The Secret of the Dragon Fire (COMPLETED)

Chapter 16

Haylee was awoken when she felt someone stroking her face. She scrunched her eyes open and waited for it to adjust to the light. Once her eyes adjusted she saw Jayk. His blue hair was standing in all directions and made him look more handsome than he normally does.

"Thanks for the complement Hayzy, you don't look to bad yourself." She groaned inwardly as she remembered that dragons could read minds.

Jayk chuckled before his face grew serious.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as his eyes bore into hers.

"Numb. Surreal. Like it can't be true and this is all some kind of sick joke." She said with a sigh.

"I know what you mean. I felt the same way. Sometimes I still do." Jayk said softly.

"Thanks for staying with me."

"I promised you that I will always be there for you." Haylee sat upright and rested her head against the headpiece.

"How were they murdered?" She asked.

"Your father's throat was slit. And your mother was stabbed a couple of times." He said.

"Who did this and why?" She asked as tears started to gather in her eyes.

Jayk quickly stood up before he grabbed the bag and placed it in front of Haylee taking a seat in front of her.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Personal items I brought back from your house. I didn't know if you would be able to go back there." Haylee smiled at Jayk's thoughtfulness. He could be so sweet and kind.

She took out some of her clothes, then her family album. They spent the whole morning looking at the pictures inside and she would tell him about the pictures and what happened that day. There was also a lot of crying involved. She asked Jayk to help her put her mother's necklace on. They went through each and every item until they got to her mother's diary.

Jayk admitted to reading it and explained how he thought it would help solve their murder. He spent the rest of the day reading through the diary with her. Haylee was shocked when she heard Jayel wasn't her real father, but she said she would always remember him as her father.

Jayk also told her that they thought that her real father was responsible for the murders. He showed her why he thought Jack was guilty and she had to agree. He had the most motive.

It was about 3 in the afternoon when Jayk told her to take a relaxing bath while he took a quick shower. When they were both done he took Haylee downstairs to the kitchen where the cook prepared a meal for them. He also introduced her to all the servants, they all treated her kindly and she returned the gesture. The knights and Ryhan found them in the kitchen and Jayk told them that he was going to take Haylee to her parents' graves.

All the knights offered her their condolences and she was glad she had such great supporting friends.

They accompanied her to the forest at the foot of the volcano where the bodies were buried. There the knights, Ryhan and Jayk stood a few paces away as Haylee placed flowers on their graves.

When she was done they returned to the castle where they had dinner in the great throne room. The knights were mostly quiet and solemn and she knew it was because of her. Yes, she was sad, but she also wanted to feel better.

"Please don't tread on eggshells because of me. It would actually make me feel a lot better if you carried on like you usually do." She said with a small smile and they did. Jayk walked her to her room and she cried once more once her eyes landed on all the things that belonged to her parents. Jayk quickly grabbed her in a hug before he rubbed comforting circles around her back. All the dragons could hear her crying because of their sharp hearing and all the dragons were overwhelmed with the sense of loss.

When she woke up the next day she felt a bit better. She saw that Jayk was still asleep next to her and she felt guilty for causing him so much trouble. A lock of hair fell over his eyes as he turned his head and she didn't think twice before she moved the hair out of his eyes.

His eyes opened and he gave her a small smile.

"Morning," he said in a chirpy voice.

"Sorry about last night," she apologized.

He quickly sat upright before he took her face in his hands.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Haylee smiled at him. What did she do to deserve the help of this kind, compassionate king.

"What do I do now?" She asked softly.

"You can stay here," Jayk said simply.

"Really?" She asked excitedly. And Jayk nodded.

"Why not? The other dukes already adore you and the knights love you, we would love you to stay."

Haylee was overwhelmed with excitement.

"Does this mean that I can explore the kingdom more?" Jayk thought about it and nodded. Everyone was going to find out she was his mate sooner or later and why not sooner than later.

She squealed before she chased Jayk out of the room so that she could take a bath and get ready for the day ahead. Whatever the day may bring.

After breakfast with the knights, Jayk and Ryhan they finally took her out to see the kingdom.  They showed her everything in the kingdom and made sure to purchase all their favourite food for her from all the different merchants.

They also explored the surrounding forest and showed her all the places they played at when they were kids. They also showed where they met Jayk and where their lifelong friendship began.

Finally they arrived at a small waterfall where they had a picnic lunch. The knights immediately started to push each other in the water. All the knights and Ryhan joined in the fun. Alexandro pushed Ryhan into the water before Lunan pushed him into the water. This caused everyone to burst out in laughter before the rest jumped in themselves.

Jayk and Haylee remained on the soft grass just watching the knights joke around. At that moment they didn't look any bit like the tough knights they usually are.

As Haylee looked at the knights playing about she remembered the day her dad, Jayel, taught her how to swim. It was the best day of her life especially when her mother joined in the fun and they splashed each other with water. She could taste the cookies her mother baked for that day to celebrate her swimming lesson. She was going to miss her mother's food the most.

"Are you okay?" Jayk asked from beside her.

"No, but I think I will be in time," she replied and he nodded in understanding. He knew the wound was still fresh and it will take time to heal. But during that time he will be there to help and support her. As he watched her laughing at the knights antics he knew that there was always hope.

There was hope that she would one day be fine again. That day might not be today or tomorrow or next month, but that day will eventually come and the pain will be much more bearable.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" Jayk asked as he stood up and held his hand out towards her.

She took it and stood up beside him. He gave her a grin before they both ran towards the water and jumped in together. When they both came back up they gave each other grins before the knights started to splash them with the water.

It wasn't long before their splashing turned into a full out war. They spent the rest of the afternoon splashing each other with water.

Haylee knew it was going to take time but she was grateful that she had these people with her to help her along the way. She knew that with these people at her side she could get through anything.

When they finally returned to the castle the sun was about to set. They ate a quick dinner and when the knights had to decide who would stay with her during the night she quickly refused.

"I know that you only want to protect me and keep me safe, but I want to be alone tonight. I promise I will yell if I feel threatened or scared." The knights shared looks with on another before Jayk gave them a nod. He knew that she needed time alone. She gave him a bone crushing hug to thank him and gave all the knights goodnight hugs before she returned to her room.

She read through her mother's diary again and spent the rest of the night dreaming about her childhood memories.