Jahrra crossed her arms and inclined her chin. “Did you think I’d wandered off?” she asked, more humor in her voice than irritation.
The corner of the dragon’s mouth curved up ever so slightly. “That’s always a concern of mine, Jahrra,” he responded in kind.
Jaax stepped forward, fallen branches breaking under his weight. When he reached the edge of the clearing, right before the land dropped down into their little resting place, he curled his toes over the boulder Jahrra had used as a backrest of sorts. She always forgot Jaax’s potential for violence, until she saw those claws. She studied them now, and the scaly fingers they were attached to. On one was the ring she’d purchased for him as a Solsticetide gift earlier that year. A beautifully crafted piece fashioned from augrim, a rare, silvery gold metal. The ring was set with a cut spirit stone, a magical gem derived from her blood. Jahrra still couldn’t say what had possessed her to commission such a gift for this gruff, enigmatic guardian of hers, but the fact that Jaax never took it off warmed her. She chose to view it as a peace offering of sorts, just as the scale hanging from the chain around her neck had been the dragon’s extension of common comradeship.
Before she could let her mind conjure up any more memories from her past, Jahrra cleared her throat and asked, “So, did you find anything on your scouting mission?”
Jaax shook his head slightly and made to lie down in the clearing, his great reptilian form barely fitting between the stones and trees.
“Evidence that the Tyrant’s men had passed through, but all heading toward Lidien.”
Jahrra worried her bottom lip, and Jaax cast his cold gaze onto the fire. They had friends in Lidien, and the Coalition would be a target if the Crimson King’s men managed to penetrate the magical borders of the city. Jahrra could only hope that the magic held.
“Is there any safe way to draw their attention away from the city?” Ellyesce asked.
Jaax lowered his head and drew in a deep breath through his nose, releasing it quickly. He shook his head slowly.
“Too much distance separates us, and the last thing I want to do is give away our location.”
He gave Jahrra a quick look, the sort of look she had grown accustomed to during their year spent in Lidien. She lowered her own eyes, trying not to think about Torrell, Senton and Dathian, her three closest friends in the City of Light. She tried not to imagine what might happen to Anthar and his family, or Neira, the housekeeper who had been her ally and companion on so many occasions, if the soldiers breached Lidien’s borders. And she tried very hard not to think about Kellhor, the golden Tanaan dragon with no memory of his past who had become a good friend as well. The very dragon who now held Jaax’s old position as head of the Coalition of Ethoes.
In an attempt to seek comfort from her stray thoughts, Jahrra absentmindedly clutched at her wrist, her fingers brushing against the wooden beaded bracelet she found there. Carved from wood harvested from the sacred trees of Ethoes, the bracelet had been a gift from her defense trainers. Like her best friends Gieaun and Scede, Viornen and Yaraa were a world, and a lifetime it seemed, away from her now. She only hoped they remained safe and out of the Tyrant’s reach back in Oescienne.
Dashing away those forlorn thoughts, Jahrra shifted her fingers from the warm, wooden beads to the cool, smooth gems decorating the other bracelet she wore. But the beads on this trinket were no ordinary jewels. They were spirit stones, like the one in Jaax’s ring, but these ones were unique to the people who had created the bracelet for her. A gift from those friends she’d left behind in Lidien. In a way, having their spirit stones was like having them nearby; their strength and support readily available should her courage falter along this uncertain path.
“All we can do is continue on our current course and hope to stay clear of the enemy,” Jaax was saying. “And hope they lose interest in Lidien.”
Jahrra left her stray thoughts behind and glanced up at her guardian, sparing him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. She knew the dragon had many friends in Lidien, the majority of whom were active members in the Coalition. Although she didn’t care what happened to the traitorous Shiroxx and her companion, Rohdann, she did care what happened to the others.
“Now,” Jaax barked with a sudden shift in mood, “are we going to spend all afternoon sitting out in this gloomy weather?”
The green Tanaan’s wicked grin was a rare display of good humor. Ellyesce arched a dark brow and turned his pale gaze upon Jahrra. All she could do was shrug.
“Come, let us leave this place,” the dragon continued, standing up and shaking like a dog. Streams of water flew from his leathery wings and drenched their make-shift camp.
Jahrra stood and gasped, flicking icy droplets from her fingers. She frowned at the charred, smoking wood that had once been a small, but warm fire. So much for any chance of keeping the chill at bay. She narrowed her eyes and glared at her guardian.
“Do you know how long it took to get that fire going?” she demanded, one fist pressed to her hip, the other gesturing toward the smoking fire pit.
Jaax only grinned, a glint of something mischievous in his eyes.
“Cheer up, Jahrra. I’ll build you a new one once we get to the cave.”
Jahrra forgot her ire and looked to Ellyesce. The elf’s usual grim face held a slight smile.
Jaax stepped back toward the clearing above, squeezing between his ward and his elvin companion.
“I spotted it about a mile up the trail,” he threw over his shoulder. “It’s large enough for all of us to fit, even me and the horses.”
Jahrra beamed. Well, that was good news indeed.
“I consider it a gift from Ethoes herself,” the dragon said, “because there is a larger storm brewing in the west and heading this way. It should reach these mountains by nightfall. That gives us plenty of time to settle in and get a real fire going.”
Jahrra wasn’t entirely certain, but she thought she heard a small snort from Ellyesce as the two of them eagerly left the small hollow place behind and headed for the horses. Phrym, as always, was pleased by Jahrra’s attention and so was Gliriant, Ellyesce’s white horse, by the looks of it. Jahrra still hadn’t decided if the elf’s mount was a semequin, like Phrym, or just an ordinary horse. She supposed he was. He was tall and lean, but well-muscled like Phrym. And he seemed to be just as loyal to the elf as her semequin was to her. Gliriant also exuded a bright intelligence whenever she looked into his dark eyes, an acute awareness she’d only ever seen in Phrym.
Like obedient soldiers, Jahrra and Ellyesce followed Jaax farther up the mountain, sticking to the rocky trail that was narrow in some places and wide in others. Oftentimes, Jaax had to maneuver his massive body between the ancient and sturdy pine trees that frequented this part of the world. Along the way, the freezing, light rain which had been pestering them all morning receded into a cold drizzle, then stopped altogether.
“The calm before the storm,” Jaax murmured, nodding his head toward the west.
Beyond the endless mountain peaks, Jahrra spied what he was talking about. Huge, dark clouds piled on top of one another like a raucous horde, hurtling over the mountains in their race to reach the next range. Already, brilliant white and pink streaks of lightning crackled across the sky, a beautiful yet deadly display of nature’s power.
“How much farther is that cave?” Ellyesce asked from somewhere behind Jahrra.
“Not too far,” the dragon answered.
Jahrra took that information with a grain of salt. ‘Not too far’ could be anywhere between a hundred feet and a few miles, but it turned out, in this case, it was a much shorter distance than what she had anticipated.