“I realize how it sounds,” continued Evander. “How I might hear it, even, were our current roles reversed. But believe me, the man is real, and he certainly has not been trapped here with me all this time.”
“He is out there,” Zephyr said quietly.
“Yet the crown remains unclaimed, does it?” Thraigg added, voice gruff.
Evander nodded. “Not for his lack of trying, believe me. But it would appear the celestials understood at least one thing about the influence of Malakar’s dark magic when they crafted the Crucible.”
Cedric arched his brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, it wouldn’t let him claim it. Not even after we made it to the final trial.”
“The Trial of Concord?” Kit asked eagerly.
“Yes. The final barrier standing between champion and crown.” He bounced his finger on Kit’s nose, and she beamed at him. “Malchior couldn’t best it, and I refused to help him. But with his wicked magic came wicked ways to manipulate some parts of the Crucible, enough so to break his tie to the Sanctum and escape, abandoning me here.”
“And you’ve been here this entire time?” Cedric asked, at the same time Elyria said, “And you’ve been alone all these years?”
“Yes.”
Shame spread through her like poison. Twenty-five years. He spent twenty-five years trapped in this prison, while she drowned herself in drink and between the legs of anyone who caught her eye. “Wouldn’t...” Elyria started, then bit back the words on her tongue.
“Say what you are thinking, love,” Evander encouraged, leaning toward her. “I would hope we wouldn’t start keeping secrets now.”
Cedric tangibly stiffened at Elyria’s other side. “Wouldn’t it have driven you mad?” she asked.
“I suppose I just knew that if I waited long enough, someone would come for me. I prayed to the celestials for it every day and every night. I prayed it would be you.”
Elyria’s heart cracked.
“Why have we not seen you until now?” Nox asked, again their tone filled with curiosity...and laced with something sharper.
“Dare I presume to understand the designs of the celestials?” Evander said with a chuckle. “I simply could not beseen until now.”
Well, that’s convenient.The thought crossed Elyria’s mind before she could stop it. Couldn’t stop the questions burning there, either. She didn’t get a chance to ask them, though.
“I saw you, however. I’ve been watching, waiting,” Evander continued.
Elyria’s cheeks heated. She didn’t want to know if he’d witnessed thealmostwith Cedric in the moonlight, or the many moments shared between them since. The words felt sticky on her tongue as she said, “I had no idea. I thought you were lost.”
Evander placed his large hand over hers on the table and she seized. “That’s a shame. I was hoping you would know there’s nothing in this world or the next that could have kept me from you forever.”
Several heartbeats of thick silence passed. Elyria’s heart was suddenly beating too fast. She stared at their hands, Evander’s heavy atop her own. His eyes flicked to her shoulders, almost as if he was looking for the wings she hadn’t even considered uncloaking. She couldn’t. Not with the familiarity and foreignness of him at war in her heart.
She wanted to grab hold of his hand and keep it tucked in hers forever. She wanted to fling it off her. Her body split the difference by tensing so tightly, she was sure she was the one who would combust this time. She didn’t know how to process his presence—his return—on top of everything else.
Cedric’s arm brushed against Elyria’s, the reminder of him calming her, grounding her. Her shadows buzzed, thetugin her chest pulling the slightest bit, even as she noted the way Cedric’s gaze flicked from her to Evander to their hands on the table.
“So, now what?” Thraigg finally asked, a welcome interruption to her spinning thoughts. “Where do we go from here?”
Evander cocked his head. “Whatever do you mean?”
“He means, we don’t know what we’re supposed to do now,” Kit said, shaking her head. “The Arbiter has not issued any instruction since before the last trial. We don’t have any idea what the Trial of Concord entails.”
Evander paused. “I see,” he said simply, though there was something in his voice as he spoke the words that set Elyria on edge.
“But don’t worry, brother.” Kit jumped to her feet. “We’re here now. We’re together, and we will not stop until we are all free of this place. Fuck the crown. If Varyth Malchior was able to escape this place without winning it, we can too. It was never my reason for cominghere anyway.”
Evander hummed thoughtfully before releasing Elyria’s hand. He pushed his chair back and stood, clasping his hands casually behind his neck.
