The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 29

Caspian stared at me, confused. He cocked his head and studied me, and I could tell that he didn't believe me. "What?" he asked, finally, after a moment's pause. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have a dragon," I replied. "His name is Shilan."

"Dragons aren't real," Caspian said. He shook his head. "I would've known if they were real or not."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I asked, and he nodded. "Did you know that Dwarves were real?"

He opened his mouth, so say something, but he closed his mouth. "Well..." He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck while he cleared his throat. He didn't meet my pointed gaze, and I could tell that he was feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I knew that there was such a thing as Dwarves."

"But you had never seen any," I pointed out. "You knew that they were real, even though you had never seen any."

"Well, neither have you," Caspian retaliated. He gave me a pointed look, and I raised an eyebrow. "Or have you seen one before rescuing me?"

I shook my head, no. "However, I do sometimes stay in a place that they had made," I replied. "I knew that they existed."

"What about dragons?"

I shifted in my seat and sighed. "I wasn't taught that much about dragons," I replied, honestly. "But I was taught that they had existed before."

Caspian furrowed his brows and cocked his head. He looked confused, and I had a feeling that it was because he didn't know why I wasn't taught about dragons either. "Why weren't you taught about dragons?" he asked. "You are part of the Hargen Tribe, and from what I gathered, they should be able to have that information."

"They should," I confirmed. "However, I wasn't allowed to have it." I sighed and moved a hand through my hair, wondering what I should tell him and what I should keep private, at least for now.

"Tell him everything," Shilan said, listening in on my thoughts. "Tell him what you know and don't know."

"You're a bad influence on me," I grumbled with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. "What if Jonah and Ardën did not want him to know?"

Shilan mentally shrugged, and I could tell that he was nonchalant and didn't care. "Then they should have said something," he replied. "They know that you're talking to him."

I furrowed my brows, confused. "How?" I asked. "How do they know that I am talking to him?"

"Because they are here with me," Shilan replied. "And I told them."

"Shilan," I scolded, not really liking the thought of them knowing from someone else besides me. "Why did you tell them?"

Shilan mentally grinned, and I held back an eye roll. "They asked. Don't worry; I didn't tell them anything else. All I said was that you were talking with the prince and that I had told you to tell him that you had a dragon."

I huffed and mentally nodded. "Fine," I grumbled, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to do anything since he had told them already. "I still don't like the idea of them knowing that he knows."

"You don't like anything that I tell you to do," Shilan pointed out, and I snorted. "I mean, you didn't like me telling you to say the prince's name, but it got him to be out of his stupor."

I huffed. "True," I replied. "But some of this stuff could lead us to get into trouble, or him, and I do not like the idea of him being in trouble."