Chapter 64
The one who held her was the one she was expecting. Jai had pulled her back against his chest, burying his face in the crook of her neck as his tears fell onto her skin. But she couldn't focus on him, not with what was happening to Escarral in the distance and hearing everyone's cries from the surrounding ships they were sailing toward.
There was nothing they could do now, not with another, more important issue at hand.
"Where did they take Bence?" Lyv demanded as she turned around in Jai's hold.
Before he answered, though, he took her face in his hands, searching for any signs of injury before focusing on her eyes, which she knew he expected to be completely black. He was met with emerald green, though, and the relief that washed over him was clearly evident.
Lifting her hands to his, she tried to redirect his focus. "Tell me, Jai. Where did they take him?"
Jai shook his head, trying to rid himself of all of the awful thoughts that plagued him. "Captain's quarters, I think. I couldn't really focus on what they were doing, not with what you did in sending me here without you, without letting me help." He let out a heartbreaking moan as more tears fell. "Lyv...just give me a moment. I thought you...gods, why did you have to..."
Hearing his voice crack with emotion, Lyv realized he wasn't the only one who was needing a moment. A moment to breath, to know they were with each other, especially when she knew he thought he'd lost her again. So, she allowed herself to hold him for as long as she dared, somehow finding herself smiling at the thought of Bence pointedly looking at her and telling her to take a moment with the male who loved her most in the world. She clung to Jai with everything she had, her hands moving to his hair as his fingers wiped away her tears.
"Why?" Jai choked out. "Why did you have to scare me like that? I thought you were..."
"I know. I shouldn't have done it," she whispered. "But I had to get all of you out before...before we lost everything. I promised I'd be back, didn't I?"
"That didn't help, not when all I saw was what happened before when I lost you in Asturia."
"I'm sorry."
"Never, ever do that to me again."
"I won't."
"I swear, you're going to make my hair go gray just like my father's. If you don't, Dessa and Elys and Eamon and the rest of the kids will."
Somehow, through all of her pain and heartache, Lyv found herself laughing. "Well, you are three hundred and twenty-eight, are you not? I thought I saw a gray hair earlier this week when you were still sleeping..."
"You did not."
"Did to."
"You're so mean to me."
"And I love you, too."
Jai leaned back to stare at her again, though she could sense there was something else that was tugging at his heart and mind. The words were stuck in his throat, though, along with his breath.
Tears welled in her eyes once more, barely escaping before he swiped them away with his thumbs.
"He knew, didn't he?" Lyv whispered raggedly. "Bence knew he wasn't going to make it. This is what you were going to tell me before."
Jai paused before letting out his held breath. "He's known for a while. Longer than a while, actually. Lenora told him whenever they were together, but he didn't tell me about it until we came here last year after we found you and Elys in Ethran," he admitted. "Gods, I wanted to tell you, but I swore to him I wouldn't. Because he wanted to tell you himself...up until he asked me to do it whenever we talked a few days ago. I'm so sorry for keeping this from you, Lyv. So sorry."
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..."
Everyone turned as soon as they realized Lyv and Jai had come in with Gideon. Even Gyver, Bridger, and Davon were there with all of the children huddled in the tight space to the right of the bed, tears and dread in their eyes, The pixie Jett was curled up against the side of Avice's neck, eyes shimmering.
On the other side of the bed, Alberich was kneeling down, hands still faintly glowing with the healing magic he'd been using relentlessly to try and help. His face was drawn up in concentration, even as he prepared to answer Ada's question. He was quiet when he looked up and saw Lyv and Jai. Bridget, Jules, and Drue were there, too, and relief washed over them at the sight of the two of them.
Bridget brushed past them, choking out a sob as she went to pull Lyv in for a tight hug. She couldn't help but return it wholeheartedly.
"Are you all right?" her mother cried as she pulled back. "Mother and gods above, when we saw what was happening...and then everyone who had been in the capital landing here one after another...and Jai screaming for you as soon as he appeared...I thought we lost you again."
Lyv leaned forward to kiss her cheek, giving her a wavering smile. "I'm fine. Promise. I just need..."
Realizing what she was needing before she could get the words out, Bridget nodded as she swiped under her eyes with the backs of her hands and stepped back. "Of course, sweetheart. Come see him."
Drue and Jules had to, of course, give her quick hugs as she passed with Jai and Bridget right behind her. Alberich had stood up at that moment, visibly shaking from the massive amount of magic he'd used and yet didn't loosen its hold. Lyv immediately rushed into his arms, hugging him fiercely.
"Thank you," she told him. "Were you able to do anything? Have you tried what I did with the minette spider venom and draw it out with water?"
Alberich rubbed a hand down his face as he sighed and nodded. "I've tried everything. It...it won't budge. The only thing I've been able to determine is it's a kind of blood magic I've never seen before. There's...nothing we can do."
Nothing they could do.
Lyv's eyesight tunneled for a moment as her heart picked up pace in her chest, pounding in her ears.
Finally, she looked over at the man lying on the bed, who was being propped up with pillows by her sisters as they continuously fussed over him. Lyv stepped forward, her eyes roaming over his bare torso, which had been stripped of the rest his metal and leather armor that was now slung over a chair in the corner with his sword leaned up against it. While the majority of his tan skin was unblemished, she couldn't stop herself from sucking in a breath whenever she finally managed to look at his right hand that Guinevere had cut.
The skin was completely blackened, fingers rigid, and had creeped up his forearm. It was moving slowly, making sure to devour everything within him as it continued. Alberich was able to help him by trying to numb the blazing pain that had radiated throughout his body, but that barely seemed to be helping and wouldn't stop it completely.
Because he was right. This was a kind of blood magic none of them had encountered before. Even without being close enough to touch him, Lyv swept her own healing magic through him, fortifying the one helping with Bence's pain and trying to find a weak spot in the poison itself. And though Alberich said he'd tried it himself, she tried the same technique as she did with the minette spider venom but to no avail.
Bence managed a smile as soon as Lyv's eyes landed on his. They were still as bright and lively as they ever were, even though dark circles now ringed underneath, making his face sickly.
"Come here, my sweet girl," he said to her, holding out his good hand for hers.
Lyv tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat but couldn't manage it. "Hi, Daddy," she whispered to him, grasping his hand and holding it tight as she sat down on the bed next to him. "It's my fault. All my fault. I...I couldn't get to you in time and now you're...you..."
"Never think what happened was your fault, Alyvia," he told her fiercely. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen. None of us could have."
She saw the quick look between him and Jai, who had found a spot to stand between her parents and Gideon, but she didn't say anything.
Smoothing her other hand over the top of his she was holding, she sent another wave of healing magic through him, though it was blocked as soon as it tried going to his right arm.
Having used it on him before, Bence knew exactly what she was doing and gave her a grateful smile. "I fear that's not going to work this time. Alberich said it was a kind a blood magic intertwined with the poison."
"I will try everything I can think of to stop it, I can assure you. Don't think I won't."
"You've always been stubborn, even when you were a little girl."
"Damn right, she is," Jules sighed from behind them. Lyv could almost hear her roll her eyes.
Everyone around them murmured in agreement, making Bence cough out a laugh.
Bence was still smiling as he looked around at all of them, all of his family and close friends. "I hate to ask this, but do you all mind if I just have my girls in here for a little while? I want...I need to talk to them."
Bridget was the one to answer for them all. "Of course," she nodded, stepping forward to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder before leaning down to kiss his cheek. "Just...just let us know if you need absolutely anything, all right? I'll bring you up something to eat in a little while if you want. Just let me know when."
He nodded as he looked between her and Alberich. "I will a little later, actually. I want to speak with you two in private, too, if that's all right?"
"Of course," Alberich agreed as he took Bridget's hand in his. "Just get some rest."
Lyv didn't watch as everyone slowly and quietly left the captain's quarters. She barely heard the children's shaking voices as they asked questions about their grandfather no one knew how to answer. She didn't even reply to Jai when he sent words of comfort down their bond to her, but the strong rush of emotions she sent back conveyed what she couldn't in words. And when he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, she reached up with the hand that wasn't still clutching Bence's and gave it a tight squeeze before he followed after everyone.
As soon as it was just her, her sisters, and her father...Lyv immediately burst into another round of tears. She wasn't the only one, though. Ada, Sora, and Rhea did, too.
"Oh, my darling girls," Bence said as he looked around at the four of them. "It's all right. I'm all right."
"You're not," Ada cried, her face tearstained and blotchy. "How can you say that?"
"How could she do this to you?" Rhea questioned as her eyes trailed over his blacked arm. She didn't have to say Guinevere's name for them to know it was the 'she' she was referring to. "How could she be so desperate for power and revenge when you've been nothing but kind to her?"
Sora, however, could hardly look at him and instead was staring up at Lyv. "We know Alberich said it was a type of blood magic he'd never encountered before, but can't you just try doing something? Anything?"
Her sisters didn't even have to beg. Lyv had already been flooding his body with healing magic, trying to find any weakness in the poison that had been on the blade. True, it was created with blood magic specifically tied to Guinevere, but Corliss must have helped her since the imprint of her darkness was weaved into it. The only thing Lyv could touch was that, using her own to beat it into submission. There was no stopping its progress, though, only slowing it and smothering the searing pain that accompanied.
Whenever she managed that, Bence let out a soft sigh.
"Thank you," he whispered to her, squeezing her hand once more.
"You could have said something sooner," Lyv mumbled through her tears.
"Alberich tried, but nothing really worked up until now."
"So, you've been suffering in silence."
"Trying to, at least, but whatever you just did is working wonders."
"It's not going to stop it," she said miserably. "I can't stop it completely, not without..." An idea flickered in her head, one she almost feared to even think about. "I could try and use my dark magic to counter Corliss's, but I would have to..."
"I absolutely forbid it," Bence immediately cut in. "Using whatever darkness she put in you to save me...I will never allow you to risk yourself."
"But then Guinevere's blood magic..."
Just as she said it, Lyv wasn't the only one to realize Guinevere shared blood with three others in the room. But as Ada, Sora, and Rhea gasped in unison, their eyes locking on Lyv, she did a quick check on the magic itself...and came to a heartbreaking conclusion. That didn't stop her sisters from talking over one another in a rush.
Ada was the first to thrust her arm out to her, ready for the slice of a blade across her skin. "I don't care what you have to do, Lyv. Just do it."
Sora was quick to copy. "And me. Take whatever you need..."
"Don't forget me because you know I'll do it, too," Rhea cut in, doing the same.
Three sisters bound by blood to both Bence and Guinevere, offering up whatever they needed to in order to save their father.
And Lyv, who would have taken it to do just that...if Guinevere hadn't twisted that blood magic to require another life giving in place of Bence's, something she knew would never happen.
The look that crossed her face must have been answer enough for their father, who shook his head fiercely in response to his daughters' willing sacrifice. "You will do no such thing."
"Why not?" Ada demanded with a sob, jumping to her feet. She started furiously pacing as she pulled her blonde braid over her shoulder. "You deserve to live. She doesn't. I don't care if she's our mother, she's going to pay for what she's done to you and to our home. I will do it myself if I have to!"
Bence's smile wavered slightly, watching his eldest daughter and the now soon to be Queen of Escarral pacing back and forth across the captain's quarters. "Ada, would you stop? I need to talk to you all..."
"No!" she snapped in fury. "You can't stop any of us from giving her what she deserves. You're supposed to live, to watch your land and people flourish, be around for all of your grandchildren to spoil them rotten. You're not supposed to leave us like this. You're supposed to go quietly, an old man in your bed after living a life fulfilled..."
At that, he chuckled but ended up going into a fight of coughing before it stopped. "Well, I am an old man who will hopefully go in his sleep. And I have lived a life I feel has been fulfilling. You've given me sons and grandchildren who I love dearly. You all rule your own territories and people with the strength and values just as I somehow managed to instill in you all. Not only have I raised four specular Ladies of Escarral and Dalcaine, I also have two future queens of both lands as well."
The last statement finally managed to pull Ada from her rage when she found herself at Lyv's side. Not only was Bence staring at the two of them, but so were Sora and Rhea. Just as Lyv had, her sisters had almost managed to forget the fact that one day in the distant future, she would be Queen of Dalcaine with Jai.
"It's going to be a much longer time until Lyv is crowned Queen of Dalcaine with Jai at her side. But you, my darling Ada, only have a few short days...if I'm lucky and manage to hang on for a little while longer," he told her, letting go of Lyv's hand to reach for hers.
Ada dropped to her knees beside the bed, mouth slightly open in shock. Like she'd forgotten herself that she was next in line for the Escarrali throne. "Daddy..."
"Don't tell me you've forgotten you are Crown Princess of Escarral and not just Lady of Ceron."
"Of course not, but..."
Bence lifted their conjoined hands to brush the back of his against her cheek, smearing her tears across her skin. "You're going to be a wonderful queen. I've always known it. And I've known my time was coming to an end...which is why I had the official documents drawn up for the transfer of power of the crown from myself to you last week. You don't have to fool with a coronation ceremony for the time being if you don't want to, though it would be a first for a monarch to be crowned on a ship instead of the throne room and at the beginning of a war. Honestly, it's just a matter of tradition. It would be an impressive first act as Queen of Escarral, though, if I do say so myself."
"Official documents," Rhea started. The gears were turning in her head. "Not only does it have to be signed by the priest who would reside over the coronation, but also the three Lords of Escarral. You mean to say Davon, Gyver, and Bridger knew about this and hadn't said anything to us?"
"I asked them not to tell you and told them I was doing it as a precaution for what was to come. They couldn't refuse their king and father-in-law. Gyver...he's the one who holds them for me. All they need is your signature, Ada."
Ada leaned forward, resting her forehead against the bed before looking back up at him. "I'm not ready."
Lyv's heart clenched at how small she sounded, almost like she was a child again whose fear had gripped her as she prepared for a task she had not yet attempted.
But Bence, knowing all of his daughters better than they knew themselves, said, "Of course, you are, my love. Not only because I know you are, but because you're going to have to be," he told her. "And even though I know you haven't really had time to hold a blade since you trained when you were younger..." He nodded over to where his sword rested against the chair. "It's yours now. Customarily, it would be presented to you after the crown and scepter as your promise to defend Escarral, but I guess this will do."
Ada clutched tighter to his hand, staring at him before she slowly breathed out her held breath and nodded.
The five of them sat in silence for several minutes, just wanted to be with each other and not have to talk about war or death. Lyv and her sisters had managed to somehow all fit on the bed around Bence, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath, making sure he was as comfortable as he could be, and even helping him into one of his loose-fitting tunics as a chill raked his body.
By that time, Lyv noticed his shortness of breath, even with the smallest of movements. Or how he could barely lift his poison ridden arm from beside him. With the sleeves down to his wrists, they could only see his blackened hand and the festering wound on his palm, but Lyv knew by doing another sweep of healing magic that it was almost to his elbow. Overall, though, it was already in his bloodstream, settling in other parts of his body. For now, they were held back by Lyv from latching on and spreading even faster. Still, black, vein-like lines began to appear on his neck.
Bence let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back against the pillows before turning his head toward Lyv. "Do you think you can help your father get one good restful night's sleep before the final one?"
Lyv grimaced. "Why do you have to say it like that?"
"Because it's the truth."
A truth Lyv was still grappling with, one she was going to try and change in what time they had.
She nodded, not only sending another wave of healing magic through him, but also an easing calm that would pull him into an enchanted slumber. Something that would help in slowing the poison's progress and give them a little more time for them to at least make it to Ayveri.
And as Bence drifted off into a dream that managed to make the corners of his mouth curl up into a smile, Lyv and her sisters didn't leave his side for the following several hours. They would talk about what had happened and what was still to come, but mostly they would watch Bence sleeping, wishing on every god and goddess throughout the all lands that they would be able to save him and yet already knowing their answer.
***Even though it's hard, I have to admit this is one of my favorite chapters in this book. The end of it is going to be bittersweet, that's for sure. And now we only have 4 chapters left. The next one's going to be on the shorter side, so it should be up in the next day or so!
What did you think? Comment and vote!
Happy reading!
- Ansley***