Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The silence after the air rushed from Lyv's lungs caused Jai to have a miniature panic attack. She was dazed, mouth agape as her eyes stared up at the sky, more than likely seeing stars from how hard her head smacked against the deck of the ship. She told him to not go easy on her, so that's what he did.

And he hated every single minute of it.

That didn't stop him from rushing over to her, face hovering over hers as he tried to swallow down his panic.

"Again," she gasped, finally finding her voice even if it sounded like a croak on its way out. "Do that again. I think I almost had it."

But Jai shook his head. "Lyv, we've been at this all afternoon," he told her as his magic swept through, coaxing hers into healing the bruises that blossomed on her cheek and arms. "You need to rest and time to get cleaned up."

"Just one more go at it then. I almost had it that time, but I just...I need to try just one other thing to..."

"You're doing great, but we need to stop. You're tiring yourself out."

There was no stopping her persistence. "Just one more."

Jai sighed after watching her carefully for a long moment, knowing she wasn't going to give up so easily, even after hours of training.

They'd been on deck since the early afternoon, something Lyv made him promise to do since her magic was still being as stubborn as it could. Though she said she could feel it once more rushing through every part of her, it was like she was having to learn everything over again. Her healing abilities were coming along with a little help from him and she was able to create the orbs of blue and white light, which was the simplest magic she could muster, but it was her wards she was struggling the most with. And she just had to focus on a harder piece of magic rather than the small things.

He still tried to be as encouraging as he could, even while still pushing her to her limits. It didn't take much, especially since she was trying to push herself past those limits, which only seemed to tire her out even more. That was why he was trying to get her to slow down now, especially since they were only an hour out from Blackloch.

But still, she was doing really well, even though she didn't feel like she was. Jai had a sneaking suspicion she was upset with herself...mostly because he would find her in their cabin alone, one they shared with Gideon and Thia, trying her best to create those orbs for longer periods of time or slicing her palm with her dagger to try and get herself to heal without Jai's help. He would leave her be, mostly because the first time he went in to try and calm her, she threw a pillow at him. Obviously, it didn't hurt, but seeing the tears in her eyes did.

Of course, he knew she'd tried to hide her frustrations from him before, but he knew. He always knew. Whenever he'd see those tears, she would try and tell him she was missing Elys. No doubt she did, but that wasn't the reason for them, especially when the little boy practically shoved them out the front doors of the palace. His bright smile made Jai think he knew something he wasn't telling them about their trip to Blackloch, looking between Jai and Lyv and then Thia and Gideon.

"I'll be fine," Elys tried telling Lyv as she worried over him. Jai found it completely endearing, though, watching as he leaned against the doorframe as she knelt in front of the little boy. "Stop worrying over me, Lyvi."

"I'm always going to worry about you, even when you're older and can take care of yourself," she sighed, bopping his nose with the tip of a finger. "Now, the king and queen are going to be looking after you while Jai, Gideon, Thia, and I go to Blackloch. Behave when you're on your way to Asturia. We shouldn't be in Blackloch for too long..."