Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 64

Lyv shook her head, leaning up to brush a soft kiss against his mouth. "You kept a promise to my father. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But it kept you from spending what little time you had left with him."

"No, it didn't," she whispered. "I...the only thing I would have been able to think about if you had would have been this. But now I get to remember him as I always have." Her words betrayed the quiet sob that escaped her lips just a moment later. "Please tell me my parents are with him. That Alberich's able to do something to stop it..."

Again, he shook his head to get himself to concentrate on what was most important at that moment. "I don't know. They rushed him below decks just a few moments before you appeared."

Even over the shouted orders from the captain and the sailors using both magic and might to move them forward, Lyv still caught when her and Jai's names were called out by Gideon, who was standing in the doorway leading belowdecks. Immediately, Lyv pulled herself from Jai's arms, though he was quick to follow behind her as she went for their best friend.

"Why did you do that?" Gideon demanded as soon as she was close enough, and then pulled her in to his tight embrace. Just as Jai did, he took her face in his hands, searching every inch of her to see she was all right. "Are you hurt? Are you still...you?"

"Of course, I am," she nodded. "But Bence...where did they take him? Is he still...he's still...?"

His face fell as his eyes lowered to the deck before looking back up at her. "Whatever Guinevere did to him...it's spreading. It's taken over his entire arm, blackening it. Alberich's trying everything to slow it down, but nothing's working. He said it's some kind of blood magic, something Guinevere used the conduit magic to create with Corliss. And if it is...well, you could at least try your own magic on it to slow it down since you are related to Corliss by blood. But to stop it..."

"Then I have to at least try to slow it down enough so we can get back to Ayveri," she stated firmly. "Maybe there's something in the university library we can find in one of those forbidden texts in Madame Dewridge's office..."

Jai shook his head. "Everything that would have been useful in stopping whatever this is was in that grimoire and obviously we don't have that."

"But we're going to find it again because you know it can't be destroyed. Not completely. We'll find it again."

Jai didn't have to say a word out loud for her to realize the false hope she'd given herself. Yes, they would find the grimoire again – Dark Lyv told her so – but she knew it wouldn't be in enough time to save Bence from whatever poison laced with blood magic Guinevere used on him.

"I need to see him," she told them then. "I need to see if there's anything I can do to...to make him more comfortable until..."

Her words caught in her throat and she couldn't finish her sentence.

Jai somehow managed to give her a comforting smile. "Come on then."

Taking his hand in hers, they walked quickly to the doorway that led to a short flight of stairs, following close behind Gideon. She couldn't look at those of whom were still watching Escarral be ravaged by darkness, had to block out their cries and questions of why, of their grief for not only their land but now their king as well. She couldn't answer, not truly, not when the answer she knew still didn't make sense to her either.

"...got to be something you can do?" Ada was pleading as Lyv pushed open the door. "Do we know where Lyv is? She needs to be here. If not to heal him, then she needs to be here for him before he..." She choked out a sob as she reached out to clutch Rhea and Sora's hands. "Please. Maybe combining your healing magic will..."