Chapter 86
I quickly changed into the clothes that were provided for me before I opened the door, and both Shilan and I walked out of the room and walked toward Arden, who was waiting for us with his eyes closed and sensing everything that was around him.
Shilan grunted and said something to Arden, and Arden instantly opened his eyes and looked at him before he looked at me with a calm look in his eyes. He said something else to Arden, and Arden looked at him a second time, frowning while worry flashed through his eyes.
"Are you sure?" he asked, and Shilan nodded in confirmation.
He looked at me a second time before he looked at my dragon and frowned.
"Then why didn't you touch it?" he asked and cocked his head to the side while he studied him, and I had a feeling that he was talking about my mark.
"You would have been able to touch it before I did something. "
Shilan lowered his tail and head in nervousness and guilt before he said something else, and I could tell that he was nervous about it and didn't want to get hurt, even though there was a chance that he wouldn't have gotten hurt from it.
Or hurt me in the process...
I slowly blinked and pressed my lips into a thin line before I looked at Arden to see that he was looking at me. "What did he say?" I asked and cocked my head to the side while I studied him. "What did he ask about my mark?"
Arden sighed and shook his head before he shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.
"Something is wrong with it," he said, and I slowly blinked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied him with a small frown on my face.
"He wouldn't tell me what was wrong with it, but he said that something was wrong with it. "
"Do you want me to get undressed so that you can look at it, Arden?" I asked, and Arden chuckled softly and shook his head.
"I will need to see it, but I do not need you to get fully undressed," he said. He cleared his throat and gestured toward the spot in front of him. "Go ahead and lay down here; however, and I will take a look at it and see if I can be of any use between the two of you."
I held back an eye roll but didn't say a word while I walked over to him and laid down in front of him, not caring that I was on the ground or that he would be looking at my bare back.
Shilan laid down beside me and rested his head near mine with his snout touching my forehead. He didn't say a word that I could hear, but he did whine out his nervousness, praying that we would be able to talk to each other soon.
"Do you mind if I move your shirt up your back so that I can look at your mark?
" Arden asked while he knelt by my side.
He didn't touch me like I thought he would, and I had this feeling that he wanted to make sure that I was still comfortable with this, even though there was no reason as to why I shouldn't be.
He was there to help get me prepared for whatever life threw my way one day at a time...
"No," I said and shook my head. "Go ahead and check to see what is wrong with my back, please," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"I need to hear Shilan's voice because it has been too long since I had last heard his voice.
" I tried to keep the anxiety and pain out of my voice but didn't do that good of a job because Shilan moved his snout closer to my head and whined, silently agreeing with me.
"I know," Arden said and nodded, even though he knew that it hadn't been that long.
He gently started to lift my shirt to show the mark that was on my back.
"How far up do you mind me going?" he asked, not looking at my back just yet, even though I knew that he would be able to do it and wanted to make sure I was fine.
I shook my head and bit back a tired sigh.
"I do not care about how high or how low you need to go, Arden," I said, trying but failing to hide the annoyance in my voice.
"All I care about is getting to hear my dragon's voice before I leave the safety of this place tonight because I do not want to go another minute without hearing his stupid voice. "
Shilan growled and narrowed his eyes. He moved his head from where he had it so that he could glare at me, and I couldn't help but bite back a small smirk, even though I didn't lift up my head to look at him.
He said something to Arden before he started to leave my side because he didn't want to set up the bond between us any longer.
Arden bit back a small chuckle while he watched Shilan stand and shake out his body before he started to walk away from me, flicking his tail in annoyance. "How far do you want him to go?" he asked and looked at me.
I shrugged and bit back a small grimace, even though a small smirk wanted to appear on my face. "Let him walk away from me," I said, earning a small chuckle from him while he slowly nodded. "However, can you go ahead and check my back, please?"
Arden chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Of course," he said and gently started to move my shirt up my back so that he could look at the mark on my back.
He didn't say a word while he continued to lift my shirt, and his whole body seemed to grow tense while he paused in moving the shirt up my back when he saw something.
Shilan stopped and turned around to look at us, and he flicked his tail from side to side before he started to walk back over to us. He looked at Arden and asked something, but Arden didn't look in his direction and continued to stare at my back.
"Do you want to touch it?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and Arden seemed to stir from his thoughts while he looked at the mark on my back before he looked at the back of my head. "Would that help you decide what to do to fix it?"
"It could hurt you," Arden warned and held his hand over my back, hovering it over the mark on my back. "This is an ancient magic, something that I hadn't ever seen before, and I am not sure if I will ever see it again in my lifetime."
I couldn't help but grow still for a second, and again, I couldn't help but think about Mir?na, not knowing if he had done something to protect me and Shilan from the king and then the Elf that was with him.
Was this something tied to what Maron had told me about all of those hours ago..?
Shilan laid down beside me again and touched my head with his snout. He flicked his tail and asked Arden something, and Arden sighed and shook his head, even though he didn't say a word to answer his question.
"What did he ask, Arden?" I asked and closed my eyes tighter together, not even moving because I knew that Arden would softly scold me if I did. "Or are you going to tell me?"
"We can talk about that later," Arden said and shook his head before he cleared his throat while he shifted on his feet. "Now, do you mind if I touch your back? As I had said before, there is a chance tha-"
"I don't care, Arden," I said and shook my head, interrupting him.
"I do not know what is going to happen after it, but I can assure that I will be able to handle it.
If that helps you figure out how to help me, then so be it.
I will be in pain until you are able to figure out what is wrong with the mark on my back that blocked my bond with my dragon. "
Oh, Gods keep us safe for now, please...