Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Lyv's hands shook as she tried to finish her braid, the strands falling from her fingers with every pass. Cursing, she started over again for the third time, having to take a deep, calming breath and close her eyes for a moment just so she could concentrate. By this point, Jai would have taken over for her.

She could still hear him laughing at her poor attempts.

Feel his hands smoothing over hers so he could take over.

Then his lips against her neck as he kissed her there once he tied the end of her braid off with a leather strap.

Her favorite part, though, would forever be when he ran his fingers through it at the end of the day.

Gods, she missed him terribly.

Finally, Lyv was able to finish it herself, though it looked messy as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale and thinned, eyes still red with dark circles under them from her crying and lack of a proper night's sleep over those last few days. It hadn't helped that she'd stayed up practically all night once Gideon had left, searching through the grimoire for anything, everything. There were a few spells regarding the dead, including the one for creating oskurreia and khorzir and even one for allowing the darkness to reanimate the corpse for just a few minutes to reveal what happened in their final moments. Nothing on bringing someone fully back to life.

That tiny flicker of hope? Practically nonexistent now.

She'd been in tears again when morning came, and she slapped the cover of the grimoire closed.

Now, Lyv looked behind her in the mirror at where he laid, covered up to his chin in a white sheet that would then be placed over his head. Any time now, the guardsmen were due to come and move his body to where a covered wagon. There would be no funeral pyre. He was to be buried in Ayveri beside Destan and Bence.

It hadn't just been her own wish, but Emmeric's as well. Jai's father seemed as if he'd aged years in the span of those few days, having lost another son. He hadn't been in to see her or Jai, dealing with his own grief, not until that morning. As Lyv was slipping into her jacket, he announced himself by clearing his throat before stepping inside.

One look at Jai's frozen form and he seemed as if he was going to lose it.

Lyv rushed forward into his arms, hugging him tight. As soon as she did, his shoulders sagged beneath the invisible weight he was carrying. Neither of them could say anything for a few long moments.

"I...a white sheet covering him just didn't seem good enough when we move him," Emmeric told her then, voice breaking when they pulled apart. In his hands he held a tightly folded square of silk. "I always have this with me just as I always do during wartime...but this will be the first time I have used it. It was always supposed to be used one me should something happen, not for my children. Never my children."

The smooth silk of the fabric brushed against Lyv's fingers as he handed it to her. It was beautiful, emerald green with silver stitching creating a swirling pattern. When she unfolded it, the Dalcaine crest was in the center.

"How are you doing, my dear?" Emmeric asked her then as she clutched the shroud to her chest.

Horribly. Absolutely horribly. "I'm...doing as well as I can...which is not saying much."

He lifted his hand to her cheek. "I know exactly what you mean."

Both of them looked back at Jai before Emmeric squeezed Lyv's hand and slowly walked over to the side of the bed. Kneeling down beside him, he leaned forward to kiss the side of Jai's head. Lyv watched as Emmeric fussed over Jai's tunic, the way his hair was falling, the position of his hands as they rested on his stomach. Watching him with his son...it was like a knife was being stuck in Lyv's chest and twisting.