She gave a wide grin and Kehllor returned it.
“Ah,” he said, his voice sounding lighter than before, “they are coming to the end of the ceremony. Shall we join your friends to get a closer look?”
Jahrra nodded and went to stand beside Dathian, Senton and Torrell, with Kehllor just behind, as they watched the revelers throw the herbs and required items onto the bonfire. Once the ceremony was complete, and the citizens of Lidien began their journeys home to finish off the festival in the privacy of their own dwellings, Jahrra and her friends climbed back down the hill. They bid farewell to Kehllor, who wandered off in the opposite direction, seeking Shiroxx’s home no doubt, and then they set about finding a carriage to carry them back to the house on the hill.
Kehllor paused after leaving Jahrra and her friends, but they were too busy hunting down a cart to take notice of his hesitation. He glanced over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Jahrra as she settled herself in the coach her friend had managed to hire, then sighed, making a decision that had been slipping from his conscience’s grasp for the past several weeks now.
He hadn’t just been wandering Lidien to enjoy the Sobledthe festivities, and he wasn’t just going to Shiroxx’s house for a party. No, she had sent him out to spy. To find Jahrra and to get to know her so that he may report back to the dragoness with all the little details.
Shiroxx had been delighted when Kehllor told her about Jahrra’s forced introduction outside of Emehriel Hall. To the female dragon it had been a gift dropped at her feet.
“Excellent!” she had said, her brown eyes gleaming with malice. “This is a superb opportunity. Do accept her eager friendship Kehllor, I so wish to know her thoughts and desires.”
Kehllor had been thoroughly disgusted at the time but quickly pushed that feeling away. He owed Shiroxx everything. A little bit of harmless spying couldn’t hurt. Besides, Jahrra was a young woman, what kinds of horrifying secrets might she have that could later bring her harm? None, he had told himself. He didn’t want to think about why Shiroxx would want to know so much about the human girl, but he had agreed in the end.
And tonight, Jahrra had fallen at his feet once again. It was the perfect chance to delve into her thoughts. But instead of getting her to open up, he had done so instead. She had been so kind, so willing to be his friend, that he forgot his pledge to Shiroxx. And he wouldn’t think of it again. Yes, he would remain loyal to her but he would not be her spy, especially if it meant harming Jahrra in any way. He would just have to lie about ever seeing her, or make up some frivolous things to tell Shiroxx.
Taking a deep breath, he turned back around and continued his journey towards the red dragon’s residence, formulating what he would say when she asked him if he had succeeded in his task.
It was only an hour after midnight when Jahrra and her companions finally made it back to the estate on the hill. Jaax opened the door for them when they knocked, for Neira was still out enjoying the night.
He looked tired again and Jahrra was about to tell him he needn’t stay up with them when he smiled and said, “I hope you don’t mind me joining you in front of the fire to finish off this Sobledthe celebration.”
Dathian and Senton smiled, Torrell looked as if she had forgotten how to speak. Jahrra elbowed her and shook her head in feigned disgust.
“Don’t worry, Torrell,” Jaax said as he blew a torrent of emerald and blue flames over the wood piled in the large fireplace. “I won’t eat you.”
Senton gasped in delight as the flames licked the wood, turning every shade of the rainbow as they ate up the magical herbs Jaax had sprinkled over them earlier that night.
Torrell actually flushed at the dragon’s words and as they settled, she made sure to sit in the couch furthest from his corner of the room. Jahrra sat in the chair closest to her guardian with Dathian and Senton sharing the largest sofa in the middle of the room.
For a long while they merely watched the fire. Eventually, Senton cleared his throat and asked Jaax a few questions, some about being the leader of the Coalition, some the typical questions dragons received from those not of their kind. Jahrra watched Torrell, listening intently as she pretended to glance around the shadowy room.
Neira came stumbling in some minutes later, blushing profusely and making to scurry up the stairs to her room so that she would not disturb anyone.
“Nonsense,” Jaax said, “you will join us until sunrise. Why shouldn’t you?”
The housemaid gave a shaky curtsy and pushed her loose hair out of her face. It was then that Jahrra noticed she was wearing it partly down and had on a nice dress, nothing like her work attire. So, Jahrra thought with a grin, Neira was out with her own friends enjoying a night off as well.
“Very well then, but at least let me bring out the sweet fruit cake I baked this morning and the apple cider made from Jahrra’s apples.”
She disappeared through the small door leading to the kitchen and Jahrra rose to help her, leaving her friends in Jaax’s company.
By the time she and Neira returned, she was pleased to see that Torrell had finally gotten over her fright or awe of her guardian and was having an in-depth discussion with him and Dathian as Senton rushed over to help carry trays of food.
After they had managed to polish off the last of the small sandwiches and crackers, the six of them merely lounged in the glow of the fire, nibbling on Neira’s fruit cake as exhaustion from the long night took over.
At dawn, a carriage arrived to return Senton, Dathian and Torrell to their respective homes, and Jahrra, Jaax and Neira sought their own beds. As she drifted off to sleep, Jahrra replayed the night in her mind: Senton’s new interest in a girl other than herself, Kehllor’s opening up about his past, and Jaax’s polite and genial conversation with her friends.
All in all, a rather excellent night in Jahrra’s opinion. But something was keeping her from fully relaxing and she couldn’t quite put her thumb on it. She knew it had something to do with Kehllor and what he had told her, some inkling of a suspicion or a secret Jahrra had locked away somewhere. Unfortunately, her brain was too weary to drag it up.
I’ll think about it later, she told herself, when I have the time to. Finally, her mind settled and she fell fast asleep as the first rays of morning poured through her window.
-Chapter Fourteen-
The Spirit Stone
The excitement and atmosphere of Sobledthe gradually fizzled away as the start of the dark half of the year settled in. Jahrra felt the encroachment of the winter season more and more as each day passed. Classes were winding down as well because, just before their Solsticetide break, they would be taking exams and then signing up for new classes for the spring term.
Jahrra wasn’t as stressed about her University exams as she had been for the ones in Oescienne. She thought maybe it was because the classes at the University were more enjoyable and therefore the finals didn’t seem so daunting. That and the fact that Lidien had, over the past several months, given her a great sense of safety and belonging. It wasn’t that she hadn’t felt safe with Hroombra, but she seemed to have less on her mind now, as if somehow learning she was human had answered so many riddles that had distracted her before.