The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 60

I watched as he left before I looked at my brother and scowled, narrowing my eyes, and he instantly looked down, not able to meet my gaze. "Let's go," I said sharply before I started to make my way back to our house.

My brother hesitated before he jogged over to my side. His whole body was tense, and he looked around as if he was half expecting someone to appear from the shadows and jump him like that patron did.

"What were you thinking, Griffith?" I asked with a small snap, breaking the tense silence that had fallen on us. "Don't you know that you could have been killed?"

"I was thinking that I would make it home before you knew that I was in here, Marini," Giffith replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat and shifted from one side to another, looking anywhere but at me. "How did you know that I was in here, anyway?" he asked and looked at me before he instantly looked away again.

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line while I continued to make my way home using this way, and my brother slowly started to trail behind, much to my annoyance.

"Marini?" he gently pressed from further behind than I would have liked.

"Move to my side again, Griffith," I said, not answering his question while I grabbed my basket tighter. "It's not safe for you to be out here and back there like that."

"And why not? I am part of the Tribe too and not just you. I deserve to know everything and to be here and do what you do. It is my birthright just as much as it is yours." He didn't move to my side like I had hoped, and I could feel the other patrons of this place starting to stir while they looked at my brother and then at me but made no move to show themselves.

I twisted around until I looked at him and set my jaw, narrowing my eyes while I scowled. "But it is not safe, Griffth," I said, coldly. "There are people out here that are dying to see you alone so that they can do something to you."

"And why?" Griffith asked while he furrowed his brows and cocked his head in confusion, studying me. He pressed his lips into a thin line before he folded his arms across his chest while he studied me. "It should be safe for me. I am part of that tribe just as much as you, Marini. So please tell me why it is safer for you and not for me?"

"Because they know me," I replied. "However, you are still a stranger to them." I paused and licked my lips while I rolled my eyes and scowled. "Now, come on," I said. "Let's go. I have stuff to do, and I do not have the time to do it."

Griffith bit back an annoyed sigh and slowly nodded. He started to walk toward me, and I watched him before I started to walk away from him and walked toward our home. "I want to know about this. You can not hide me any longer, Marini," he said softly. "Please."

I licked my lips and hesitated before I slowly nodded, my heart aching. "I know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "but Mama isn't wanting you to be a part of this, especially since we need you at home."

Griffith narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't say a word while he stared at me, and I could tell that he didn't like what I said to him.

I bit back a small sigh and shook my head, moving a hand through my hair. "Let me talk to Jonah and Mama, ok?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, looking at him from the corner of my eye, and my brother bit back a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded.

"Thank you," he said.

"But you can not go in here on your own. Is that understood?" I scowled and narrowed my eyes while I looked at him.

Griffith bit back an annoyed sigh and slowly nodded. "Ok," he said. He paused and moved his hood just a bit but not enough to move his hood back away from his face. "Is it that dangerous, now, Marini?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I nodded in confirmation. "Unfortunately, it is," I said and licked my lips before I glanced around and then looked at him. "There is a lot of stuff that has happened and is going to happen, and I think that it is going to happen to us and make us more on edge."

"Me included?"

I nodded in confirmation. "You are my brother," I said and looked at him from the corner of my eye. "You are part of the tribe, Griffith. As much as we are trying to keep you safe and out of the stuff that is going on, we cannot."

"Why can I not be a part of this, now?" Griffith asked. "If P-"

"If Papa was alive, then yes, you would have learned about everything earlier," I said, interrupting him while I raised a hand to silence him. "However, two of our older brothers and our father have died because of this," I added, "and Mama is nervous that something bad will happen to you."

"Is she worried about you?"

I bit back a small chuckle and slowly nodded. "Yes," I said and shifted my basket from one side to my other. "She's worried that something bad will happen to me, but she knows better than to take me away."

My brother slowly nodded and furrowed his brows. "Do you think that she wants to?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and I bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded.

"Oh, she does," I said. I bit back a small sigh and closed my eyes ever so slightly before I opened my eyes again, picking up my pace ever so slightly, and Griffith followed me, picking up his pace as well. "She doesn't want me to do this, but she won't tell me no. She'll tell me to be more careful and make sure that I do not get injured or die."

"But you have gotten injured, haven't you?" Griffith asked. He cleared his throat and shifted his hood ever so often before he pulled it further toward the front of his head. "You have a bit of blood on your shirt and then your skirt is ripped."

I bit back a small sigh and moved my skirt to the side, looking at my skirt before I looked forward. "Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation, "but they did not injure me."

"Then who?" he asked. "Who injured you?"

I shook my head and cleared my throat, shifting my basket from one side to another again. "I can not say," I said, my voice turning colder. "It will cause more unrest in this place and then other places as well. I do not think it is a good idea, especially since more lives can be lost."

Griffith pressed his lips into a thin line before he slowly nodded. He looked toward the shadows before he looked at me, and a look of worry and nervousness appeared on his face. "Do you think they would attack for you or against you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Both," I replied. "There will be those that will attack me and then there will be a lot of people that will attack for me. They will get angry about what has happened to me, and I don't want them to do something stupid."

"I don't know why you are so important, though, Marini," Griffith said, grumbling. "You are just part of the Hargen Tribe. There's nothing else special about you besides that, so why would anyone want to kill you?"

I bit back a small chuckle and shook my head. "You have no idea what you are talking about, Griffith," I said and looked at him. "There is a lot that is going on behind the scenes that we can not talk about, especially in a place like this."

Griffith set his jaw and slowly nodded. "But there is more stuff special than being part of the tribe?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and I bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded.

"Yes," I confirmed before I cleared my throat and shifted my basket from one side to the other, becoming very anxious and nervous about what was being said out loud. "There is a lot more to me than being just part of the tribe, and a lot more that is even hidden from me."

"But one day you will know?" he asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

"One day I will know, and I pray that it will not harm you or the rest of our siblings in any way, shape, or form," I said before I cleared my throat and stared at him with sad eyes filled with pain that seemed to take his breath away. "Because that right there, Griffith, will be the end of me, especially if another one of you gets killed, and it would have been my fault because of the stuff that I have been thrown into at a young age and have been protecting you from it for all of these years and for more years to come."