Instantly, Denaeh knew what she must do. Feeding more magic into her detached mind, she had forced the ice to grow, clawing deeper into the rock, expanding, cutting, warping. In her memory, she watched as massive hunks of granite began to fall away from the mountainside, tumbling down upon the road below. Screams of terror and alarm rose up as the stones crashed down, crushing those soldiers at the army’s head. The stone and earth rained down as Denaeh, her forehead beading with sweat, continued to pour magic into her act of destruction. She pushed and pushed, her head swimming on the verge of unconsciousness. Before she blacked out, she tried to get a sense of the damage she’d done, but to no avail. She remembered hoping it would be enough to clog the road and impede the Red Flange’s march on Cahrdyarein.
But that was all memory now. She had woken up, exhausted, only to crawl until she found her current refuge. Denaeh sighed, drawing her blood-red cloak tighter against the chill as her mind returned fully to the present. It would take her a few days to regain her strength, and even then she wouldn’t be able to use much magic. She had used it all to create the landslide, and she could only hope it had been enough.
-Chapter Thirteen-
A Secret Meeting and an Unwelcome Surprise
The Spring Equinox ball lasted late into the night, with Jahrra spending most of that time dancing with Keiron. In between dances, they would take advantage of the refreshments offered by their hosts, and toward the end of the night, Jahrra was given the chance to rest when Keiron’s duties as the regent’s son required him to dance with the other young ladies present.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he would say with a disappointed glint to his eyes.
Jahrra was flattered by his attention, and she found herself longing for his return. As she watched him from the archway separating the hall from the cavern, she started to wonder if maybe Dervit had been right about the Resai elf’s intentions, after all. Jahrra sighed. It was too bad they would be leaving so soon. She would have liked to spend more time with Keiron.
Jahrra’s thoughts must have somehow conjured up her limbit friend, because out of the corner of her eye, she spotted him not too far from where she stood. Smiling, she turned, gathered her blue skirts and headed in his direction.
Dervit noticed her approach, his smile growing wider as he exclaimed, “Jahrra! Come meet my new friends. This is Ardion, Brell and Frain. They own shops along the main road through town.”
Jahrra introduced herself, but before she could join in the conversation about tariffs, taxes and the price of goods, Keiron returned to scoop her up once again.
“There you are! Come along. The band is going to play three more songs, and then, Father is going to bid us all goodnight.”
Jahrra shot Dervit an apologetic glance, but he only held his drink up in a toast before getting back to the conversation with the merchants. Jahrra laughed. She was glad her friend was having a good time.
For the final three songs, Keiron led Jahrra around the smooth floor of the cave, eventually moving them closer to one of the darkened alcoves and away from the other dancers. The musicians, in turn, slowed their music until only a light, sweet melody played. The end of the final song.
“Jahrra,” Keiron whispered, bringing them to a stop but keeping his hand at her waist.
Jahrra blinked up at him, suddenly aware of just how intimate their current situation was. She swallowed back an overwhelming wave of nerves.
Keiron stepped closer, both hands resting above her hips now, his head angled and tilting ever nearer. Jahrra’s heart kicked up its pace. He was going to kiss her. For a split second, sheer panic threatened to take over. Working on getting her erratic breathing under control, Jahrra angled her own head and closed her eyes, waiting for Keiron to close the small distance between them.
“Jahrra?”
Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name, and she gasped, pulling away from Keiron. The Resai elf rocked forward but disengaged the kiss at the last moment. His fingers tightened on her waist, and he jerked his head around to glare at whoever had spoken.
Sharp embarrassment, and a small dose of irritation, swelled in Jahrra’s heart. She turned her head and glanced down. Dervit. He stood there, looking a bit awkward, and she wondered why he had come to interrupt them.
The limbit tipped his hat and then fidgeted for a while. “Sorry to intrude, but the regent has bid us all farewell, and Jaax wanted me to find you and tell you it’s time to return to the cabin.”
Jahrra glanced up at Keiron. His face was expressionless and impossible to read in the weak light, but going by the tightness of his jaw, he was not too pleased by the disruption either.
“Alright,” she gritted out, slipping out of Keiron’s grasp.
Before she could step toward her small friend, however, Keiron reached out a hand and gently took her upper arm, pulling her in to whisper something in her ear.
“Meet me tomorrow, just after sunrise, at the Round. There is something I’d very much like to tell you.”
He let her go and smoothly stepped away from the wall, heading in his father’s direction without a second glance. It took Jahrra awhile to regain her wits. That warm tingling feeling from his closeness had spread to the very tips of her fingers and toes.
Shaking her head slightly and trying not to smile too broadly, Jahrra headed toward the exit, Dervit following behind her on somewhat unsteady feet. Beyond the cave and standing at the entrance to the main hall, she spotted Jaax and Ellyesce. The two of them were chatting casually with two of the regent’s advisors.
As she approached, Jaax looked up at her, then turned to the men. “And here is Jahrra now. Goodnight gentlemen, it was a pleasure talking with you.”
The robed men gave Jaax and Ellyesce a slight bow of the head, and then Jaax returned his gaze to Jahrra.
“Ready to go?”
No, she wanted to say. Instead, she sighed and replied, “I guess so.”
Jaax quirked an eyebrow at her and looked at Dervit. He shrugged and smiled nervously, careful to avoid Jahrra’s eyes.
“You seem more jovial than usual,” Ellyesce noticed with some amusement. “I take it you had a good time tonight?”
Those must have been the right words to distract Dervit from his uncomfortable encounter with Jahrra and Keiron, because his face broke into a bright smile.
“Good food, good drink, good conversation! The topics I discussed tonight would never have been brought up in my village even if a million years were to pass!”
Jahrra forgot about her annoyance at her small friend and laughed. She couldn’t help but be happy for him, even if he’d come to fetch her at a very inopportune time. But maybe it had been for the best because now she could look forward to what Keiron was planning on telling her tomorrow.
Don’t get too excited, she reminded herself as the butterflies in her stomach multiplied. It might not be what you think.
She knew she should have listened to her own common sense, but she couldn’t help wondering if Keiron planned to finish in the morning what he had started tonight. After all, tomorrow there would be no pesky limbits to disturb them, or dragons looming over their shoulders, glaring down in disapproval. Besides, if it was to be her final day in Cahrdyarein, it might as well be a memorable one.
As Dervit chattered on and on about all of his wondrous experiences throughout the evening, Jahrra snuck a glance at her guardian. Not to her great surprise, he was watching her. But there was something different about his gaze tonight. Not so much the annoyed, overbearing guardian who was bothered with reining in a wayward child, but more the look of a worried friend. True, he might not have been in the room when Keiron had made his request, but he’d had a clear view of the dance floor all night. Surely, he had drawn his own conclusions.