The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

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."