CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE #4
Evylin spun the Space sword with such grace and agility that she might have been dancing. A spin and a strike. A dip back before her arm flowed in a crushing upward blow. A glide forward as she lunged to pierce the attacker ahead of her.
And through it all, she radiated undiluted joy.
Deckard was in awe. This was Evylin in her purest form, the Warrior and the woman who’d captivated his mind and fascinated his heart. She was incredible and impossible. And she was his.
As a fresh wave of the Shades poured toward them, the Space sword pulsed with a shimmer.
Deckard watched as darkness erupted from the blade, crystalline shards descending to wrap over her arm and across her body, sliding down to her feet.
She was covered in a silhouette of his magic.
It lashed out with each of her strikes, defending her as she fought.
With his chest filled with overpowering adoration, Deckard’s magic intensified. Cold seeped into his mind, soothing the heat of his power. He knew this chill. It was the same sensation he’d experienced during their Bonding ceremony. It was her power, freshly alight in him.
The room came into focus, even as the shadows at the edges of his vision remained.
Every one of Deckard’s senses heightened.
His perspective became nearly omnipresent, and he could see them all fighting together.
He and Evylin led the charge, taking down Shade after Shade with almost no effort.
They’d torn through the fourth wave already, though the fifth joined within moments.
At the back, Ilain and Ethenn worked together with similar harmony. They were disjointed at times, but all in all, they moved with near-impossible precision and grace. Another Warrior and Mage in perfect balance.
In the middle, Brea and Isla flowed together, though not with the same steadiness. Vayden and Thom kept Rafferty safe, handling themselves well. They’d made steady progress, already almost three-fourths of the way through the Keep.
It wasn’t until the sixth wave that the creatures seemed to refine their attack, and the onslaught caught up to them.
Hesitant to turn away from Evylin, Deckard sent a stream of shadows behind them.
Several Shades came crashing down at the back of the fight.
He threw up the walls of Space to protect the troop from the blowback of their deaths.
But a Shade broke past Vayden’s defenses while Isla was distracted on the other side. Ethenn dove forward, taking the hit meant for Vayden. He rolled across the path with the Terrae bow tight in his grasp. But the Shades rushed him.
Ethenn was trampled in the stampede, groans audible under their assault.
Ilain expelled a giant cloud of fire that rumbled over the Shades. They burst into ash, falling weightlessly over Ethenn. He gasped for air at the release, his face twisted in pain.
Brea hurried forward with Vayden to haul Ethenn to his feet.
Seeing their trouble, Deckard called to Evylin, holding out his hand. Their eyes met with trust. Though she couldn’t know his plan, he knew she could sense his urgency. She flipped the Space sword, slashed through a Shade, and dashed to his side.
The second their palms met, they disappeared in a cloud of black, reappearing at the back of the troop.
At their materialization, an explosion of shards cut through the Shades surrounding them, blowing the creatures back. Though they’d thinned out the front, Deckard wouldn’t leave Thom undefended up there for long. He intended to just see the Calders, Ethenn, and Brea secure on their feet.
While Deckard and Evylin cleared out a mass of Shades, the wave grew less dangerous.
Ilain sent more fire bolts sailing through the air.
Isla’s Wind magic sliced through the Shades in huge swaths.
The path was clear, but Ethenn required both Vayden and Brea’s support, his head lolling with a worrying droop.
As Evylin cut down another Shade, Deckard called to her. Hands clasped, they teleported back to the other side to stop the Shades again, who were bearing down on Thom and Rafferty. They reappeared in a burst of magic, immediately slicing through the creatures.
Rafferty cursed at their sudden appearance next to him. “Warn someone before you do that!” he called.
Deckard and Evylin were too busy taking down the remaining Shades and clearing their path to the exit to respond.
Rushing up the staircase, Deckard slammed his hand against the door. It rumbled open as he resumed the fight. The troop scrambled up the steps after him, hurrying into the antechamber. The last to leave, Deckard and Evylin defended their escape, a crystalline shadow of magic surrounding them both.
Once Ilain made it through the door, Deckard and Evylin slipped out last. The door shut, and they were free of the last and final Keep.
Their breath collectively heaving, Deckard and Evylin stood, frozen as one, as they stared in awe at one another. They’d done it: Fire, Day, Water, Night, Wind, Time, Terrae, and Space. All the Relics had now returned to Terraeus.