Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 1

***Hello and welcome to Land of Light and Shadows, the fifth and final book in my fantasy series, The Crowns.  

The series goes in this order and you MUST read them as such: Map of Ember and Moonlight, Crown of Beauty and Vengeance, Daughter of Tide and Illusion, Song of Blood and Reign, and Land of Light and Shadows.  

I've also updated the map of Escarral, Dalcaine, and Ethran (not much changed except for the city icons themselves), which you can see above!

Now, let's get ready for the final adventure!***

Chapter 1

Lyv knew she shouldn't have been smiling, but the looks on the two boys' faces were priceless – eyes narrowed, lips pursed, and arms crossed over their chests as they sat cross-legged in the center of the Ayverian palace training courtyard. Their swords were placed in front of them just out of reach. It wasn't her fault she'd made them stop, sit down back to back, and take a breather. They did it to themselves.

"You know why I made you stop, don't you?" Lyv asked them as she circled once more.

"No," they mumbled at the same time...and then elbowed each other without turning around.

"None of that, please. Again, why did I make you stop training?"

"He started it," Elys complained.

"But he's the one keeping it going," Eamon grumbled, looking over his shoulder at his best friend.

Lyv sighed, rolling her eyes as she circled around in front of Eamon, making sure to keep the sleeves of her tunic still covered both arms. "You do realize how both of you are still coming into your specific magics, don't you? Elys, you and I both know you're just beginning to scratch the surface of your Seer abilities. And Eamon, being the son of the King and Queen of Dalcaine, you have the magic of all of the territories. There's no telling how powerful you'll both be one day, but you've got to learn how to manage it. Control it. So yes, you're going to sit here and take a breather. Not only is this about training with a weapon, but also with your magic. You have to learn how to shape it to your advantage. Because, unfortunately, one day you're no longer just going to be fighting and training with each other."

Lyv knew a way to up their spirits and stop their actual fighting. "Just think," she told them then. "If you not only learn how to use your own magic, but also how the other uses theirs...you two would be unstoppable side by side. And I know I've told you this before, but how do you think Jai and Gideon fight so well together? They know each other's strengths and weaknesses and help each other with both."

Elys and Eamon glanced over their shoulders at each other before quickly looking away, now trying to fight smiles. They then looked at the males in question, who were sitting just a short distance away...and poking at each other as they bickered over something unrelated. Lyv scoffed and rolled her eyes at her mate and best friend. Children.

"Now, sit here for a minute more, chill out, and then we'll get started again, all right?"

Both boys grumbled their agreement...and leaned their backs against each other's, making Lyv's smile appear once more since she knew they couldn't be mad at each other for as long as they wanted to be.

Giving them that minute to themselves, Lyv started over to the others who had come to watch them. Luckily two of those males had stopped annoying each other. Now, Gideon and Thia were shaking their heads like they'd seen this plenty of times before, Mik and Allel had knowing smiles on their faces, the pixies Posy and Jett were reading one of Posy's books as they sat on a barrel lid, and Jai...well, he was staring at Lyv.