Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"What just happened?" Gideon asked, his hand still clutching his side where Mik's sword had cut. "Mik...his eyes were...normal. And who was the female? A shapeshifter..."

"We've got bigger things to worry about at the moment," she said, hushing him as she shifted him to his side.

Lyv could feel his magic trying to help the gash close, but her own was more trained, focused, and could do it in a lot less time. A second or two. That was all she needed. So, she smoothed her hands over him as they began to glow. The skin was easiest, but the slashed muscles were a little more complicated. With a more focus, she was able to make sure they were repaired as well. Once she was done, Gideon peered down at the smooth, healed skin, testing his range to feel any twinge of pain, but there was nothing.

Then her attention turned to her dragon, who had disappeared down the side of the dune.

"Go get Elys and make sure he and Posy are all right," Lyv told Gideon as she slowly stepped forward in the sand. "Don't let him come out until I say. I need to make sure Roshan's healed up before Elys sees him with injuries. I...I need to make sure he's all right."

After Gideon gave her hand a squeeze, she slowly made her way down the slight decline of the dune. She followed the bloody impact trail of where Roshan landed, even though she'd tried to break his fall as much as possible, and found him twisted slightly as he licked at the wounds on his back. They were still bleeding, some deep from where Allel's talons had dug in and latched on. Even a portion of his left wing was shredded and seemed to cause him even more pain with every stretch backward he made.

As soon as he heard Lyv's approach, he was so on edge that he spat out a deep, rumbling growl without even looking her way. All it took was one touch of her hand to his back leg to make him realize it was her. Roshan's head wiped around, gray eyes wide, and he let out a hum combined with a whimper of pain, something she'd never heard from him before.

"It's all right," she whispered to him as he nuzzled his face to her stomach. Gods, he even had a few gashes on his muzzle, the blood from them seeping into her shirt. "Shh, I've got you. Everything is going to be all right. Promise."

Giving him another kiss to calm him, Lyv's healing magic pulsed through his body as soon as she placed her hand to the side of his neck. It took several tries before anything began to show improvement since he was so large. But as he continued to bury his head against her, each of the gashes slowly began to heal and the scales grew back to cover.

His wing was a little different, though. Lyv had to focus all her magic into her palms as she ran her hands over the tattered area. Roshan hissed and tried to push her away, but she stood firm and gave him one look that made him hush. It took some coaxing on her part for everything to heal properly, but she did it. And as soon as she was finished, Roshan tested his whole body, spreading out his wings and stretching his back and legs to realize there was no more pain, before looking at her with excitement in his eyes.

"See, you're all better," she told him, patting his side.

And was immediately toppled into the sand by him before he rested his head on her stomach.

"I know," Lyv whispered, more to herself than to him, as she ran her hand along the underside of his jaw. "Mik...we knew what he could do, but we've only met Allel once. And now we know what she can do, that she's a shapeshifter...hell, she's probably been around more than we know. She is more than likely the one Guinevere had keeping an eye on me when we first came to Dalcaine.