Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Elys didn't want to go to bed, even though he was trying his hardest to fight the sleep that threatened to pull him under. His feet dragged as the two of them went upstairs after saying goodnight to the others. It took Jai almost an hour to wrangle him into his pajamas after his bath and into bed, where he then demanded his favorite book to be read to him. He went through it slowly, lulling Elys to sleep with the easy flow of the words.

"Lyvi's taking forever to get back," Elys mumbled as he snuggled down into the pillows him. His eyes were already closed as Jai tucked the blankets up around his chin. He tried to open them, failing. "Maybe you should go check on her?"

Jai snorted and shook his head. "You know Lyvi can handle herself. When the guardsmen start yelling and running to the palace...maybe that's when we should worry about her." He reached up and brushed Elys's hair back from his face, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "I'll let her know to come give you a goodnight kiss, even if you're snoring."

"I don't..." A yawn interrupted him. "I don't snore."

"Sure, you don't, kid. Sure, you don't."

"Love you, Jai."

"I love you, too, kid. Sleep tight."

Pushing himself up to stand, Jai watched as Elys almost immediately fell asleep and indeed started snoring. He moved the picture book onto the small table beside the bed, turned off the light, and started for the door only to find Lyv there. She was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, and smiling as he approached. She even had enough time to change into a silver silk nightgown, which made him want to get his hands on her that much sooner.

"Have I ever told you how much I love watching you two together?" she asked him when he stopped in front of her. Her arms wrapped securely around his waist as she tilted her smiling face up to look at him.

"Only every time," he smiled back, and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. "He's wanting a goodnight kiss from you, by the way."

"I heard."

His hands smoothed over the fabric along the small of her back. "And I'll be needing one from you, too."

One eyebrow rose. "Oh, really?"

"Like I said, this will be the last time for probably a little while that we have an actual bed and privacy. We're going to make the absolute most of it."

"You're impossible," she grinned, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him again, her fingers threading into the hair at the base of his neck.

They were interrupted by a sleepy sounding Elys, who woke up just enough to realize Lyv was there. Jai let out a pitiful groan as Lyv pulled away, completely forgetting about him as she made her way over to Elys's bed to sit beside him. As she started whispering to the little boy, she waved Jai off without a second glance. He merely shook his head and closed the door behind him.

Jai tried his hardest not to fall asleep once he cleaned up and changed out of his leather into pajama pants. He was proven unsuccessful as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn't know how long he was out...but definitely enjoyed how he was woken up.

The bed dipped as Lyv sat down. Jai could feel her eyes tracing him without even having to watch her do so. The lock on their door clicked with just a flicker of her magic and the slight change in the air told him she'd put a ward up, too. She then crawled up over him, straddling his hips as the silk of her nightgown brushed along his skin and rode up on her legs. Finally, her fingertips barely brushed against his chest, tracing patterns along his skin and over his scars as she leaned her face down to his.