Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Lyv was still trying to come to grips with what she was seeing – a beautiful, bright city just a short distance away nestled between a snowcapped mountain range and glittering lake, the shadowlands far off to the south.

And what she was feeling...gods, her light magic fully restored and humming happily through every part of her. There was no darkness twined with it anymore.

But being there in the land of light and shadows...it didn't feel right, like she wasn't meant to be there. Not yet. She was there, but she was still teetering on the edge of stepping back into the light that beckoned in front of her, a light in which no one else could see but her as it surrounded her.

Then she was walking up a cobblestone pathway to the door of a white marble home surrounded by lush and colorful gardens. Hesitating, she knocked softly on the wood, then turned back around to look out at everything surrounding her. At that light that beckoned in the distance.

She'd lost it whenever her eyes met Jai's as he opened the door behind her. Every emotion crashed into her as she lunged for him, cursing and hating and hitting him. He took it all, staring in disbelief and anguish at the sight of her there in the land of light and shadows.

But she would do it all again just to see him again.

To tell him she loved him.

To hold him.

Kiss him just as she was doing then.

Lyv held Jai as close as she possibly could, whimpering against his lips as he deepened that kiss, one hand on her waist with the other twined through her hair. When he did, her toes curled in her sandals.

"Why did you leave me?" she murmured mournfully when they finally pulled apart, though they were still keeping close. With every word of the question, her lips brushed against his.

Jai pulled back slightly, both hands on her face now. Slowly, she opened her eyes to look at those sapphire ones she loved and missed so much. The same ones Dessa would have. "If I didn't do what I did, you wouldn't have done what you needed to. I'm sorry it's caused you so much pain, Lyv. I'm so sorry."

She didn't like the answer.

"What happened?" he asked her quietly then. "How long has it been?"

Several thousand lifetimes in the span of a few days, that's how long. "Not even five days, but every second you're not there feels like an eternity."

Jai brushed his fingertips along her face. "And...and what happened to you?"

"I stayed with you for...for three days. I didn't want anyone there, even though Gideon stayed with me at night. I didn't want you to be alone, so I stayed with you. Healed your body, made it look as if nothing had ever happened. Me and your father...we didn't want your body burned. You're to be buried by Destan and Bence. But then we had to move, to continue on. I just...I can't do it without you, Jai. You promised to always be by my side. You broke your promise just as I broke mine."

"I know."

Sagging against him, leaning her forehead against his chest. "We went to the capital where Corliss, Guinevere, and their army were waiting. I just...I lost it. We were desperately outnumbered, but I was still able to kill Guinevere, take out as many of the dark creatures as I could. We were surrounded, though, and everyone was being overtaken...until Cleo and the army from Arloerin showed up. She saved us all."

Jai didn't say anything, just held her close.

"And then when Corliss appeared, the two of us and my mother went straight for her. We were able to break through the darkness, to talk to her, but I couldn't push it out of her all together. Not when there was none of her magic left to keep her alive. I couldn't stop her once the darkness took over again, so I did what I did for Mik when they found us in the Ethran desert, only I gave everything. I gave every single thing I could, Jai, burned straight through the dark magic until it was destroyed...and then through the light until there was nothing left. And I'm here now, even though I know I'm not supposed to be."