Free A Shadow Flame (Book 7) by Jordan Baker Page B

smile. "I would like for you to live, Ehlena, and free of the shadow." He reached out his hand, and Ehlena took it in her own, then she felt his power touch her gently. "I will try to help you, but I cannot do it now, not without waking Calexis."
    "And here I am trying to help you," Ehlena said with a sigh and she offered up her own tired smile.
    "Warn the mages that they must complete their spell soon," Aaron told her. "That would help me best, for they are now in grave danger of being noticed, and I cannot distract her for much longer."
    "I will tell them," Ehlena said.
    "Good," Aaron said. "And promise me that when the time comes, you and the others, you will not hold back." Aaron suddenly glanced over at the sleeping queen. "I can feel her beginning to wake. You must leave, Ehlena."
    "What do you mean, Aaron?" she asked. "What do you plan to do?"
    "If I fail, if my power cannot overcome the shadow, I will try to hold its power here so the others can burn it with their fire," Aaron said, and he let go of her hand, his eyes flashing darkly as the shadows closed in upon him once again. "Go now."
    Ehlena disappeared into the night air and out through the open window, worried for Aaron and knowing the risk he faced. She made her way down into the city, and began to search for the mages, making sure to keep her power obscured, for she knew that Calexis had awakened and with the power of the god within her and the shadow, she would be able to sense her power if she was not careful. Stavros was very skilled at hiding himself, and despite her ability to hear and feel most things upon the wind, it still took her some time to find him. There was only the barest shift in the air on the tiled roof of an inn, where a dark glowing crystal had been ensconced at its peak. Floating in the air, without form, Ehlena saw the crystal slowly turn around, moved by an unseen hand, then she felt a subtle shift in its power and the crystal began to pulse with light that at first seemed almost unnoticeably different but she quickly realized that it was only an illusion, and underneath it, the crystal glowed with pure, white light instead of the dark, purplish light of the shadow, and somehow it was the crystal itself that seemed to pretend it had not changed.
    "You must hurry, Stavros," Ehlena whispered. "Aaron cannot wait much longer."
    "Ehlena," Stavros said, his voice a raspy whisper, as his magic expanded around her, allowing her to see him. "You have returned."
    "Yes, and I bring you a warning," she said. "Calexis is very close to being able to sense what you are doing."
    "Come now," the mage said. "I have used my best magic to obscure this work."
    "And yet I could still find you," Ehlena said. "Kenra is a god of lies, secrets and shadows. His obsession with trickery and the power of the shadow is what now resides in Calexis and Aaron cannot distract her for much longer. He says you must hurry."
    "We have imbued and realigned most of the crystals," Stavros said, his eyes dark from lack of rest. "There are only a few more we need to shift and then we can deal with the final crystal in the Temple. If we had more time, I would rather realign all the crystals in the city, but even with Calthas and a young mage named Coraline, who escaped from Calexis' spell, there are still quite a number of them. It will require more power this way, but we are ready."
    "Coraline," Ehlena said, catching her name. "Yes, I remember her. She was the one who ran from the temple."
    "It seems that you know a good many things, Lady goddess," Stavros commented.
    "I hear things on the wind," she said.
    "I think you might whisper a few things as well."
    "Perhaps," she admitted with a tired smile, then she frowned. "Stavros, I am very worried about Aaron. I do not think he believes he can destroy the shadow with his power."
    "Aaron has the potential to be more powerful than any other mage I have ever seen, even Zachary, and his fire burns true," Stavros said as he began to