Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Roshan apparently thought he was smaller than he actually was. Even though he had tucked in his wings close to his body, he was still having difficulty squeezing through the stone houses without taking any of them out. But he was on the hunt...following the giggles they both could hear from inside the stable. And when he stuck his head through the arched opening, delighted screams of the village children floated through the air as they ran out.

The dragon let out a happy hum when they attacked him with hugs and laughter. Lyv couldn't help but smile. This had been a regular game over the past two months they had stayed in the village just outside Filwey's borders. She hadn't been anticipating staying so long, but her reasons were good.

Posy was curled up on the top of her head, taking an afternoon nap as she laid against the braided crown around Lyv's head. The pixie had been reading one of her books she had gotten her back in Ayveri, but her morning playing with the children and Roshan had tired her out more than she anticipated.

Watching the children playing with her dragon, Lyv had a familiar map laid out on the wooden table she was sitting at in front of a small tavern. Of course, she would have known who had created it even without seeing the signature at the bottom. The handwriting and drawing-style gave it away. But that name had been scratched out, replaced by another. His true name.

With a bit of magic, the ink flowed against the parchment and came alive. Lyv was focused on the Ethran portion, zooming into the village she was currently in as her starting point. It had only been a week since she decided it was time they needed to head on. She had only been to Filwey, one of the major cities in the eastern land of Ethran, and wanted to see the others before heading on to where she was really needing to go. So, with her magic, it was able to direct her best course down to the twin cities, Azam and Ajolak, and then to those she would go to following that.

Posy woke up as one little Fae boy started running toward them and Lyv stood with a smile, watching him near them.

Elys...Lyv barely understood what had come over her that day months before when she saved him. Even though she knew he was the one she was looking for, that tug she felt toward the little boy was something otherworldly. And it wasn't just because of the condition she'd found him in. After that day, she vowed both him and herself that she would take care of him. He would never again have to experience the trauma he'd already been through in his five short years.

She'd finally gotten him to let her cut his hair, shorter on the sides but a little longer on top, just like he asked for. His clothes were dirty from playing around the village, but they were nothing compared to the rags and chains he'd worn before. She'd made a special trip back up to Filwey while the little boy had been still been recovering in the village leader's house, picking up everything he would need, plus a few other things she knew he'd never had before like books and a few toys.

As Elys got closer, she tried to see past the white scars that littered the tanned skin of his right arm, the side of his neck, and the right side of his face. There were more all across his back. She hadn't been able to completely heal the injuries that had been inflicted on him just as she found him, not when it was an iron knife that had done the damage. She couldn't even do anything about the old injuries because they had been done in the same manner.

It was the thick scar that cut across his once navy-blue right eye that made her stomach twist into a knot. That had been the hardest thing to witness and heal. Not because the magic was difficult. No, it was seeing a tiny boy in so much pain before she was able to sooth it, struggling to breath and covered in blood. But she healed him. The eye had clouded over, making it more light blue than navy, but he was at least regained his ability to see out of it.