Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 39

She'd never even seen her move or fight in the way she was then.

Like she had her own plans of taking her land back right there beside them all.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lyv demanded loudly, the question breaking over the whining of steel blades against one another.

Breathing heavy, Ada whirled, her blonde braid swinging over her shoulder as sweat dripped down her forehead. "Lyv," she breathed, and then rushed forward to pull her into her arms.

"What is going on?" she asked again, not even letting Ada get another word out. "Why are you dressed like that? Why do you have a sword and why are you fighting with it?"

Her sister smiled as she leaned back, taking Lyv's face in her hands as her hazel eyes traced every part of her. "You do realize you weren't the only one to train with these growing up, right? And we did even more so after Guinevere's siege."

"But what are you doing with it now?"

Ada raised one blonde brow. "You have to ask?"

"You're not going with us, Ada."

She expertly sheathed her sword on her waist and crossed her arms. "And what gives you the right to determine that? Escarral is my land, my kingdom, and I will defend it until my last breath. If that means fighting in this war to come, then so be it."

"You can't! You have your people to take care of. And Avice, Elia, and Dain! Avice isn't ready to be named queen yet should something happen to you!"

"And she won't be just yet. Because nothing will."

Lyv turned to Gyver, her eyes pleading with him to side with her. All he did was hold up both hands. "You and I both know not to even try to change her mind when it's already made up. That stubbornness runs through all four of you Escarrali princesses."

She wasn't going to take that, shifting her narrowed eyes back on her sister. "You're not going."

Ada was stern, resolved...and she looked and acted so much like Bence in that moment Lyv had to hold her breath. "And you're still not telling me what I will and will not do. But guess what? I'm the only one besides the men you have to worry about. Rhea and Sora are staying here with Evelien, watching out for the children and everyone staying behind. Well, they both would have come, but I made Sora stay behind just in case something happens to me..."

"I thought you said nothing would?"

"Just in case, Lyv. But with Rhea...well..."

"You do realize I'm going to put every protective enchantment I can on every single piece of your armor and weaponry, correct?"

"And I already know you planned on doing that with every single piece for the Escarral and Dalcaine troops."

She groaned in frustration. "Of course, I was! And I already did. Why, Ada? Why do you have to..."

"Lyv!"

She whirled at the sound of her name, seeing Sora and Rhea running down the steps of the house. Her other two sisters were in loose-fitting dresses with long sleeves they'd pushed up to their elbows. Sora was the first to reach for her, pulling her away from Ada, but Lyv's eyes were down on Rhea's stomach, on the slight bump she didn't remember seeing there before they left for Laria.

"What?" Lyv choked out as tears filled her eyes. "What is that?"

Rhea gave her a knowing smile, smoothing her hands over the fabric to show it off. "Say hello to your newest niece or nephew who will be here in about five months. I guess you can say I finally popped, huh? Do you know how excited Eleana is about being a big sister?"

Lyv couldn't hold back her tears or her squeal of excitement as she yanked Rhea forward into her arms. "I'm so happy and excited for you! Where are all my babies, by the way?"

Sora raised a brow. "You do realize how early it is, right? They're just now getting up and heading down for breakfast. I'm sure seeing you will wake all of them up, though."

"Of course! And while I'm occupying their attentions, you'll convince Ada not to come along to Escarral, won't you?"

"If we could, we would," Rhea said, smoothing a hand over her stomach again. "But at least we know she'll have Gyver, Davon, and Bridger with her. Not to mention all of you, too."

"Can't you at least try?"

"Can't you see it won't work?" Ada snorted.

They still had a day and a half. If Sora and Rhea couldn't convince her, Lyv would try her damnedest to right up until the very last minute.

Ada looped her arm through Lyv's, turning them toward the open doors of their home. "Come now. We all have a lot of catching up to do...and I have a feeling you have a lot to tell us about your cousin and her world, right?"

And she did. Lyv spent hours with her sisters telling them everything that happened over those last few weeks while they'd been apart. A few of those hours were spent with all of her nieces and nephews, too. She told them all about Arloerin, giving them every detail of the kingdom, its people, and the surrounding lands. She told them about Cleo, the cousin she never imagined she'd have and yet now she felt so close to, even worlds away, and about her dragons Ollyn and Odanth. And once the children had been taken by their governess for their daily lessons, she told her sisters about how she and Jai now shared the dark magic...to which they all yelled just as everyone else had after learning about it.

But then their conversations turned toward the Escarrali people's own preparations for taking their land back. Bence had taught them all everything he knew, apparently. They even had his old maps that were marked up by Ada's own hand. Of course, none of them would know what they would find until they landed on the shoreline.

"We have less than two days until we sail," Ada said then, sitting back in her chair with a crystal glass in hand. She rarely drank alcohol, but this was apparently needed. "We've gone over everything we could with Camilla, Soren, and Merek. We've made sure everyone has the proper armor and weaponry. But now...now, I just want to spend the rest of my time with my children, my family, my people. Because I know not every one of us will make it back. I know not all of us will get to see us win, get to see Escarral rise up from the ashes and grow stronger than it was before. All of us need it. Need to be with the ones we love."

Ada's words stuck with her even after she said her goodbyes and she left on Roshan, her stomach uneasy and twisting into knots just as it had when she passed through the portal. She even had to pause a moment to concentrate on her breathing just so she wouldn't vomit.

Having parted with Roshan so he could get at least a few hours' rest, Lyv was staring down at the cobblestone beneath her boots as she passed through the main gate going into Ayveri. She was deaf to the conversation around her, the laughter of children as they ran past, the hammering of steel. A plan began formulating in her head then, one she knew she wouldn't regret in the slightest, before she headed back to the palace where it was put into motion.  

***Well, now we have two more chapters until Escarral.  I added this chapter since the scene was a little longer than planned...but I still loved it!  I will forever love Lyv and her sisters' relationship.

And now, the next chapter is going to echo another from MOEAM and I'm so here for it.  

What did you guys think?  Comment and vote!

Happy reading! 

- Ansley***