The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 61

Griffith and I walked out of the darkness of the alleyways and into the light of the streets near where I lived.

I looked around when I entered the sun again and frowned when I noticed Ilas sitting on one of the stoops near my house.

Oh, Gods... I thought and pressed my lips into a thin line, and the urge to check on him was strong.

"Marini?" Griffith asked, his voice barely above a whisper while he moved closer to my side when he saw Ilas sitting there. His whole body grew tense while he stared at him with a small frown on his face. "Who is he?"

"A friend," I said, my voice also barely above a whisper while I looked at Ilas with a small frown on my face, and worry filled my voice while I looked at him. "You can trust him, but do not say a lot to him. Is that understood?" I looked at my brother again, pressing my lips into a thin line.

Griffith frowned and cocked his head while he looked at Ilas before he looked at me. "Why not?" he asked. "I thought you said that he was a friend."

Ilas turned toward us as if he heard us and smiled just a tad before he nodded in greeting. His brown eyes were filled with pain, and he toppled over just as we were about to get close to him.

"Oh, for the love of th-" I grunted and stopped saying what I wanted to while I rolled my eyes and scowled. "You should have told me when we were near each other the first time that you needed some." I started to make my way toward him with my brother following me, but Ilas waved me away from him and toward the house, still lying down but curling into a small ball.

"Marini?" Griffith asked when I paused and stared at Ilas. He looked between the two of us with wide eyes before he looked at me. "What's wrong with him?"

I bit back an annoyed sigh and pressed my lips into a thin line. I took another step toward Ilas, but he again waved me away from him, silently telling me to leave him alone and that he was fine, wanting me to go back into the house.

"Marini?" Griffith asked again while he looked between the two of us.

I bit back an annoyed sigh but relented while I slowly nodded, pursing my lips in annoyance. "Let's go inside the house and make sure that the other kids are alive and well, ok?"

"But what about..?" He gestured toward Ilas, and I bit back another annoyed sigh and shook my head. "Are we going to just let him be like this?"

"Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation, walking toward the house with Griffith following me. "He wants us to go inside and check in with everything before we have to do something with him," I said. "I do not appreciate it, at all, but I know that he will not let me go toward him."

Griffith frowned and narrowed his eyes. He didn't say a word while he continued to follow me toward the house and stopped when we reached the door.

He looked toward Ilas again before he looked at me, cocking his head to the side. "Are you s-"

"Yes," I said, interrupting him while I nodded in confirmation. I opened the door to my house and walked into it, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief when I heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen/dining room area.

Oh, thank the Great... I thought when I noticed that everything seemed to be fine as it should be. "Hello?" I asked, and the sound of laughter stopped as soon as it began. "Where is everyone?"

"Kitchen!" I heard a few of my siblings yelled, and I breathed a small sigh of relief while my whole body grew relaxed because it sounded like they were safe.

Thank the Great...

I walked toward the kitchen and was followed by Griffith. "Is everyone besides Griffith there?" I asked.