The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 15

Jonah was still tense as he walked towards the meeting room. His whole aurora said not to talk to him, but I ignored it as I excused myself away from the Ären's side and moved to his.

He looked down at me, scowling before looking where he was going. "I don't want to talk," he said, speaking in his tongue, an old language that had more or less became extinct.

I shrugged my shoulder and stayed silent. I knew that he knew that I knew the language, my father, and him speaking in it a long time ago.

"Marini," he warned.

I licked my lips and cleared my throat, trying to get my vocal cords ready. I knew the language, but the dialect was a lot rougher than I used to.

There were many hard parts to it, and I had no one to practice it with because Jonah didn't normally talk in his own tongue, so it was hard for me when I talked in it.

Another hard thing was that there were no translations between certain words. For example, there were no words for 'to you' or stuff like that, which frustrated me to no end because most languages that I knew did have a translation for it.

"I wasn't going to say a word," I said, more slowly than I would have liked to. "You were the one to start."

Jonah grunted but didn't reply. He was relaxing slightly with me near him. "Are you going to ask?" He was wondering if I was going to ask him about the title "Digra."

"No," I said. "I already know what it means. You will tell me in time."

He snorted. "I hate the Hargen Tribe sometimes. You know too much."

I shrugged my shoulder. "Knowing different languages isn't knowing too much," I replied.

He grunted but didn't reply. He pushed open a pair of double doors and stepped in with the rest of us following him. He gestured for me to sit down in one of the seats and looked at the others that had followed us. "Sit; we won't keep you all long. I know that some of us do have work to do," he said, switching back to the common language. He gave me a pointed look, and I rolled my eyes and scowled.

I stayed silent and sat down in one of the seats and watched as everyone sat down around me. I placed the basket down on the ground and pushed it so that it would not be in anyone's way.

The Ären sat down next to me and watched as everyone else sat around me. He was silent as the other person of his clan sat down next to him. He leaned his head closer to the other person before sitting back. He became tense, and I was sure that it was because he had talked to me before he was supposed to.

"Well," Jonah said, sitting down last. He looked around at everyone before his eyes landed on me. "Shall we get this meeting started?" he asked, and I nodded. "How was last night?"

"It was not like the others," I said. "I had a certain... visitor that did not belong in the woods and had to watch over him."

"I have heard that the younger Prince was in the woods yesterday," someone, a male, said. "Was that true?"

I nodded my head. "It was," I confirmed. "He had been "captured" by some Dwarves. I had... made an arrangement with them and had gotten the Prince away from them. He spent the rest of the afternoon and the night with me."

"Dwarves just won't let him go. How did you get him away?" the Dwarf asked, and I looked at him. His hood wasn't as far forward as the others, so I could see his hard green eyes staring at me. His brown beard was turning white, showing his age and the beads in his beard showed his rank.

"They do when they are offered something unique... from a member of the Hargen Tribe," I replied coldly. "And, from an old bloodline like mine."

"And... that is what?" the Dwarf asked. He folded his arms across his chest and scowled.

"Oswald," I replied. "My father's last name is Oswald." I sensed the Ären stiffen beside me and looked at me with shock and respect, something that didn't impress me. "Those two know if I am lying or not. If you don't believe me... you can ask them."

The Dwarf scowled, and I knew that he wasn't going to ask. Dwarves and Elves didn't have the best relationship from what I have read and learned from my father. There was mostly a pride issue going on, something that I was curious about. "What did you offer them?" he asked.

"Change that I had left to spare and one protection necklace," I replied. I glanced at Jonah when I sensed him stiffen before looking back at the Dwarf. "The Shara and your... family member had accepted it so that the Prince could have his stuff back. One of them or another part of the clan had placed them back at the little hole with a note."

The Dwarf scowled and narrowed his eyes. "I hope you have left something in return, Girl," he said. He made a move to get up but stopped when Jonah cleared his throat in warning.

"I did," I confirmed. I sent Jonah an annoyed look, and he shrugged before I turned to look at the Dwarf. "I have placed a bowl of rabbit stew on the shrine and said my thanks."

"Why would you give up your protection stone when you know that it is important for you to keep it on you?" the other Elf asked, interrupting the Dwarf from speaking.

"The same reason as to why he had given up his necklace," I replied. "In hopes of helping someone else out and giving all that you have to someone else in need."