“I wasn’t lying, you bloody bastard!” Ilain yelled through fresh tears.
He glared at her, unmoved.
“Fine,” she ground out. “Be united by a faulty Bond. See if I care. Join right hands.”
With force, Blount took Evylin’s right hand. She kept reminding herself that Deckard had a plan. This wasn’t the end. They wouldn’t lose.
But Isla was dead, and Thom was bleeding out—again. They were scattered through the room. And at last count, there were thirty-nine soldiers and seventeen Mages present in the throne room, thirty-nine non-magical and seventeen magical beings barring them from victory.
“Fire, Day, Water, Night, Wind, Time, Terrae, and Space,” Ilain began, her voice taut. “This is the foundation of Terraeus, the resources of life.”
Evylin stared up at Blount, the words creating a strange déjà vu in her magically heightened senses. A gentle wave of adoration swept over her from the far side of the room.
“From the dawn of creation,” Ilain continued, “Allore formed Warriors and Mages from his very soul, setting them as gatekeepers and anchors of his power, charging them to be caregivers and servants to all.”
Inexplicably, Evylin found herself smiling, remembering her ceremony with Deckard. She remembered his tender gaze and gentle touch. The tingle of magic spread across her skin.
Blount’s brow furrowed at her wistful gaze.
Ilain’s voice grew stronger as she spoke. “To Bond is to release who you are alone and fasten who you are together.”
Clarity came to Evylin’s mind. Time slowed, and she saw the room with an omniscient gaze, perceiving each heartbeat. It wasn’t just her Warrior senses that had heightened this time, though. She could sense the heat building under her skin and the world tinged black with the silhouette of Space.
Evylin remembered Ilain’s words from their ceremony.“Not double-sided but never-ending—singular and whole.”
Singular and whole.
Warrior and Mage.
Evylin and Deckard.
A sudden weight settled into Evylin’s left hand—light and metallic and small enough to conceal easily. She tightened her grip, feeling the cool touch of the golden scrollwork.
Her smile grew into a smirk.
“What are you smiling about?” Blount said, interrupting Ilain’s speech.
Evylin shrugged playfully. “Oh, I’m just a happy person, generally. It used to annoy my uncle, whom you killed, by the way. I’ve been meaning to repay you for that.”
Blount’s grip tightened on hers. “You can hold a grudge as long as you like,” he said, with a bitter snarl. “But you’re mine now. And one day, you’ll love me more than any other.”
“Actually,” Evylin quipped, “I won’t.”
His gaze hardened.
“You see—” The world slowed. With her left hand, Evylin raised the returned Bonding dagger to thrust the silver blade into Blount’s chest. The moonstone in the pommel shimmered under the light of the chandeliers. “I’m already Bonded.”
The room exploded with magic.
Blount stumbled back, the blade protruding from his pectoral. With a thought, Evylin summoned it back, and it landed in her right hand.
Angered, Blount sent out a fierce amethyst shadow. It crashed into Evylin, knocking her back.
Around them, Ilain and Obel engaged the other Mages while Brea and Ethenn struggled to fight in their chains. Elemental and Existential magic erupted in dazzling flares. With her omnipresent vision, Evylin saw the black crystals of Space tearing through the guards holding Deckard, Thom, Rafferty, and Vayden. Together, they rose and joined the fray, though Thom struggled with the gaping wound in his gut. Pausing for but a moment, Deckard set a hand on his brother’s stomach, a bronze light pulsing to heal him.
With the battle raging, Evylin focused on Blount. He sneered at her, something like respect entering his gaze. “You’re more cunning than I expected,” he said. “Who’d you find to Bond with?”
“In truth, he found me.” Evylin ducked under another shadow that narrowly missed her. She spun, flicking her wrist as she faced the Night Mage again. The dagger embedded itself in his thigh, and he cried out. The blade returned to her summons.“I did welcome his advances, though. He’s awfully charming, you see.”
