The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 23

After breakfast, Jonah gave Iris a tour of the tower, with Char trailing behind them. The central spiral staircase wound from the entrance at the bottom of the building to Jonah's study at the top, with an occasional door in the outer stairwell wall to mark a room. It was simple and functional, nowhere near as luxurious as Elera's home, or even Char's hideout behind the waterfall. There were no decorations, furnishings were minimal, and one rather important room seemed to be missing.

"Um... what about the bathroom?" Iris asked.

Jonah laughed. "That is where you thank the fairies." He snapped his fingers, and the golden lights whizzed around a corner, as if they had nothing better to do than answer his summons. "Fix Char's room up for the lady. She'll be staying for a while."

The fairies zipped away, and Iris looked from Jonah to Char. "Do you two just go in the forest or something?"

"I don't know what Char does. He rarely stays for more than a day. I have my own facilities in my room, courtesy of the fairies."

Iris tilted her head to the side. "Why do they do everything for you?"

Jonah shrugged. "I don't stick them in bottles for experiments. They appreciate that."

"I'm sure they do."

She wanted to wonder who in their right mind would do such a thing, but her recent experiences with mages made the idea all too plausible, and Jonah had said they were all hiding here from the king's mage. Recalling that man's frigid blue eyes was enough to make her shudder. She had no trouble believing Jonah's claim that he performed experiments on other people and magical creatures. It wasn't a thought upon which she wanted to linger.

"Do you just stay in this tower all the time, then?"

"For the most part. Not much to interest me outside of here."

Not much to interest him? Or was this about hiding from the king's mage, too? Was it safer not to venture out?

Iris needed to get her mind off of him.

"Remember all those camping trips you took me on?" she asked, forcing a smile to her face. "The things you taught me probably saved my life."

Jonah raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just took off running after the dragons attacked Little Rest, and I ended up wandering around in the wilderness for a couple of days before Char found me. Knowing how to build a fire and identify which plants were safe to eat and which were poisonous came in handy."

"I wondered how you managed," Char commented.

"Although I forgot most of the stuff about plants, so I just ate mushrooms for two days," she admitted.

Jonah's pale blue eyes widened, as if he were seeing her anew. "You remember all that from when you were five?"

She didn't have to force the shy smile she gave him. "It really meant a lot to me."

He smiled, too, his eyes narrowing with affection as he reached out to pat her head. "Sweet little Iris. I really hated leaving you, and I meant to come back and visit, but then I found out about the amulet..."

"It's okay. I understand."

In a way, she felt like a little girl again, now that she was with him. Years had passed since they'd last seen each other, but nothing had changed. He was still just like a big brother to her. It was a huge relief for her to have that familiarity after all the recent stress and uncertainty.

"Hey, Char, you still haven't told me why you brought her here," Jonah said. "Aren't there mages among the dragons who can shield her?"

"You know human mages are a touchy subject among dragons," Char replied.