The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 42

I cleared my throat and shuffled in my seat. I rubbed my dragon's nose, and he purred while he nuzzled closer to me. "I was able to sense someone watching me that evening, and I told them that I knew they were there and for them to come out.

The person, Silan, chuckled and stepped out of the shadows. He bowed his head, and he said, 'Marini. It is good to see you more aware of your surroundings. I was getting worried.' I only glanced at him and scowled while I worked on the shirt. I asked him why he was there because he doesn't normally show up at my house, and I usually meet him in the alleyways."

Arden nodded. "What did he say?" he asked, and I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat.

"He said that he wanted to see how I was holding up and then asked if he could come up on the roof," I replied. I furrowed my browns and cleared my throat again. "I hesitated, but I nodded and moved the basket behind me so that he would be able to have some room to sit down."

"Do you normally hesitate with him?" Arden asked, and I shook my head, no, while Jonah snorted, amused.

"If she was hesitant with him, then it is the end of the world as we know it," he said. "Marini trusts him with her life." He winked teasingly, and I rolled my eyes and scowled at his playfulness. "Dare I say it, but she trusts him more than me."

"I trust you all the same," I replied because I had a feeling that the truth would have hurt him more than he would let on. I also didn't want Arden to know what the truth was, even though with a single glance towards him, I had a feeling that he already knew.

Arden didn't say a word and leaned back in his seat. Amusement filled his eyes, but he didn't say a word while he studied the two of us.

Jonah looked between the two of us and scowled. He didn't say a word, but he knew that there was something amiss, even though he couldn't place a finger on it.

Instead, he turned his attention to me and cleared his throat. "Go on," he said and gestured for me to continue with my tale. "What happened? Did he climb up?"

I nodded in confirmation. "He did," I confirmed. "He asked me how I was holding up again, and I told him that I wasn't holding up that well but that I would be ok.

"He commented that it was a Tribe's Moon that night, and he wondered where they were. I told him that they were probably somewhere colder than here and turned back to my work.

"He told me that he wanted to be underneath them, the trees, again in this longing tone, so I looked at him weirdly and asked him why he didn't go under them again."

"Why didn't he?" Jonah asked when I paused to take a small breath. "Why didn't he go under them when he could? He doesn't have any orders that he needs to follow and not stay away from them."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and pursed my lips in annoyance because I knew that it was his way of telling me not to go under them. "Because I wasn't allowed under them," I replied. "Of course, he had to point that out."

"Hmph," Jonah said and folded his arms across his chest. Amusement filled his eyes while he stared at me, and he cleared his throat before he gestured for me to continue, and I scowled.

"He then asked me if anything interesting had happened to me, and for some reason, I felt strange and that something was wrong." I furrowed my brows and cleared my throat while I looked at my dragon and not at them. "I wanted to tell him about Shilan and the meeting, but something held me back."

Jonah and Arden looked at each other before they looked at me. Worry filled their eyes, and I could tell that they had the same thought about something that they wouldn't tell me. "Did you tell him?" Jonah asked, and I shook my head, no, much to their relief.