The Awakening (38 page)

She had tried to harm me
, Jahrra finally admitted fully to herself.
She had tried to drive a spike between Jaax and I and Jaax had stood up for me and banished the one creature who could make me reconsider my decision to help fight for Ethoes, the one creature who could make me feel as bad as Eydeth and Ellysian had. Jaax took a great risk by dealing with that poisonous red dragon on his own, and now he was suffering for it. Well, not if I can help it.

Jahrra stood up and shoved past Dathian, forcing him to stumble back in surprise. She would have apologized, for her friend looked quite harassed, but she was far too angry and far too determined.

She approached the podium and stepped upon the stool resting behind it, bringing her to a point almost level with Jaax’s head. The Tanaan dragon eyed her in surprise, his silver green eyes narrowing when she cupped her hands and shouted out at the crowd, “Silence! All of you!”

They didn’t hear her at first for they were too busy speculating about Rohdann’s words and the idea of Jaax letting Shiroxx distract him from his duties. Jahrra grasped the edges of the podium and raked the crowd with her eyes until they landed upon Rohdann. The dark dragon smirked, his blue eyes containing the same malice she’d seen so many times in Shiroxx’s.

Jahrra gritted her teeth and was about to shout at the crowd again but Kehllor cleared his throat and roared. Jahrra balked but it did the trick. Several pairs of eyes were now trained on her. She should be nervous but her ire burned that particular emotion away.

“I beg your leave to speak,” Jahrra said, her voice trembling slightly. She dug her fingers farther into the polished wood of the plinth.

The great hall suddenly pitched itself into silence and Jahrra could have sworn she heard the flames of the lamps and candles flickering.

She cleared her throat, the sound echoing strangely, and said, “I wish to speak on behalf of Raejaaxorix, for it is because of me he has made this decision.”

She heard Jaax hiss in a breath next to her but she wouldn’t look at him. She was still angry at Rohdann for his comment and at the members of their committee for believing it.

“What he says is true. Shiroxx did visit me while my guardian was absent and she tried to get information from me.”

The crowd engaged in their quiet murmuring again and Jahrra had to raise her voice to be heard.

“She came in the guise of a visiting friend but her words were meant to sow a seed of mistrust, to turn me against my guardian.”

“Yet it makes me wonder,” Rohdann crooned, “why is Jaax sneaking around outside of Felldreim anyhow? Are we not allowed to know what our leader is doing without our knowledge? How do we know he isn’t flying off to Rhiim or Torinn to feed information to Cierryon’s men?”

That garnered more murmurs and Jahrra gritted her teeth. Luckily Jaax spoke up, voicing Jahrra’s own thoughts on the matter.

“I was in Nimbronia, meeting with the king of the Creecemind on business concerning Jahrra. I am not afraid to admit it. But I hadn’t disclosed this with Jahrra and she used her best judgment in dealing with Shiroxx. However, this is not the issue at hand. Shiroxx used Jahrra’s loyalty and tried to twist it. For this, she is no longer welcome among our members.”

“But she didn’t outright threaten you, did she Jahrra?” Rohdann’s arrogant voice sounded over the buzzing crowd, ignoring what Jaax had said because it didn’t help his cause. “We have only your interpretation of what you thought happened. For all we know, Shiroxx was paying a friendly visit and you more than likely misinterpreted her meaning.”

There was a short period of silence and Jahrra drew a breath, trying not to lose her temper. “No Rohdann, she did not outright threaten me. What she did was worse. I know that Jaax’s decision, although perhaps a little hasty, was the right one.”

Rohdann snorted in disgust and a few others in the crowd added their own support of Shiroxx with grumbled complaints. Jahrra stood her ground but the number of those who seemed to be backing the female Tanaan dragon was larger than she expected.

“Sounds like you, my dear, might have an unreasonable dislike of Shiroxx, not the other way around.”

Rohdann’s comment brought several sniggers, an uncharacteristic outburst from Dathian and Kehllor, and a deep rumbling of anger from Jaax. It was also just enough to make Jahrra lose the last shred of control she had over her temper.

“And perhaps,” she called out over the restless group, “it is
you
who has been seduced by Shiroxx and not Jaax, for I can think of no other reason why someone might want to defend that manipulative, poisonous harpy.”

Shiroxx’s supporters didn’t like that comment, not at all, and Jahrra immediately bit her tongue as she clutched the podium, turning her knuckles white.
Wonderful
, she thought.
I’ve ruined everything. Jaax is going to kill me.

Before the crowd could get too out of control she continued, shouting over the raucous Coalition members, “Shiroxx was a threat to this Coalition. Her goal, for some reason or another, was to make me miserable. I know this because she was succeeding to some extent. Every time I saw her she had some veiled insult to dish out. But do not hold Jaax accountable for this, for he tried everything in his power to get me to accept Shiroxx as she was, telling me I must respect her and count her as an equal. I tried, believe me, I tried.

“I wanted so much not to be a burden to this society that I kept much of what she said to me from Jaax. In fact, I neglected to tell him about Shiroxx’s latest visit; he found out from our housekeeper and even then I was reluctant to relate any details. I could live with it. I knew what Shiroxx was trying to do and I wasn’t going to let her rattle me.”

Jahrra took a breath and glanced at Jaax. To her surprise he looked neither angry nor disappointed. Jahrra felt her nerves melt in relief. If Jaax wasn’t mad at her for this then perhaps she could survive it. She turned and looked out at the crowd, surprised to note they remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“I have mixed feelings about my guardian’s decision, just as many of you have, I’m sure. Am I glad he dismissed Shiroxx from our ranks? Yes. Do I think it will end her interference? Probably not. But the bottom line is, Jaax merely fulfilled one of his duties: he felt that I was threatened and therefore he removed the threat.”

And without giving it much more thought, Jahrra took a breath and said, “I, Jahrraneh Drisihn, sent by our great goddess, hereby second Raejaaxorix’s decision on the removal of the Tanaan dragon Shiroxx from the Coalition for Ethoes.”

She stepped back from the podium and held a hand up in a makeshift solute towards her guardian. The Tanaan dragon looked stunned but bowed his head to her nonetheless.

Once again and not surprisingly, the hall burst into discussion. Jahrra lowered her hand and looked out into the crowd. She found Rohdann easily, his black form rising above those around him like a tremulous thundercloud. His jaw was clenched and he looked ready to commit murder.

“I, too, second Raejaaxorix’s decision and lend him my full support,” Kehllor boomed above the banter.

There was a stunned silence for a moment, all eyes looking in shock at the young Tanaan dragon. He, like Jahrra, had never once said a word to the entirety of their group so his sudden desire to participate was a bit of a surprise. And if Rohdann had had any hope of his continuing loyalty to Shiroxx, those hopes were now shattered.

“Shiroxx may have been good to me once but her behavior can no longer be permitted. Our duty is to restore Ethoes to her former glory and in order to do that we need Jahrra’s help. If Jahrra is compromised, then so are our chances of defeating the Crimson King.”

He glanced up at Jaax then down at Jahrra, his mouth curved in a smile but his eyes sad. He faced the crowd again, looking Rohdann in the eye. The meek dragonling was gone, replaced by a young golden warrior. “It was I who was asked by Shiroxx to spy on Jahrra.”

If the Coalition received any more surprises that night Jahrra was sure the glass oculus far above them would shatter from their explosive reaction to it.

She shot a look at Kehllor, her face paling and her heart clenching in a multitude of emotions: surprise, fear, anger and hurt. Above all hurt. She kept her eyes locked with Kehllor’s for a while; long enough to read the truth in them. She had never seen anyone look so disappointed with himself in her life.

“I’m sorry, Jahrra,” he whispered past an equally surprised Jaax. “I was supposed to report back to Shiroxx that night when we watched the Sobledthe celebration but I couldn’t, and I never did after that. I swear it.”

Jahrra narrowed her eyes, ignoring the shouts and complaints of those around them. She believed Kehllor; she knew he was telling the truth. The anger and hurt released its grip on her heart but its bitterness remained.
I’ll deal with you later
, she told herself, referring to her bruised heart. Instead, she smiled weakly and nodded to Kehllor, acknowledging she accepted his apology.

He grinned, his eyes shining with relief, then gave Jaax a questioning glance. The green Tanaan dragon nodded, looking somewhat humbled by Kehllor’s selfless confession. It dawned upon Jahrra then that it had taken a great deal of courage to admit what he had in front of everyone.

Turning to the roiling crowd once again, Kehllor took a deep breath and, using his strong voice, said, “Because of my honesty and aid in this manner, Jaax has offered me Shiroxx’s old position and I have gratefully accepted it. Though I feel I do not deserve it, I hope,” he raised his voice higher to be heard over the crowd, “I hope that I can live up to those duties and prove myself worthy of such an honor.”

“I also support Raejaax in his decision,” Dathian called out.

Jahrra jumped. She had almost forgotten her friend was standing just below her.

“We do as well,” said Anthar and a handful of centaurs standing beside him.

Slowly but surely, the pledge to support Jaax’s decision was proclaimed throughout the hall.

Jahrra stepped down from the dais where the podium stood and placed a hand against Jaax’s foreleg. She could feel his tension as if it were a knotted cord just beneath his scales. Gradually, as his supporters stepped forward, that tension drained away and Jahrra noticed her own anxiety dissipating as well. By the time all opinions had been voiced the majority was fully behind Jaax. Rohdann looked livid.

“I thank you for your support and assure you my decision was not easily made,” Jaax addressed the crowd, his voice sounding a little unpracticed. “I hope that in the future I will be able to bring such issues up with the group as a whole and we’ll make such dramatic decisions together.”

The hall remained relatively quiet and just like that the great issue regarding Shiroxx’s dismissal, the one that had stirred up so much excitement, was a thing of the past.

Jaax, taking advantage of the sudden silence, cleared his throat and moved on, “And now, since we are all here, on to the issues that have been plaguing us for quite some time.”

The meeting ran late, as was expected, but Jahrra didn’t feel tired. She felt exhilarated. She had addressed the Coalition and they had listened to her, not in the sense that they’d obeyed her words but in the sense that they wanted to hear what she had to say.

Jaax spent the remainder of the meeting updating everyone on his findings in Nimbronia and his own interpretation of that information. The king of the Creecemind still wouldn’t budge or waver from his neutral position in the impending war that was sure to happen. Jaax seemed frustrated when he spoke of this and Jahrra knew the dragon had tried everything possible to get the supreme ruler of the province to help. She wasn’t sure how he would, seeing as the royal had refused for so many years.

By the end of the conference everyone had forgotten its explosive beginning, everyone except Rohdann it seemed. As Jaax wrapped up the night and called a dismissal, Jahrra began inching her way towards the door. She wanted to leave before Jaax could get a chance to berate her in front of everyone. Despite the turn of events and her standing up for him she knew he would still feel it his duty to explain the folly in her actions. She knew this, of course, but she would rather receive it back home where only Neira could witness it.

Luckily, everyone seemed too preoccupied with their own discussions as they poured from the doors that they didn’t notice Jahrra slipping out. She made it as far as the outer hall before someone stopped her.

“Well played tonight, Miss Jahrra.”

Jahrra froze, allowing a few Coalition members to flow around her.

“Using your position as the Chosen One to bail Jaax out of yet another sticky situation,” Rohdann continued. “I’m surprised at you; I figured you to be intelligent enough to see beyond his desire for personal gain.”

That time it was a sneer and Jahrra felt her stomach twist in anger. Rohdann was just like Shiroxx; mean spirited and concerned only about himself. But unlike Shiroxx, he had never once spoken to her directly.

She took a breath, stood as straight and tall as her tired body would allow and glared at the dragon. She doubted her look of ire did much, for Rohdann gazed back coolly as if her irritation had as much power to sway him as a gentle summer breeze.

He was an imposing creature, Jahrra noticed. His solid black color made him seem bigger than he was, even though she knew he was no larger than Jaax, and his pale blue eyes reminded her of ice. He wore the mantle of his high status in dragon society, a status similar to the one Jaax possessed, in the form of a jeweled filigree and matching chain pendant. For some reason or another Jahrra got the impression that physical appearance was important to this Tanaan.