Read Online The Awakening by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - Free Book Online
Authors: Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
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Crie. “You know, about how I would be received here. The, um, overwhelming adoration.”
“Ahhh,” Jaax said, and now he was smiling. “I honestly wasn’t sure how they would accept you Jahrra, truly.”
He sounded forthright so Jahrra let it drop, sort of. “Well, you had to have some idea that it might be like this.”
He was shaking his head. “I knew that Aydehn and Thenya would be delighted to see you but I didn’t expect everyone else’s . . . reaction.”
“Why were Aydehn and Thenya so glad to see me?”
Jahrra placed both her hands behind her and leaned back on her arms.
“Because they were the couple that took you in when you were first found. It was Thenya who last held you before you were strapped to my neck.”
A strange feeling passed over Jahrra then and she looked away from Jaax. How strange it was to hear about your life when you were far too young to remember those who had loved you. When you were too young to appreciate what they were giving up. Jahrra let out a breath and to her surprise, it carried a wave of emotion.
“Jaax,” she said quietly, “did you have to take me away from here?”
He was quiet for a long time, only the crackle of the fire, the sounds of the village winding down for the evening, and the soft breathing of Phrym just paces away to break the silence.
“I mean,” Jahrra continued after clearing her throat, “I mean, I’m not saying that I’m sorry that you did, but really, simply out of curiosity, could you have left me here? Come to visit me here instead of at the Castle Guard Ruin? What I’m asking is, why was Crie not where I was meant to be, especially with the Oak being here?”
Jahrra finally looked at Jaax, only to find him giving her one of those beneath-the-surface looks. Eventually, he too looked away, off into the trees, seeking some imaginary answer to her question perhaps.
“Because of Hroombra,” he finally said, so quietly she almost missed it. “Hroombra couldn’t have traveled here, as you well know, and he needed to see you, to know you were real, to have a say in your upbringing.”
Jahrra looked Jaax straight in the eye, her own eyes prickling with unshed tears. For once she dared to ask him a question she wouldn’t have had the temerity to ask him before they were thrown together on this crazy adventure: “Why?”
Jaax looked at her again but this time it seemed he had finally found something just beneath her skin, something that perhaps he’d been looking for all along.
“Because no one else in all of Ethoes could have raised you to be as strong, as bright or as understanding of the plight of those suffering in this world than Hroombra. And I can see before me without a doubt that you were, and are now, exactly where you should have been and where you should be.”
It took a few moments for Jahrra to sort through the dragon’s words but when she did their core meaning shocked her into silence. Jaax had just paid her an extraordinary compliment and she had no idea how to respond.
So, instead of babbling some nonsense in an attempt at awkward appreciation, Jahrra remained quiet and the two of them spent the next several minutes just sitting in silence, absorbing the cadence of what had just passed between them as the sounds and smells of twilight merged with the rush of the Saem River. Jaax didn’t feel burdened by her presence, Jahrra could see that now. And furthermore, she realized that she actually cared . This revelation left her feeling warmer, as if the ice around her heart after Hroombra’s death had started to melt. Jahrra sighed and smiled at Jaax, the only thanks she could muster. His returning grin and slight nod acknowledged that he recognized her gratitude.
Eventually, exhaustion from the long day won over and Jahrra collapsed upon her bedroll and for the first time in two months she was not afraid of falling asleep. For some reason or another, she didn’t think the nightmares would be troubling her
“Ahhh,” Jaax said, and now he was smiling. “I honestly wasn’t sure how they would accept you Jahrra, truly.”
He sounded forthright so Jahrra let it drop, sort of. “Well, you had to have some idea that it might be like this.”
He was shaking his head. “I knew that Aydehn and Thenya would be delighted to see you but I didn’t expect everyone else’s . . . reaction.”
“Why were Aydehn and Thenya so glad to see me?”
Jahrra placed both her hands behind her and leaned back on her arms.
“Because they were the couple that took you in when you were first found. It was Thenya who last held you before you were strapped to my neck.”
A strange feeling passed over Jahrra then and she looked away from Jaax. How strange it was to hear about your life when you were far too young to remember those who had loved you. When you were too young to appreciate what they were giving up. Jahrra let out a breath and to her surprise, it carried a wave of emotion.
“Jaax,” she said quietly, “did you have to take me away from here?”
He was quiet for a long time, only the crackle of the fire, the sounds of the village winding down for the evening, and the soft breathing of Phrym just paces away to break the silence.
“I mean,” Jahrra continued after clearing her throat, “I mean, I’m not saying that I’m sorry that you did, but really, simply out of curiosity, could you have left me here? Come to visit me here instead of at the Castle Guard Ruin? What I’m asking is, why was Crie not where I was meant to be, especially with the Oak being here?”
Jahrra finally looked at Jaax, only to find him giving her one of those beneath-the-surface looks. Eventually, he too looked away, off into the trees, seeking some imaginary answer to her question perhaps.
“Because of Hroombra,” he finally said, so quietly she almost missed it. “Hroombra couldn’t have traveled here, as you well know, and he needed to see you, to know you were real, to have a say in your upbringing.”
Jahrra looked Jaax straight in the eye, her own eyes prickling with unshed tears. For once she dared to ask him a question she wouldn’t have had the temerity to ask him before they were thrown together on this crazy adventure: “Why?”
Jaax looked at her again but this time it seemed he had finally found something just beneath her skin, something that perhaps he’d been looking for all along.
“Because no one else in all of Ethoes could have raised you to be as strong, as bright or as understanding of the plight of those suffering in this world than Hroombra. And I can see before me without a doubt that you were, and are now, exactly where you should have been and where you should be.”
It took a few moments for Jahrra to sort through the dragon’s words but when she did their core meaning shocked her into silence. Jaax had just paid her an extraordinary compliment and she had no idea how to respond.
So, instead of babbling some nonsense in an attempt at awkward appreciation, Jahrra remained quiet and the two of them spent the next several minutes just sitting in silence, absorbing the cadence of what had just passed between them as the sounds and smells of twilight merged with the rush of the Saem River. Jaax didn’t feel burdened by her presence, Jahrra could see that now. And furthermore, she realized that she actually cared . This revelation left her feeling warmer, as if the ice around her heart after Hroombra’s death had started to melt. Jahrra sighed and smiled at Jaax, the only thanks she could muster. His returning grin and slight nod acknowledged that he recognized her gratitude.
Eventually, exhaustion from the long day won over and Jahrra collapsed upon her bedroll and for the first time in two months she was not afraid of falling asleep. For some reason or another, she didn’t think the nightmares would be troubling her
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