The Dragon Princess

Chapter 7

Heir-Princess Jaymie Dain Andry

Clay City, Dearie

"Where to now?" Dex, bless him, gave me my space to sit in an angry silence for much of the day. I found a spot next to the lake, and after quite a while of steaming in silence, I began to forget just how angry I was, and watch the water. The lake was large, but not as large as the Sarkin Lakes. Still, they are wildly impressive. No one ever disturbed me in my thoughts, and no one ever dared approach, and I know Dex had been keeping a close eye. He has always known me much better than I knew myself. His instincts were always better. I hear him walk up behind me, and I watch as a few pebbles fall into the clear water from a few misplaced steps. "Jaymie?" I look over at him to see him give me a worried glance.

"The instructions didn't give a next step. Iris didn't get that far." I shake my head, tossing a small pebble into the calm water. "We were supposed to show up here, ask around a bit, find the orphanage, and the owner was supposed to remember Jemma. She was supposed to remember who adopted her, or where she went."

"I know you had hoped..." He tries, but my anger jumps again, more to myself than to anyone else.

"I just wanted to do this one thing right." I trail off, shaking my head again.

"This has nothing to do with Jemma, does it?" Dex questions and I send him a look that tells him he is wrong, but it is his turn to shake his head. "Jaymie, I know you want to find your sister. I know you feel it is your right, but that isn't what is behind this, is it?"

Damn him and his way of reading people. "I just wanted to do something right." I sigh, bringing my knees to my chest. "All I ever do is mess things up."

"That isn't true." Again, he tries.

"Isn't it?" I send him a soft glare. "Everything I have done is because I was selfish, and I wanted what I wanted, and I didn't care who I hurt to get it." He says my name while placing a hand on my shoulder. His hazel eyes pleading with me to not torture myself, but it was too late. "Who knows what kind of chaos I left behind? I thought I was the only one who could find her, and yet, I know nothing that would make that possible. Who knows where I would be if I didn't have you around. What kind of Queen does that?"

"You can't be so hard on yourself. I would do almost anything to have my family back." He stands up, offering a hand to help me up but I hesitate. "You deserve to know the truth, and that is what I am going to help you find." I sigh and let him pull me to my feet. "If Iris is the one who gave you the clues, then we need to get her a message. Perhaps she has another lead we do not know of."

"But how do we get her a message without revealing where we are?" I question. "If Iris did send us on this path, then I trust she won't reveal our location, but what if someone intercepts the letter before she ever gets it?"

"Then we need to send a letter to someone else in the castle. Someone whose letters are not being monitored and would not seem suspicious." I look up at him, sensing that he is hinting towards something or someone in particular.

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "You really think Ezra won't rat us out?"

Dex shakes his head once, and his black hair falls into his face. "I don't fully trust him, you know that, but I do believe that he is on our side."

I hesitate, thinking about it for a second. "So how do we get a letter to him?"

"We don't." A sly grin starts to spread across his face. "His brother will."

We begin walking back towards the entrance we had used into the city. "I have never even met his brother. What makes you think he would do this for me?"