-Chapter Twenty-Four-
Making Amends Once Again
When Jahrra woke up the next morning, it was to a pair of huge brown eyes staring at her from a distance of mere inches. Yelping in surprise, she shot up out of her pile of blankets and, forgetting where she was, promptly fell onto the floor as gracelessly as a newborn fawn treading over a frozen pond.
“Jahrra! Are you alright?”
Groaning, Jahrra rolled over so that she was at least sitting somewhat upright. She turned her head to the side, grimacing at the twinge in her neck and the throb in her knee. Through sleep-bleary eyes she made out Dervit’s general shape, a blurred patch of fox red and forest green perched on the back of her couch.
“Dervit, what were you doing watching me sleep?” she rasped, trying to clear grit out of her eyes.
The limbit’s cheeks reddened, and he pulled his wool cap from his head and clutched it in his hands. A sure sign he was nervous about something.
“I wasn’t watching you sleep,” he managed in a small voice. “Just waiting for you to wake up.”
Jahrra yawned, her jaw cracking in the process, and climbed back up onto the couch, using her good leg as a lever of sorts. For a few moments, her mind swirled with the confusion of the activities from the day before. She glanced around the room in order to give herself time to remember everything. The cavernous space looked much the same as it had the night before, only the light pouring in through the wide open hole in the wall came in at a different angle, and the sky was a paler blue. The gossamer drapes swayed slightly, suggesting a gentle breeze traveled past the city heights, its edge lined with icy teeth that bit at her exposed skin and conjured up goose pimples. Nimbronia, Jahrra reminded herself. You are in Nimbronia now. The City in the Clouds; the city made of ice and magic.
A glance back at Dervit gave Jahrra pause. He was wearing his usual vest, but a white bandage encircled his torso. She drew in a hiss of concern. Scenes from the battle on the bridge came to shocking life in her mind: the Red Flange and its leader, Keiron’s painful betrayal, her leap from the bridge in order to cause a distraction ... She had been worried sick about her friends, wondering, after Jaax caught her and took her away from the fight, if any of them had been hurt, or worse, killed.
“What happened to you?!” Jahrra demanded, angling herself so she could get a closer look at the dressing around his stomach.
“Nothing severe,” Dervit replied, inching his way out of her reach. “My side got grazed by an arrow during the fight yesterday.”
“Dervit,” Jahrra pressed, licking her lips and clearing her throat, “what happened yesterday? After Jaax brought me here?”
The limbit stopped worrying at his hat and looked up at her. He took a deep breath, then let it out quickly before closing his eyes and saying, “After you jumped over the bridge, Jaax tore free from those trying to hold him down and went after you. After that, everyone started fighting. Ellyesce shoved me, Whinsey, Erron and the horses toward the other side of the bridge, the side closest to the wall, then turned back to fight the Crimson King’s soldiers. Pendric was there with the soldiers from Nimbronia, and he pointed us toward the road leading up to the city. Whinsey led her horse and Rumble up the trail, but I hesitated. That’s how I got injured.”
Dervit stopped speaking and eyed Jahrra to make sure she was following. When she gave him an encouraging wave, he soldiered on. “Anyway, I quickly joined Whinsey and Erron after that. About halfway up the road, I turned to watch the battle. Jaax had returned by then, diving at the bridge and breathing fire over the Tyrant’s soldiers before disappearing once again up the mountain. Those other two dragons joined the fray, but some of the Red Flange had spears, and there was at least one sorcerer with them. He kept the dragons back, but the men and women in Nimbronia’s guard, with Ellyesce’s help, were able to fight them off. Some of the soldiers from the city had come down to meet us and insisted on escorting us up to the city. I protested, but they told me someone should look at my injury, and it wasn’t safe for Whinsey and Erron, so I didn’t argue. We were taken into the castle, and a physician cleaned me up and put this bandage on me.”
The limbit paused to take a breath and indicate the wrapping. Jahrra nodded encouragement once more.
“Once I was patched up and the horses put in one of the stables, they told me there was room on this floor for all of us to stay. You were already asleep when I finally made it up here, and I didn’t want to wake you, so I chose the room next door and decided to get some rest as well. I woke up about an hour ago and decided to check on you.”
He let out a great breath and then smiled at her.
“Phrym?” Jahrra asked, afraid to hear the answer.
Dervit beamed. “He’s with the other horses. Didn’t want to leave the bridge. I think he saw you jump over the side, and it upset him.”
The limbit furrowed his brow and frowned. Jahrra put her hands over her face and groaned. Of course Phrym would be upset. He probably thought she was dead.
“He’s okay,” Dervit said after a while. “I told him on the way up that Jaax had caught you and brought you someplace safe. He seemed to understand me, too. He settled down after that.”
Jahrra smiled and fell back into the pillows piled against one arm of the couch. “I’m sure he did understand you. He’s a very smart semequin.”
A slight knock on the door caused both Jahrra and Dervit to jump.
“Hello, Miss Jahrra? It’s Saria. I have some breakfast for you, may I come in?”
“Um,” Jahrra said before clearing her throat. “Yes, come in!”
The young maid from the night before promptly pushed open the door, pulling a cart full of dishes behind her. She came to a stop in front of the fire place, then turned and regarded Jahrra, then Dervit. And then the pile of quilts on the floor. She lifted an inquisitive eyebrow, and Jahrra smiled sheepishly.
“Dervit startled me when I woke up. I kind of fell off the couch.”
The maid laughed and began removing the lids from the different trays. “I guess that would be an easy thing to do, especially after such an ordeal and waking up in an unfamiliar place.”
Jahrra forgot her embarrassment as soon as the aroma of hot food reached her nose. She turned her attention to the different dishes, wondering what each one was. Some appeared familiar, but others looked entirely foreign to her.
“I brought extra, since Mr. Dervit wasn’t in his room when I checked. I figured he’d be in here looking in on you.”
She gave the limbit a radiant smile, and he blushed the same color as his hair. Jahrra fought against a bubble of laughter.
“There is hot tea and toast and some of the more unique dishes served in Nimbronia. We have a very diverse population, and as our citizens migrated here from other realms, they brought their cuisine with them. Something I am very much grateful for, mind you. I had the chef make you a little of each of my favorite breakfasts. I hope you both enjoy them.”
She started to move toward the door, then stopped herself. “Oh! I almost forgot!”
She rifled in the large pouch on the front of her apron and pulled out a bundle of letters tied together with a string.
“These are for you, Miss Jahrra. The Korli dragon Sapheramin asked that they be delivered to you.”
Puzzled but curious, Jahrra set down the cup of tea she had just poured for herself and took the letters from the maid. Who had written to her? And who was Sapheramin? Was she one of the dragons Jaax had brought with him to the bridge?
As the maid exited the room, Jahrra glanced down at the four letters in her hand. Dervit, who seemed oblivious to her sudden, cautious mood, was far too preoccupied with fixing himself a plate of the exotic food to be concerned about the mysterious letters.