Chapter 87
Arden took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh. He didn't say a word and placed his hand on my back, and I couldn't help but grow tense while my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest when pain flared throughout my body.
I closed my eyes tighter shut and gritted my teeth together, but I didn't say a word or move while he did that and tried to ignore the pain that came with it.
"Breathe, Marini," he said as if he knew that I wasn't breathing. His voice was soothing and gentle when he said that, and I relaxed a little but didn't care. "You are ok. I am not going to hurt you or have you get hurt while you are under my care."
I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes. "I know that you aren't going to hurt me, even though this hurts," I said and gritted my teeth together before I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh.
"But that doesn't stop the nervousness that I am feeling.
Now, what have you found out about my mark? Can you fix it?"
Can you make it so that I can be connected to my dragon, please..?
Arden sighed and slowly nodded. "I will try," he said. "Go ahead and take a deep breath before you can release it slowly so that you can relax. I will go ahead and make sure that this is safe for me to do or if someone else has to do it and not me."
Shilan lifted his head from where he had it and looked at Arden, asking him something, and I had a feeling that he asked him if he could tell what had caused it.
Arden sighed and shook his head, pursing his lips in annoyance. "I am not sure," he said and moved his hand across my back while he studied it, biting back a small frown.
Finally, he cleared his throat and shifted on his knees while he removed his hand from my back.
"Is there stuff that you are hiding from us?
" he asked, switching to the Elvish tongue as if he were afraid that those in the other room could hear him.
He looked at the back of my head, studying me with something in his eyes that I didn't look at.
I hesitated and licked my lips, silently praying that this wasn't going to nip me in the butt. "Yes," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I slowly nodded, biting back a small sigh of relief. "I am hiding a lot from you like you are hiding stuff from me."
Arden bit back a small chuckle while he slowly nodded. "I know," he said and cleared his throat while he shifted on his knees. "Is it dangerous?"
I shrugged and pressed my lips into a thin line, and an image of Mir?na flashed through my eyes. "It could be," I admitted, "but other things could be dangerous that I have to face, so I am not that worried."
"Hmmm," Arden said and slowly nodded. "Do you think you should be?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied my back and tried to figure out a way to help me and if it was the best course of action.
I shrugged and didn't respond to his question, not knowing if I should be worried about that or not.
"I think it would be best if we didn't talk about it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I bowed my head.
"Forgive me, N?ran, for I do not think it is safe for me to talk to you about it.
I am sure that it will be fine for you to help me with this, but that is it. "
Arden sighed and slowly nodded. "Ok," he said and furrowed his brows, biting back a small frown. "Please, be careful, Marini. We need you alive."
I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line.
"I know, N?ran," I said, biting back a tired sigh.
"I do not plan on dying any time soon, and I do not think that this.
.. being will not want me to die either.
" I made sure to choose my words carefully, knowing full well that my other dragon wouldn't like me talking about him.
Arden bit back a small grunt while he slowly nodded. "Ok," he said before he moved a hand through his hair and across his face before he shook his head. "Now, are you ready?" he asked, and I nodded in confirmation.
"I have been ready," I said, biting back a tired sigh. "Now, break it if there is something covering my mark before letting Shilan do whatever he needs to do so that I can hear him again. We have been gone long enough, and I don't know what's happening in the other room."
Arden chuckled softly and slowly nodded.
"He is ok," he said as if he knew that I was getting worried for Caspian.
"Now, go ahead and take that deep breath before you release it slowly.
Shilan, go ahead and lay your snout beside her head.
I will do what I need to do when you do that.
" He placed his hand on my back again, and I gritted my teeth together when pain flared throughout my body.
Shilan grunted and did what he was told to do. He pressed his snout to my head and closed his eyes, not moving anything else. His whole body was tense, and I could tell that he was worried about what was supposed to happen next.
I didn't say a word and nodded before I took a deep breath before I released it with a small, shaky whoosh before I slowly started to relax and ignore the pain. I kept my eyes closed and waited for the N?ran to finish with what he needed to do.
Arden muttered a prayer underneath his breath before he muttered this spell underneath his breath, and there was this flash of white and black that I could see, even with my eyes closed, and this heavy feeling that I didn't know was there lifted as soon as he did that while the pain in my back stopped after he did it.
I gasped out loud in shock and opened my eyes while my whole body grew tense as soon as he was done with it before I slowly started to relax a second time. I closed my eyes without saying another word about what had happened or how I was feeling now.
"Marini?" Arden asked from behind me, with worry filling his voice, and I grunted a response while I waited to see what would happen next. "Are you ok? Do you hear Shilan or feel the bond with him again?"
"I think I am ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper and cracking for some reason. I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "Shilan?" I asked, trying but failing to hear my dragon's voice in my mind. "Shilan, can you hear me?"
Shilan didn't move his snout or make any indication that he could hear me. He flicked his tail from side to side, and I had a feeling that he was growing impatient with this because he thought that this would work.
And unfortunately, so did I...
"No," I said and shook my head. "I do not hear his voice at all."
Arden hummed and slowly nodded. "Ok, Shilan," he said. "I am going to need you to stand and come over here so that you dig your claws into her back again. It shouldn't hurt her as bad as the first time you had done it, but there is a chance that it could."
I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes while Shilan nuzzled my head, moved from his spot beside me, and stood. I kept my eyes closed and kept still while I waited for him to dig his claws into my back a second time.
And hopefully this time it was going to work so that I could hear my dragon once more...
Please...