Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Immediately, Lyv and Jai both called their magic forward, linking them together with their mating bond and somehow making themselves stronger together. They hadn't fought side by side like this since making that bond completely whole, so the flood of magic coming from them both made them pause for a split second. They had to because it was so much more than they could have ever imagined.

"Looks like we're not going to have time to search the rest of the city, huh?" Lyv questioned as they stepped out of the alleyway, listening to the nervous shouts of their family and the guardsmen trying to locate each other, their echoes deceiving.

Jai gazed up at the sky as the snow fell in larger flakes. "I guess not," he told her, reaching for her hand again.

"We need to get everyone out. Now."

"We do. You think you'll be able to fade us to the shoreline?"

"Yes, and I'll do the same to those who left yesterday morning. Just...have my back, make sure I don't pass out again."

"Always."

A second wave of his magic flowed over her with warmth and light and love. Even as she turned her head to give him a small but meaningful smile, she used that magic as she lifted her hands. Calling forth her own shadows, she could feel as they rushed out from the city, winding through the forests, finally catching up to the second group of Escarrali people. She didn't have to be there to hear their screams of terror as the shadows wrapped around them, yanking them and everything they had with them to the western shoreline.

Didn't have to be there to know the first group was still in the process of loading up everything onto the dozens of ships from Dalcaine and Blackloch.

That her parents, Drue, Jules, and those who had come to help evacuate paused to watch Lyv's shadows in the distance forming, the screams of terror that echoed even over that distance.

Or even to see everyone in the second group's startled reactions when they realized they weren't being attacked by the darkness, but rather that it was helping get them away to safety.

With Lyv having a tighter grip on both her light and dark magic, plus having Jai lend her his own where she needed it, she didn't even feel the slightest bit of lightheadedness. The well her magic had settled in within her felt endless, though she knew there was a bottom she could barely see.

And yet it went deeper if she wanted. She didn't want to find out the person she'd become should she ever get to it.

"It's done," Lyv whispered to Jai then. "But now..."

Jai stepped in front of her, his hands going to her face. "You know, I'm still terrified of the darkness inside you...but I'm so immensely proud of you right now, too. Now, we need to hold Corliss, Guinevere, and their army back for as long as possible. Keep them confined to the city. Can you...can you sense where they are? If they're here?"

She nodded once, closing her eyes in concentration. She had to use her dark magic once more, but having Jai trust her completely with it and not allow herself to fall headfirst made it even easier. It didn't take a second thought for her to step forward and pull herself from Jai, holding her hands palm-side down in front of her. She searched through all of the capital city, finding where each and every one of those who had stayed behind were at.

Bence, Gideon, and Thia were the closest, but she heard them shouting for them and the others before they saw each other. Allel, Mik, Camilla, and Soren knew something was going on as soon as they saw Lyv's magic rushing out of the city. They were dodging around toppled over carts and barrels, tables and chairs that were still on patios outside shops. Just a few more moments and they would find them right in the main square.