Chapter 41
I bit back a sigh of relief and dipped my head in greeting. "Arden," I said. "I thought you would be here before I got here."
The Elf King smiled and dipped his head in apology and greeting.
"I had business to attend to before I did," he said.
He gestured to the seats near the arena where we had sat the night before my practice.
"Why don't we sit?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I don't think this will take long?"
I shook my head, no and walked over to the benches with the others following behind me. I sat down on one facing another bench, and like yesterday, they sat down on the other bench with Shilan sitting down in front of me and resting his head on my lap.
"Well?" Arden asked when I didn't say a word. His voice was gentle and strict, and I could tell that he didn't appreciate having to wait for me to tell them what was wrong. "What is it?"
I grew serious and rubbed my hands together while I looked at Jonah. "Have you heard about Silan acting strangely today?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and Jonah nodded but frowned.
"I have," he confirmed. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat while he looked at me. "Why? Do you know the reason for it?" He asked, and I slowly nodded.
"I do," I confirmed. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, nervously. I had no idea how they would react and wondered if they would try to get Silan to admit that he wasn't the true one, which could potentially cause the real Silan's death.
Arden studied me and smiled softly while he dipped his head. "We won't do anything without your permission," he promised, knowing full well why I hadn't said anything yet. He looked at Jonah and scowled, waiting for Jonah to agree with what he said and not do anything without my permission.
Jonah looked between us and frowned while we stayed silent and stared at him. Confusion filled his eyes while he studied us, wondering why we were staring at him. "What?" he asked. "What did I do?"
"It is what you haven't done, Jonah," Arden said. He gestured towards me. "Marini needs your word that you won't do anything with Silan without her permission first."
Jonah scoffed teasingly and folded his arms across his chest. He looked at me and winked before he looked at the High King. "Since when do I need permission from a child to do something or not do something with Silan?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes and scowled but stayed silent.
Arden gave him a blank look and slowly blinked. "Only with this," he said. He narrowed his eyes and scowled, and Jonah bit back a smirk. "Now, tell her so that we can start training after she tells us what happened."
"Yes, yes, of course," Jonah said and waved Arden off dismissively. He looked at me and smiled while he dipped his head closer to his chest. "I give you my word that I will not do anything to Silan without your permission, Marini."
Relief filled my system when I heard him promise me that he wouldn't do anything to Silan without my permission, and I slowly nodded. "Good," I said and cleared my throat while I grew serious.
"Now, what happened? What have you found out?" Arden asked, pushing me gently.
I rubbed the bridge of Shilan's nose while I looked at the two men in front of me. "There are two Silans," I said finally, and they looked at each other before they looked at me.
"Are you sure?" Jonah asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "How? When?"
I cleared my throat and rubbed the bridge of Shilan's nose again while I shifted in my seat. "Silan came to visit me two nights ago," I said, "after everything that had... happened... here."
Jonah shifted in his seat and looked guilty. He tried to smile at me when I smiled at him, but it turned into a grimace.
Arden looked between us and pressed his lips into a thin line. Concern filled his eyes, and he looked worried about us because he knew how difficult that day had been for us.
I took a deep, shuddering breath and closed my eyes while I dipped my head. "I had been going through the motions for the rest of that day after all of this," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "And it pretty much carried into the night."
Jonah shifted in his seat and pressed his lips into a thin line.
The guilt grew more evident in his eyes while he looked at me, and he grimaced when I gave him a small smile, silently telling him that I wasn't mad at his response or lack thereof during the first time I found out that I was a Dragon Rider.
"When I stopped going through the motions and was actually present, it was the evening, and everyone was asleep.
"I decided to leave the room, get some of my mother's work, and go to the roof to do some of it for her." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the pull of the Tribe's Moon, even though it wasn't there and won't be back until next year.
However, that didn't stop the feeling of wanting to find it or my people, my tribe. It didn't stop the feeling of wanting to learn about myself and my people from those older than me and had lived through some of the stories that my father had once told.
Jonah reached across the little area that was between us and grabbed my hand, bringing me back to the present and not into the thoughts that I had succumbed myself into. He smiled sadly when I focused my gaze on him, and I tried to smile but it turned more into a grimace.
I cleared my throat and looked away first, but was not able to hold his gaze any longer. "Ummmm..." I cleared my throat again and squeezed the male's hand. "I went outside and sat on the roof while I fixed some of the clothing pieces," I said.
"It was the night of the Tribe's Moon, wasn't it?" Arden asked when I paused, and I nodded in confirmation. "Did you feel its pull?"
I let out a breathless chuckle and nodded. "I did," I confirmed. "I can still feel it, but it isn't as bad as it was that night."
"Hmmm," Arden said and nodded while he frowned. Worry filled his eyes while he studied me, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking, what he knew.
Did my father warn him that this would happen? I silently wondered. Was that why they didn't want me in the forest?
Once that thought entered my mind, it didn't want to leave. It twisted around my brain, making me view it from different angles, angles that didn't make any sense. I couldn't think of anything else but that.
Jonah squeezed my hand, and I looked at him, blinking back the haze that filled my eyes. Concern filled his eyes while he studied me, and his lips moved, but I couldn't hear a word he was saying above the buzzing in my ears.
My dragon groaned and shoved his head harder into my side while I closed my eyes and shook my head. He huffed, and I could feel the concern coming off of him because I had been silent and hadn't said a word to Jonah to calm his fears.
Again, I shook my head, and I was finally able to clear away the fog that surrounded my brain and was able to hear again.
I took a deep, shuddering breath and opened my eyes, feeling as if I was waking from a dream that only came when I was awake.
"Marini?" Jonah asked and squeezed my hand again, and I focused my attention on him again.
He knelt at my feet, but Shilan was more in his way than he normally would be if I wasn't in a stupor.
He frowned and studied me, relief filling his eyes when he saw that I had my gaze focused on him. "Are you ok?"
I rubbed my face with the hand that wasn't clutched in Jonah's hand and shook my head again. "Uh, ya, ya, I'm fine," I said. I cleared my throat and shook my head again. "Do you know what happened?" I asked my dragon.
"No," Shilan said, relaxing against me because I said something to him.
He nuzzled my side with his nose before he stared at me with his deep blue eyes that were filled with concern.
"All I know is that you thought of something and then you went into a daze.
Nothing seemed to get you out of it, which is why Jonah is worried. "
Jonah frowned, and the concern on his face grew deeper with each passing second, and I had a feeling that he didn't believe me. "Are you sure?" he asked, and I scowled but nodded.
"Yes," I said in a tone that had Jonah smirk a little because it meant that I was fine, even though there was a small part of me that didn't know if I was or not. "Now, can you go back to your seat? You don't need to try and coddle me more than you are."
Jonah bit back a chuckle and squeezed my hand one last time before he let go of my hand and walked back to his seat. He settled down on it and watched me, not hiding the worry that he felt.
Again, I rolled my eyes at him before I turned to look at Arden to see that he was looking at me with a critical gaze on his face. I cocked my head and studied him because I had no idea why he wasn't as worried as Jonah was.
Arden smiled and shook his head slowly. He didn't say a word, but I could tell that he knew I was wondering why he wasn't as worried about me like the other male was.
"Arden wasn't worried," I said to my dragon while I studied the Elf King, scowling.
Shilan didn't look at him but snorted. "Of course not," he grumbled. "The Elf King knows stuff and probably has an idea of what has happened to you in that split second." He paused. "Do you think he'll tell you?"
"Not in front of Jonah," I replied. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, and Shilan groaned in annoyance because I moved. "Shall I continue?" I asked, not knowing if I should or not since I still had to train.
Arden slowly nodded. "Please," he said and gestured for me to continue with my story. "What else had happened with Silan?"