Guards of Yarba: Chapter 25 Meet my Sister by RedPhantom
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“Jahree, are you off?” Lanni asked, glancing up as he approached.
“I am,” he replied with a nod, his eyes curious.
“Good. Come on,” she beckoned.
“Where?” Jahree’s brow furrowed.
“Thager, to see your family,” Lanni said aloud, but her fingers moved subtly, signing, Somewhere else. We need to talk.
Jahree’s gaze sharpened, but he nodded. “Okay. I appreciate it.” He signed back, What’s going on?
She gave a half-smile. “It’s the least I can do. We’ll eat there.” But in sign language, she added, It’s not safe here. Reaching out, she took his hand, and with a flash of light, they vanished.
When the world settled, Lanni staggered, her knees threatening to buckle.
Jahree caught her arm, concern flickering in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she said, brushing it off. “I just put a little extra power into the spell. The backlash hit me, that’s all.”
He looked around. “Where are we? And why am I not sick?”
“You shouldn’t get sick when you transport. Those charms of yours are deteriorating. I’ll replace them soon,” she assured him.
“Okay, but... where are we?” His gaze swept over the walls around them. They were in a cave, its stone surfaces filled with countless drawings.
“Baj-tisk,” Lanni murmured, her expression softening. “This was Nim and Jo’s cave. Nim drew all of this. It took him centuries.”
Jahree stared in wonder at the images. Though just charcoal on stone, they almost seemed to breathe, as if the figures might step out from the walls.
“It’s amazing,” he whispered, reaching out as if to touch them. He pointed to a man kneeling before a woman. “I think I’ve seen a copy of this one before.”
Lanni’s eyes warmed. “That’s when Nim proposed to Jo. He drew it in secret, then brought her here and showed her and then mirrored the pose.”
“Romantic,” Jahree murmured, and Lanni saw a flicker of wistfulness in his expres-sion. He moved on, studying another image: a dragon that seemed poised to leap from the wall.
“That’s Kith,” Lanni said, following his gaze. “He and Nim used to hunt together.”
She turned to another drawing in the corner, pausing. The scene showed a group of mostly teens around a fire, and there she was sitting on a man’s lap. Jahree’s jaw tight-ened at the sight.
Lanni noticed, hesitated, then offered an explanation. “This was shortly before a bat-tle. We’d taken refuge at the old Dragon Castle. The kids are dragons. They helped bring the army up from Sen-gan. Someone gave them a bottle of whiskey as a thank you, and we spent the night trying to forget about the danger waiting for us. These are Dae, Ti, Bria, Ghin, Nim, Ru, Kav, and Sapphire. She was Kith’s adopted daughter and started the first foster home. And… that’s Andy, my first husband.” She glanced at Jahree. “Like you, he wasn’t from Torthoc.”
He nodded, recognizing some of the names. Many of these figures were legends—though most had long since vanished from the world.
“And that?” He pointed to the ceiling, where a series of dragons flew over a castle. One was plummeting, and another dove after him.
“That’s Grandpa Mishtali, Aunt Mirimar, and my dad, Thailyn, when they first came to Menthanla. My dad had an atrophied heart and collapsed right as they reached Dragon Castle. That’s Nim diving to save him, along with Kith’s dad, Kar, and his uncle Pt’this.”
Jahree nodded, recalling stories he’d heard of Nim, a dragon twice as strong as most others and as huge. “Papa Tey took after him in size, but they say Nim was even bigger,” he mused.
Lanni led him to a drawing of a couple with a baby. She touched it gently. “That’s my family—my mom, my dad, and me. It’s a moment that never really happened. My mom died before I was born. I didn’t meet my dad until after I escaped Lerjao. Nim never knew my mom or saw me as a baby. He had to use memories and descriptions from others to create this.”
Jahree studied the woman in the drawing. “She looks a bit like Chapado, Morina’s companion.”
“Chapado was my great-great-grandmother,” Lanni explained, a hint of pride in her voice. “Morina’s family through my adoptive parents. Chapado’s family through my birth family.”
“So… you’re half-immortal and half-dragon?” Jahree asked, piecing together what he’d learned over time.
“Not quite,” Lanni corrected. “I’m only 1/16th immortal. The rest of that half is hu-man.”
Jahree frowned. “I thought immortal-dragon hybrids went insane.”
“They do,” Lanni said quietly. “And so do I. My mother died before I was born; someone tried to kill her to get to me. Neither of my parents knew she was part Ertonian until she was pregnant with me. My dad checked her for any signs, but it was too early. At the time, he was a fugitive, so my mom hid the pregnancy and kept his identity a se-cret.”
Jahree’s gaze softened. “She must have been strong.”
“She was,” Lanni murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “She was with her best friend when she was attacked. Her she saved me. The friend cut me out and adopted me as her own. She was the queen.”
“My mom’s death nearly killed my dad,” Lanni said, her voice tinged with an old, raw pain. “He was barely holding on. They even had him under a death watch for a time. He hid who he really was, and I ended up adopted by the king and queen of Torthoc. They raised me as their own, but that was a difficult arrangement.”
Jahree’s gaze softened, sensing there was more beneath her words.
“Unfortunately, the same person who had my mom killed cast a spell to make my old-er brother hurt me, even to try and kill me. My every move was watched, spies planted in the palace to make sure I was never truly safe. It got to be too much, and eventually, I ran away. I was desperate. I didn’t even know I was a dragon then. All I knew was that I needed help, and I figured I could find it if I could make it to Yarba.”
She paused, a faint tremor in her voice as she continued. “Back then, I didn’t realize how they treated women there. I was sure I’d be recognized if I went through Erilu. So I took the longer, dangerous path through Retamlic Pass, thinking I could sneak through. But I was caught by the trolls.”
Jahree listened, imagining her younger self facing such peril alone.
“Lyra wouldn’t let the trolls kill me. Instead, she ordered them to keep me prisoner, and it went on for months. It kept getting worse. They wouldn’t let me die, even when I begged. I tried everything to escape or even end it myself, but each attempt only made things worse. They broke me down piece by piece. I tried putting myself into a protection trance, hoping to shield myself from what they were doing to me, but I didn’t know how to do it properly. I failed.”
Lanni’s gaze dropped, as if remembering it all. “I didn’t go fully into the trance; I was only half-in. And the half that stayed outside was twisted into something else, something monstrous. I became two people in my mind: the good, caring, compassionate part of me was trapped within the trance, while the rest—the heartless, ruthless part—was left free, unrestrained.”
She drew in a deep breath. “That’s how Drepal was born. That’s me—at least, a part of me. As Drepal, I hurt people, killed people, without a single regret. She was merciless, and everyone feared her. There was nothing she wouldn’t do if it meant survival.”
Jahree’s eyes widened. He’d heard rumors of Drepal’s cruelty but never suspected this connection.
“One day, while I was dealing with a prisoner, something strange happened. I looked into her eyes and saw too much of my old self in her, that helpless part of me I thought I’d lost. I had to protect her. I didn’t understand it at the time, but later I realized that, even as Drepal, there was a part of her that saw her only purpose as protecting… me. And in that prisoner, she saw me.”
A haunted look crossed Lanni’s face. “Drepal decided that if that girl had some of me in her, then protecting her would be enough. She didn’t care if it cost her life. So, she helped the girl escape, expecting to die in the process. When she survived, she was lost. She didn’t know what to do next. She was still… me, after all. She didn’t understand how to live among others, let alone how to do it without causing harm.”
Lanni’s hands clenched as she remembered those days. “Slowly, Drepal started to re-lease me from the trance, piece by piece. As she did, I became more aware of what she’d done—all of the atrocities she’d committed, all the people she’d hurt. The weight of it crushed me. I tried to kill myself.”
Jahree’s heart ached to hear her admit this.
“That’s when we met my dad,” she went on, her voice softening at the memory. “Drepal had developed a taste for whiskey, so I tried to drink myself to death. Sap-phire—the girl Drepal had saved—found me and, desperate to help, found the strongest healer she could. That healer was Thailyn, my father.”
She smiled faintly. “He not only healed me physically but gave me a reason to keep going. He convinced me to live, to make up for what Drepal had done, to keep fighting Lyra and her influence. Since then, I’ve spent the last thousand years doing exactly that.”
Jahree absorbed this, silent for a moment before asking, “And Drepal… is she still here?”
“She is,” Lanni confirmed. “She still sees herself as my protector and now as a protec-tor of our family and clan.”
“Baj-tisk?” Jahree guessed, nodding toward the drawings on the cave walls.
Lanni shook her head. “Menthanla. The hidden lands, the Four Kingdoms. The realm ruled by the kings’ council.”
Jahree considered this. “You talk like you’re two different people.”
“In some ways, we are. It’s like two minds sharing the same body. She thinks and feels in ways I don’t. Sometimes we argue, sometimes we work together, though it’s al-ways risky. We tried merging once, but I went power-mad. The healers had to use illusion spells to make me relive my time in Lerjao and split us apart again. Now, Drepal mostly stays in the back of my mind, watching over me.”
She gave him a thoughtful look. “I said I was only a sixteenth immortal, but that’s not entirely accurate. I’m actually a sixteenth Ertonian, which is part of why I don’t age. I’m over a thousand years old. The healers say I don’t age like most dragons or even half-dragons. They think I take after my grandmother, Raylee—the first white dragon. She’s lived over ten thousand years.”
Jahree struggled to comprehend this. It felt surreal, like a legend from long ago. He realized she was talking about herself, but it was hard to wrap his mind around. It re-minded him of stories Papa Tey used to tell about the legendary white wyrm. Then it struck him—she was that white wyrm.
He almost said something, but remembered Mama Sai’s advice: never call her that. In-stead, he simply nodded, respectful and silent, marveling at the layers of her past that had made her who she was.
"Can I meet her?" Jahree asked, his voice tentative but steady.
Lanni blinked, caught off guard. "You… want to meet Drepal?"
He shrugged, then nodded, watching her intently. "She's part of you, so yeah. I’d like to know her too."
Lanni hesitated for a beat, as if weighing whether this was a good idea. Then she closed her eyes, exhaling softly. When she opened them again, her whole demeanor had shifted. Her shoulders squared, and her gaze sharpened, glinting with a wary, almost predatory edge. When she looked at Jahree this time, her lips curved in a slight sneer.
"So, this is Jahree?" Drepal’s voice was cool, appraising. She crossed her arms and walked around him, eyes roving over him as if she could see more than he was letting on. "I’m Drepal va Darina Thailyn." She let the full weight of her name hang in the air. "So, you want to sleep with my sister."
Jahree felt a surge of confusion and heat in his cheeks. "Sister?"
“Lanni,” she replied simply, stopping to face him with an intense, scrutinizing stare. “That was your reason for befriending her at first. Don’t think I don’t know.” Drepal’s lips quirked in a knowing smirk. “But I can see that you’re friends now, that you want to keep that. Dragons raised you; you understand the concept of bonding. And though you’re still attracted to her, you’re being patient, aren’t you? You’re getting to know her, focusing on friendship—even if you’d still like to sleep with her.”
Jahree’s mouth went dry. How did she know? He barely admitted it to himself. He shifted uncomfortably, at a rare loss for words, but Drepal’s sly smile widened, delighting in his discomfort.
“Oh, he blushes easily.” She chuckled, folding her arms with satisfaction.
"Drepal!" Lanni’s voice broke through, and Jahree could sense her emerging even as Drepal held control. It was fascinating—he could hear their different tones, the way Lan-ni’s voice softened the harsh edges in Drepal’s. Their mannerisms, the way they held themselves, it was as if two entirely different people shared the same space, the same body.
“Have I lied?” Drepal retorted, unbothered. She stepped in closer to Jahree, mischief glinting in her eyes, and before he could react, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.
Jahree pulled back, startled. “We just met,” he managed, trying to sound composed.
“I don’t believe that’s stopped you before,” Drepal teased, her smile both challenging and mocking.
"You’d be surprised, actually," he replied, a slight smile playing on his lips. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him flustered.
Drepal’s gaze grew a shade darker. “You understand you can’t have her without me?” Her voice was lower now, almost a warning.
“I figured as much,” Jahree said, meeting her gaze steadily.
Her expression softened—just a fraction, enough to be noticeable. “And you under-stand you’d have to bond with both of us separately, don’t you?” Her tone made it clear this was no idle suggestion.
Jahree took a deep breath, realizing exactly what she was implying. Dragons viewed bonding as a deep commitment, a connection as much about understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses as about intimacy. But he knew this would be even more com-plicated, with each side of her mind demanding its own form of respect, trust, and bond.
“If we get to that point and if Lanni’s okay with it, I’ll do what’s needed,” he replied. He allowed himself a smirk, unable to resist. “I’ve dealt with worse.”
Drepal’s eyes flashed. “There was a time I would’ve killed you for saying that,” she muttered, a half-smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“Okay, enough,” Lanni’s voice came through, firmer this time. “Drepal, knock it off. I know you like him. Quit trying to intimidate him and go back to sleep.”
Drepal chuckled and shot Jahree a look that was strangely similar to the one Marn gave the maids when he thought no one was looking. She raised a brow at him, smirking. “Maybe she picked a good one this time. I’ll be watching you, Jahree,” she said, her voice laced with playful menace. And with that, her stance softened, her gaze shifted, and Lanni returned, her whole posture more relaxed, a bit of exasperation in her eyes.
“Sorry about that,” Lanni said, sounding almost embarrassed. “She’s gotten better over the centuries, but Drepal can still be a bit rough.”
Jahree shrugged, grinning slightly. “She’s just looking out for you. I haven’t always been the most ethical guy around.” He hesitated, then added, “But I respect what she’s doing. She’s making sure anyone who wants to be close to you is serious about it.”
Lanni’s expression softened, her gaze holding his for a moment longer than necessary. “Well, I appreciate you not running away.”
He chuckled. “I’m not that easily scared off.”
He took her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “What did you mean it wasn’t safe in Chervil? Why did you need to bring me here to tell me all that?”
Lanni sighed, glancing around the cave walls as if searching for the right words. “While it’s probably better they didn’t hear about Drepal, that’s not the main reason I brought you here. When I said it wasn’t safe, I meant it’s not safe for talking. The only place fully shielded is Captain Trema’s office. But until we know how you’ll affect things, it’s better we avoid it. Trema’s informing the others now.”
Jahree nodded slowly, taking it all in.
“Did you ever wonder why the nobles of Chervil are given guards rather than hiring them?" She asked.
"The thought has crossed my mind,” he admitted, looking thoughtful.
“Chervil’s situation is complicated. I don’t know how much history you know, but a long time ago, Menthanla and Yarba entered into a treaty, agreeing to work together.”
He nodded again, this time with a hint of irony. “The Yarbs rarely acknowledged that, though.”
“Right. It was mostly a forgotten alliance. But one of the key terms of the deal was a marriage between one of the Yarb princesses and one of my brothers.” She looked distant for a moment, recalling a time long past. “The only brother single at the time was Remta-ni, the heir to the throne. Jaidu was half dragon. The Yarb King thought that if Jaidu had a child with someone from our royal line, they could create someone like me—a hybrid of dragon and immortal ancestry. Immortality never really breeds out. Queen Yaren still has a faint trace of it, though not enough to affect a dragon. I barely have enough myself.”
Jahree followed her explanation, frowning as he pieced things together. “So they hoped this union would give them an advantage—someone like you.”
Lanni nodded. “Exactly. The whole plan was crafted by the Yarb King’s adviser, an immortal who thought he could control the outcome. But when my brother refused to marry someone so young, the adviser took matters into his own hands. He got another Yarb princess pregnant, hoping that her child could then mate with Jaidu’s mother some-day. But fate intervened. The mother was lost to them, and the adviser was killed. The plan fell apart.”
“Lady Barta’s a descendant of that princess.” Lanni’s eyes darkened. “As much as she pretends to despise magic, she’s a mage herself. All the nobles of Chervil are the last de-scendants of the Yarba kings, the only ones who survived the war. The soldiers stationed here—they’re not just here to protect. They’re here to keep the nobles in line.”
“So this isn’t just a garrison,” Jahree murmured. “It’s surveillance. Control.”
“Exactly,” she said. “The prince-general asked me to come as a spy because he sus-pected they were plotting something. After a few years, he thought I could leave, that there was nothing to worry about. But I wasn’t convinced. He can be impatient, and I wanted to influence the people here, to gain their trust. I don't know how much I messed that up last night.”
Jahree gave her a sympathetic look. “I'd say the spy part.”
“They’ve already figured that out. Shan overheard Rantar and Barta talking. Rantar assumed I was spying from the start. I’m willing to bet they know about the other spies too. They’re definitely up to something. They’ve been feeding us misinformation for years. And from what Shan overheard, whatever they’re planning—it’s happening soon. They’re just waiting for the immortals to leave.”
He looked thoughtful. “Maybe they should, then. Let them get on with it.”
Lanni shook her head. “That would be too suspicious. The immortals were stationed here to do a job. Once it’s done, they’ll leave. Until then, we have to keep up appearanc-es. Go about our daily routines as usual and keep our eyes open. I think your squad’s unique qualities might be useful. But I’ll leave that up to your captain.”
“Act normal?” Jahree grinned and stepped closer, pulling her gently into his arms. His voice dropped to a soft murmur. “You know, Drepal was right. I want you.”
Her expression softened, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. “Still?”
“Still.” He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.
She started to protest, her voice a whisper against his skin. “We can’t…”
“I know.” But he dipped his head, kissing her neck softly. “But we can do this, can’t we?”
She shivered, letting out a small, involuntary purr, her fingers curling into his. “Come.” She took his hand, leading him across the cave and into a smaller, more secluded chamber with a bed.
He stopped in the doorway, hesitant. “Lanni?”
She turned back, arching a brow. “I’m too short. You’ll get a backache, and I’ll get a stiff neck if we stay standing.” She gave him a playful smirk. “And this is my bed, you know.”
“Your bed?” he asked, glancing around with interest.
“Yes. Grandpa Nim bought it for me when I became his apprentice.” Her eyes sof-tened, remembering. “He didn’t get his own bed until after he met Jo. And they didn’t even use it much. After they got married, he mostly stayed in Menthanla.”
Jahree laughed, his hands sliding over her waist as he joined her, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Well, I don’t mind whose bed it is.”
He leaned in, and as their lips met, the troubles of Chervil faded into the background. In that moment, there was only the two of them, finding solace in each other amid the uncertainty of the days ahead.
#fantasy, #magic, #dragons, #hiddenlands
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