Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 60

Chapter 60

A few hours had to have passed by the time Lyv cracked open her eyes to find herself lying in bed, still in her tunic and leggings with the bedding pulled up to her chin. She winced at the sunlight that streamed in through the windows, lifting her hands to cover her face. Once her eyes adjusted, though, she caught sight of the male asleep in the cushy chair he'd pulled up beside the bed. She had to admit it wasn't the one she'd been wanting there or even expecting to see, but it was a good thing to wake up to, nonetheless.

Mik had only been dozing and, as soon as he sensed Lyv trying to push herself up to lean back against the pillows, he slowly opened his eyes to meet hers.

"How long have I been asleep?" she muttered as she ran her hands through her loose, tangled curls.

"A few hours. I think it's almost noon," he told her, leaning forward with both elbows on his knees. "How are you feeling?"

"A little groggy. I'm fine, though. And you?"

Mik shrugged one shoulder. "I'm fine...and still breathing, though I know of a few people around here that would like to see that change."

Lyv sat up even more, looking around the room to find Jai's things still scattered about, but there was no sign of him. She even leaned forward to look into the sitting room, wanting to catch him reading on the sofa, but no such luck. At least he wasn't so mad at her that he decided to move into a different room.

Mik answered before she could even ask the question. "He's with the others, making sure everyone leaving the city is all right. There's been an apparent change of plans in having them all leave now instead of in a few days' time like originally thought. Jai and Gideon spoke with your father as soon as we all got back here. They're leading them to the coast just as you, Allel, and Thia did yesterday with the other group. He and Gideon went on Roshan and Erly while Camilla and Soren were on horseback. They should be back by this afternoon. They still left Allel and Thia here, though. They're with your father down in his office."

"So, Jai stole my dragon?"

Mik snorted, nodding. "I wouldn't call it stole when Roshan was eager to go. You can tell the beast loves him just as much as he loves you. He is just as magnificent as you described him. Both he and Erly are."

"Jai and Gideon are punishing the four of us, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it punishing."

Lyv raised a brow.

"All right, maybe they are," he smiled. "But I have a feeling Jai and Gideon will come back with clearer minds. Until then, we're locked in here together. Well, not locked in, but heavily guarded. They've posted four guardsmen outside the door to make sure we don't do anything stupid and then there's another five down the hallway just in case we managed to get past the others."

Lyv let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, I'm going to be giving them a piece of my mind whenever they're back, that's for damn sure."

"They're just worried about you, Lyv. That's to be expected. Jai told me about the ward you'd put up between the two of you whenever you came to get me."

"He told you?"

"Well, more or less. After he punched me in the face and banished me here to your room with you. I'm just surprised they didn't throw me in the dungeon. They probably wanted to keep us both in the same place so they wouldn't have to spread what's left of the guardsmen thin."

A low growl rippled from Lyv's chest. Of course, Jai would take out that anger on Mik.

The male in front of her grinned. "I'm fine, Lyv. I have to admit it was kind of thrilling."