Crown of Beauty and Vengeance

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

As soon as the ballroom behind them burst into flames, both Lyv and Destan jumped from the railing they were standing on to the edge of the courtyard below. When her boots hit the ground, Lyv rolled as rubble fell from the crumbling wall, hitting her in the back of the head. Stars danced in front of her eyes, but Destan was hauling up to her feet to pull her even further away.

"Lyv, are you all right?" Destan yelled over the shouts of the guardsmen in the distance. He had his hands in her hair, only to pull them back covered in blood. His eyes widened as he stared at her. "Oh, gods..."

"Lyv! Destan!"

She squeezed her eyes closed as Jai ran into the courtyard, Gideon, Thia, and Laurel directly behind him. Frantically, he looked up at the burning structure of the ballroom, fear and panic racing through him before he finally saw where they had landed. Then they were running for then.

Just outside the palace gates, she could see Alberich running toward them with guardsmen flooding the city on both the Dalcaine side and Escarral. His eyes were to the sky then, as if he were waiting for enchanted fire to rain down even more. But no, he was looking out for something or someone.

Lyv's own panic rose when she saw some of her mother's guardsmen rush him, but he took care of them in seconds, holding out his hands to pull water from river that ran around the palace. Twelve guardsmen's heads were surrounded with an orb of water, drowning them on land. And those who were still headed for him were snatched up by the water, still under Alberich's control, and never surfaced again.

Jai was holding her then, his hands going to where Destan's had been. Destan still stood close to them, watching them.

"Lyv, talk to me. Are you...?"

"I'm all right," she nodded, closing her eyes as she focused on the feeling of his hands on her face, her magic pulsing through her to heal every bruise and gash, including the one to the back of her head. "And now I'm all healed."

Of course, he didn't believe her, not until he looked for himself. And when he nodded his agreement, he turned to his younger brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You're all right, too?"

"Yes," Destan nodded quickly. "Jai, I...I'm sorry for what happened before. I should have asked you how you..."

Jai shook his head, pulling him close to press his forehead against his. "Don't worry, Destan. I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. And I'm sorry, too."

"But you don't have to be sorry. You will never need to be sorry for..."

Another explosion sounded in the distance, but this one was coming from their side. Their friends from Eld were wielding their own fire, Waiter was keeping the winds in their favor to keep the invading ships away, Aarden was shaking the earth beneath their boots to open cracks and swallow their enemies whole, and Asturia was snatching Escarrali guardsmen with the waters flowing through the city, drowning them without much hesitation.

"She's here," Lyv whispered, staring up at Jai as he let go of Destan and turned his attention back to her. "I thought I was ready to face her, but I'm not. I'm not, Jai, not when she'll know you and I..." She took a deep breath, dropping her voice even more. "I can't lose you like I lost Amory. I don't think I'd be able to take it."

"You won't," he told her, putting his hand on her face again. "You won't lose me. I promise you, Alyvia, you won't."

Lyv reached up to cover his hands with her own and leaned up to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Then let's go."