Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Lyv left in search of Jai and Bence an hour after they came back from meeting with Serena. She, Thia, Allel, and Kalla had been coordinating with Camilla, Soren, and Merek on the first of the evacuation groups, who would start on their journey to the west coast in just a few hours. Gideon had been nowhere in sight, but it didn't take Lyv long to come across him after she left the war tent by herself.

Her best friend and oath-sworn warrior was helping with packing up multiple carts that were being prepped for the journey west the following morning. There were many people Lyv knew from before she even went to Dalcaine on Guinevere's orders, all of which Gideon had known as well. They considered him a friend, one they were trusting with helping to get them to safety, even if he wasn't going with them physically.

"Do you need any help?" Lyv asked, coming up behind Gideon as he secured ropes across the crates of supplies.

"You're a little too late, Lyv," he told her with a smile. "How did this morning go? Did you ladies find anything?"

She nodded, twisting her hands together in front of her. "There's nothing left throughout all of the areas we searched of Oria and Inder. We met with Serena, though. She was able to get messages out to Jules and Drue and to those coming from Dalcaine. We're not going east. The new plan is to head to the western shore."

Gideon sighed his relief, watching as a mother and father with their four children pass by, heading for the line for food. "Honestly, I was hoping to find a way to get to the west instead and get the ships there. I don't want to risk any lives we don't have to."

Lyv reached over and grasped his hand tight. "I'm not the only one who's having a difficult time seeing all of this, huh?"

"No, you're not." He looked around them, at all of the people they'd gotten to know and love throughout the years together in the human land. "Escarral became my second home when I decided to stay with you and Bence. I love it just as much as I love Ayveri. Just seeing it this way...I hate it. They already went through so much with Guinevere as queen for that short time. Now, with Corliss with her, she's not just going to rule. She's going to destroy it all."

"As long as the people are still standing, so will everything that make Escarral home, no matter where they are."

Lyv took Gideon's hand in hers as they started walking through the camp, helping out where needed with both muscle and magic. There were so many people she wanted to talk to, but knew they were focusing on getting to safety above all else with everyone and everything they needed. Just seeing everyone – human, Fae, sorcerer, and sorceress – working together made pride fill her completely.

Lyv parted ways with Gideon once he caught sight of Thia and went off to help her and Allel with figuring out who would be going with which evacuation groups. She knew who she wanted to find then. She searched through the camp, stopping to talk to guardsmen she knew from training at the palace all her life, but kept her mind on following her and Jai's bond straight to him.

She found them in a large war tent with the Escarrali flag billowing out in the wind above it. Sitting in two chairs at the table, they were quiet, but it wasn't a tense quiet she still expected to find them in. It was more solemn, a subdued sadness that hung in the air between them. Even Jett was sitting in the crook of Bence's arm, trying to comfort him. Still not something she wanted to see. It had her mind racing. She could only imagine what they'd been speaking about, especially since Jai immediately locked up the conversation in his mind as soon as his eyes met hers.

"What's going on?" Lyv asked, glancing between the two of them as she took another step forward. "Everything all right?"

Jett, finally seeing that she'd appeared inside the tent, beamed as he flew toward her. He landed on her shoulder and cuddled against her cheek before flying back to the table. He plopped himself down on the edge, swinging his legs back and forth over the side.