“About what the Alliance will require of us?”
“Yes.”
“Because you promised Auden you’d do whatever they asked?”
He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
“And you think they’ll ask us to rule their new country.”
“I do.”
“And you don’t want to rule?”
“Do you?” he asked, certain that she didn’t.
Evylin grimaced. “I don’t think I’d be very good at it.”
“Neither would I.”
The look she gave him was hard to read.
“But this is what I do know—” He brushed his thumbs along hers. “We will choose our own destiny, not the Alliance. And if that means I have to go back on my word to Auden, I will because I made a promise to you first. I will do everything in my power to make you happy, no matter what that looks like.”
Evylin remained motionless beneath his touch, her gaze softening. A tangle of emotions emanated from her, yet Deckard struggled to decipher them. It was as if several feelings were intertwined, each vying for prominence. He guessed that interpreting the genuine range of a partner’s emotions after Bonding required practice.
While he was preoccupied with sorting out her reaction, Evylin didn’t wait. She leaned in and kissed him, the motion wild and dangerous. Her hands jerked free of his to clamp onto his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair.
A jolt of energy spiked through Deckard’s chest, his magic lurching in reaction. He gripped her hips, trying to push her back. “Evie,” he gasped around her amorous kisses. Rejecting her desires was the last thing he wanted to do, but they didn’t have time for such exploits. “Evie, as—” He slipped free of her kiss only for her to begin accosting his jaw, cheek, and neck with her affection.
“As much as I’d love to continue this—” He gave a final shove, pushing her back to a seat on the bed while darting away from her touch. “We really have to leave.”
Her gaze was fierce. “They’ll wait.”
Deckard couldn’t stop the tremble that went through him as he finally recognized the emotion coursing in the air between them asdesire. “I’m sure they would,” he said weakly. “As I’m sure Rafferty would have a pleasant time guessing at the reason for our tardiness.”
Evylin slunk forward on the bed. “Are we late yet?” she asked seductively.
“Not quite.”
She smirked. “But we will be.”
Deckard wet his bottom lip. “Only if you don’t get moving.”
“What if I move . . .slowly?”
His next words caught at the intonation of her tone. “Then we would be late.”
“In that case,” Evylin’s fingers caught the waistband of his trousers and tugged, “we may as well be a bit later.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Evylin was right. It didn’t matter that they were late, and Rafferty wasn’t even present to notice. In fact, only Thom, Brea, and Auden were on time. His brother and the Warrior were seated by the fireplace playing a seemingly rousing game of chess while they baited one another with clever quips. Auden spoke with the clerk, Maurus, at the desk.
After exchanging their greetings, Deckard set a hand on Thom’s shoulder. “I’m going to need the Relic back,” he said quietly.
Before the Bonding ceremony, Auden suggested Deckard give the Night Relic to Thom, warning that it could impede the magic needed to solidify the Bond. Not wanting to risk something so important, Deckard hadn’t hesitated, knowing his brother would be with them should danger arise. And though Deckard didn’t feel the same oppressive weight of the Relic’s pull as he’d come to learn any other magical individual would, after wearing it for so long, he was beginning to feel its effects on his emotions. Subtle as it might have been, there was an immediate sense of lightening when he removed it, as though he’d been wearing a heavy cloak over his heart and hadn’t even been aware of it. He was grateful for the chance of a break from the pressure, even forone night. But now, it was time to assume the responsibility for it once again.
Readily, Thom tugged open the top buttons of his coat. “I must say, I’m happy to get rid of it,” he said, lifting it over his head. “I don’t know how you wear this thing all the time. It’s a bloody nuisance. I could hardly sleep with it around my neck. Felt like it was choking me.”
