The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 27

"Ma-"

I shook my head and stopped him from talking. "Put your hood up," I instructed, and the prince placed his hood over his head. I took a deep breath and stepped over the invisible barrier that separated the two parts of the kingdom.

The prince gasped in shock when he felt the shift and moved closer to me. His presence was comforting and warm, and I enjoyed it a lot. "Is it always this cold?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded, the chill not bothering me as much as it did him because I had been here so many times before this, mainly on errands that Jonah gave me. "Cold and dark," I replied, my voice lower than normal, not to break the silence of the place. "The Sun doesn't reach here for some reason."

"Why not?"

I shrugged my shoulders and kept glancing around, making sure that no one would bother us. "Don't know. It's never reached it while I had been here."

"How long ago did you start coming here?" the prince asked, and I could hear the curiosity in his voice.

I puffed out my cheeks and thought about it before I shrugged my shoulders again. "I was a young girl," I replied. "That's all that you are going to get out of me, Rupor." I turned to look at him and winked, and the prince snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Where are we going?" he asked. He moved closer to me and looked around warily. "I am safe, right?"

I nodded and grew serious. "With me, you are," I replied. "No one will come near you when I am around because I make them nervous."

"Why? You are just a girl?"

Shilan moved closer when he said that and scoffed, and I had a feeling that he rolled his eyes. "Did he just say that?" he asked, unamused.

"He did," I replied. "I am not just a girl, Rupor," I warned, and the prince gulped and nodded.

"You're right. I apologize," the Prince said. He cleared his throat and glanced around us before he moved closer to me. "People are staring," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I know," I replied, glancing around. "It's because you are with me. I don't normally travel with someone unknown to them if I am here at all. Most of the time, I am by myself."

"Oh," he replied. He cleared his throat again. "Where are we going?"

I stopped in front of an old man with a bandage over his eyes and a hood covering most of his face sitting in front of a building that I normally used if I didn't Jonah to know about my dealings. "Here," I replied, not glancing at him but keeping an eye on the male in rags with his hands raised. I dug through my basket and pulled out two coins that only he could use for some reason. "No eyes or ears," I said and dropped them into his awaiting hand. "No one needs to know about my dealings as usual."

He didn't move from his spot and kept his hand raised. He knew that I was withholding the amount that I needed to pay for the room's use, but I knew that I needed a bargaining piece because he loved to be the one to hear into my conversations and doings if I didn't.

"Half now and half later. You know the rules with me. I don't know why you are trying to do something different."

He gestured to the prince behind me with his staff and kept his hand raised. He indicated that he knew who was behind me, and if I didn't want others to know, then the money was to be paid upfront.

"I can take the money back and leave. It shouldn't matter as to who I bring." I reached over to take the money back, but the old man closed his fist before I could.

He placed the money in his pouch and gestured for me to go through the door.

I raised an eyebrow. "So no hearing or seeing. Is that understood?"

The male nodded.

"Same room?"

Again, he nodded.

I nodded. "Good. I will pay you the rest when we are done. You have my word."

The old man nodded and gestured for me to go through.

I nodded and walked to the door with Caspian following me.

As soon as Caspian was near him, the old man reached forward and grabbed the prince's arm. His small gasp of shock had me turning towards them with a dagger in hand and a warning on my tongue, but I didn't attack; I couldn't.

The old man didn't pay me any attention. His attention was solely on the male in front of him, whose hood had been pushed back to reveal eyes of gold instead of eyes of blue.

Shilan pushed forward until he was closer and studied the two of them. "Interesting..." he said.

"Do you know what is happening?" I asked.

"No, but close your eyes and then open them. I want to show you something."

I did what I was told to do and closed my eyes, feeling Shilan move closer to the front. When I opened them, I was met with sharper images and this glowing... aura around everything and everyone. "How are you doing this?" I asked, looking around and studying everything.

"No idea, but look at the old man and the prince."

I did what I was told to do looked at them. Silver tendrils came from the old man's hands and wrapped around the prince, contrasting from the gold and purple wrapped around him. "Do you know what those mean?" I asked.

"No, but look at your hand. I want to see what you look like."

"What do you mean by what I look like? I thought you could see these things."

Shilan mentally shrugged. "I don't see these auras around everything," he admitted. "I just wanted to see what would happen if we both saw things with me near you."

I didn't reply and glanced at my hand to see that my aura was blue, gold, and silver. I had no idea what the colors meant and wondered if either Jonah or Ardën would know.

"They might," Shilan said, listening to my thoughts. "I think they are done. Look at them, but close your eyes first."

I did what I was told to do and closed my eyes before I felt him move back until he was a viewer once more. I opened my eyes to see what I normally saw and blinked, not used to the sudden change.

The old man pulled his hand off of the prince's arm, and the prince furrowed his brows and blinked before he rubbed his eyes, looking dazed. He turned his head to me and bowed his head in apology.

I grunted and accepted his apology. I was curious about what had happened but knew that the prince needed to be inside before I asked. "Next time, warn me," I warned. "He is under my care. You almost had a dagger through your heart."

The male's lips flickered up into a smirk, and he nodded. Again, he gestured to the door, and I nodded before I walked the door with Caspian close behind, still silent even after the whole ordeal that happened to him.