Chapter 36
Staring up at the Arloerin palace and the city beyond, Lyv knew she was going to miss this place. Of course, she was already planning a trip back, though she had no idea when that would be. She would have to bring her parents, too, so they could meet the niece they didn't know they had and reunite with Renna after all the years that passed.
Even though she'd said she understood, Lyv still wished Cleo had agreed to come with them and bring along some of her best guardsmen. She tried not to feel resentment, but there was still a little. Lyv wanted every resource she could get her hands on, including Arloerin's army, but she knew she couldn't have it. Cleo had an entire kingdom to worry over and care about. She couldn't be off fighting in a war in a world that was not her own.
So, for now, it was time for goodbyes.
Renna placed her hand on Lyv's arm then as she stepped in front of her, opening her arms for her. Lyv took no time at all to move into her embrace, smiling as the female kissed the side of her head.
"I will see you again, I'm sure of it," Renna told her, taking her face in her hands when she leaned back. "But in the meantime, tell your mother and father hello for me. And that I can't wait to see them again when we're able."
Lyv smiled as she nodded. "Of course, I will."
Holding her close again, Renna sighed. "And good luck. Please, please don't end up like my Meron and Corliss. I know you and Jai will find a way to rid yourselves of the dark magic."
Janan had come with her, Shamira close to her side as always. Though Lyv could feel her tense at first with the physical contact, she quickly relaxed as they hugged.
"Keep Cleo in line," Lyv teased. "And don't let her act too quickly if something happens with Malik again. You know, like send assassins after him."
Janan blushed at the male's name but redirected her answer to Lyv's first request. "I'll bring forth the rational part of her plans for us all, just like I have been since being here." The mage reached down to hold both of her hands. "Good luck with everything, Lyv. And just like Renna said, we know we'll see you again."
Lyv was just finishing her goodbye to Shamira, scratching the place just below her ears that had her purring, when two strong arms grabbed her and hauled her up into a hug. She was laughing then, knowing exactly who it was, even before she saw Urell's fanged smile and bright eyes.
"Thank you for at least trying to get Cleo to send a few of you with us," Lyv said to him when she was finally set back on her feet. "I really appreciate it."
"I'm still going to try and talk to her about it, don't you worry," the orc nodded. "We can't be missing all the fun, can we?"
By then, everyone else had come out from the palace, bags slung over shoulders, weapons across backs, dressed and ready to go. Lyv stepped back so everyone could say their goodbyes, smiling at all of the interactions – Kalla and Renna embracing, Janan, Thia, and Allel talking and laughing, Gideon, Mik, and Urell doing the same. Elys, of course, was hugging Shamira around the neck as the leopard leaned her enormous head against his shoulder, purring even louder than she had with Lyv. Lyv shook her head, wondering how the boy had such a way with not only people but creatures as well.
When the roars of the dragons sounded overhead, everyone looked up and moved out of the way for Roshan, Erly, and Ollyn to land in the courtyard. As they did, Jai and Cleo appeared from the direction of the dragons' quarters, Cleo's arm looped through Jai's, both of them dressed in their leathers and ready for flight.
Jai's eyes immediately met Lyv's, smile still stretched across his face. There was another certain look in his eyes, one Lyv barely recognized before he let go of Cleo's arm, strode forward, and quickly closing the gap between them. Sweeping Lyv up into his arms and lifting her off her feet, Jai pressed a heated kiss to her lips, one that was highly inappropriate for the surrounding company to see, but still managed to make Lyv quickly forgot all sense of decency. It was over too quickly for her liking as a blush radiated up her neck to her cheeks.
"What in the world was that for?" she breathed, holding onto him even as he set her down. She was having trouble keeping her balance.
"Oh, nothing, princess," Jai grinned, taking her face in his hands. He said nothing else, just gazed at her and making her weak in the knees all over again.
Cleo made herself known from beside them. "I might have put the idea in his head of ravaging you wholly...though it seems to always be there in some way or another. Males, right?"
"And females, too," Lyv said, still staring at Jai.
"Obviously," she snorted.
It took Lyv a solid minute before she could think straight and that required her to take a step back from Jai, though he quickly reached over to grab her hand and kiss her knuckles.
Eyeing Cleo's red leather riding gear, Lyv raised a brow. "Are you coming with us to the portal?"
"I am. Like I told Jai, I'll take a little while longer with you all before I have to let you go."
Good, because Lyv didn't want to let go of or say goodbye to her just yet either.
In reality, she didn't want to say goodbye to Arloerin either. When they were finally up in the sky above it, they kept the dragons low so they could take one last look at the kingdom below. Everyone ran out into the streets from their homes and shops and cafés, calling out their goodbyes and waving up at them. Jai must have felt the sadness that coursed through Lyv as she waved back, trying to blink back her tears. His arms tightened on her and Elys, who was seated in front of her, as he kissed the side of her neck.
They flew over the vineyards and olive groves, the workers stopping to wave their goodbyes, too. Lake Iris glistened in the sunlight as they passed over. Roshan dipped lower until his talons broke the surface, making the water splash up around them. Elys's laughter was worth the spray that hit them.
Instead of going on foot through the Cagney forest, they continued their flight above it. The treetops rustled with not only the wind from their passing overhead, but also the creatures down below. They weren't going to come across another beist again like they did on their arrival, though the roaring from further north told them there was one close. Those pesky pixies weren't going to mess with them either, not after what Lyv did to those before. They still saw them peering at them from a safe distance whenever they landed, though.
Lyv looked up at the ancient oak that protected the portal between their world and Laria. Just like before, flashes of the forest of the Wilds appeared one minute but were gone the next. The flowering vines continued twisting around its massive trunk, roots stretching and contracting along the ground.
As everyone dismounted, a hush spread through their group, knowing this was the last goodbye before leaving.
Cleo turned to face them, looking at them one by one. "I'm really going to miss you all," she choked out.
"You know we'll come back," Kalla sighed, shaking her head as she went forward to hug her. "Just don't know when."
Allel and Mik approached next, hugging her tight before letting go.
"You know we will," Allel smiled, sweeping the backs of her hands beneath her eyes to wipe away her tears. "After all this time of thinking you'd been lost to us...gods, I'm so happy you're here."
Mik reached up and cradled Cleo's cheek in one hand, ever the uncle who hadn't seen his niece in forever. "Don't get into too much trouble."
Cleo's smile stretched across her face with just a hint of a little mischief...such a Kalla look. "Of course not," she said sweetly.
The three of them were the first to pass through back to their world.
Gideon and Thia were next, with Erly poking her nose into Cleo's stomach in her own goodbye and Roshan doing the same, both dragons humming. They disappeared around the side of the oak with the ends of the dragons' tails the last to be seen.
Elys decided Cleo's distraction in watching them go was a good opportunity to run toward her, almost tackling her with the fierceness of his hug. Cleo rocked back a step, smiling at him, before she knelt down to his level. They spoke quietly then, something Lyv couldn't hear. Cleo nodded when Elys finished, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, before he ran to the tree and disappeared, too.
Letting go of Lyv's hand, Jai stepped forward to say his own goodbyes to Cleo.
"You know where to find us if you need us," he told her as they embraced. "Of course, we'll come back to visit also. And the same goes to you as well."
Cleo nodded as she smiled, eyes closed. "I know. Trust me when I saw I will find the time to come visit you in Dalcaine. After hearing so much about your world from Kalla, I've been wanting to visit for a long, long time." She sighed and pulled back to look at him as her voice dropped lower. "Take care of her, all right? Take care of each other. Please, please figure out a way to get the darkness out of both of you so I don't have to lose you, too."
Jai didn't even say anything, just swallowed hard, nodded, and hugged her tight again. Cleo took that moment to whisper something else in his ear, making him burst into laughter. He was shaking his head as he started walking backward away from her. With one last goodbye, Jai stepped through the portal, leaving the two cousins alone. Even Ollyn stepped back, paying more attention to a few birds flying above them.
Cleo's smile waived at the edges. "Is it bad that I want to steal you away and keep you here, even though I know you have to leave for a very good reason?"
This time, it was Lyv's turn to laugh, even as her tears began spilling down her cheeks. "No, because I wouldn't mind it," she choked out, then surged forward.
Not knowing how long would pass before they would see each other again, Lyv didn't let go of Cleo for a few minutes. Long enough for the others to think she might have stayed behind. Her cousin didn't seem to want to let go of her either. Even their magics were saying a somewhat goodbye, shadows intertwining around them.
"Just please be careful," Cleo told her. "Thank the gods you have everyone you do. Not only do I know you can keep yourself safe, but your family will also."
"They're your family, too, you know. But I will. I promise we'll be back. You have to come visit first, though. I only sent a letter to my parents explaining where we'd gone, that you were the one we came to see, so I expect they'll bombard me with questions as soon as I see them again. Corliss and Meron never told them about you and Adeena."
"Well, then, I can't wait to meet them, too."
Cleo hugged her a little tighter. "When you and Jai manage to find a way to rid yourselves of the darkness and put it back in the original stone, bring it back to Arloerin. It will go right back to Veres where it belongs. No one would dare touch it, not after what happened before. We will keep it safe."
"If we find a way."
Because there was still a chance they wouldn't. Maybe they would end up like Corliss and Meron...
No, Lyv couldn't think that that. Positive. She needed to stay positive.
Cleo pulled back to give her a look Lyv knew very well since she had the same one. One of exasperation and annoyance. "Don't you dare think like that. You and Jai are the strongest mated pair I've come across, even here in Laria. I know you'll be able to."
"I guess."
Sighing heavily, her emerald eye narrowed and Lyv knew her onyx one was doing the same beneath her golden eyepatch. "Alyvia Deverell Ayveri..."
At the sound of her full name, Lyv started laughing again. It trailed off after a few moments, moments that were passing too quickly. "I'm going to miss you. More so than I thought I would even after knowing you for just two weeks."
"I'll miss you, too," Cleo told her, hugging her one last time. "Now go. Everyone's going to be waiting on you."
"Goodbye, Cleo."
"Goodbye, Lyv."
Lyv kept hold of her hand even as she walked backward, kept it extended toward her after she let go and felt the portal grab hold of her, taking her back to her own world.
***This chapter was so hard for me to write, mostly because I don't want to see Cleo go just like you guys don't! I'm going to give a little spoiler and say this won't be the last time we see here in this book! And, of course, she's going to be one of my main ladies in the spinoff series, too!
And now, we're in the unofficial second half of LOLAS! So much is going to happen and I'm super excited for it all! We're going back to Escarral, though it's definitely not the Escarral we came to know and love.
What did you guys think? What are your predictions for how this book, this series is going to end? Comment and vote!
Happy reading!
- Ansley***