“Jaax, wake up,” he breathed.
The dragon’s eye shot open, the brilliant silvery emerald of their irises gleaming despite the dark night. His head shot up, and immediately, he began testing the air with his nose.
“What’s amiss?” he hissed on a low, steaming breath.
Ellyesce instructed Dervit to tell his tale, and so he did. When he finished, Jaax’s scales rippled the way the ridge of hackles on a dog’s back might rise when it sensed danger.
“We must leave this city. Now!” he growled.
He moved out of the way so Dervit could step inside the cabin.
“Ellyesce, can you go fetch the horses?”
The elf ducked his head at Jaax and slinked off into the darkness.
“We must move quickly,” Jaax told Dervit. “I’ll need you to help Jahrra pack. She’ll not be able to do so on her own.”
Dervit nodded and began to push the door open.
“And Dervit?” Jaax said behind him, his voice softening ever so slightly, despite its urgency.
He turned and gazed up at the dragon. The weak light coming from the glowing coals within the cottage illuminated his face just enough for Dervit to read the concern there.
“Don’t tell her about Keiron. Not yet at least. She does not need that sorrow burdening her heart just now.”
Dervit tightened his jaw and jerked his head in agreement. Jahrra may not always hold her guardian in the highest regard, but he never failed to protect her in what little way he could. The limbit very much appreciated him for that.
By the time Jahrra had awoken from all the noise, Ellyesce was back with the horses, fully tacked and waiting for their saddle bags. Dervit, too, had made great headway. All of the small items from the drawers and most of Jahrra’s clothes were in their respective bags.
“What’s going on?” Jahrra asked groggily as she rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand. She accidentally brushed against the long welt on her jaw in her efforts, letting out a sharp hiss of pain.
“We have to leave,” Jaax rumbled from the doorway. “Now.”
Jahrra started and glanced at her guardian.
“What?” she managed. “In the middle of the night? Why?”
“You, we, are in danger,” the dragon grumbled, his voice snapping with impatience.
“I was taking a late night stroll,” Dervit cut in, “and I heard voices. I wandered over to listen to what they were saying, and I discovered it was soldiers from the Red Flange. They said they would be sneaking into the city tonight to capture you.”
Jahrra sucked in a breath, dread crawling along her nerves. She made to sit upright, but cursed when the sudden movement shot pain down her leg.
Jaax swore in Kruelt and called Ellyesce over.
“Can you do anything about her leg?”
Ellyesce nodded grimly. “I can use magic to take away the pain and keep the injury stable while she rides, but it will cost me dearly and she will still have to be very careful.”
“Do it,” the dragon snarled.
“Wait,” Jahrra breathed, “did they say anything about Keiron?”
Jaax watched as the limbit almost lost his composure. Before he answered, he cast the dragon a quick glance. Jaax didn’t have to shake his head. The sharpness in his eyes and the tightness of his jaw was reminder enough.
“No,” Dervit murmured. “They said nothing of the regent’s son. Only that they planned to storm the city in the cover of darkness in order to capture you.”
“We can’t go anywhere until Keiron is found!” Jahrra insisted.
“No, Jahrra!” Jaax snapped.
She shot him a poisonous glance.
The Tanaan dragon used every ounce of patience he possessed and worked against the flood of panic bashing against his defenses. He could not lose control. Not now. He had to get Jahrra moving; get her out of the city.
“Jahrra,” he pressed, “we must leave. If we stay behind, they will kill you, and those who protect you. I cannot fight off the entire Red Flange, and staying behind with very little chance of learning about Keiron’s whereabouts will accomplish nothing.”
He watched as the wheels turned in her head. She wanted to stay, he could feel it. And he could hardly blame her. Should he just tell her about Keiron, then? Inform her the young Resai elf who she’d grown so fond of had won her trust simply to turn her over to the enemy? And not just her trust, but her heart as well? Liquid hot rage pulsed through him. If the regent’s son were to walk around the corner that very second, Jaax would not hesitate to incinerate him. But he couldn’t dwell on such things now. His priority was to get Jahrra out of harm’s way, by any means possible, and if she hated him for this hasty flight from Cahrdyarein, then so be it. He could patch up their relationship later. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done so before.
Just when Jaax thought he might have to tell her of Keiron’s treachery, Jahrra opened her mouth and said tightly, “You are right. I’m sorry. I just wish we knew what happened to him.”
Jaax heaved a massive sigh of relief. “As do I.”
After that, their plans unfolded more smoothly. As Ellyesce chanted and wove his magic over Jahrra’s injured leg, Dervit dragged the smaller bags over to the door where Jaax picked them up with his teeth and draped them over the horses. Once all the bags had been removed from the cabin, Dervit worked to secure them atop the drowsy animals.
Jahrra came hobbling out next, the bulky bandages and splint hindering her movement, but apparently not causing any pain.
“Lead them to the northern gate,” Jaax whispered. “Pendric mentioned earlier at the council meeting that he’d be on guard most of the night. We can trust him to help us leave as quietly as possible.”
Ellyesce nodded and encouraged his semequin into a quick-paced walk. Jahrra followed behind them on Phrym and Dervit on Rumble, with Jaax taking up the rear, his ears straining to pick up any suspicious sounds.
It took them thirty agonizing minutes to reach the northern side of the city, but Pendric was there as Jaax had promised.
“What is this?” the captain of the guard asked as the soldiers keeping watch with him held up their torches.
“We must leave the city immediately,” Jaax said once Pendric had climbed halfway down the staircase.
Surprise sparked in the Resai elf’s eyes. “In the middle of the night? With Keiron still missing?”
Dervit repeated his tale, altering it once again for Jahrra’s sake.
Immediately, Pendric’s face hardened. “Of course, I will allow you passage.”
He gave quick orders for his men to open the large gate leading out into the forest beyond.
“I ask one favor of you, Raejaax,” he murmured, loud enough for only Jaax to hear.
The dragon inclined his head.
“Take my wife and son with you. If the Red Flange should take the city, they will question me and use my family against me.”
Jaax hesitated. The captain’s son was very young, and his wife pregnant with their second child. He wanted to tell him no. Jahrra’s injured leg was already a burden, adding a pregnant woman and a young boy would slow them down even further. But then, Jaax realized that Pendric did not expect to survive a full-out assault upon the city. They would bring him forth and torture him, not only because he was the captain of the guard, but also because he was the one to let the human girl escape.
With a heavy heart, he conceded. “Very well. How long will it take to gather them?”
Pendric gave a sad smile. “Not long at all. My home is but a stone’s throw away.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jahrra, Ellyesce and Dervit had two new traveling companions. Whinsey and Erron, Pendric’s wife and son, arrived atop a gentle, big-boned mare. A few bags and blankets were tied to her back.