CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE

“Who was that?!” Balin demands as Aldon and Idril take off after Damion.

“I – No one!” I feel alarmed. “He was just talking to me.”

Balin grabs my upper arm in an excruciatingly tight hold, giving me a violent shake, “Tell me the truth!”

“I am!” I wrench my arm back, feeling both angry and just a little terrified of him. “Why would I lie about something like that?!”

The look in his eyes makes my blood go cold and my voice is steadier now, “I just met him. I gave him my food because he looked hungry. That is it.”

Perhaps it’s my cool tone which makes him relax.

He lets go of me and I let out a breath of relief. I don’t know what’s his problem, but I take a step back from him.

His eyes narrow, “What was his name?”

I open my mouth to tell him, but something stops me. Maybe it’s irritation at how he’s treated me this whole day.

“I don’t know,” I lie.

He looks suspicious but finally says, “You’re not to leave the room without one of us.”

The way he phrases that, as if it’s a co