Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The following four days of travel weren't as lively as their third had been, though there was a lot more conversation and a little less training. Elys was all right with this, having heard everything that happened with Allel from where he huddled inside the tent by the entrance with Posy tucked in his arms.

Lyv was tired of seeing the little boy in tears, especially when she'd stomped her way inside and found him with his knees pulled up against his chest and Posy trying to console him. There was no way for them to, though, especially when they knew Allel was right.

Lyv was going to get any sleep that night, even after the others went back to bed. So instead, she held Elys close since he didn't want to be by himself and let him sleep with her. Jai, of course, came to check on them several times during the remainder of the night, only to be met with a nod to every time he asked if she was all right and a shake of her head when he wanted to see if he needed to take him so she could sleep. She couldn't, not with the information Allel gave up still swirling around in her head with no plans of stopping.

So much so that her eyes were bloodshot in the morning from the lack of sleep and exhaustion weighed heavy on her. Even the little bit of magic she used to break down the tent and pack everything up in her bag tired her out more. She stumbled as she tried getting up into the saddle on Roshan, making both the dragon and Jai bolt forward to catch her before she landed in the sand.

"I'm fine," she told them both.

But still, Jai wouldn't let her be the one guiding Roshan. So instead, he sat in front of her with Elys in front of him. Lyv didn't mind the looks Gideon and Thia gave her when she didn't object, not even when she secured her hands around his waist and rested her head against his back. And as soon as Jai's hand brushed along her forearm and rested over her hand as he looked back at her, she closed her eyes and was asleep before they even took to the sky.

It wasn't until the morning they got to Palrion that Lyv had finally managed to not fall asleep while they were flying. And she was glad she didn't miss the ancient Ethran city come into view.

Palrion had been the first major city built in on the continent thousands of years before. Having been to all the others by that point, Lyv knew where they'd gotten their inspiration for the building designs and city layout and the vibrant culture. Palrion was a perfect combination of the harbor designs of Azam and Ajolak with several small rivers running through it, the bright colors and building structures of Chamin, and the mountain views of Filwey. Those mountains to the southwest of the city were inhabited, too, mostly by the sorcerers and sorceresses with dragons since the creatures were found on the eastern continent as well. As they flew, they could see those dragons in the distance and both Roshan and Erly became much more protective than they should have.

The Temple of Vehhar and Cetia was even older than the ones in the other cities, the original where the religion of the land was first practiced. However, instead of one family ruling the city, it was represented by several – the Fae family of Quinzana, the human family of Torrano, the fairy family of Loriana, and the sorcerer and sorceress family of Firesa – similar to how Dalcaine lands had different families over different territories.

But as of right then, they didn't have the luxury of exploring the city, though Lyv didn't mind not having the opportunity of running into any previous lovers of Jai's, which she knew he had in the city. The two princesses of the Quinzana family, to be exact.

The flash of jealousy had Jai looking over at her after they landed just outside the city.

"What?" she asked him, raising a brow as she shrugged out of her jacket and stuffed it in her bag.