Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Even hours after they learned the truth about everything, Jai's mind was still reeling, still trying to process it all. He'd stayed quiet all through dinner, even as he heard the story yet again from Kalla, Allel, and Mik when they repeated it for his parents, Camilla, and Soren. They now knew everything about Dessa and Destan, too, which made his mother start crying uncontrollably over her plate while his father held tight to her hand. Not only because they still missed Destan terribly, but because they quickly realized Jai and Lyv would be giving them another grandchild sooner rather than later, making Lyv's face flush scarlet as she quickly put those thoughts to rest.

Lyv was the one to pull him away and upstairs once everyone began settling into their normal evening routines. Without even saying a word out loud or even down their bond, Lyv knew he needed to get away, so she grabbed his hand and tugged him from the dining room. There would be more discussion on when they would leave in the morning. He didn't want to hear any more just then, even though he wanted to at the same time.

Still holding Corliss's journal with one hand, Lyv held his with her other. They slowed their pace to barely a crawl down the hallway once they were up the staircase. Jai needed this, though. He needed to this time with her to process.

"What's on your mind?" Lyv asked him quietly then as she stepped closer and leaned her head against his arm as they walked. "All I'm getting is a jumbled mess."

"I feel like a jumbled mess right now without my thoughts making it even more so. I wasn't expecting..."

"Trust me, I wasn't expecting it either."

"Can you...can you show them to me? Dessa and Elys...when you saw them here."

The smile that lit up her face whenever she looked up at him took his breath away. "You're going to want to sit down for it, so let's get back to our room, all right?"

As soon as they were, Jai was more than ready to see his little girl again...just not how she and Elys seemed to be. He remembered seeing her when Lyv showed him what happened in the Keep's dungeon, how Dessa and Elys were close but not yet bound completely by their mating bond. But in this one, in this scene that happened mere hours before, they looked slightly older...and definitely mated by the way Elys kissed her and held her close just as Jai did Lyv.

The look on his face must have been enough answer for Lyv on his feelings about that.

"Oh, stop it. They're cute together, aren't they?" she laughed. "And you said so yourself. You wouldn't trust her with anyone else other than Elys."

"And yet I already want to scold him for kissing my little girl like that."

Her grin was mischievous. "I'm sure they did far more than just kissing by that point."

Jai groaned, covering his face with one hand as he flopped back on the bed. "Don't even make me think of that."

Lyv laughed again as she settled down beside him after placing the journal on the bedside table, then nuzzled against his neck. She kissed him right over were his pulse was. "They weren't the ones to give me Corliss's journal, though. There was someone else with them...and, of course, she was complaining about how Dessa ruined everything for her. I used to do the same with my sisters when I wanted to do something and then they did it before I could myself. I'm sorry to say the only thing she got from you was your ears, though."

Jai jolted, pulling away from her enough to look at her face. "What are you talking about?"

She propped herself up on one elbow. "Just know we're still trying for a boy. Like I told you, I want a little version of you running around, all right? We can't just have little girls running all over the place and fawning over their daddy."