Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

With the sun setting in the distance behind them, Lyv's nerves began bundling in the pit of her stomach. She tried to focus on the squeals of laughter from the little boy sitting in front of her and the deep chuckles from her mate against her back. It was no use, though. Not when she finally knew the truth about what happened here in Palrion straight from Corliss herself in written form.

Looking over at Erly, Gideon was leaning forward and whispering something in a tired-looking Thia's ear. Whatever it was made her smile...but then she realized what he'd said and reached back to slap the side of his head, her face bright red. No doubt he'd said something highly inappropriate, even though she was the only one who heard.

As for Mik and Kalla, they were on the back of Allel's silver dragon form. Even from a distance, Lyv could sense he uneasiness within their every movement. Even seeing the lights of Palrion in the distance brought back memories none of them wanted to relive again. They were there for her, though. Lyv had to remember to thank them immensely once this was all over.

Mik's eyes met hers then after she finally stopped Elys and Roshan's antics. He had been listening to every one of his commands over the last ten minutes, making them swoop, dive, and fly as high as he possibly could up into the night sky before diving back down. Since they were getting closer to landing, though, even the dragon and the Seer understood they needed to be on their best behavior.

"Where to?" Lyv called out to Mik as Allel flew just a dozen feet below them.

"My parents' inn," he called back. "Haven't been there in over a century, obviously, but their back courtyard should be big enough for the dragons to stay."

Lyv caught sight of Allel looking back at her mate, a supportive glint in her eyes. Even Kalla, who was hanging on tight behind him, gave him a comforting squeeze around the waist.

Palrion hadn't changed since they were last there what seemed like a lifetime ago. For Kalla, Allel, and Mik, though, that was the truth of it. Their eyes swept the city below as they passed overhead, seeing the people walking down each street, heading for home or out to dinner. No doubt they were seeing it differently in their mind's eye.

As for Lyv, she was looking past it all to the archive, which was illuminated in the distance. Her hands tightened on the saddle, trying to force herself from making Roshan turn and head straight for it. They all needed rest, though, including herself.

"Tomorrow morning," Jai said in her ear, knowing exactly what she was thinking without having to look for himself. "Promise."

There were other reasons he wanted to go himself, too, but he hadn't so much as mentioned them to Lyv. It wasn't just because of the grimoire or knowing it contained information about the dark magic that resided in Lyv. Jai had kept some of his thoughts guarded from her, even though he was trying not to make it obvious to her. She didn't even ask him about it, knowing he would tell her when he was ready.

For now, they would just follow behind Allel's dragon form to the Sibrian Inn.

It wasn't hard to spot whenever they got closer. The building was four stories tall and one of the larger ones throughout Palrion. It was painted a dark blue with white trim, different from the usual neutral color scheme. Ivy wound its way up the lattice work along one side of it, even weaving in and out of the balcony railings of each room. Almost all of the lights were on in the windows, the shadows of patrons moving inside.

The three dragons circled up above, coming to land in the fairy lit gardens behind the inn. Dinner had been in full swing on the large patio, the three double door entrances wide open, letting the cool breeze inside and flutter the gossamer curtains.