CHAPTER SEVENTY #2
“All?” he inquired, his eyes shifting to green in the dim light of the rocky outcrop he’d brought her to. “I meant the lesson in the ice we’re swimming in. What are you talking about?”
“The same,” she said with a shrug. “And everything else too.”
Deckard smiled and drew her closer, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Everything else, you say? Referring to the past five years?”
“Referring to us. Deciding to marry a man I had known for just three days. Deciding to love you.”
“Ah, yes.” He tilted his head down. “That ‘everything else.’”
They floated in the water for a while, relishing their closeness, until Deckard eventually decided he’d had enough, claiming the water was too cold for sensible people to swim in.
Evylin asserted she wasn’t sensible, yet she followed him out regardless.
After drying off and changing into fresh clothes, they strolled to the hillside where their horses awaited.
A few miles from the village, they chose to bask in the sun, at its peak in the sky.
Though the autumn chill permeated the terrae beneath them, the heat of the day and their additional layers helped them to regain their warmth.
Evylin unraveled her damp braid and toweled off the ends while Deckard looked up at her.
“You know,” he whispered, “you were right.”
“I know,” she said with a smirk. “What was I right about this time?”
“Everything.”
She laughed and tossed the towel aside. Leaning into him, she kissed his lips quickly as his arm encircled her waist. “Referring to the past five years?” she teased.
“Referring to us.”
She nodded. “Referring to us,” she repeated tenderly.
Deckard’s smile softened as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was dark with water, though the sun was quickly drying it back to its reddish tint. “Thank you for being brave enough to marry me,” he whispered.
“Thank you for being brash enough to marry me.”
“Are you happy, Evylin?”
Tilting her head, Evylin struggled to find the right words to convey her happiness. She had Deckard, their Ryen, her friends, her family, and a life full of adventure. Nothing in her imagination compared to the world she lived in now.
“Beyond my wildest dreams,” she affirmed. “Are you happy, Jonn?”
Deckard entwined his fingers in her hair and drew her nearer. “More than I ever hoped,” he whispered just before kissing her—softly, deeply, and enduringly.
Amid the gentle chirping of birds, the scent of grass beneath them, and the sun’s warm embrace, Evylin could sense the depth of his love through kisses like these. They didn’t need a Bond to tell her how truly happy he felt. Not when he kissed her like this. Not when he held her so tightly.
Evylin paused, grinning too broadly to keep kissing. “Are you ready for your surprise?” she whispered.
Deckard grinned up at her, tracing her jawline with his thumb. “You’re pregnant.”
Evylin gaped at him, her mouth falling open. “How did you know?”
His hand grazed her stomach. “I feel what you’re feeling, remember?” he teased. “You’ve been extra tired, irritable, and wistful.”
“Irritable?” Evylin poked a finger into his rib, causing him to lurch beneath her with laughter. “I’m a delight when I’m with child.”
“I wouldn’t begin to deny that.”
She poked him firmly again.
“What was that for?” he demanded.
“For spoiling my surprise,” she said, giving him another poke.
Deckard grabbed her waist tightly, allowing him to gain the advantage of rolling her over onto the drying grass. He interrupted her next attack with another kiss, even as their laughter shook them. Gradually, his kisses served their purpose well, settling them into the serenity of affection.
“I take it you’re hoping for a girl again?” she remarked as they lay contentedly in each other’s embrace.
Without a word, Deckard nodded.
“Why?”
He traced the contours of her face with his finger as if committing every detail to memory. “Because she would be just like you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She’d be your daughter, wouldn’t she?”
She smirked. “I do believe so.”
He arched his right eyebrow. “Then she’d be perfect.”
Somehow, the compliment made Evylin blush, even after all their years together. “What if it’s another boy?” she asked, her voice softer than normal.
“Then I’ll love him as much as I love Ryen, and he’ll be just as wonderful.”
“Ryen is pretty wonderful, isn’t he?” she asked proudly. Though only a year old, their little boy was already sweet and tenderhearted. She hoped he was having fun with his cousins in their absence. He’d cried at their departure, and it took every bit of her will to walk out the door.
Deckard smiled. “That he is.”
“Your mother mentioned that he resembles you at his age—he loves stories and is always thoughtful toward others.” Evylin had the sudden urge to embrace her son, wishing they would have brought him with them.
“Really?” Deckard said, curling a few damp waves around his finger. “He reminds me more of you. Headstrong and far too clever for this world. If he possesses magic, I’m confident he’ll become a Warrior.”
Looking up into Deckard’s gentle gaze, she found herself hoping that their son wouldn’t be magical.
In fact, she hoped none of their children would be.
The weight of being a Mage or a Warrior was just as significant as the rewards it offered.
While she dreamed of them living as long as she and Deckard, she also yearned for them to enjoy lives with less responsibility.
Evylin ran her hand along Deckard’s arm as she rested in his embrace. “Jonn,” she whispered.
“Yes, Evie?”
“I learned something recently.”
“What’s that?”
“My ‘more’ has changed.”
The pinch in Deckard’s brow appeared, and she smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said, reaching up to smooth the crease away. “You’re still part of it.”
“I’m relieved,” he said with a chuckle. “I’d hate to think you were weary of me.”
“Never,” she vowed, holding him close.
“Then tell me,” he prompted. “How has your ‘more’ changed?”
Taking a moment to reflect on her feelings, Evylin paused.
“I suppose it hasn’t changed so much as it has grown,” she corrected herself.
“Now, I see that what matters most to me in this world—what is worth living for—it’s still you, but it’s also Ryen.
And now, it includes our other child as well.
No matter what challenges life throws at us, life is enough because I have each of you. ”
The purest smile tugged at Deckard’s lips, lighting up his green-blue eyes, which sparkled with joy. “Evylin,” he uttered her name as if it were the most beautiful word in existence.
“Yes, Jonn?”
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
Together on the dry grass plain of Nettershire, Evylin rested her head against Deckard’s shoulder.
She closed her eyes, feeling his contentment pulse through her along with the shared sentiment from the Space Relic he wore around his neck.
The Relic had begun to convey its emotions to them both in subtle waves of energy, no matter which of them was wearing it.
It was something all the Bonded couples experienced, as they’d learned from their discussions with their fellow chancellors and commanders.
Evylin smiled, the gentle cool of her magic fluttering across her skin as Deckard traced circles over her arm.
After five years, her love for him had only grown, and she couldn’t fathom how it would expand in the wake of the centuries ahead of them.
As always, her heart panged at the thought that their Ryen and this new life burgeoning inside her might not be part of their prolonged existence.
Her world felt so full with the “more” of her children. She couldn’t bear a day without them.
Yet, after everything they’d endured, the truth Hewitt taught her remained ever certain: It was up to her to choose what “more” looked like for her life.
Death and heartbreak were inevitable, but along the way, new family and hope could be found.
She’d lost her cousin, her uncle, and many dear friends throughout their journey.
And she’d found a husband, a brother, a vast family, two children, and so many more companions who made her life even more complete.
In her heart, Evylin could almost feel Hewitt’s presence as he surely smiled down at her from the Heavens.
Life was enough because of the people at Evylin’s side, those who remained and those who’d departed. And she would never forget their love, so long as she lived.