Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The next three days passed in a blur for Lyv.

After coming across the ruins of the port town, she and everyone else were exhausted not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. They still traveled several miles inland toward the Ceron mountains that very same day, though, wanting to put as much distance between the scene they just witnessed and themselves.

Lyv sent Donovan and the Eld riders up in the skies on the dragons to scout ahead and watch them from their backs. She opted to stay on the ground and on horseback with Jai, Gideon, and Thia doing the same. Allel was up with the dragons as well, keeping to the front with Roshan and Erly.

Kalla was at the rear of their caravan. She'd left her Blackloch ships in the charge of Drue and Jules. The two of them stayed behind so they could sail down the coast with a skeleton crew for each ship. Should they feel like the evacuation of the Escarrali people was their only option, they wanted the ships to be at the point of the eastern coast the shortest distance away. Of course, it was hard to part with them for Lyv, but once they were anchored, the two of them and several others were going to head to the city.

Lyv kept quiet and kept almost always to herself as they rode on horseback. Jai and Gideon stayed on either side of her, sharing looks between them whenever she wouldn't answer a question or interjected her own thoughts as they spoke. That didn't stop Jai from trying to get her to open up, including asking her if she was all right as they road at the front of their people and the caravan of horses and wagons behind them. Most of his attempt at conversation was through their mating bond, though. He never got an answer through it or verbally, though. Lyv was completely focused on getting to the Ceron stronghold as soon as they could and if that meant riding in silence, then so be it.

Because of this, they only stopped to make camp for the night an hour before sunset. But with Lyv in control of her magic even more than she had ever been before, she was the one to set up. She still had her tent from Ethran in her bag and easily put the same spell on the others to allow everyone their own beds without leaving too much of a footprint when they left the next morning. With the long, grueling days of traveling as fast as they could, she still wanted to give them time to rest both their bodies and minds in comfort.

She wished she could do the same for herself.

With fires lit inside the tents for light and warmth, Lyv was one of the few who hadn't gone in to eat and rest for the night. The horses were being tended to by the stream, the dragons went in shifts to find their own food, and all of her people were settling down. The nights were far colder than they should have been for that time of year in Escarral and got even colder the closer they got to their destination. Lyv suspected it was because of what they were coming up on.

It always snowed whenever Dark Lyv made herself present.

Lyv had stolen Jai's cloak as soon as he'd taken it off of his armor. She was still in her own leather, though had taken off her own metal that fit over it. Jai was looking at her worriedly, but she was fine. She didn't say it in so many words, just gave him a comforting smile. And without another word, she stepped out of their tent they were sharing with Gideon, Thia, and Allel and walked to the edge of their camp.

Maybe it was being away for so long that she was having such a difficult time gauging how far they were from reaching the Ceron stronghold. Or maybe it was the anticipation that made the journey seem farther. All Lyv knew was that it was taking far too long and the little flicker of hope Jai had given her was beginning to fade. She wished she could see the stars above them, but those dark clouds continued to roll above them, getting lower and lower as the days dragged on. They were always a comfort to her, especially when traveling.