Page 202 of Sword & Shadow
The Time Relic met her palm.
Tucking, she dropped to the ground, her mind focused on keeping the Relic in necklace form as she held it to herchest. She rolled across the glass floor, then clambered to her feet. Suddenly, time resumed its normal pace, the heightened Warrior clarity dropping away. Hastily gathering her presence of mind, she dashed around a pillar to avoid the Guardian’s attack. Yet, it followed, its remaining horn scraping a chunk out of the column.
With her free hand, Evylin pulled out a throwing knife. She flung two blades in rapid succession. They both struck the snake’s slitted eye nearest to her. The first bounced off, while the second splintered the glassy orb. The Guardian screamed.
Evylin took advantage of the beast’s distraction to sprint across the sandy floor. Her darting footsteps were unsteady in her desperation. She felt her focus slipping, her stamina slowly seeping away after so much time under tension. She just had to make it to Deckard.
The sound of slithering came from behind her. The Guardian was making its way toward her. She could sense it looming, feeling the cavernous echo of its maw as it opened its jaws to strike.
She was so close.
In the mirrored floor beneath her, Evylin could see the snake’s fangs descending.
So close.
The loose white sand gave way, and Evylin’s feet slipped out from under her. She accepted the fall, letting her momentum carry her forward. The Guardian’s fangs hit the glass, and Evylin felt a tug on the end of her braid.
Head stinging, Evylin pushed off the floor and sprinted the final distance. She gripped Deckard’s arm, tearing it free from Auden’s grasp.
“What—?” Auden began to protest, their timelines instantly converging.
“Here!” With no time to explain, Evylin shoved the Time Relic into Auden’s open palm, then placed first Deckard’s and then her hand on top.
Auden gasped as a simultaneous heat ripped through Evylin’s body.
Like an all-consuming fire, it burned in her veins, muscles, sinew, and bones. But the sensation didn’t hurt; it just felt like power. Unexplainable, overcoming power. Gooseflesh spread across her skin. Her every sense grew too strong, too aware. She felt, saw, heard, smelled, and tasted everything. The feeling overwhelmed her, and the universe crashed in on her in a single moment.
And then, the feeling was gone, and the magic dissipated.
“What was that?” Evylin asked in a staggered breath.
Auden gave her a surprised look. “That’s what our power feels like,” he said.
“But on an exponential level,” Deckard added, clearly dazed.
With a shrug, Auden agreed. “That’s what happens when we destroy a Guardian.”
“What? Every time?” Evylin asked, a phantom tingle still tracing her spine.
“Yes,” Auden said simply.
Turning, Evylin surveyed the Chamber hall. The Guardian was gone, though mounds of sand still littered the glass floor. Ilain and Ethenn jogged across the expanse. He stooped to pick up the Wind Relic Evylin had dropped. Ilain wore the Fire Relic once more. It flickered brightly against her chest.
Ethenn set a hand on Evylin’s arm when they approached. He proffered the Wind Relic to her. “Would you like this back?”
Evylin brushed some of her sweat-slicked hair out of her face. “That’s all right. You keep it.”
“We have five Relics now,” Auden said, holding up the Time Relic. “We can all carry one.”
Accepting the new Relic, Evylin took a moment to inspect it. The gold chain and casing resembled the others, although this one bore the same clock-like designs she recognized from the antechamber. A brilliant white diamond glittered in the center. With a surge of energy, Evylin prompted it to transform into a white-bladed broadsword, its hilt made of ivory. While it looked like fragile porcelain, the weight was perfect in her hand, a true work of magic.
Looking back at the others, Evylin smiled. “Well,” she said, “shall we be sure Thom and Rafferty haven’t lost faith in us and decided to return to Ephria on their own?”
Light laughter spread between the group. Remaining carefully connected, they turned to the staircase. And once more, Evylin allowed herself to take Deckard’s hand. Be it a foolish indulgence or not, she reveled in the contact.
For their remaining journey through the Keep, she would feel this connection. She would savor the life that filled her senses because of it. And for one fleeting moment, she would let herself be his Warrior.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
