Chapter 22
"An egg. You were holding a dragon's egg." His words mulled around my mind, and I stared at the path in front of me while I thought them over.
If I had found the egg when I was either four or five, then why did I bond with the dragon yesterday and not then? Shouldn't the dragon have hatched when I found him, or was there magic at play?
"Marini," Jonah said, squeezing my arm. He frowned and watched me stir from my thoughts, concern flickering through his eyes. "Are you ok?" he asked when I focused my gaze on him again.
I shook my head and sighed, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Yes, I am," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose when a headache appeared. "Just thinking."
Jonah raised an eyebrow. "About?" He gestured me to continue walking in the direction that we had been going in, indicating that we still had a way to go before we got to the place, whatever that place was.
I nodded my head and continued to follow him down the path, trying to come up with a way to ask my question.
Jonah gave me a few minutes to mull over how I wanted to ask the question before asking, "well?" He raised an eyebrow when I looked at him. "What is it?"
"If I found the egg when I was either four or five, then why is it that I had bonded with him yesterday?" I asked, looking up at my mentor. "It doesn't make any sense."
"I can answer that one," Ard?n said, standing from a wooden bench. He looked between Jonah and me before he looked at me with a raised eyebrow, wondering if we had "made up" and if we were on speaking terms.
I nodded my head, answering his silent question, and looked at my dragon when he ran towards me. "Do you know?"
Shilan shook his head. "No," he said. "It is news to me, too."
I frowned but nodded my head before I looked at Ard?n. "Well?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why is it that I was just now marked by Shilan when I had found him at a young age?"
"Why don't we sit, so we can explain it to you," Ard?n replied, gesturing to the benches lining what looked like to be an arena. "And then we will start training." He gave Jonah a pointed look, and the other male closed his mouth and nodded his head, scowling.
Hesitantly, I nodded my head and walked to the bench with Shilan at my side. I sat down on one and watched Jonah and Ard?n sit on the opposite bench in front of me.
Shilan laid his head on my lap and let out a growly purr while I ran my finger across the bridge of his nose. He didn't say a word, but I knew that he was content, happy to be by my side, even if it was only for a little while.
Ard?n cleared his throat, and I looked at him. "We didn't meet for the first time during the attack," he said, solemnly, talking about the Shifter and the death of my father and brother. "We first met at the lake after you pulled the egg out of the water."
I furrowed my brows and studied him. I knew that he wasn't lying; I could tell, but I had no idea why I didn't remember meeting him then. However, I didn't remember finding the egg at the age of either four or five, so something else might be the cause of it, the cause of my memory being changed.
"He's right," Jonah said, and I looked at him. He nodded his head. "He was there when you had the egg and saw the whole exchange with the Giant."
"Then... why don't I remember?" I asked. "I mean, shouldn't I remember?"
Ard?n shook his head, sadness filling his eyes. "That is one thing that you will not be able to remember," he replied softly. He nodded his head to Shilan. "Your dragon will not be able to help either."
I frowned but nodded. I hated not remembering finding my dragon, and I felt that something was missing, something they didn't know was missing and will stay missing unless I remember that night again. "Continue, please," I said.
Adr?n nodded his head. "You were showing the egg to Jonah and your father when I walked over. Your eyes were still gold, and you almost attacked me before I bowed my head and called you "Digra" and started to speak in my tongue."
"You had replied in their tongue, surprising me but not your father," Jonah said. "Your father helped me by translating the conversation between the two of you."
"I said that it was not safe for you to have your dragon egg yet, for it had been written that you were far greater than we had imagined," Ard?n added.
I furrowed my brows, remembering both the Dragon Mother and Maron called me "Princess" and wondered if it was connected. "Does... this have to do with me being a "Princess?"" I asked, slowly, watching them.
Ard?n and Jonah looked at each other and silently communicated with each other before they looked back at me. "What do you know?" Jonah asked.
I shook my head. "Not much," I replied honestly. "I have just been called "Princess," which is why I had asked."
"By who?" Jonah asked.
I didn't reply and made sure to keep a mental block, so they couldn't look through my memories and see.
Shilan opened one eye and stared at me, unblinking. He searched my memories, the bond stronger than my block, and closed his eye again with a soft, 'hmmm.'
"Shilan?" Jonah asked, looking at my dragon.
"Not telling," he replied. "So leave me alone. I am bonding with my human."
I held back an eye roll and waited for either Jonah or Ard?n to answer my question. I stayed silent, wondering if they would tell me if they could.
"We can't say much," Ard?n said finally. "However, yes, this has to deal with the fact that you are a Princess."
"Of?"
Ard?n shook his head. "That is not something I know," he said apologetically. He was lying; I could tell, are at least, somewhat. He knew something; he knew why I had been called a "Princess" but didn't know everything.
I sent him a disbelieving look but didn't ask anymore. "What happened next?" I asked. "After you telling me that it wasn't safe?"
"You gave me the egg and had me promise to keep it safe," he replied. "You warned me that you wouldn't remember because you also knew that it wasn't safe for you to know.
"After you handed me the egg, you passed out. Your father took you home while Jonah and I called a meeting with the people that you saw gathered."
"Except for the Crowned Prince and Frion," Jonah added. "The Elder Dwarf, the Shara, you called him if I remember correctly..." he nodded his head when I nodded mine, "was there as well."
"We had discussed what had happened with them and showed them the egg. The Dwarves had promised to protect the egg, and I had handed it off to them. They had said they had been told to make a spot for the egg a few weeks before you had found a way out."
"How did you know that they weren't lying?" I asked, even though I knew it wasn't possible. He would have been able to tell if they were. "They could have been."
Ard?n gave me a pointed look and raised an eyebrow.
A small smirk appeared on his face, and I knew that he knew I knew the truth.
"It is the same way you aren't telling us who had called you Princess, Marini," he replied.
"You knew that I would catch you lying, so you decided to stay quiet instead. "
I didn't reply and ducked my head before I cleared my throat. "What did you discuss during the meeting?" I asked, praying that he would tell me. My heart sank when he shook his head and smiled apologetically, for I knew he would not be able to tell me.
"That is not something I can discuss, not yet at least," he said, softly. "However, I can tell you that you had earned the respect of the group without them meeting you. From what they heard, they knew that you would do great things."
I nodded my head. "What happened to me?" I asked, changing the subject. "While you were discussing things?"
"Your father took you home, and you went to sleep," Jonah said. "In the morning, you woke up with no memory of the night before." He shifted in his seat and got comfortable. "After that, your father agreed to start training you, and you know the rest."
I nodded my head. I had started training and getting prepared for what was to come. However, as time grew on, and my father had been killed, I had less time for training, but I could still hold my own during a fight.
"And with that, I think it is time for you to start training again," Ard?n said. He and Jonah stood, and he gestured to the arena. "Come," he said. "Let's see what you remember and how rusty you are. We'll teach you some new work as well."
I nodded my head and stood, excited. I had no idea what training I would receive, but I was ready. I wanted to prove to them and myself that they hadn't chosen the wrong person to be the last Dragon Rider.
Hopefully, training wouldn't be too hard, but I knew that would be wishful thinking. They would push me until I was sore, sorer than I had ever been before.