refused to move.”

Taly didn’t know what to say to that. Her vague recollection of the event happening exactly the way he described made her distinctly uncomfortable.

“You know,” he mused lazily, “I’d forgotten just how cute you are when you’re trying to fall asleep. You’ve got this little frown, right between your eyes—almost like you’re trying to really concentrate on sleeping. ”

Taly instantly forgot what it was she had been about to say, her heart stumbling in a way that had never happened before. Not with Skye, at least.

“Of course,” he added, propping himself up so he could look her in the eye, “I’d also forgotten just how badly you snore.”

Wait… “What?”

Skye smiled, a devilish gleam in his eye. “Once you fell asleep, it was like there was a herd of cattle moving through here. It was uncanny.”

Taly shook him off as she struggled to sit up. “I do not snore!”

Skye’s hands found their way to her sides, right where she was ticklish. A wide toothy, grin split his face when she gave a shriek of laughter. “Yeah. You do. Loudly.”

Working her way free of him, Taly grasped at the pillow and started pummeling him again. “I do not snore!”

Skye was laughing uncontrollably. Only half-heartedly fending off her frenzied onslaught. When he finally quieted, Taly stopped, the pillow still held at the ready. His expression looked strangely calm considering the feathery thrashing he had just endured. His lips moved, and, for a moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe, he would apologize.

She should’ve known better.