Chapter 50
It took both Jai and Gideon to pry Elys off of Lyv as she prepared to leave. Her heart stuttered at the sound of his cries against her stomach as he held on to her tight. When Jai first went to pull him off her, Lyv held up a hand to stop him before kneeling down to Elys's level. Reaching up, she quickly wiped away his tears and kissed his cheek.
"Don't go, Lyvi," he begged between hiccupped sobs. "Please, don't go."
"I have to, sweet boy," she whispered to him. "It will be all right. You know that, even if you can't see it in those visions of yours. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can, got it? You don't have to worry."
"But I do worry. Because I can't see anything that happens over the next few hours. I don't like being blind to what's to come. All I can see is the camp and the fires and the stars above. Nothing specific, nothing to tell me what happens."
Lyv tried not to let him notice that flash of worry that crossed her face. "It will be all right," she repeated.
Even with his tears, he growled in frustration. It was such a Jai reaction it had Lyv smiling. "Stop saying that, would you?"
"Elys..."
But he didn't say another word as a sob wracked his little body. He flung himself at her once more and wouldn't let go. Knowing she had to leave soon, Lyv did let Jai attempt to pull Elys off her, then had Gideon join in the efforts. When they finally managed, Elys clung to Jai and begged him to make Lyv stay.
Her parents and Emmeric were the first to give her hugs goodbye, the last of which was Bridget. Lyv had never really seen her mother upset with her, but now she was. No, not just upset, she was absolutely fuming. No wonder everyone usually put distance between themselves and Lyv when she was pissed. Just one more thing she got from her mother.
"Momma..."
"Why, Alyvia?" Bridget demanded. "Why do you think you have to do this yourself?"
"Because you know I do."
"But she's my sister. I should go with you. I should try and break through to her just as you think we can. Then maybe I'll...I'll get her back and we can..."
"Momma."
Bridget lifted her hands to Lyv's face, cradling it gently. "I can't believe Jai agreed to let you do this either."
"Honestly, I can't either. But he trusts me...and I hope you do, too."
"Oh, of course, I do. But I'm your mother and I'm going to worry about you for as long as I live. I'll always be fiercely protective of you. I thought you were used to this by now?"
Lyv managed to crack a smile. "I am, but I still love to complain about it."
"You'll know exactly what I mean once you have your own little one."
She had to bite the inside of her lip, but nodded and hugged her tight, not wanting anything to give away what she was thinking.
Because she already knew what her mother meant.
Her other goodbyes with Thia, Allel, Kalla, and Mik were short and sweet, though the females gave her looks as if to tell her to not only protect herself, but the sweet little life growing inside her. Of course, she would. As soon as she promised Jai she would come back to him, she'd put up the first protective spell.
When it came to Gideon, though, he could hardly look at her face as she strode toward him. He was taking in her armor and boots, her braided hair, and her sword and dagger. Then those eyes shifted behind her at Roshan in his, too.
"Gideon..." Lyv started.
"If I don't keep silent, you know I will lose it."
"Then a silent goodbye it will be."
Lyv hugged him tight around the waist, but he didn't budge in his stance.
"I love you," she told him. "I'll always love you, my overprotective brother."
She could practically hear his teeth grinding together as his jaw clenched. "I don't like how you're saying that."
"I just...need to let you know, Gideon. Just in case."
"There's no just in case, Alyvia. You're coming back to us. You are."
"I am."
"Good."
He stood frozen for several long moments before his body relaxed and he wound his arms around her in a fierce hug. The only goodbye he was going to give her was a kiss on the forehead and a wavering smile before he took Elys from Jai.
Jai.
His hand was warm around hers as he threaded their fingers together and walked with her to Roshan's side. Not only was her family there to send her off, but every single guardsman. They made a makeshift aisle to where Roshan waited, bowing their heads, and whispering prays of safe travels to her. By then, everyone knew what she was doing, where she was heading off to. Roshan, it seemed, was already geared up and ready to go, even though he'd grumbled as soon as Lyv said he'd have to wait outside the city gates once she told him her plan.
With one final look over to make sure every buckle was fastened properly, Lyv turned back to Jai with her final goodbye.
Jai's hands lifted to her face as he leaned his forehead against her. Though he was taking these last few moments to look over every inch of her, Lyv had to close her eyes and will her tears away. Too many emotions were rushing through her, heightened by the pregnancy hormones she tried to hide from him. To him, the only thing he would recognize was her own lavender and sage scent he so loved was stronger. He hadn't realized as to why yet.
"One word down the bond and I'll be by your side," Jai whispered to her as her fingers gripped the back of his jacket. "One word and I'm there."
"You know what will happen if you do."
"Let's try to see them get rid of me that easily when we're fighting together."
"Jai..."
"You'll be all right. I know you will. Come back to me as soon as you can...and then we'll celebrate."
"Celebrate how?"
"Any way you want."
"You know, I'm still expecting a honeymoon trip."
"Grandcrest House didn't count?"
"Nope, that wasn't nearly enough time. I'm expecting at least a month. Maybe two."
"Mm, two months alone with you? Sign me up, please."
Lyv laughed as she finally opened her eyes to stare at him. There was no hiding her tears, but Jai quickly wiped them away with his fingers, then kissed a few more away.
"I love you," he whispered to him. "Come back to me, all right?"
"I promise," she nodded, voice cracking. "Just...don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Me? Never."
"I'm serious, Jai. Start packing up everything, though. If all goes according to plan, we'll have to do some major cleanup. I want my childhood home back to the way it was before. No, I want it to be even better than it was. You know, a giant library and a university like my father wanted to build. Not to mention an expansion of market day..."
"I love how optimistic you are, princess."
"I have to be, don't I?" Her optimism rang true, but it didn't help when her voice shook with every word. "I promise to come back to you, to our family...and then maybe we can start on that future we've both been dreaming about."
The same look flashed in those sapphire blue eyes of his, the one of realization of something he was holding onto so carefully. "And I promise to be waiting not so patiently...and promise you time away just the two of us after it all. You know, to start on that future."
Lyv leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before saying against them, "I'll hold you to that."
***
The flight to the capital city of Escarral was the shortest and longest it had ever been for Lyv. Not even five minutes into it, she was cursing herself for having Roshan with her. She would have much rather have taken a horse, gone down the familiar trails she'd taken time and time again over the years, and pass by Kesyn Lake, now black instead of a once clear blue, near the cottage.
The cottage...gods, she could barely look down at it as she had Roshan hover over the remnants. With no leaves on the trees, it was easy to see below them. Not only had the darkness washed over the land, but it looked as if flame had, too. The cottage was in charred ruins, along with the stable and forge Bence and Gideon had built. Absolutely nothing was left standing.
Lyv's mind reeled as she and Roshan neared the road leading to the eastern gate of the capital. The city walls were still standing, and she could see the dilapidated rooftops of the buildings. The last time she'd even stepped foot near it, she'd been watching as it was swallowed whole by the darkness, tears streaming, all alone after she'd used her magic to get absolutely everyone she loved to the western coast.
Now, it was a desolate land filled with nothing but ash and rot and death.
Lyv leaned forward, patting the side of Roshan's neck to signal landing. Her dragon was already on high alert, gray eyes scanning the horizon for any threats to himself and his bloodrite bond. A growl rumbled through him when he spotted something in the distance. When Lyv followed his gaze, though, there was nothing but a sea of black across the rolling hills.
No, not a sea of black.
A sea of dormant oskurreia and khorzir.
Lyv's heart immediately jumped in her throat as she stared and stared at the thousands upon thousands of dark creatures, all with iron and obsidian spears that glistened even beneath the heavy cloud cover. And when she couldn't see far enough in all directions, she knew there were more than she knew.
Mother and gods above, they had to have outnumbered their own troops three to one.
As soon as Roshan landed a hundred feet away from the eastern gate, he growled again, not liking how close those creatures were to him. Embers curled slowly along the ground toward them, but Lyv patted his side once more.
"None of that, Roshan. Not yet."
When those creatures' eyes suddenly flew open and landed on them, both female and dragon froze.
Lyv let out a shuddering breath. "Looks like they know we're here, don't they?"
As slow and careful as she could manage, Lyv unfastened herself from the saddle, then jumped down on the still smoldering ground. What was once a cobblestone road was now thoroughly cracked and in shambles. A major fissure went straight through the center and past the gate, the intricate metal and wood doors now a twisted pile barely hanging on its hinges.
Roshan growled once more, wedging his head beneath Lyv's arm. He huffed out a breath, smoke curling out from his nostrils.
"I know you don't like this, but you've got to stay here. Should I need you, I'll call. You cannot step into the city, all right? She will kill you if even one talon crosses the boundary line."
Another grumble, then he shifted to press his nose against her stomach. It was such a usual thing for him to do, especially when he was asking for kisses on his brow, but this time it held new meaning.
She did kiss his brow just as he wanted, but also made another promise he was asking her to make. Before she even whispered to him, she put yet another protective spell around the life growing inside her. "Of course, I'll keep her safe."
Then Lyv walked with her head held high, leather and armor adjusted, and weapons on clear display straight into the city of her beloved childhood.
The cobblestone roads throughout the city were the same as the one to the gate. Cracks laced through with giant slabs lifted up. Lyv had to watch where she stepped after she tripped on the uneven surface. Most of the buildings were still standing, though some walls had fallen, the roofs had caved in, and charred marks were along the outer portions. Everything was covered in a thin layer of ash, rot, and snow. Having to watch where she stepped even more so now, she found items that the Escarrali people had lost in the rush to leave their homes – clothes, shoes, carved wooden toys, fabric dolls.
Lyv tightened her cloak around as a chill whipped through the streets, blowing snowflakes against the flushed skin of her face.
The silence was what got to her. The last time she'd been here, everyone had been in a hurry to pack up their lives. There had been shouted commands from the guardsmen, the quiet sobs of scared people, the rattling of wagon wheels against the road as they headed to the west coast.
Then, looming in the distance under an ever-growing cover of darkness, was the Escarrali palace. At first sight, she barely recognized the ruins of her childhood home. But with one blink, Lyv froze as soon as she crossed through the gates, hand resting on her dagger, the very one Bence had given her when she was a little girl, and her mind growing foggy as she took everything in.
It was the smells that got to her first – the scent of the blooming flowers all around, the warmth of the freshly baked bread, the cleanliness of the laundry. Everything assaulted her senses as the fog easing through her mind made her sharply focus on the physical details.
One more blink...and it was like nothing had every happened.
The palace was still standing – the main complex of buildings, the archways, the towers, the gardens surrounding it, the training courtyard, and the metal gate and fencing surrounding it. Even the tower where Lyv's rooms had been was still standing...the interior lighting glistening from the windows as if to welcome her home. The colors were sharp, no dark gray clouds or dingy snow, not even ash and rot. And all around were people. And people she'd known from childhood all the way up to now. They were calling out greetings to her as they passed doing their daily duties, leading horses to the stables, carrying trays laden with food, or hauling laundry baskets filled with clothing.
No, this was wrong. None of this, none of them should have been there.
What gave it away was when she saw the four guardsmen who'd helped Bence track Guinevere's movements a few years before, Dendric, Evrat, Heward, and Rabbie, walk by to head to the training yard, calling for her to join.
And Balian, sitting on the stone steps leading up to one of the side entrances, a smile on his face when he spotted her as he sharpened his sword.
Then her lady's maid Tulia. The woman was leaning out a second story window, calling for Lyv to get up to her rooms and change out of her awful training clothes.
What was most wrong about all of this? Guinevere opening the wooden front doors, stepping out barefoot in a deep, blood red lace dress once buried in her wardrobe after she'd worn it once. She looked...well, whole. Gone were her gaunt features, dirty blond hair, and onyx eyes. Her bright blonde hair was braided into a knot at the back of her head and her hazel eyes were light with excitement.
When she saw the shock on Lyv's face, Guinevere frowned. "Oh, come now. That's no way to treat your mother, is it?" she chided as she walked down the steps toward her, arms open as if to embrace her once she was within arms' reach.
Lyv took a step back.
Guinevere paused, frowned, and narrowed her eyes. "What?"
Knuckles going white around her dagger, she didn't move. "This can't be real."
She let out a laugh that had everyone around them smiling. "Of course, it is, my darling."
"It's not."
"Alyvia, really."
Lyv blinked against the blinding sun above them.
And the illusion placed over her childhood home flickered.
Gone was the sparkling palace for those fleeting seconds and in its place was the crumbling ruins, though the main building was still standing, patched together. The gardens were dead, no one was around, and several dozen oskurreia were standing dormant on either side of the front courtyard.
"This isn't real," Lyv growled out.
Guinevere froze, her façade falling...along with her glamour. She was still wearing the red lace dress, though it was in tatters, her hair was more gray rather than blonde, her face was gaunter than it had been when she'd seen her just the week before, and her hazel eyes darkened to onyx.
And more so than Lyv had ever seen before, the bloodlust that radiated from her was almost palpable as Guinevere stared at her, her conduit magic making her twitch with need.
One more blink, and the illusion was again cast over the palace complex.
The human Guinevere smiled brightly at Lyv. "Beautiful magic, isn't it? My mistress had a little power over the mind before, but that's now been enhanced with the darkness. She thought you would want to see this place as it once was."
"And filled with the people you had killed."
She shrugged and held out her hands for Lyv again. "Come now, my darling, or else dinner will get cold without us."
"No."
"It's the reason you're here."
"I'm not..."
"Alyvia Deverell Ayveri, what would my sister think if you refused to come see me?"
That voice.
The voice coming from inside the palace was one Lyv had heard before and yet hadn't. It was one that once held a sharpness, a steeliness in it, but now it was soft and full of love.
At first, Lyv thought she was staring at her mother Bridget. No, it was more like Cleo with a different hair color. The female was dressed just as Bridget usually was in leggings, boots, and loose shirt tucked in with burgundy hair in a messy bun on top of her head. And her face...there was so many similar features between her, Cleo, and Bridget, though she was younger, looking as if she were just a few years older than Lyv herself.
The face of Corliss Lucerra Brandt, not the Dark Mage.
Lyv was frozen as her aunt descended the steps quickly, then gathered her up in a fierce hug.
"Thank you for coming to see me," she laughed as she pulled back and took Lyv's face in her hands. "Oh, it's been so long! You look well...and more like your mother with every passing day."
This isn't real, she told herself again.
Lyv tried to reach for Jai down their mating bond, but her mind was still hazy as she struggled to grasp it. He was there, though, that much she could tell.
Corliss looped Lyv's limp arm through hers as she guided her up the stairs to the palace doors with Guinevere trailing behind them. The conversation and laughter of the people around them grew with every step, but then went silent as soon as they were inside. Another flicker of magic went around them...and Lyv was now in a navy dress Guinevere had made for her years before, her leather and armor disappearing along with her weapons.
Defenseless...but she still had her magic, still felt that power ebbing through her as it settled in to doze. Lyv looked down at her wrists, half expecting Corliss to have already put on a golden cuff that allowed her to control her, but she was free.
Corliss continued to chat with her with Guinevere silently following. She was asking about her parents, Jai, Drue, and Jules, then about her sisters and the rest of her family. Lyv remained mute, passing through the hallways of the palace on their way to the dining room. The plush carpets made her footsteps in her flats quiet, landscapes and portraits hung on the walls, and the wallpaper was pristine. The palace staff were milling about with their daily chores, smiling and nodding in greeting.
This isn't real.
One blink and spark of magic...and she saw it for what it truly was.
Charred flooring, peeling wallpaper with scorch marks, the silence that echoed through the crumbling palace. The rot and ruins hidden behind an illusion of home and love.
"Why are you so quiet?" Corliss asked her, squeezing her arm with a little too much force.
Swallowing hard, Lyv looked down at her dress, lifting the skirts and letting them fall, drifting back into place. Something glittering against her chest caught her off guard – the locket Destan had given her. She was more than sure she'd left it safe in Ayveri, along with her wedding ring...which was now on her finger with the matching band she hadn't had the heart to leave behind.
"That mate of yours did very well with this ring," Corliss sighed as she lifted Lyv's hand to take a closer look. "I heard he's had this hidden away until he found the one fated for him...and that he wanted to give it to you even when he was prancing around as that human mapmaker Amory."
"He's still a mapmaker, you know," Lyv found herself saying. "And still loves me as he did then, possibly even more now."
"I'm still upset you didn't invite me to the wedding."
Guinevere grumbled from behind them in agreement.
"It was a spur of the moment elopement that everyone in Ayveri got to witness."
Lyv...what are you doing? Why are you playing along with her games?
This...this isn't real.
"Come now," Corliss said again, tugging her forward by the hand into the dining room.
She had come for one reason and one reason only – to kill Guinevere and stop Corliss before she destroyed any more of their world...then see if there was absolutely any way to free her from the darkness that gripped her.
She needed her weapons.
Needed her magic to not slumber in peace within her.
Needed her mind to not be such a muddled mess.
Focus, Lyv. This isn't real.
Corliss sat at the head of the long dining table with a fire blazing in the hearth behind her. A cream table runner was spread out and a place where the phantom kitchen staff could place the steaming plates of food without marking the wood. She stared down at the gold and ivory plates in front of her, the shiny silverware, the crystal wineglass being filled by a young man on her right. The liquid sloshed around as he poured too quickly, a single droplet of red wine landing on the fabric and staining it.
Not the best move.
Rage flickered in Corliss's emerald eyes as she flicked a finger and a slit appeared across the man's throat. Choking, he dropped the bottle of wine where it then hung motionless in the air and clutched at his neck as deep red blood seeped out from between his fingers. He stumbled, boots tripping on the ornate rug, and fell backward.
Disappearing into the shadows that enveloped him.
"You can't find good help these days," Corliss sighed, unfazed by what she'd just done. With another wave of her hand, the wine bottle continued pouring itself into Lyv's glass, then to Guinevere, and finally to her.
Guinevere hesitated, looking where the young man had disappeared. "My husband was always too kind. Thought to treat the staff and palace guard like family. He almost made one of those guardsmen family, too, when he thought of attempting to make a match between Sir Balian and Alyvia."
Once the bottle was settled back down, she lifted her glass, prompting Lyv and Guinevere to do the same. "To family and friends...and called off matches to prompt better ones."
The two of them down their glasses in one go, and the bottle magically rose again to fill them for a second time.
Lyv didn't drink the blood red wine, but rather watched as it swirled against the crystal. She sniffed at it first, only to find the aroma sweet, and then tested it with her magic while trying not to clue Corliss in as she and Guinevere began reaching for the plates to dish out their food.
There. Of course, something was off about it. It was laced with something hidden by the sweetness, a mild sedative neither of them seemed to mind consuming by the slow smiles on their faces or the heaviness of their eyes.
With both of them watching, waiting, Lyv put the glass to her lips, feigning a small sip.
Corliss didn't seem to notice it had no effect on her. "There you go. Better now, right?"
"Y-yes."
She didn't have to touch the plates of food because the two of them were helping to laden down her plate. Just as with the wine, the same sedative was in most of it, save for the freshly baked bread still steaming in the basket. It was the only thing Lyv touched, along with her waterglass.
And the knife that sat beside her plate as she moved it slowly into her lap.
"You're not drinking the wine," Guinevere commented as she finished off her third glass. "And you've only eaten bread. Something troubling you, my darling?"
Corliss gave a lazy smile, stabbing a piece of rare cooked steak. "Oh, she is the same as I was when I was expecting the twins. The moodiness, the nausea, the look of absolute love and fear in her eyes since the child was conceived with dark magic."
Lyv almost knocked over her wineglass. "How...?"
She waved a hand, snorting. "Oh, please, I knew from the moment I saw you...and knew that little girl inside you, though just a few weeks along, will be just as powerful as my girls were. And since I know you'll be with us for much, much longer than you believed when you came to see us, I might get to watch as that sweet girl grows up, get to help teach her everything about her own darkness."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lyv tightened her hand around the knife in her lap.
Because she was remembering the dream...no, the nightmare she'd had just a few weeks before where she'd held Dessa in her arms, Jai and Elys and everyone else dead, the world caving in around the two of them as Corliss watched on with a wicked smile.
The same smile she was wearing now when Lyv slowly looked up at her.
...be with us for much, much longer than you thought...
"No," Lyv breathed, and then blinked...finding the ruins of the palace around her, Guinevere back to her conduit self, and Corliss...Corliss with the pitch-black eyes of the Dark Mage. "No."
"Yes," Corliss laughed as she sipped her wine. Waving a hand, the illusion around them flickered back into place for a fraction of a second, then dropped completely, fighting her.
The fire still blazed, though it seemed another had swept through the room. The dining room table was blackened, the ceiling had collapsed in on itself with the rubble pushed off to the perimeter of the space.
Lyv blinked again and the illusion reappeared.
"Don't you like it?" Corliss asked. "I was hoping you would. Guinevere knew how much you loved it here at your beloved palace and would want to see it again."
She didn't say a word.
It was the Dark Mage who stood then, her own glamour falling as she turned toward the blazing fire behind her. "This is what that bitch of a sister did to me while I was in that Asturian dungeon. A hundred years of childhood memories I wanted nothing more than to darken. Her blood magic, her mind magic she claims to loathe using. She used it against me thinking it would be her sister back. It didn't."
Lyv sat frozen, fully aware of every one of her movements, even Guinevere's as she slowly stood up, glamour dissipating and leaving the conduit in her place.
Corliss looked back at Lyv over her shoulder, onyx eyes sparkling. "You didn't even have to drink the wine or eat the food, my love. As soon as you stepped through those outer palace gates, you were trapped in this illusion with us. And time...well, time's been passing a little more quickly in the outside world than it has in here. I sent a little present to your family, by the way, and I'm certainly glad you aren't there to witness it."
Her breaths started coming in short pants, panic rising in her throat as she willed herself to move and cursed when she couldn't.
Lyv began to shake awake her magic, both light and dark. It was a struggle, but she was finally able to get a spark of them both. Enough to help clear the fog over her mind to grasp onto the mating bond and scream for Jai.
She didn't hear him. Didn't even hear when the knife she'd been holding beneath the table clattered to the floor.
Only saw flashes of steel and obsidian blades.
Heard the shouts of surprise and fear.
Elys screaming...
"I needed you here," she told her as she slowly turned around. Her burgundy hair was glowing in the light of the fire, making her onyx eyes even more frightening to stare up into. "Because I knew you would be able to take them out just as you did in the north earlier this morning. And we can't have you doing that, can we?"
It was almost as if she was seeing through Jai's eyes.
There was so much panic, so much blood...
And then there was Elys, dagger in hand since his sword had been knocked to the ground several feet away, seconds away from being overcome by the dark creatures that surrounded him.
Jai running as fast as he possibly could
The clash of metal and obsidian.
A sharp scorching pain that radiated through her chest.
And then Jai's voice, softer than a whisper, telling her I love you.
Corliss's laugh brought Lyv back to her current surroundings. "Oh, my darling, you will have nothing, no one to go back to. You will never..."
Lyv didn't let her finish.
With her magic fully free, Lyv's shadows wrapped tight around her, clothing her in her leather and armor as the heavy weight of her sword reappeared across her back. Just a second more in that darkness...and she immediately appeared in front of Corliss and Guinevere.
Then slammed her dagger straight into the Dark Mage's heart.
Panting, Lyv looked at where the blade struck true, but no blood seeped from the wound. She wasn't crying in pain or rage. No, Corliss was smiling, laughing.
Yanking the dagger from her chest, she handed the clean blade back to Lyv. "It will take a lot more than that to kill me. I thought you would have known that by now?"
Another whisper from Jai.
I love you.
Light began to glow in her palms. Corliss and Guinevere stared...then began to back away as soon as that light grew brighter.
I love you.
One breath.
Then another.
"No."
I love you.
She was shaking with fear and fury, her magic building and building to the point of explosion.
Then it did.
The bright white burst completely covered the palace complex, shattering the illusion spell Corliss had put on it. It fell completely in shimmering pieces, the people disappeared into dust, and Corliss and Guinevere...well, they'd disappeared before that light could even touch them into the shadows that curled around them.
I love you.
Lyv was racing through the palace ruins, trying her hardest to recognize what she was looking at, but her tears blinded her.
I love you.
"Roshan!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as she was through the front doors.
But it wasn't all quiet out in the ruins of the capital city. The screeching of the dark creatures echoed all around but was then drowned out by a monstrous roar from the east.
And just as he had before, Roshan burned every single one of them in a blast of flames.
"Roshan!"
Hearing the panic in her scream, gray eyes immediately locked on her location before he raced for her. Ash flew up around him when he landed and Lyv was already jumping into the saddle and yelling for him to take off.
I love you.
As soon as they were up in the air and racing back toward the camp, Lyv silently screamed for Jai again, trying to get him to answer, to get him to tell her what the hell was going on.
And was immediately met with peaceful silence at the end of the snapped bond.
***Hello, my lovely and heartbreaking cliffhangers...so nice to see you again!
This chapter completely changed from what I had planned as I was writing it, but I'm so in love with how it turned out! What do you think happened while Lyv was away? We'll find out over the next few chapters! They're going to be uploaded all together, so be prepared to be bombarded with them by this weekend!
What did you guys think? Comment and vote!
Happy reading!
- Ansley***