And maybe soon he’d take his love away from her, leaving her with a broken heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
3RD OF RADIA, 1574
The Allmar mountains towered overhead, resembling a surge of ocean waves turned to stone. Their horses moved anxiously along the narrow switchbacks, the pebbles crunching beneath their hooves. The troop had dismounted to navigate to the Alliance’s hidden passage, making the journey slow and challenging. The terrain was not just perilous; wild animals lurked within the caves and forests of the ridge, necessitating constant vigilance.
“You and Auden traveled this path alone?” Evylin asked Ilain when the path widened enough for them to walk two by two.
Ilain nodded, keeping her voice hushed as she replied, “It was no more fun than it is now.” The corner of her mouth lifted. “It was easier, though, being just the two of us. We didn’t even have horses.”
At the start of their journey, the Calders had told the troop of their travels from Wauld to Ephria, but now Evylin realized they must have lied about most of it. After all, they hadn’t told them they’d taken a secret path through the mountains. Instead, they’d reported that they used magic to sneak across the border. She wondered what else they’d altered to create a suitable tale.
To make the journey worse, the rain had returned. In the mountain’s shadow, the cold wind splattered them across the face, biting into their cheeks and noses despite their hoods. Evylin was more than ready to quit Wauld and exchange the dampness for sunshine. Even if it was spring, the weather in Ephria was never as wet and dreary as its western counterpart.
After hours of travel, Auden finally stopped them at the entrance of a cave. He conjured an orb, its butter-yellow glow illuminating their path and ensuring there weren’t any animals lurking inside. The horses were uneasy in the confined space, needing considerable coaxing to press forward in the darkness.
“Shouldn’t there be magic that helps animals to cooperate?” Thom grumbled.
“There is,” Ilain said casually.
Thom paused on the path, his face filling with awe. “Really? Which one?”
“Well, Terrae Mages are typically reasonable at it. But as Day magic speaks to life itself, it can also reach past the psyche and touch the soul.”
“Then why doesn’t Auden—”
Auden interrupted before the full question could be posed. “Because it takes a great deal of power, and I’m not particularly keen on wasting my energy talking to a horse.”
So on through the darkness they progressed. Auden’s orb of light hung over their heads, casting strange shadows on the stone walls, which were slick with condensation. The air grew continually colder until it settled at a frigid temperature that sent gooseflesh across Evylin’s skin. The horses snorted their discontent but continued at a steady clop.
Eventually, the terrae began to decline beneath their feet. Auden had informed them that the passage would take them beneath the mountains themselves through an underground cavern. It would take a full day to cross. When they’d asked if anydangers prowled within the cavern, Ilain had replied, “No more than in the mountains above.” None of them felt much better about the trek after that.
Evylin decided she didn’t like caves. It reminded her of the Night Keep, closed off and full of shadows. And she’d read enough novels to know paths through underground caverns were usually an invitation to death. The closed-in spaces made her feel like the world was pressing in. It was too still, too quiet within these stone walls. When a sound did occur, she jumped, fearing that a monstrous creature was coming from the depths to eat them whole.
In the cavern’s wide halls, Deckard found his way to Evylin’s side. “Is my mind deceiving me?” he asked lightheartedly. “Or are you afraid?”
The aura of emotion radiating off him said he was just as uncomfortable as she was. Evylin smirked, grateful for his distracting company. “Warriors don’t get scared,” she said. “We simply have a healthy respect for the unknown.”
“Ah, yes, I should have assumed that.” In the glow of the orb, Deckard raised his brow. “I must have mistaken your feelings for mine, then.”
She nudged his arm teasingly. “If you need comfort, I’m sure Thom would be willing to hold your hand.”
“I believe he’s a bit too preoccupied with his horse at the moment.”
Evylin glanced over her shoulder, seeing Thom struggling yet again with his horse. Brea stepped up to him, exchanged her horse’s reins with his, and moved on, the mare following her willingly, no longer protesting. Thom gaped after her like she’d tamed a wolf.
Chuckling, Evylin turned back to Deckard. “Seems he’s free now,” she said.
“Seems you’re right,” Deckard said, his gaze lingering on the scene. A slight tinge of emotion muddled his aspect for only a moment before he returned his coy grin to her. “But you see, I find the presence of a Warrior far more soothing to my sensibilities.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm-hm.” He dipped his chin. In the shadows, his hair turned a deep brown, and his scruff appeared thicker. Still, his eyes shone with a bright blue in the radiant light of Auden’s orb. “They’re immensely safer to be around, being that they can kill anything they put their mind to.”
Evylin snorted despite her attempt to remain stoic in their banter. “Then perhaps you’d find Ethenn to be a superior comfort. After all, he’s far stronger than I. Or Brea would be a fantastic savior. She’s had decades of practice and is vastly more skilled than both of us.”
“You know,” Deckard said, giving her a wide-eyed look as though that thought were greatly appealing, “I’d not considered that perspective.”
