Megan POV

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

“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 calm tone that...