Drakkon

Chapter Twenty-One

"Daiyu!" Jia shouted as she ran over to me, engulfing me in a tight embrace, her skinny arms coming around my body as she clung to me. "I've missed you."

I had just arrived at the palace a few moments ago. After the servants had let me bathe, they had dressed me in a pretty hanfu. It hadn't taken long for Jia to hear wind of my return, thus causing her to rush to the palace and embrace me so affectionately.

Pulling back, she stared at my face, her gaze darting from my face to my body before she bit her lower lip. "Are you truly alright? Fang had written to me saying you were fine, but I couldn't stop from fearing that . . . that something unimaginable had happened to you."

"I'm fine," I said. I motioned towards Nikator, who was lounged on one of the couches in my room, fast asleep. "Nikator was assisting me throughout the journey, and prior to coming to the base, I had a run in with Atreus, who helped me escape from the men that had captured me."

Jia sighed in relief and sat down on the padded ground as servants came in to pour our tea. I took a set across from her. "That's reassuring," she said as she took her tea. "You're very lucky that Atreus came to your rescue."

"I wouldn't have made it out safely without him."

"Still, it must've been terrifying."

"It was," I recounted. "I thought I was going to . . . have horrible things done to me."

"They didn't touch you, did they?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, Atreus was with the party. He was sent as a spy, and he didn't expect me to be their target."

"I see, that's good." She took a sip of her tea and lowered it in her hands. "General Hai—you know, the man that used to lead the rebel army before Meilin did, the one that Meilin wanted to become the emperor?—well he's been in charge of the palace since Meilin is away, and he's been trying to weed out all the enemy soldiers within these walls."

I shivered. "Enemy soldiers?"

I remembered my captors saying something about how the guards were taken care of. Were they able to take me because there were enemies within the palace?

"Yes, he's found quite a few that had a role to play in your capture."

"Have they been executed?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know; I would assume so. Either that or Hai is trying to get information from them."

"I still haven't met General Hai," I said. "You know, a year ago, I never would have thought that I would be so caught up with this empire and its leaders. I never thought that I would meet the emperor or the generals or the commanders."

Jia bobbed her head, taking a long gulp from her cooled tea. "I know exactly what you mean. Feels kind of weird, doesn't it? I sometimes look at Fang and wonder how any of this even worked out. It always surprises me with how life twists and turns. Speaking of life changing, have there been any changes with you and Meilin? Have you at least kissed him yet? Or maybe even more?" Jia's pretty face was colored with mischief as she waggled her brow at me.

Red and pink hues stained my cheeks and I vehemently shook my head. "Of course not! He hasn't touched me that way and I haven't either."

Her shoulders dropped in disappointment. "Really? That's a disappointment. I thought maybe he'd kiss away your worries since you were kidnapped and all."