The Secret of the Dragon Fire (COMPLETED)

Chapter 14

Haylee was reading a book while Cason was sharpening his sword. The sound of the steel against steel made her more on edge and she couldn't concentrate to read her book. She wondered if the dukes knew about her. Would they want to harm her?

She was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Cason quickly sprang to his feet with his sword in front of him.

"Get behind me," he ordered her and she followed his order in a swift motion. She stood behind him and peered over his shoulder as they heard someone unlocking the door. Her heart was racing a million miles per minute and she could feel her heart in her throat.

The door was thrown open and Cason got into a fighting stance. But once their eyes landed on the intruder Cason quickly placed his sword away and Haylee walked briskly to the intruder before grabbing him in a hug.

"Jayk, you scared us," she reprimanded.

"Sorry Haylee, but I want you to come meet the dukes," Haelee pulled away so that she can look him in the eyes.

"Won't they hurt me?" She asked.

"No, they are curious about you and besides I will be there to protect you," he said with a wink. A blush spread to her cheeks but she quickly willed it away before she placed her hand on her heart in mock adoration and batted her eyelashes.

"My hero!" She said before she started to laugh and Jayk let out a low chuckle. The knights had to swallow their own laughter. And right at that moment they could see why Haylee and Jayk were mates.

Jayk was glad he could calm Haylee a bit down before she met the dukes. He felt guilty about making them out to be these nasty creatures but he had to be careful.

He helped Haylee down the stairs and led her all the way back to the throne room where everyone was waiting.  Evan was on her right, Hagan on her left and Cason right behind.

He could see her eyes darting around, taking it all in. He tried to see it like her for the first time and he realised how magnificent this place actually was. The castle was made of pure stone and it was enormous. Tapestries and paintings were hanging on each walls and there was images of huge beasts, their true form. Haylee looked more intrigued by the creatures rather than fearful.

When they stood in front of the huge doors that led to the throne room, Jayk stopped the procession. Haylee looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Why did we stop?" She asked.

"I wanted to make sure you were ready. Are you ready?" He asked. She nodded while giving him a smile. He offered her his hand and she took it gratefully. Hagan and Evan both grabbed one side of the door before Jayk nodded at them. They opened the door and Jayk just hoped that no one will say something they shouldn't.

When they entered all the dukes stood up from their positions as their eyes were focused on Haylee. This reminded Haylee of the day when she met the knights and how intimidated she felt by them. Her eyes shifted from one duke to the other and she could feel Jayk giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She was grateful that he was near her.

For a split second everyone froze before Duke Lyle stepped forward and introduced himself.

Duke Lyle had shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. His small pointed ears hidden by his hair.

"Duke Lyle, at your service malady," he said as he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles gently. Jayk had to keep his jealousy at bay and he could feel a growl reaching his throat. It wasn't because he didn't trust Lyle. Lyle was one of his most dear friends. But he didn't like other men touching her. Instead he only plastered a tight lipped smile on his face. Jayk could see all his knights sensing his predicament and all of them tried their best not to laugh at their king.

Haylee was still unsure about how to greet nobility and royalty so she did the thing she read about in her story books and she gave a small curtsy.

"It is an honour to meet you," she said.

"The honour is all mine, King Jayk has told us a lot about you. We were quite curious to hear that he has been helping a human." Lyle said.

"He is a great man and I'm grateful for all his help," Haylee said before flashing Jayk a smile. Jayk felt his pride swell at the complement from his mate.

The other dukes didn't want to be left out so they quickly made their way towards Haylee and Jayk before introducing themselves.

"I'm Dwarrel, malady. The duke of the dwarves," he said before giving her a small bow.

"Nice to meet you. I must say it's quite a dream come true to meet a dwarf. I never thought they would be this dashing," Haylee said. Her earlier shyness vanishing as she realised that theses rulers were not as intimidating as she thought.

Dwarrel was quite good looking for his size. He had dark brown eyes and a mop of black hair with a long black beard that made him look shorter.

A blush rose to the Dwarf's cheeks at the human girl's complement. Ashell quickly jumped in. His long blonde hair almost reaching the floor. His top hair was tied back in a small braid exposing his long pointed ears.

"I'm duke Ashell, malady. The Elven duke." He said gracefully.

"A pleasure to meet you," Haylee replied smoothly.

The last duke stepped forward. He was a huge man.

Duke Argon approached the small human before he gently took her hand in his, giving it a small shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss?" He said with a deep voice.

"Oh, I'm Haylee Oak," she said before she gave each and everyone a charming smile. She couldn't believe that she didn't feel so nervous as she thought she would. But she had a feeling that it had something to do with Jayk being by her side.

"Well now that introduction are done, how about lunch?" Jayk asked. The dukes nodded eagerly. Especially duke Dwarrel who's favourite pass time was to eat a hearty meal.

Jayk quickly ordered a servant to inform cook before he led Haylee to the end of the table. Everyone took their seats and it wasn't long before everyone started to talk. All the advisors and dukes were quite curious about Haylee and they soon understood why their king was so protective of her. Even Dwarrel changed his opinion about humans and after meeting Haylee most of the creatures realised that Jayk was right.

All humans couldn't be judged just because one or two decided to do something horrible. The hall was buzzing with conversation when the food arrived. Haylee's head whipped around the table as more and more of the creatures tried to grab her attention.

She was like the main attraction. And she eagerly shared stories of her world and parents. She told them that it was quite a privilege to meet creatures they only heard about in stories and myths. Haylee thought that they would be more rude towards her, but they treated her with kindness she didn't expect. From the look on Jayk's face she realised he didn't expect this either.

By the end of the meal everyone has forgotten about the murderer and the fact that the murderer is human. Everyone was so lost in their own conversation that they didn't notice the figure standing at the back of the room busy plotting. This human just made his plan so much more easier.

He would see how fast King Jayk would change his mind about waging war against humans when he found his own little mate murdered by one...

He only had to make sure that his plan is perfect and then he will leave the rest of it in king Jayk's hands. Jayk might be passionate about not harming any humans now, but wait until someone he loves gets hurt then he would change his mind soon.

When he saw that no one was looking he quickly slipped out of the room and made his way to his secret lair. He double checked that no one followed him before he slipped inside.

"Jack, I have a new job for you and your friends."