Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jai was anticipating Elys being mad at him whenever he, Gideon, Thia, and Allel made it back to Ayveri later that afternoon. What he wasn't expecting was two angry boys and his sister, all waiting on the steps of the palace when they finally strode through the gates. The three of them had equal expressions of annoyance, all directed at Jai.

"You should have taken me with you," Elys immediately stated once Jai was a few feet away.

Eamon nodded. "Me, too."

"And not that I would have been able to, but you should have thought about telling me what you were doing," Laurel finished, crossing her arms above her extended stomach.

"Sorry?" he told them, but didn't sound convincing at all.

They knew it, too.

"To be fair, I didn't take anyone with me, so you should be mad at the three of them also," he went on, waving to the others behind him.

"Did it work, though?" Elys asked as Jai took both his and Eamon's hands before they headed inside. "I saw you went to Lady Bridget to see if you could contact Lyv with that spell. But since I can't see Lyv, I couldn't see if it did."

Did it work? It definitely did. Seeing Lyv, knowing she was still herself when the darkness didn't take over...

"She's still there, kid, and we're going to get her."

"But do you know where she is?"

"Not exactly, but we have an idea of where to start."

"How long are you going for? Let me go with you. I've been doing good with my training. Even you said that. I can help. Both Eamon and I can help."

Jai was shaking his head before he even let him speak. "I'm sorry, but I'm not bringing you along, especially when..."

But both boys pulled their hands from Jai's and bolted ahead of them. He didn't even want to think of what they would be doing when he saw them next, but he continued on to his rooms with Allel at his side. Gideon and Thia broke off from their group to pack up their own things, promising to meet at the Branvon Estate in an hour.

"He's going to try his hardest to convince you to let him come along," Allel told him from his right.

Laurel came up to his left. "And I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to sneak into Roshan's saddlebags, so double check before you go." She reached over to grab his hand, squeezing it gently in comfort as she gave him a hesitant smile. "Are you all right, though? I know you said she's still there, but..."

Jai nodded, but his eyes fell to the floor as they continued walking. "We just need to get to her soon. Before she does something else under Corliss control. Of course, she can't stop it whenever she's under, but she still remembers doing it. I don't know what state we're going to find her in whenever we get her back, just like with what Bridget said. But I'm hoping and praying with everything I have in me that being able to see her, to let her know we're trying to get to her, will give her a little bit of hope to hold on to."

His sister just shook her head, her other hand absentmindedly rubbing across her stomach. "And you thought she would have made herself believe otherwise?"

"I left her before. Maybe she thought I'd do it again."

Both females protested as soon as he said it, which made the corners of his mouth tilt upward, but only slightly. No matter how much everyone, including Lyv, forgave him, he still had a lot to do before he forgave himself.