Chapter 66
All Lyv wanted to do at that point was flip the small rectangular table she'd laid all of her healing supplies on, along with the vials of her sisters' blood and the larger vial she was using to try and concoct a kind of tonic that would in any way help Bence. All it seemed to be doing as soon as she set it over the small flame was disintegrate it all in a puff of black smoke. She could almost hear the laughter of Guinevere and Corliss at her failed attempts.
"Dammit!" she yelled, slamming her fists on the table to make everything on it rattle violently.
A heavy sigh sounded from behind her. "I told you, my darling, nothing is going to work. Why can't you just leave it be?"
"Why are you trying to discourage me every time you wake up, huh?" she asked in return, whirling around to face Bence, who was propped up on the bed, watching her. "I'm trying to figure out how to save you, can't you see that?"
"Yes, I can...and against my wishes I might add."
"I should just put you back into an enchanted sleep."
"I wouldn't call that a threat, even though it seems like you're trying to make it so. My dreams are wonderful, so I wouldn't mind," Bence smiled at her.
Lyv couldn't smile back. She couldn't even look at his face, not when the black veins of the blood poison had finally reached his neck and began creeping up his jaw. Every time she helped him change, she had to keep blinking back her tears and swallowing down the vomit that rose in her throat at the sight of it. His arm was now completely blackened, along with the side of his torso. Now, it had started spreading up his neck and down his leg.
Just as she'd told Jai every night as they laid in their tiny bed in the shared cabin just down the hall, she had to try something, anything. She was at least able to keep the pain at bay for him, numb the fire that would have bene coursing through him otherwise. There were times when she couldn't, though, and all he could do was clench his teeth so hard that they ground together. Once, he even bit clear through his tongue before she was able to get a better grip on it with her magic.
Of course, she and her sisters wouldn't take Bence's demands of them not offering up their own blood or Lyv offering up her dark magic in an attempt to save him. Like she'd told Jai that first night on the ship, they had the conversation as soon as they knew Bence was sleeping comfortably.
"I can't..." Ada started in a whisper that first night on the ship after almost an hour-long silence. She held her arm to Lyv so tight her nails dug into her skin. "Please, take whatever you need. And if you need more, just ask. We have to try, Lyv, no matter what he says."
She was selfish enough not to protest. Unfortunately, she needed a new vial from her sisters every night since she flew through them even just attempting to find a cure one drop at a time. And for Lyv herself...well, the obsidian stone beneath the skin of her forearm was steadily growing in brightness and never dulled even as she reigned in her dark magic.
After five days at sea and having spent every single one of them trying to come up with some way to save their father from the poison, Lyv wasn't getting any closer to finding a solution. Once they were in Ayveri, though, and Lyv had use of her proper supplies in the palace infirmary, she would hopefully have more success.
Now, Bence smiled and held out his good hand for hers. Dropping her chin to her chest, she walked over and held it tight before stretching out on the bed beside him. Both of them stared up at the wood-paneled ceiling of the captain's quarters. Their breathing, the echoes of the crew from above, and the sounds of the water slapping against the side of the ship was the only noise in her ears.
"So, we'll be in Ayveri soon, huh?" Bence asked then.
"Mm-hm," Lyv nodded, turning her head against the pillow to look at him. "How long has it been since you've been there?"
"Officially? Never. Escarral and Dalcaine have always been in a tense relationship up until recently and the war definitely didn't help it. We did sneak in during the war, though, right at the time of the Autumn Equinox. Oh, that was probably one of the best times I've ever had in my life. Ayveri's a spectacular city."
Intrigued, Lyv shifted on her side, curling her hands up beside her face. "Yeah? What happened when you were there?"
Bence snorted and rolled his eyes as he looked over at her. "You've been to a few of their festivals, Lyv. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Finally, she found herself grinning. "You mean the party, drinking, and food? Or the dancing with anyone and everyone? And if you're in the more...lax parts of the city, there might even be a little bit of..."
"I'm not meaning that last part," he cut in with a shake of his head.
"You should go to one of the nightly parties on Blackloch then. You'd definitely see some things."
"Oh, gods. I don't even want to know."
Lyv let out a light-hearted laugh, thinking back to those handfuls of times she'd been herself.
"It wasn't just that, though," Bence continued with a sigh. His eyes shifted back to the ceiling, though they seemed as if they were gazing into the past instead. "It was more so the people with me. I had a few of my closest friends in my unit. We'd...stolen some Ayverian clothing from a sleeping merchant on the road, which wasn't one of my finest moments, but we couldn't very well go around Ayveri wearing Escarrali armor, could we?"
"It would have caused quite a stir."
"You're telling me. Luckily, though, no one knew the Crown Prince of Escarral's face in the Dalcaine capital. Do you know how wonderful it is to go around and be completely anonymous, just another face in the crowd? Not having anyone recognize you, getting bumped into in the crowd and not have people groveling at your feet in apology?"
"Sort of," Lyv nodded. "When I came over to Dalcaine with my Audry glamour. The anonymity didn't last too long, though. But that wasn't the only reason you enjoyed yourself, huh?"
Bence looked over at her with a smile. "No, it wasn't," he agreed. "Lenora was with us, too."
Even just hearing him say her name, Lyv knew he absolutely loved the former human Seer of Ikreus before Elys, though they'd had only a few months together. Lyv knew the feeling, though, of falling in love with someone so quickly and so deeply. Not only in the romantic aspect as she had with Jai, but also in other close relationships like she had with Gideon and Elys.
"Can you tell me more about her?" Lyv asked quietly then. "You've spoken about her before, but only about your first meeting and what she told you about me."
Bence didn't say a word at first. His face was blank, eyes distant as he thought back to one of the darkest and yet happiest times in his life.
"It's all right if you don't want to..."
"No, it's fine. I just...how do I tell you about her when there was so much?" he smiled, turning his head toward her. "Everything about her was...golden. Her hair, her eyes, her skin...and her smile when she finally managed to show one. She was a little younger than you are now when we met, but she seemed vastly older than I was at the time. Being the Seer does that. Forces the one to bear its weight and title into growing up much faster than they should. That's why I'm so proud of you with Elys, allowing him to have the childhood he deserves."
A knot formed in the pit of Lyv's stomach, knowing she had just a few more hours until she saw the little boy again and would be able to hug and kiss him.
Bence continued on.
"I already told you about our first meeting, how she snuck into our camp one night, still bound in chains around her wrists, and demanding to talk with me in private so she could tell me about you. You know how she stayed with us for months after. It took a few weeks for her to be comfortable, especially around an entire army unit of men, but we all grew protective of her. No one dared touch her, not that they would have had I not been there. They were honorable men...and all saw how I looked at her, which was another reason no one dared to touch her or even look at her in the wrong way. She wouldn't have needed me to defend her, though. She would have grabbed a sword and killed them herself had they tried anything."
"Sounds like my kind of woman," Lyv smiled.
Bence let out a soft laugh. "Right? Mine, too. She was one of the reasons I wanted you girls to train with the palace guardsmen. I wanted you to have the skills to defend yourselves should you ever need to."
"And for obvious reasons, we've needed to."
"Unfortunately," he sighed, and then continued. "It took Lenora a few weeks to settle in. She was always looking over her shoulder, worried that her master would send people after her. He wouldn't have dared to send someone to Dalcaine, though, even during a war. She was safe with us.
"It was in that safety that she finally found herself relaxing. I would find her training with some of the men, laughing and talking around the fires at dinner, and forming friendships where I knew they would defend her just as much as I would. As for me, though...well, of course, just as everyone thinks when first meeting anyone royal, she thought I was a self-centered, arrogant bastard and practically spat the words in my face."
Lyv's laugh then echoed in the captain's quarters. "No, she didn't."
"She did," he nodded with a grin. "Gods, that look on her face when I told her not all crown princes are bastards and that I would have to prove it to her...I can still see it plain as day. Doesn't help that we were already arguing within those first few hours of knowing each other. She avoided me for almost two weeks after that."
"And obviously that changed."
"Obviously."
Bence took another few moments to think back on how his time with Lenora changed. The look on his face...well, Lyv couldn't help but recognize it. It was the same look she would catch Jai giving her whenever she wasn't looking. One of pride and love and complete astonishment.
"I guess it just took a few weeks for her to realize that I was so much more than the self-centered, arrogant crown prince she'd painted me out to be in her head. It started off slow, just as it did with her making friends with my men. We'd find ourselves training together, riding side by side on horseback during the day, sitting close at the fire at night. Then conversations started.
"She didn't want to talk about herself at first, so I told her all about Escarral and the territories. I told her about my father and mother, your sisters...even about Guinevere. I didn't have to tell her she was the one to start the war, of course, or that she would be reigniting it now. She already knew. What she didn't want to talk about was herself, but I finally got her to open up one night after everyone turned in and we were still up and drinking at one of the fires.
"Her parents...they'd sold her to her first master for a good amount of coin as soon as they realized who and what she was, the power she possessed. She was older than Elys since the Seer power manifested when she hit puberty. She thought she was being sold for...other reasons."
He didn't have to say it outright for Lyv to know what he was implying.
"They used her, the four masters she was bound to by blood and coin since they always ended up killing each other to possess her. Her last one...well, he was a little more kind, which was why he allowed her to find me. But whenever she went back to him after being gone for months longer than he originally allowed, he wasn't anymore. Obviously." Bence swallowed hard, blinking back tears. "No, none of that. We're talking about her, how we..."
"How you fell in love," Lyv finished for him when his voice trailed off.
This time, he didn't hold back those tears as he looked at her and smiled. "Mother above, did I love that woman. Lenora was perfect, even though she claimed not to be. To me, she was. Even with her scars from her masters' beatings, even when she got so lost in one of her visions that she didn't know the difference between it and reality. Even when her temper got the best of her.
"That temper is what finally made her crack. We'd been camped out on the same beach where she first found us and were there for several days while a good majority of my men were out scouting the area. We were training and I knew something was wrong just by the harsh look in her eyes. She came at me with her sword and gave me this," he said, pointing to the thin scar that was barely noticeable along his hairline. "She stopped as soon as she did, fearing that I would beat her black and blue, even though she knew I wouldn't have ever laid a hand on her. She ran and, of course, I followed. She kept apologizing, cursing herself as she tried to help me clean up. All she was seeing the blood from the wound...and all I was seeing was her."
"Let me guess," Lyv said with a knowing smile. "You kissed her."
Bence rolled his eyes. "Of course, I did...and we didn't leave that tent for a good three days after that."
"Damn."
Both of them started laughing, but it just ended up making Bence go into a coughing fit before he finally settled back down.
"A few weeks...that's all it took for me to fall completely in love with her. I thought I would have never gotten to experience that seeing as I didn't have the best marriage with Guinevere. Every night, we would lay there in bed and I would tell her all about my plans for us as if Guinevere wasn't in the picture. I wanted her to be the woman you and your sisters looked up to as a mother figure. The more and more we talked about them, she fell in love with them without even seeing or knowing them. She fell in love with Escarral in the same way. I wish you could have met her. Gods, there's nothing more I would have wanted.
"After a few more weeks with her, I knew when something...changed...about her visions. She was closed off and distant. But it was that last night with her...that's when she told me it was going to be our last, that she knew she had to go back to her master in Ethran and that I was going to find Jai. I didn't want to lose her, have her leave when we both knew what was going to happen once she was back. She said her visions had already told her what would happen...and that she would see me again someday.
"Like I said, Lenora had gotten her master's blessing only to come to me that first night, not stay. She went against his orders, which was why she was killed when she finally went back. Over these last few years, I wanted to know more about what happened. I heard she fought back, taking out at least a dozen of his guardsmen before landing a fatal blow to her master. He got one in on her, too, which was what finally took her. She took them all down with her, though.
"When it happened...gods above, I knew when she was gone. I felt it like a dozen arrows to the heart. I was back in Escarral at that point, but I still knew when it happened even though it was on the other side of the world. I...I tried to save her, even though I knew what her visions told us. I couldn't go myself, but I sent some of my men after her. Of course, it was no use, though. They got there weeks after everything happened."
Now, Lyv was the one who was crying. "I always wanted that for you," she whispered to him. "I wanted you to have someone who loved you with everything she had and would always be by your side. Even when I was little, I knew Guinevere would never be that person for you."
"But Lenora was," Bence smiled. "She loved me with everything she had. I loved her just as fierce...and I've felt her with me every day since she left." He reached over and twined his weak fingers through hers, lifting it to kiss the back of her hand. "You know how I said I'm fine with being asleep because it gives me the chance to dream? Well, Lenora is the one I've been dreaming about. But...I don't think they're actually dreams. She told me she would wait for me in the land of light and shadows and she's there for me now."
Her heart twisted in her chest. "Daddy, please don't say it like that," Lyv choked out in a whisper.
"We can't fight the inevitable, my darling Alyvia," he said to her, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath as sleep began to pull him under. "Now...you get back to cursing at those vials and I'll...I'll dream of my Lenora."
***
After cleaning up her mess and made sure Bence was comfortable as he dreamed, Lyv made her way back up on deck. People were everywhere – taking down their tents, sitting around small fires blazing in metal drums, eating and talking about what they were anticipating in the coming hours. There was one person she wanted to be with then, though, having hardly seen him in the light of day during the week since she was always with Bence.
"Are you all right?" Jai asked her after she crept up behind him where he stood near the railing.
After wrapping her arms around his waist, Jai then laced his fingers through hers on his stomach as she pressed her cheek against his back. "No," she mumbled miserably. "Nothing's working, Jai. It just disappears in black smoke and I lose all of the progress I made. There's only so much I can do in helping him be comfortable and even that's taking its toll."
Jai turned in her hold to face her, leaning them both against the railing. "You know I hate to say this, but that's what you need to focus on now, Lyv. Making him comfortable. Sure, you can try a few more things once we're back in Ayveri and you have the whole infirmary supplies shelves to delve into, but..."
"I know," she said quietly, staring down at the silver buttons of his jacket.
Another thing she didn't want to admit? She knew Bence was ready. Even though he knew everything and everyone he would be leaving behind, he was tired of fighting the poison both mentally, emotionally, and physically. She knew it as soon as he started telling her about Lenora, how she wanted him to be able to be with her again even if that meant not having him here. But the finality of it all...
Seeing her face fall, Jai pulled her against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, wanting to get her mind elsewhere. "You have Elys and Posy to look forward to once we're back. You know they're going to attack you with hugs and kisses."
"They'd better because I could use them right now, though I would settle with a kiss from you if you're willing."
A deep, rumbling chuckle reverberated against her cheek, making her smile and hug him tighter. "I would absolutely love to give you the kiss you deserve...if we weren't a little way out from Ayveri now."
Lyv shifted so she could look in the direction she was across the water. Through the thick mid-morning fog, the harbor suddenly appeared with all of Ayveri right after it. There were several ships anchored about a half-mile off shore with guardsmen watching their approach and waiting to make sure there was no enemy threat behind them. On the docks and beaches, there were so many people waiting to help as their dozens of ships carrying thousands of Escarrali refugees neared.
With so much still going on, not many people saw just how close they were to Dalcaine. But as soon as one little girl cried out in awe of the Dalcaine capital and the sight of the palace in the distance, everyone's attentions turned to it and stared in awe as they approached.
Their ship was the first to dock, followed by the four that had been close behind. A few others managed to anchor out from the beaches just a little ways and smaller boats were already on their way to ferry people ashore. Roshan and Erly were already taking flight, letting out thunderous, welcoming roars as they flew over the city toward the Branvon estate, where they would finally get much needed rest and they could stretch out instead of being curled up.
Even though Lyv wanted nothing more than to jump the distance from the ship's deck onto the dock below for her own selfish reasons, she, Jai, and everyone else stopped to help the others aboard before walking down the wide plank themselves.
Of course, the first person Lyv's eyes went to was Elys, who was jumping up and down, trying and unsuccessfully attempting to see over the tops of everyone's heads. Posy was fluttering anxiously above him and, as soon as she spotted Lyv, zipped through the air and collided with her cheek. Crying sparkling tears, it took a good bit of coaxing to get the pixie to stand on her palm, but then Lyv pulled her forward to kiss the side of her head. Immediately, Posy wrapped herself in one of Lyv's curls, refusing to leave her side.
With Jai at her side, Lyv began to push through those who still crowded the dock in a bid to get to those they wanted so desperately to see. Emmeric and Alexea were the first they saw, followed by Eamon and Laurel with baby Archer in a sling against her chest and Michel at her side. The other little boy who had been with them was no longer jumping up and down. Instead, Elys was shoving himself in between everyone before he was finally able to run full speed at them.
Lyv dropped to her knees, arms wide open, and Posy jumped up and hovered between her and Jai right before Elys collided with her. His arms wrapped securely around her neck as she lifted him up in her arms, holding him as tight as she could.
"Hey, sweet boy," Lyv laughed, trying to pull him back. "Let me look at you."
But Elys wouldn't move, wouldn't even speak...and that's when she heard the sniffling of tears.
"It's all right," she whispered to him, securing her arms around him once more and rubbing her hand up and down his back. "Everyone is."
"No, they're not," Elys finally mumbled as he turned his face to press it against the crook of her shoulder. "Bence isn't and he isn't gonna be."
Heart twisting, Lyv kissed the side of his head. "It's all right," she repeated.
Finally, the little boy pulled back to wipe away his tears, mismatched blue eyes still glistening as he looked her over. Not seeing anything wrong with her, he finally gave her a small smile before kissing her cheek.
"Have you been good for Emmeric and Alexea? You and Eamon not causing chaos over these last few weeks, have you?"
"Always," Elys giggled, his smile turning sly. "But we've been helping, too."
"We have," Eamon nodded. "But we've been helping, too. Especially with Archer since everyone's been trying to prepare for everyone coming from Escarral." He looked around at everyone along the docks and the beaches. "There's a lot more than I thought."
Jai put a hand on top of Eamon's head as his little brother leaned in to give him a hug. "We got everyone out we could," he told them, and then looked up at his parents, Laurel, and Michel. "So, what's the plan in getting them settled?"
Emmeric was still making sure every person who passed them by was all right and reassured them as they looked at the King of Dalcaine will wide eyes, so it was Alexea who answered between greetings herself.
"We've set up a temporary settlement just outside the city. Thia's father allowed us to use his land for the time being. As for a more permanent space, we're still in the process of getting everything ready at the family estate. For as little time we've had, we've made great progress and we should be able to resettle everyone within the month," she told them.
Laurel went in to hug Lyv, careful not to squish Archer between them. "As for your family, though, they're all going to stay with us," she told her. "We've got the lower level of one of the palace's wings ready to go, the one that's just down the hall from the infirmary. Because...well..."
Their eyes lifted to those who were just beginning to come down the wooden plank onto the dock. As soon as Elys saw Lyv's nieces and nephews, all of the children converged on each other. For Lyv, there was nothing like hearing their laughter as they saw each other for the first time in months. Elys even introduced them to Eamon, who seemed to know each and every one of them just by what Elys had told him.
Lyv's sisters and brothers-in-law were right behind them, looking like children themselves as they took in all of Ayveri they could see from where they were standing. She would have to take them around the city to her favorite spots sometime soon. Everyone could do with a little bit of fun after what they'd been through.
Lyv grabbed Ada's hand and pulled her forward with Sora and Rhea close behind, followed by Gyver, Bridger and Davon. "I want to introduce you since you haven't had the chance to meet before," Lyv began, turning toward Jai's family. "This is Jai's parents, King Emmeric and Queen Alexea. His little brother Eamon is over there with the children and this is his sister Laurel, her mate and husband Michel, and their baby boy Archer." Then she turned back to hers. "These are my sisters, Ada, Sora, and Rhea, and their husbands, Gyver, Bridger, and Davon. As for the children...well, you'll have to learn all their names a little later since they're currently having a little bit of fun they so desperately deserve."
Lyv's sisters and brothers-in-law were staring at the Dalcaine royal family with wide eyes, taking in their beauty and not so obvious age since they were all Fae.
But it was Ada Lyv paid special attention to then, having noted the subtle changes in her eldest sister over the last several days. Even without the crown on her head, though it was safely tucked away on the ship in the cargo hold, she still held herself in a different manner than she had before. How could she not when she was now officially Queen of Escarral?
"Ada, though..." Lyv began as she gently squeezed her hand. "As of just a few days ago, this is Queen Ada of Escarral. And before you ask, Bence is still with us. For...for now."
"Thank the Mother," Alexea sighed in relief, a hand over her heart as she stepped forward. Knowing the queen, she wasn't going to make formal introductions and greetings, though. She was a mother through and through and all she wanted was a hug. Ada smiled, not exactly knowing what to make of it, but hugged her back anyway. "It's so good to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances." She pulled back and went in to hug the rest. "And those beautiful children of yours should be expecting hugs from me later as well."
"They would love that, actually, especially with everything Elys has told them. Not to mention Lyv and Jai," Gyver smiled as Ada looped her arm through his.
Emmeric was the one to speak then. "While you all are in the capital, your whole family will be staying at the palace with us. We've prepared an entire wing close to the infirmary since we know you'll want to be there for..."
His and Alexea's gazes lifted to the last of those disembarking from the ship – all three of Lyv's parents. Bridget and Alberich had sat Bence down in a cushioned, wooden and metal wheelchair that allowed him to sit up instead of having to be carried off on a stretcher. He was awake, though clearly exhausted and in pain even Lyv tried to lessen it, but he was still smiling as soon as he saw them all staring. Alberich was pushing him from behind while Bridget had a tight grip on his good hand. His other, blackened one laid unmoving in his lap.
Emmeric slowly stepped up in front of Bence and held out his hand. Slow and shaking, Bence reached up and grasped it firmly. The kings of both the human- and Fae-ruled lands smiled at each other.
"Hello, dear friend," Emmeric greeted.
"It's so good to see you again," Bence nodded. "And before any other words are said, I must say this. Thank you. Thank you for opening your home to my people when they have no home to go back to at the moment."
"There was no question on what we were going to do when we knew what was going to happen, so there's absolutely no need to thank us."
Alexea was the next to get to him, giving him a gentle hug and kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling?" she said as she stared down at what she could see of his blackened skin.
Bence looked down at his hand, trying unsuccessfully to move it. "As well as I can, at the moment. Lyv and Alberich have been helping with the pain, but nothing...nothing will stop it."
Emmeric and Alexea looked up at Lyv, who clenched her teeth and reached over to grab Jai's hand for support. "I...I need to get him to the palace, to the infirmary. I can at least try a few other things before I...before we..."
"Of course," Emmeric nodded, motioning them forward in the direction of the palace. "Come, now. Let's get you all there so you can wash up and rest. And for right now, just focus on yourselves. We will take care of everyone else."
***I was honestly not expecting this chapter to be as long as it was, but I absolutely loved it! And it really made me want to write a prequel about Bence and Lenora...which I totally might do one day in the future.
We've only got 2 chapters left, guys, and I'm not prepared. I will have the next chapter up probably really soon since it's one I've been wanting to write since I planned out this series!
What are your thoughts? Comment and vote!
Happy reading!
- Ansley***