Page 21 of Shardless (Tempris #1)

-An excerpt from the Moonfall Morning Post

After a long day of spellcasting, does aether burnout get you down? Try Farris’ Flavored Faeflower! With five delicious flavors, you won’t even know it’s medicine!

Hear from our many satisfied customers:

- Still tastes like barghest vomit, but with apples.

- Slightly less disgusting than regular faeflower.

- Goes great with a shot of whiskey… if you drink the whiskey first.

Try Farris’ Flavored Faeflower today! We promise you’ll only regret it a little .

“Ow! Fuck!” Skye yelped. A long string of muttered curses fell from his lips as he felt the waves of earth magic lapping at his skin, knitting his broken and battered body back together. His stained armor and tattered shirt lay off to the side, and he sat in a secluded corner of the courtyard, allowing one of the earth mages to tend to his wounds.

In the wake of the battle with what they were now calling the “abomination,” the shadow mages’ outdoor crafting area at the compound had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. A babel of pained cries filled the air, almost drowning out the steady patter of heavy rain striking the metal awning that sheltered the wounded.

Most of the injured fey sat quietly, their eyes closed in meditation. The fey’s natural ability to heal was directly related to how much aether saturated their blood, and nearly every mage in the keep had thoroughly drained their magic over the course of the past day. An assortment of fading bruises and half-healed lacerations marred the immortal bodies scattered throughout the courtyard, their injuries slowly fading as they focused their will on increasing their body’s natural rate of aether absorption.

The mortals and weaker lowborn fey, those that couldn’t take in enough aether to heal their wounds, were not so lucky. They lay prostrate on the ground, their faces and bodies contorted in agony. The menders, though they could do little more than offer simple first-aid, cleaned and bandaged wounds, offering comfort where it was needed .

Skye let out another low groan as he felt something in his shoulder snap back into place.

“Hold still,” the willowy earth mage reprimanded.

The severe woman pushed back a tendril of silvery hair from her face, and she rubbed at her eyes tiredly, the movement pulling at her almost translucent skin. When she looked at him again, Skye felt an uncomfortable shiver run down his spine. The members of House Agno had the most disconcerting eyes he had ever seen. When he wasn’t channeling aether, he couldn’t distinguish the subtle ring of her pupils from the inky black of her irises, making her eyes seem almost like a bottomless, fathomless void.

“I should be scolding you,” she said, her voice full of reproach. Her pale, bloodless lips lifted into a peculiar smile that seemed out-of-place on her smooth complexion. “Using that much aether at one time is stupid, even for a member of House Ghislain. You’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself.” She gave his arm a rough tug as she realigned the joint, paying no mind to Skye’s sharp cry of pain.

“Damn it,” he hissed. “Could you be a little gentler?! I did just take out some sort of half-dead abomination.”

This earned him a skeptical look from the woman. “Technically true, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re lucky to be alive. Yes—you succeeded. But your plan was still spectacularly stupid.”

Not bothering to wait for his response, the woman checked the bandages wrapped around his shoulder and bicep. “I don’t want you channeling aether for the rest of the day. If you need to restore your aether reserves, do what the rest of us do— meditate and wait for your magic to regenerate naturally. Also, drink this,” she said, handing him a cup. “It’s faeflower.”

Skye took the cup and downed the medicinal draught in one gulp, suppressing a shudder at the taste. Almost immediately, the dull burn in his lungs, a testament to just how little aether he had left, started to abate. “After so many millennia of drinking faeflower for aether burnout, you’d think someone would’ve found a way to make it taste better.”

The healer puffed out a snort as she washed her bloodied hands in a quenching tank. “I have other patients to attend to,” she said, ignoring Skye’s complaint. “I’ll be back to check on you. Sit here and rest—don’t move.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Skye pulled on his shirt before leaning back, his eyes following the lithe highborn woman as she weaved through the crowd, occasionally bending down to check on one of the wounded.

Meditate . How long had it been since he’d had to meditate?

Closing his eyes, Skye took a deep breath. Every mage, no matter their school of magic, learned to manipulate their aether regeneration through meditation. It was an essential skill, just not one he’d chosen to use in a very long time. After all, why would he need to sit quietly in a corner for hours on end when he could just take raw aether from the air and push it directly into his blood?

Just when he had almost managed to clear his mind, a familiar scent tickled his nose. Even without his magic, he’d recognize her anywhere—Taly .

When he opened his eyes, she was much closer than he would’ve guessed, but that wasn’t surprising. His senses were annoyingly dull at the moment. Already halfway across the courtyard, her worried gaze scanned the faces of the wounded as she searched for him.

“Psst… Tink!” he said when she got close enough to hear him.

Her head whipped around, and when her eyes found his, Skye decided that if he died tomorrow, he wanted that smile to be the last thing he remembered. It made the air around her seem just a little bit lighter, and he could feel the warm glow of her joy and relief slowly seep into him, chasing away the cold.

She rushed towards him, gracefully sidestepping the bodies of the wounded, and by the time she made it to his side, her eyes were red and glassy. “Stupid idiot!” she cried, throwing herself onto the bench and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Arrogant highborn jerk…”

“Hey now,” Skye said as he readily returned her embrace. “Is that any way to talk to an injured man?”

Pulling away, she gave him an irritated glare, the severity of which was belied by the tears welling in her eyes. “It’s a term of endearment at this point.”

“Is that so?” Skye huffed good-naturedly, reaching up to give the end of her disheveled braid a gentle tug. “If that’s the case, then your pillow talk really needs work. Don’t worry. I’m here to help, and I’m willing to go all night if need be.”

“Shards, you’re an idiot.” She raised a fist to give him a sharp punch on the arm but thought better of it when she saw the bandages peeking out from underneath his shirt. “I thought you were really hurt, but you’re fine.”

Her fingers traced the edge of one of the strips of linen wrapped around his shoulder. After a long pause, she shrugged and gave him a teary smile. “Although, it’s too bad coming face-to-face with whatever that thing was didn’t do anything to improve your sense of humor.”

Skye let his head fall back against the wall with a thud. “Low blow, Tink. Low blow… You know, you should be nicer to me. After all, I think I’m owed a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from my favorite mortal right about now. Those were some impressive feats of strength out there. Some people might even consider me a hero.” He lapsed into silence, staring at her expectantly.

Unable to punch him, she flicked his ear, knowing full well that fey ears were more sensitive than her own human ears. When Skye winced, she gave him a satisfied smile.

“Fine. Ooooh … ahhhhh …” she conceded with a pained sigh.

Skye grinned despite the physical and mental fatigue that had permeated every cell and fiber of his body. Had it really only been yesterday when he’d laid down his conditions for bringing her along? That already seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Thank you,” he said a little too sincerely. “You know, when people eventually ask me why I did it, I’ll tell them it was for the little people.” Even though she was sitting next to him, he held a hand over her head, pretending to measure her height compared to his. “That’s you by the way.”

Taly slapped his hand away, suppressing an exasperated chuckle. “Seriously, though, are you okay? Why haven’t you healed yet? ”

Skye tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, doing his best to give her a reassuring smile despite the pain the movement triggered. “I’m fine. It’s just a little aether burnout.”

“Aether burnout?”

“It’s…” Skye paused as he tried to think of a way to explain it. “It’s like spraining a muscle. I channeled too much aether all at once, so now I need to take it easy—let my magic recover.”

Taly released a shuddering sigh, and Skye used the pad of his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. “Tink, I’ll be fine after a hot meal and a good night’s rest. And you say I worry too much.”

Taly shook her head vehemently as she reached up and grasped the hand at her face. “No… I’m just really relieved. For a minute, I thought… when I saw you fall—”

“Taly!” a voice rang out.

His eyes scanned the courtyard for the source of the sound, and Skye grimaced when he saw a familiar brassy-haired mage duck underneath the awning. What was he doing here?

“Kit!” Taly waved, drawing the man’s attention. “Skye, that’s Kit,” she said excitedly. “He helped me repair the tower gun.”

“Interesting.” Skye watched the man approach and found himself sitting up just a little straighter. “And he said his name was Kit ? K-I-T?”

“Yeah. Is something wrong?” Taly asked when she saw the look of confusion on his face.

Skye shook his head. He would deal with this unexpected situation when Taly wasn’t around.

“Shards, Taly,” Kit said when he was close enough. His hair, wet from the rain, clung to his forehead, and Skye couldn’t remember ever seeing the usually put-together noble look so out-of-sorts. “ For a little thing, you’re fast.”

“Hello, Kit ,” Skye greeted icily. “Taly tells me that I have you to thank for getting the tower gun powered up.”

Seeming to notice him for the first time, Kit raised an eyebrow, smirking as he bowed mockingly. “Truthfully, I didn’t do much, milord. I am but a humble aether battery.” Catching Taly’s eye, Kit gave her a subtle wink, eliciting a soft snicker from the girl at the apparent inside joke.

“I see,” Skye replied, his jaw clenching.

Taly, oblivious to the tension between the two men, glanced at Skye. “Kit says that he’s also from House Ghislain. A cousin, right?” she asked, turning back to Kit.

“That is correct, Taly,” Kit replied warmly. An almost genuine smile curved his lips, one that Taly returned.

Placing a possessive arm around Taly’s waist, Skye couldn’t suppress the cocky grin on his face when he saw the other man’s eyes narrow. “You’ll have to forgive me. I have so many cousins ; it’s sometimes hard to match the name to the face.”

“Our family is quite large,” Kit replied with false civility. “But if you’re already having trouble remembering things at your age, then you’re going to have a real problem in a few centuries. You probably won’t remember half the people you meet.”

A tense silence settled over the two men as they stared each other down. Kit was baiting him, his eyes full of defiance and derision as he silently dared Skye to publicly call him out and sully the image of Taly’s new friend. When Skye almost imperceptibly shook his head, an action he knew the other shadow mage’s magically enhanced eyes would pick up, Kit’s entire demeanor transformed.

“Well!” the copper-haired Gate Watcher exclaimed, his face the very picture of affable sincerity. “I’ve fulfilled my promise, Miss Caro. I delivered you to your Lord Emrys. I should go see if I’m needed elsewhere.”

Rising from the bench, Taly embraced Kit, a gesture he readily returned. “Thank you,” she said when she pulled away.

Kit placed a hand on her head, giving her a soft, sincere smile. “Anytime.” Turning back to Skye, Kit gave him another mocking bow. “Milord.”

Taly watched Kit walk away, and when he ducked his head to dash back out into the rain, she said, “So that was awkward. Kit told me that you two had never met. I take it that’s not the case?”

“Oh, we’ve met,” Skye grumbled, leaning back and closing his eyes. When Taly settled back beside him, he frowned. Even without his magic, he could just make out the other Gate Watcher’s scent clinging to her. “It’s a long story, one I’ll tell you later—maybe after a few drinks. Needless to say, we’ve never gotten along.”

“I can see that,” Taly replied with a wry smile. “Can’t say I’m surprised, though. You’re kind of an ass.”

Skye chuckled tiredly. “Because it’s all my fault, right?” Opening one eye, he just managed to see her nod in wholehearted agreement. “I just can’t win with you, can I? I suppose, at the very least, it’s nice to know that no matter what I do, I’ll always have you here to put me back in my place.”

“Well, not always,” she replied casually. At Skye’s questioning stare, she shrugged, and her expression sobered. “I’ll be there for as long as I can, but we’re going to have to say goodbye someday. It’s kind of inevitable.”

Skye’s throat tightened at the implication of her mortality. It was always so easy to forget that she was just a human—that she would die. Before he could reply, she hopped to her feet and stretched, her hands flying to her side as her face contorted in pain.

“Ow… I forgot about that.”

“Let me see.” Skye grabbed her arm and turned her so that he could get a look at the gash at her hip. It was a deep wound, and he could already see small rivulets of pus mixed in with the blood that stained her skin and clothing. “Okay, you’re seeing the healer.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“Iona!” Skye called when he saw the same waifish earth mage from House Agno turn the corner. As the healer approached them, she ran a critical eye over Skye. “I haven’t moved,” he said, pointing a finger at Taly. “This is for her.”

“I’m fine,” Taly argued stubbornly.

“Jacket off,” Iona commanded, rolling up her sleeves. Those strange black eyes immediately zeroed in on the jagged gash peeking through the tear in Taly’s coat. “And” —the healer’s hand shot out and grabbed Taly’s wrist— “your shirt. I need to see your arms.”

Taly gave Skye a withering glare as she stood and started peeling off her clothing, revealing a plain camisole that had been layered over lace underclothes. Under any other circumstance, Skye might have noted the toned muscles of her stomach and arms, but his attention was immediately drawn to her injuries .

“Holy shit!” Skye exclaimed when he saw the angry streaks of purple and red dotting the skin of Taly’s right arm. “What happened there?”

Taly looked at her arm in mild surprise. “I guess that explains the soreness.”

Iona ran a gentle hand over Taly’s skin, her fingers hesitating when they came upon five perfectly spaced patches of discolored flesh.

“I ran into some of those creatures on the way to the compound,” Taly explained, a strange twinge of nervousness coloring her tone. She tried to pull her arm away, but Iona kept a firm grip on her wrist. “They managed to grab me. That’s all.”

“And you still got away?” Iona asked, skeptically. “You’re human. How did you manage that feat?”

Taly opened her mouth to reply but winced when Iona poked at a particularly large welt on the back of her bicep.

“Shooting them in the head stuns them,” Taly bit out between gritted teeth. “And it’s hard for them to chase you if they don’t have knees.”

There was something evasive in her tone that Skye didn’t like. “How many?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he asked again. “How many, Taly?”

“Just hold on a minute.” She held up a hand. “I’m counting.”

“You have to count?” Skye sputtered in reply.

“Three at first.” Taly turned when Iona started prodding at her shoulders. The skin of her back and left arm was unmarred. “Then four more came running when they heard the gunshots. Then another three. So, ten at the end. I stopped using my pistols after I got away from that group since they were drawn to the noise. ”

Skye took a breath, unsure of what to say. Ten?! How had she managed to get away from ten of those monsters? From what he had seen, only a shadow mage would be capable of outrunning them.

“You must be quite resourceful,” Iona said distractedly. “Still, some of these contusions are quite severe. I’m actually more worried about the bruising than the wound at your hip. Did they grab you anywhere else?”

Taly exhaled sharply. “Yes. My legs, my ankles… I think they may have even ripped out some hair.” She frowned, pulling at the tie still holding her hair and combing out the tangles. When she pulled her hand away, her fingers were stained red with blood.

“Arms out,” Iona said tersely. When Taly extended her arms, Iona waved a glowing earth crystal over the length of her body. Threads of gossamer earth magic coiled around the healer’s fingers, branching off and spiraling around Taly’s form in a protective cocoon of healing magic.

“That should do it,” Iona said with clinical professionalism a few moments later. “I’ll need to see you again tomorrow. Lord Emrys, if you please.” She turned to Skye, who dutifully held his arms out in front of his body. The web of healing spells flickered to life, and she nodded. “Good. You may leave now. But remember what I said—no casting until I can examine you in the morning.”

Skye nodded in reply, and both he and Taly watched as the healer once again set off to deal with her never-ending stream of patients. Turning to Taly, he said, “They’ve given me Ivain’s old room if you want to go upstairs and get cleaned up.” Picking at a fleck of black blood that had dried on the back of her hand, he asked, “Do I want to know how this happened?” He let his eyes rake over the splattered gore that covered her skin and clothing, staring at her pointedly.

“I killed one of them,” she replied flatly, pulling on her shirt. “It sort of, well… exploded.”

“Come again?”

Taly waved her hand tiredly. “Later. That is a story for much later. What about you? Are you coming up?”

Skye groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, gesturing for her to follow him as they made their way to the main building of the compound. “In a bit. There are a few things I need to see to before I retire for the night.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Skye shook his head. “No. It’s mostly just making sure that people are doing what they need to be doing. We need to get a team of mages going through the square and burning the bodies. I also need to speak with the researchers and find out if they’ve figured out what these things are. Oh, and I should probably set up a meeting with the leadership.” Skye ticked off the tasks on his fingers before a large yawn punctuated his train of thought. “Other than that, I think we need to take the night before we decide our next steps. Mourn the dead, tend to our wounded… those things come first.”

“Okay,” Taly said as she followed him across the courtyard.

The rain had dwindled to a light mist, but they were both soaked by the time they approached the front entrance of the main building. Taly hadn’t bothered to put her filthy coat back on, and the stained shirt she wore underneath had started to turn translucent as it clung to her form. Skye could just see the outline of the camisole she wore beneath the damp fabric.

“I’m going to take the longest shower in the history of showers,” she said tiredly. “And then when I get the gore washed off, the longest bath in the history of baths. At least the day can end on a positive note.”

“Shards help us. Have some mercy and save me some hot water. Please,” he begged as Taly rolled her eyes and walked on ahead of him toward the stairs leading up to the upper floors of the keep. He’d had to share a washroom with her on more than one occasion, and he knew from experience that she felt no remorse when he had to start the day with an icy-cold shower.

Turning to glance at him over her shoulder, she gave him an innocent smile. “I’ll consider it.” With that, she started climbing the stairs, weaving between the people milling about in front of the main building.

Skye stood there for a moment, staring at the place where she’d disappeared through the main doors, and halfway debated running after her. After spending most of the day wondering if he’d ever see her again, it was hard watching her walk away from him.

“So that’s little Talya Caro,” a cocky voice drawled. “Shame on you, Skye. You never told me how pretty she was.”

Damn . Skye had been hoping to put off this confrontation until tomorrow— after his magic had fully recovered and he could pummel his so-called cousin .

“You told her your name was Kit ?” Skye asked, refusing to turn around to face the lanky man standing behind him. “And a cousin? What are you up to, Kato?”

“We have a cousin named Kit, don’t we?” Kato asked mockingly. “I’m sure we do. Or maybe it was Kat. Kae? No. Kata. It was definitely Kata. See? I told you—old age does things to your memory.”

“What are you doing here?” Skye asked in a bored tone, glaring at his older brother. “The last time we spoke, you called the Gate Watchers a group of ignorant, human-loving stooges. Now I find out that you’ve been masquerading as one for…”

“About 8 months now,” Kato supplied, smirking. “And I’m not masquerading. I applied and passed the exams, same as you. In fact, I’ve already worked my way up to Marshal.”

“Why?” Skye pressed. Why join the Gate Watchers? Why come here at all?

“I have my reasons.”

Skye suppressed a growl as he turned to face the older fey. Though they were both tall and thin, that was where the similarities stopped. Kato had taken after his human father, inheriting his copper hair, freckled skin, and deceptively guileless expression.

“Thank you for what you did today.” Skye bowed his head. “And thank you for helping Taly with the tower gun. I probably owe you my life.”

Kato’s rust-colored eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly schooled his expression into casual disinterest. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” Skye replied. “Nevertheless, I’m in your debt.”

Skye didn’t wait for Kato’s reply as he started to walk away. If he didn’t engage, his brother would eventually get bored and move on.

“She’s not how I’d pictured she’d be—your Taly,” Kato remarked suddenly, bringing Skye up short.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Skye asked suspiciously.

The older mage rubbed his chin, softly chuckling to himself. “She’s not like other humans that I’ve met. She’s smart… and brave, despite her weaknesses. For a minute there, I thought I was looking at Sarah.”

The brief flicker of intense pain and longing that flashed across his brother’s face almost made Skye wince. Kato had never volunteered any information about the woman he claimed to have once loved, and Skye had never asked. This was just one more issue they steadfastly avoided talking about.

“Don’t pull Taly into your games, Kato,” Skye said, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Stay away from her.”

“Temper, temper little brother. We’re all having fun here.” Kato’s shoulders pulled up in a good-natured shrug. But then his eyes narrowed, and something sinister crept into his expression. “I wonder… have you told her yet?” he asked, still smiling.

“I’m warning you. Back off,” Skye growled.

Kato’s head cocked to the side, and then he was howling with laughter. “Shards! After all that agonizing, and you still haven’t told her?! Are you serious? You know, I’ll do you a favor. The next time I see her, I’ll just casually mention—"

Instinctively channeling his aether, Skye rushed his brother, grabbing at his shirt and lifting him to his toes. He wasn’t supposed to use magic. He knew that. His head felt like it was going to crack open, but he ignored the pain, enjoying the slightly panicked look in Kato’s eyes. “I said… back the fuck off, brother .”

Kato shook him off, not interested in starting a fight. “Shards! Relax, would you? Everyone’s forgotten about that bullshit last summer except for you. It was just a human, Skye.”

Scowling, Skye once again turned to walk away.

“Of course,” Kato called after him, “that’s why it bothers you so much, right?”

Despite his better judgment, Skye replied, “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough to see the connections.” When Skye ignored him and started up the stairs, Kato tried again. “Taly’s human. Ava’s human. Or, was human. It’s not hard to connect the two.”

Skye stopped in the middle of the stairs, Kato’s words bringing him up short.

“Struck a nerve?” Kato cooed mockingly.

Squaring his shoulders, Skye turned to face his brother. “Marshal Emrys. I’m assigning you to funeral pyre duty.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” Skye said with a deceptively innocent smile. “As High Commander Ivain Castaro’s Precept, I’m the highest-ranked member of the Gate Watcher leadership in the compound. That means you’re mine to command, Marshal . And we need people on pyre duty.”

Kato chuckled grimly, knowing when he was beaten. “Of course, sire,” he drawled, giving Skye a practiced bow. As he marched away, he waved a hand, looking over his shoulder as he said, “Tell Taly I said hi. I assume you’ll be keeping her in your room tonight. That’s smart. A pretty little thing like that is probably good at finding trouble . ”

Skye didn’t grace him with a response. That’s what his brother wanted—to rile him. To push him to say something that he would later regret. He wasn’t going to give the older fey noble that satisfaction.

With a sigh, Skye retreated into the keep. The sooner he saw to his duties, the sooner he’d be able to retire. And Kato was right about one thing—he had no intention of letting Taly get away from him tonight.