Page 222 of Sword & Shadow
Though she addressed Thom, he remained silent.
“We are,” Deckard replied, sending a pointed glare to Thom.
Renaul reached up to brush some of Thom’s newly shorn dark locks off his forehead. He pulled out of her reach. “I don’t care to play your game,” he said coldly.
“Nevertheless,” her eyes flashed threateningly, her reply swift, “youwillplay.”
Evylin met Thom’s gaze then, raising her brow. It wasn’t the time to test the woman. She held the Calders and the Relics captive, and there was no doubt in Evylin’s mind that Renaul was working with Blount. It wasn’t worth testing the countess to find out what vile things she was capable of.
Jaw tight, Thom complied. “My name is Thom, and I met Evie at her uncle’s smithy. I...” He hesitated, meeting her stare. Something like regret passed over his face. “I liked her instantly,” he said, addressing Evylin rather than Renaul. “Somehow, I had the good fortune to become her friend. And I can’t fathom why she’d be that good to me.”
Deckard shifted uncomfortably beside his brother, tension creeping into his shoulders. But Evylin heard the apology in Thom’s words. He regretted his actions, and he was repentant. Genuine remorse shone in his eyes, knowing that he’d hurt her.
Evylin offered Thom an absolving smile. Whatever his flaws, Thom Deckard was a good man. Sometimes, it just took him longer to display his goodness. And in the face of death, it was not the time to hold a grudge.
“How sweet,” Renaul muttered dully. “Well, I think I have the information I need.” She tossed a hand in Ethenn’s direction. “Not you.”
The hunter visibly relaxed.
“Which puts it down to the brothers,” Renaul said dramatically. “Now, pretty Thom,” she patted his arm, “I see you have a soft spot for our darling, but I’m afraid friendshipwasits end. There’s a foreign quality in the way you say her name. As if you know the sound of it, but you can’t quite understand the meaning.”
The lady’s intense gaze floated up to Deckard’s face. “But you, JonnDeckard, speak her name with knowledge,” she said, and inexplicably, Evylin’s heart filled at her words. “A knowledge that only intimacy can impart.”
Though Evylin doubted their marriage shared the sort of intimacy this noblewoman implied, she didn’t doubt the truth of her conclusion. Deckard did know her—better than anyone alive. Despite all the barriers Evylin had constructed, he’d discovered her heart. And he’d done so not by force but by attention. He hadn’t knocked down her walls; he’d scaled them. He’d accepted the distance she placed between them and perched on the top of those barricades, watching her from afar and learning her better than anyone she’d ever known.
And she loved him for it.
“Have I guessed correctly?” Renaul asked, breaking through Evylin’s reverie. Her sharp glare held a hostility Evylin didn’t quite understand. “Is Jonn your husband?”
Meeting Deckard’s steady and tender gaze, Evylin allowed herself one moment of awe at the truth of it. “He is,” she whispered.
The gentlest, most loving smile lifted Deckard’s whole expression.
Renaul scoffed. “Tricked into helping the Calders, indeed,” she said caustically.
“What better way to trick a man,” Deckard said, “than with the woman he loves?”
Evylin couldn’t contain her grin. “Incorrigible flirt,” she said.
He dipped his chin in a mock bow. “Anything for you.”
Renaul let out a considering hum. “Charming,” she said, then motioned between the two of them. “If you would, Colonel Deckard, please escort your wife to her seat. I’m sure you all must be starving after your journey with my liege officer. Caustin is not the most hospitable, I know, but he gets the job done.”
As Renaul moved out of the way, Evylin and Deckard stared at one another, both hesitant. Neither could quite believe the woman would allow them to be together. But as the lady drifted to speak in hushed tones with the Wind Mage and none of the guards made any move away from the walls, it appeared no one would stop them.
Cautiously, Deckard began to approach, and Evylin met him halfway. His hands came to rest on her arms, pulling her close. “Are you all right?” he whispered, brow pinched together.
Evylin’s heart jolted, remembering how he’d asked that same question in Dunneshead, just after their kiss. She wished she could recapture that moment in this one.
Instead, Evylin reached up, the shackles clinking once again as she settled for brushing one hand along his forearm. It felt so good to touch him, to have him near. “I’m fine,” she replied with a reassuring smile.
Though the pinch didn’t ease, Deckard let out a relieved breath. He offered his arm, and she took it, letting him lead her toward the table.
“Colonel,” Renaul said, beckoning, “you’ll sit at my right hand, and—oh, sweet Thom—”
Following behind Evylin and Deckard, Thom paused.
“You must sit on my left,” she instructed. “After all, the seat next to Evylin is claimed.”
