My chest tightened, but I simply nodded my head.
“And mine to you,” I replied, forcing the surge of emotion to back off as tears burned behind my eyes.
Carina nodded, her face solemn as she looked in disgust at the serpentine creature stretching from the front of theHydra.
“Be careful here,” I finally said, shifting my gaze to the desolate Island of Kayj floating south of the continent.
Carina’s lips twitched. “We’ll be fine,” she replied. “Between Selvina, Nerissa, Kresida and me, we have it covered. Bayne will be back in a few months.”
My throat bobbed.
“Keep an eye on Nerissa, will you?” I asked, unable to help the concern from slipping into my throat as I gazed at the island. Carina’s cousin had already returned to Kayj with Kresida to keep watch of the arch, determined not to let anything slip through.
“If she’ll let me,” Carina muttered, arching a brow. “Safe travels, my friend.”
Days had passed,and we flew through layers of clouds, nothing but plumes of mist above and below, little streams of sunlight shining through the gaps as if this were a world of its own. Tiberius heaved a sigh. My legs bobbed as his large ribs expanded with the next intake of breath.
You’re tired, I murmured into his mind.
I’m fine.
You can take me back down if you need to rest.
I’ll carry you as long as you need. Always.
Guilt joined hands with the concern in my chest, yet Ti’s warmth surged. We’d been at sea for two weeks now, theHydrasailing just south of the Death Dunes, but Ti and I had spent most of it in the air.
Partially because I had been avoiding a certain pirate onboard, but also because we’d needed this time together—needed to heal after the Abyss. Because Tiberius had followed me into Hell, and though we didn’t know where his body had gone, whatever remained had stayed with me. His mind. His heart.
And he endured every painful moment I had.
We needed this frigid air, to feel the dip of the dive, the surge of exhaustion from the ascent, the wind on our faces, and the life that came with it.
It’s been a few hours, Ti. Let’s take a break.
If you say so,he murmured, his mind’s words heavy.
My stomach dipped as the flash of a blue coat came into view at the quarterdeck, and we dove through the clouds. We crossed into Kellan’s shield and my lungs immediately filled with the warm cedar and leather-scented wind that accompaniedthe pirate’s magic. I slid off Ti’s silky back as my brother approached, giving my caeluma a pat on the withers.
“Just in time for Raek’s stew,” Aeriden proclaimed, a wide grin stretching across his face. His eyes scanned the darkness clawing its way up my exposed neck, but the horror I’d seen during the siege of Mount Telum had all but disappeared. Where disgust and fear once lurked, thoughtful curiosity hung.
I’d asked him about it, about where that horror had gone. His response was simple. It had disappeared in those moments on Kayj when we’d battled Dark King Daimos together. When the shock of seeing my powers in action had worn off, and he’d better understood they were a part of me. He’d had a chance to come to terms with who I’d become. He had just needed time.
I tugged off my gloves and shoved them in my pocket as one of Kellan’s men approached Ti with a bucket of oats and water. Ti blew a soft nicker through his wide lips and clomped to where he stood.
I slung off my fur-lined coat and followed Aeriden. My stomach already groaned in anticipation of Raek’s stew. I reached the stairs when Kellan’s voice rolled over the wind, warming the air above deck.
“Lyvia,” he began.
I paused, my heart stuttering at the way my name slipped off his tongue. I looked across the deck to find him striding toward me, with half of his dark auburn hair tied tightly behind his head in twisting braids. Swirling black ink crept up his skin on the exposed area of his neck.
His dark eyes searched mine for a moment as he paused in front of me. “Can we talk?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LYVIA
The Messenger requires a host.
