A calm descended over Deckard with a renewed weight. It slid like a lock into his mind, shutting out all other thoughts or worries. The bar slid down so tightly he couldn’t feel anything but the love he had for Evylin, its assurance whole and serene. Fondly, he ran his thumb across her cheek.
Evylin smiled, and a wash of relief filled her. “That’s it,” she said. The others were talking over one another, but he could only hear her voice. “Just focus on me.”
A hum started in the distance, an echo of emptiness that couldn’t be defined.
“They’re coming,” Deckard told her.
Her expression tightened. “The Shades?” she asked, but Auden called out before Deckard could answer.
“The Shades are coming,” Auden cried. “Get ready.”
Brea, Isla, Ilain, and Auden rushed to the front. Thom, Rafferty, and Vayden raised their weapons, following behind. Ethenn lifted the Wind bow, ready but waiting near Deckard and Evylin’s side. Only the couple remained still, gazes locked on one another.
“Jonn,” she said, holding the Night sword at her side. “Stay focused on me, all right? Don’t use your magic until absolutely necessary.”
The humming of the Shades grew louder, joining the whispering in his head. Their combined refrain was like the drone of the ocean, but one where the waves never crashed. It stayed constant and endless, urging him to think about Evylin. Only Evylin.
She took his hand, guiding him down the stairs. He watched her every move. Why had he been so worried about losing control? He had control. He hadher.
Before them, the Shades formed from clay and crystalline shards. Their shapes were familiar. Those reflective black prisms looked like Deckard’s magic. Transformative and sharp. Deadly.
“Don’t let them touch you,” he warned Evylin.
She gave him a playful grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
A soft yellow and light blue explosion broke out behind the glassy obelisk in the distance. Deckard looked up to appraise it. It reminded him of the frosted countryside of Wayford under the winter sky. His body warmed, a burning sensation rising in his veins. His heart leaped.
“Jonn,” Evylin said with obvious worry, “focus on me.”
With a gentle smile, Deckard met her gaze once more. “I am,” he promised.
And then the never-ending sky crashed down on him with its power, and his vision narrowed to black. Ethenn let off a single arrow as the Shades took a step forward, but no one else had the chance to attack.
A sense of total focus overcame Deckard. His mind became a vacuum of thought, focused only on the woman at his side. Her strength. Her goodness. Her safety. The silhouette of space erupted around him, black shards glittering in the vibrancy of infinity. Everything and nothing ruled his mind, and his emotions leveled with a singular aim. He heard Evylin’s voice call out to him, but her words were unclear as the voice of magic filled his ears.
Evylin.
Deckard didn’t bother to raise his hands. With a single thought, the crystalline shards erupted behind him like a supernova, flashing through the air to crash into the first wave of Shades. He was solely focused on defending his love. And he would stop at nothing until she was safe.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Evylin forgot to breathe.
Her whole being was locked in shock and awe as Deckard’s magic exploded around him. The onyx cloud of crystals glittered with shards of vibrant ruby, topaz, sapphire, amethyst, silver, opal, and emerald, reflecting as they spun. Deckard’s eyes had become so dark they could no longer be called green, yet the expression on his face radiated peace, and she could feel the utter calm within him. It was as though he no longer exuded any emotion. His aura was a void, cold and dark like the Space around them.
While his magic tore through the first wave of Shades, Deckard began a slow, calculated walk down the onyx stairs, moving deeper into the Keep. The shards emitting from him hit the creatures dead on, shadows separating into dozens of sections to pierce through their clay forms. Evylin watched as the Shades burst apart, their own shimmering fragments launching forward. If anyone had been standing nearby, those shards would have ripped through flesh easily.
Then a single note vibrated through the air around each Shade that had been struck. It was a hum so deep and low that it echoed in her chest as the shards halted their spinning explosion. A twisting black hole formed at each Shade’s core.The vacuum of space caused the crystalline pieces to rotate back in on themselves and into the center of the creatures’ beings, where they were swallowed up into the darkness.
“Don’t get near them,” Brea ordered at the front, seeing the destruction the Shades’ deaths brought. “They’ll suck you in.”
Evylin’s stomach sank as she looked around the group. The rest of the troop had blanched, their defensive postures slackening in horror at the scene before them.
Deckard stepped off the stairs, and Evylin was woken from her stupor. She darted down after him, grabbing his sleeve. “Jonn, stop!” she called.
But only for a moment did he pause, looking back at her with those dark black-green eyes. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He set his hand atop hers, then removed himself from her grip.
Deckard turned and continued on the path.
