Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LYVIA
The Arx is an unexplored, dangerous part of Votruvia.
– History of Votruvia, Kellan’s private library, the Hydra.
Lyvia – Borva, Votruvia
Aeriden’s blood soaked through the back of my coat, his damp head bouncing against my shoulder as Tiberius flew as fast as he could to the Votruvian Island of Borva.
Panic tightened my chest, and I forced myself to breathe, doing my best not to send my hysterical emotions flooding down the connection to my caeluma.
A valley of greens yawned open below us, a forest of cedars and mossy, lichen-covered trees bordering the vast countryside. Pockets of small houses and buildings dotted the land we flew over, each connected with dark, muddy roads. My breath shuddered as I inhaled the fresh Votruvian air.
“Just over this ridge,” Raek called from behind Aeriden. “Take us to the front of the house.”
Tiberius surged over the treetops, and I blinked as a sprawling estate stood in the center of freshly tilled lands.
A massive, white house stretched in the distance, surrounded by gardens of greenery and fountains.
Three stables bordered a neatly groomed arena where a few shaggy ponies waited for breakfast.
Mist kissed my cheeks as Ti dipped and we banked around the courtyard at the front, his hooves clattering against the stony ground. Aeriden moaned as he began to tip. Raek hopped off Ti’s back and caught him with a grunt before he could hit the ground.
My feet stung as I dismounted too quickly, gripping beneath Aeriden’s blood-soaked shoulders before Raek swooped up his feet and we hurried him up the stone steps. Tiberius thundered down the courtyard before stretching his wings to the sky.
I’ll be back!
Eghan House stretched above dark, cherry wooden doors in swooping silver lettering. I lifted a leg to knock with my boot when the door swung open, and an ivory-skinned beauty popped her head out.
Long, bright red hair hung in two straight braids as her wide, hazel eyes scanned us.
“Raek!” she cried.
“Naomi,” he gasped, adjusting his grip on Aeriden’s bleeding legs. “We need Mother Eghan.”
Naomi nodded before her gaze caught on mine, and the color drained from her face. Her round lips parted as she took in my pointed ears, the scar across my throat, and the writhing darkness beneath my skin. Something about her scent changed, and my brows furrowed, readying my powers.
“We need to hurry,” Raek urged, shuffling up the steps.
She snapped her head to Raek before nodding her agreement.
We staggered down the softly lit hallway where large doors opened into a myriad of rooms, and sleepy children of all ages poked their heads out. I blinked, trying to keep my focus on Aeriden but unable to help the confusion that arrived.
Votruvian waters run red. That was what Kellan had said.
The Islands of Votruvia were supposed to be horrific—desolate, corrupt, and full of criminals. This was a place of death, of slavery… Morwyn hated this place.
The laughter bouncing down the hallway was jarring against the panic in my heart as I scanned the rooms for the healer’s hall.
Naomi slowed before pushing a large door open, the dim light from the hallway flooding into the large dark chamber.
The soothing scents of lavender and sage wafted through the whoosh of air that followed, mingling with the sickening scent of blood and infection leaking from Aeriden.
Naomi lit sconces as she swiftly moved into the space.
“What in the name of—” A short, stocky woman in a forest green work dress and stained apron whirled from the back doors.
Deep lines bordered her bright blue eyes, which were pinned on our side of the room as she swung a long, driftwood staff in front of her, the tip of it hitting the leg of one of the chairs.
“Mother Eghan,” Naomi began, “Raek has brought someone in need of help.”
“Please,” I began, as we shuffled through the room. “There were creatures in the sea. I don’t know what they were—”
Naomi cleared a table of medical supplies before Raek, and I lifted Aeriden to it.
“Sultiran,” Mother Eghan cut in. Her face snapped in my direction, but her narrowed eyes didn’t land on mine. She strode quickly to the side of our table, her staff sliding against the stone floor.
“Friends of Kellan’s,” Raek explained in a patient voice. “Please, Mother Eghan.”
She paused, her nostrils flaring, and her gray brows furrowed. “Infected already,” she murmured, ignoring me and turning to my brother.
“Seven thick lacerations extending from his knee to ankle, each a fingernail deep,” Naomi rattled off as she cut away the remaining tatters of Aeriden’s pants. “How long ago did this happen?” She turned to Raek, avoiding my gaze.
“It’s been a couple hours,” Raek answered, his face paling.
“Too long,” Mother Eghan muttered, pulling vials of various potions and powders from her pocket. She ran her thumb over the deep etchings on each before popping several open.
“There’s a greenish liquid oozing from some of them,” Naomi continued, pressing the tips of her fingers into the flesh around Aeriden’s leg. “Venom of some sort—”
A long, pained moan escaped his lips, raising my blood pressure, and I took a step forward to grip his arm.
“We need the syringes, Naomi. I told you to prioritize them.” Mother Eghan shook her head, cutting the young healer off.
Naomi paled further. “The docks said the other islands refuse to trade until your—”
“Enough,” Mother Eghan snapped, setting her staff down and mixing a handful of dried leaves and powder with a vial of liquid. She muttered something beneath her breath before a violet spark zapped just above the mixture.
“Needles? Can we get one somewhere else?” Raek asked, running a hand over his face.
“Not unless you have some aboard the ship,” Naomi cut in.
“Is it just a needle you need? For an injection?” I asked, scanning the bright healing quarters.
Bowls or herbs and various tools lined the open cupboards, many I recognized from my limited studies with the Life Scholars, all neatly organized.
My eyes stopped at a wash basin, and I rushed to its edge, snagging a short, thin knife resting nearby.
“What are you—” Naomi began.
I hurried back. Mother Eghan swiftly added ingredients to the mixture in her wooden bowl.
My eyes closed, and I dove into the chasm of powers, taking a breath as the Transcindiel’s tune picked up.
I led the transformative light to the surface.
My mind raced through memories, searching those days onboard the Evecta, and the various tools Marian kept close at hand.
Needles. Long, thin, and hollow. Like a quill.
I opened my eyes as I rolled up my sleeves, balancing the knife on the eight-pointed star on my palm and holding my other hand a few inches above.
The darkness inside me lifted its head as its sibling rallied its strength, sparkly golden light floating down from my hand and wrapping itself around the thin knife.
The metal went molten before reforming itself into a long, thin needle, and the Transcindiel power siphoned back into my palm a moment later.
“Brother protect us,” Naomi gasped as she took a step back, placing her fingers to her lips.
Mother Eghan stilled, and her head cocked to the side, eyes staring past me.
“A needle,” I rasped, exhaustion stealing my breath as I took a cautious step forward and reached for the old woman.
“Don’t touch her, Demon!” Naomi spat, surging forward and spreading her arms wide in front of the healer.
My stomach pitched, and I paused as a strange mixture of guilt and fierce protectiveness swarmed to the surface.
“Take the needle,” Raek cut in, reaching for Naomi’s arm. “We’re here on Kellan’s orders. We need to heal him.”
Naomi snapped her head in Raek’s direction. A sneer stretched across her delicate face as she gently shook her head. “Who is this?”
I am transformation, and I am death, I wanted to say, but I reined in the unspoken threat.
“My name is Lyvia,” I explained, forcing the tremors from my voice. “I am his sister. Please.”
The young healer’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, and her body remained rigid.
“Naomi,” the old woman said firmly. “Take the needle.”
I slowed my breathing as Naomi’s brows deepened further, her eyes darkening in distrust. Breathe. I could not unleash myself on these people.
Naomi snatched the needle from my hand and turned to face my brother again, her shoulders stiff.
I held Aeriden’s hand, murmuring in his ear as they worked their magic and injected the potion into his leg.
Sweat dripped from his brow and off his thick, black hair.
Blood spiderwebbed with the dark green poison as it pooled on the worktable, rivers of the rancid liquid slowly dribbling off its edge.
At some point, Raek had left. I wasn’t sure where he’d gone, and I didn’t really care—not with my brother’s life on the line.
Mother Eghan finally straightened, wiping the back of her freckled hand against her brow and letting out a long sigh.
“He needs rest,” she murmured, patting her hands up Aeriden’s side to his chest and neck, feeling for a pulse. She waited a moment before giving a firm nod.
“We’ll move him to the east wing. Get Raek,” she instructed Naomi.
“I can do it,” I cut in. “Just show me where.” I gently slid my hand under Aeriden’s thighs as I gripped beneath his shoulders and straightened, the weight of my soldier brother barely fazing my new elven muscles.
Mother Eghan seemed to track the movement before she turned and murmured, “This way.”
Running water splashed in the wash basin from behind us as Naomi began to clean up, and I followed Mother Eghan through the now bright healing quarters into a softly lit hall, where a line of white doors awaited.
She pushed through the first, holding the door open as I took Aeriden inside and lay him gently on a clean bed of linens.
“A Sultiran elf,” Mother Eghan mused as she stood by the doorway with her arms crossed.
I tensed, unsure what reaction awaited me.
She chuckled after a moment before shaking her head. “I wish my eyes were working. I could say I’ve seen it all…”
I released a breath. “Thank you,” I murmured. “I will repay you however I can.”
“We do not heal for payment here,” she replied. “We do it because we can. Those of us who are blessed with these gifts must put them to use. That is our duty. I suspect you know something of that.”
I looked back at the old healer and scanned the spattering of freckles dotting her high cheekbones and small nose.
“I do,” I murmured. “Will he be okay?”
Mother Eghan pursed her lips, the frown lines deepening in her light skin.
“I am hopeful, but who am I to say? We’ve given him his best chance.
Life will bring people into your world and take them away in unexpected ways.
It’s best to remember there’s usually a reason for it, though you may never find out why. ”
My stomach pitched at the suggestion in her words, but something deep within my mind nagged at me, as if a small candle had been lit. My brows furrowed. He had to be okay.
A door in the distance swung open, and Honor warmed against my ankle. A pot dropped in the washbasin, and Naomi’s concerned voice echoed from the healing quarters and down the hall to where we sat. Boots thumped across the stone floor in confident steps. I would never get used to this new hearing.
Mother Eghan let out an exasperated scoff and turned swiftly on her heels and marched down the hall back to the healer’s room with her hands bunched into fists on her hips. Something told me to hurry after her, and I popped to my feet.
The doors to the healer’s room swung open, and she rounded on Kellan, a wave of icy anger riding her squat form.
“A Sultiran Rising!” she shouted, jabbing her finger in the direction of the pirate lord.
Kellan’s wide eyes found mine, sliding quickly up and down my form before returning them to the old healer.
Naomi hovered behind him, a hand reaching for his elbow as her eyes skipped between Kellan and the old healer, who had suddenly become incredibly angry.
Mother Eghan slid her driftwood staff quickly back and forth as she stalked toward Kellan, who had finally stopped.
“Joining a Sultiran Rising!” Mother Eghan repeated in an exasperated huff.
“Killing three of the Marisarma Lords! And then back to Sultira to fight someone else’s war!
And where have you been since then? KAYJ?
With nothing but a pathetic note delivered by none other than the first mate of the pirate lord you betrayed.
What in the gods’ names, Kellan Alexander Astraeus, have you gotten yourself into! ?”
Kellan’s raised hands fell to his side as his eyes softened on the old woman before him.
“Hello, Mother.”