The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 14

I sat down in my assigned seat and placed the two rabbits on the table in front of me. A wave of exhaustion wash over me, and I groaned and leaned forward while I closed my eyes.

I had no idea why I was so exhausted, but it could be because I had not gotten enough sleep last night. Not only did having the Prince out in the woods throw me off, but I had this feeling we were being watched. And, it didn't help that both Ren and Ro sensed the same thing and became agitated.

The door opened, and I opened my eyes. Jonah stood in the doorway, looking like crap. He gave me a small smile, and I blinked but smiled back. "You look, you haven't slept any," he said. "Have you?"

I shrugged my shoulder and rubbed my eyes. "I should be asking you the same thing," I replied. I glanced behind him and noticed that other people were behind him, one of them being the Ären. "It seems that you have company," I said, tearing my gaze away from him to look at my teacher. "Should I leave and come back later?"

Jonah shook his head. "They need to talk to you, Marini," he said, and I nodded. "We're going to need to go into a bigger room," he added.

"Ok," I said, biting back a sigh. I stood and clutched my basket. "Do you want me to grab the rabbits?" I asked, and he nodded. I nodded and grabbed the rabbits that I had gotten for him and placed them in my basket.

Jonah nodded and gestured for me to follow him. He started walking towards the room with me following him. He didn't say anything to the other people that followed him, all of them wearing hoods over their faces.

I nodded in greeting to the Ären and followed Johan. My whole body was tense as I passed the men, not looking at them. I had no idea who they were, nor why they were here, and it didn't sit well with me.

The Ären moved to my side as we followed Jonah into a larger meeting room. "Nervous?" he asked, speaking in his tongue.

I hesitated but nodded. I had no idea if Jonah could understand what he was saying, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have only met Jonah and not the others, Ären," I replied, and Jonah turned his head to the side when he heard his name. "And, I know that there are others of different species here." I didn't glance behind me, knowing that the person right behind me was listening to our conversation.

The Ären hummed and nodded. "Like the Dwarf?" he asked. "Haven't you met them last night?"

"That means Dwarf, doesn't?" someone asked from behind the man behind me. The person, a male, spoke in the tongue that all of us understood, and Jonah looked at us. "I know what that word means. Are you going to keep talking like that with us here? If so, then please don't. I would like to know what is being said about me."

"Nothing is being said about you, Dwarf," the Ären said. "And we can talk like this if we want. The only person that can say something or should have qualms about it is the Digra."

Digra... Dragon Rider. That was what that word meant, and for whatever reason, it caused Jonah to turn around and glare at the Ären.

"What did you just say?" he asked, sounding furious. His eyes were dark and cold as he looked at him. His whole body was tense, and I could feel this power in the air around us that was so ancient that it hadn't been felt before since now. "Repeat what you had said."

The Ären stayed silent, not helping Jonah calm down. He studied the male in front of him, daring him to act out in anger.

I couldn't let Jonah hurt him or let him hurt Jonah. I had no idea what compelled me to move in front of the Ären, but I did and stared down the male that I called my mentor.

"Move, Marini," he all but growled out. "This doesn't concern you."

"It does, and you know it does," I replied, fighting the urge to grab a sword and smack it over his head and try not to hurt him with it. "Where are we going anyway? I also have work to do and am late as it is."

Jonah closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He relaxed slightly, but whatever Digra meant to him sent him over the edge. "Of course," he said, opening his eyes. "I apologize." He turned around again and started to lead us again towards the meeting room.

"You didn't have to do that. You could have gotten hurt," the Ären said, as we started to move again. He spoke in his language, not even caring about the Dwarf that made a noise to show his distaste.

I shook my head, no. "He wouldn't have hurt me," I said, "intentionally. He has been that angry before."

"And?"

I shook my head and gave him a tired smirk. I wasn't going to tell him that I had tossed a knife at him before yelling at him to learn how to control his anger better.

He had scared me that day because I thought he was about to kill someone, to kill me. He had made me cry, and I knew that seeing me cry scared him.

After that, he swore to control his anger, and he had. He didn't want to see me cry again. He said that seeing me cry was his biggest fear because I turned scary when I cried or was made to cry, or at least, according to him.

I wouldn't know as I tried to control the anger that came with crying and trying not to harm someone accidentally.

I would never forgive myself if I did.