Page 199 of Sword & Shadow
Time slowed.
Deckard’s and Evylin’s hands met.
They sprinted forward, back in sync with one another.
“Your turn,” Evylin said, loosening her grip. Her fingers slid up his arm, sending coils of power along his skin. A renewed strength blossomed within him.
Deckard raised his hands, gesturing ahead and around them. Two new, stronger shadows of the deepest black rose with them, their arcs racing across the Keep. With a thundering surge of energy, his magic ripped through every Shade, blasting them into cascades of creamy-white powder.
Only once more did they have to stop on their way to the Chamber entrance. As they battled across the floor, Deckard and Evylin moved in perfect unison. The magic filled him, and he felt lost to its sway as he had in Dunneshead. Yet, his mind was centered, his actions instinctual, and his body thrummed with an internal heat. His emotions grew cold and calculated, all sense of feeling set aside. All the while, Evylin moved with him, slashing, gliding, spinning, and tearing through Shade after Shade with all the grace of a waltz.
They were nearly to the Chamber when Deckard realized thatthiswas what the Calders had spoken of: Warrior and Mage in perfect balance.
They reached the towering pillar with the Chamber’s entrance moments after the Calders and Ethenn. The young Warrior shot his silver arrows with precision as Ilain opened the iron door. Rapidly, the three of them darted inside. Evylin took down another Shade before Deckard pushed her to follow Auden. A final Shade lunged, blocking the door, and Deckard lifted his hand. A single shard of black shot through its featureless face as Evylin yanked him into the Chamber. The Shade crumbled to sand, and the door shut behind him.
Gasping for breath, Evylin turned to Deckard, their hands still clasped tightly together. His pulse hammered so hard hecould practically feel it in his throat. He leaned against the stone wall in relief.
Ilain set her hand on Evylin’s arm. “We can’t let go of one another,” she warned. “Not even in here.”
Deckard nodded, squeezing Evylin’s hand. “Of course,” he said dryly. “That would make it too easy.”
A soft chuckle escaped Evylin. He tried not to let it go to his head.
Between the Calders, Ethenn gestured down the steps. “Whatever Guardian is waiting for us in the Chamber, it won’t be good,” he noted.
“Not to worry, darling,” Ilain said, an unusual twinkle in her verdant gaze. “We’ve got two Existential Mages to take care of that little problem for us.”
Deckard flinched. “I don’t know how to defeat a Guardian.”
“I’ll do most of it,” Auden said calmly. “Follow my lead and hone your focus on Time alone.”
Deckard ran his free hand through his sweat-dampened hair. “Easy,” he mumbled sourly.
“In that case,” Evylin said, then loosened her grip on Deckard.
She set his hand on her hip, and Deckard blanched, glancing down at it. He raised his gaze just in time to see her lift the chain of the Night Relic. “You’re going to need this more than I,” she said, placing it over his head to hang around his neck.
An immediate flare of energy swelled in Deckard, but he tamped it down.
“That won’t help him connect with Time,” Auden said in an annoyed tone. “It’ll just strengthen his focus on Night.”
Evylin settled him with a steely gaze that reminded Deckard of Hewitt. “Which would you rather have: a more focused Mage or a less focused one?” she demanded.
Begrudgingly, Auden turned away without a word.
With his hand still resting on Evylin’s hip, Deckard thought his focus might be on the wrong thing entirely. He straightened, meeting her gaze. “I don’t want you risking yourself,” he said. “You’re safer with the Relic.”
Evylin’s fingers closed around his wrist as though holding his hand in place. “I’ll be fine,” she promised. A flippant smile came to her lips, her amber eyes shining brightly. “So long asyoutake care of the Guardian.”
The subtle tease in her voice tugged at Deckard. For all the world, it sounded like she was flirting with him. He didn’t dare hope such a case was true. Yet, he couldn’t help returning her smirk.
Deckard twisted his hand from her grasp, then threaded his fingers with hers. “I’ll see what I can do.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Evylin knew she shouldn’t flirt with Deckard. She shouldn’t give him hope that she’d changed her mind. But in that moment, with her senses heightened and the tingle of magic flooding her veins, she didn’t care.
Evylin held his gaze—so dark a green it neared black—and dared him with her words. It felt so good to be back in his presence, to fight alongside him. After the battle they’d just waged, she finally understood the truth behind Ilain’s words.
