Page 27 of Phoenix's Fire

"What about the wild men?" I asked.

Tobias shook his head. "They leave the vegetables for us in bags."

"And the Dragons?"

"Live in a town," he said softly. "I've never been there, but I've heard about it. I've seen one of them too," he said. "He was at the place we get the bags. The creature was shaped like a man with a tail, about as tall as me, with green-and-brown skin. He laughed with two of the wild men as they stacked the bags we were going to take once the sunlight faded."

"What?" Because my brain was stalled out. None of that sounded like what we'd been taught in our classes.

"Dragons are people," Tobias said. "And I think the Wyvern saved Ayla and made her into the Phoenix. Every man in the last expedition says the same thing. The Phoenix tore them down, but the Wyvern protected her.The beasts answered to her."

"To..." I tilted my head, unsure I believed him. "Ayla?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "And you're friends with her. I'm not. That means I need your help. What do you say?"

I felt my teeth close on my lower lip, then I nodded. "Okay, Tobias. You can court me, but I do not promise to accept your proposal."

He chuckled. "I didn't promise to propose." Then he stood, raising his voice a bit and slowing his words. "Thank you, Miss Atwood. I never thought a pretty girl like you would give me a chance."

I quickly ducked my head, but it was too late. My cheeks were burning - and everyone in the room was now looking at me. Clearly, Tobias was not a stupid man. No, not atall.

Nine

Ayla

Ibarely slept that night. After my talk with the guys, I kept thinking about Meri. Sure, she'd told me how she'd lied to get out, but there were so many gaps in the story. I knew she'd just explained the parts she thought were most important, but it wasallimportant.

My mind refused to stop spinning, and when I finally did find sleep, it wasn't the restful kind. My dreams were filled with life in the compound, but the horrific kind. Meri and I were back, dragged in by the hunters, and Callah was being blamed for our escape.

When I woke, I felt more exhausted than when I'd lain down, but opening my eyes to see my own room made it better. The walls had been painted the same color as the sky. My bedding was blindingly white, as were the sheer curtains over the windows. And through that gauzy fabric, I could see clouds drifting over Lorsa. Big ones, with plenty of bright blue sky in between.

I lay there for a moment, enjoying the space these men had made for me. I had so much room, and I was allowed to do anything with it I wanted. I could keep it clean like we girls had in the compound. I could leave it messy, dropping my used clothing on the floor until it piled up if I chose. No one would yell at me for any of it, but I didn't want to mess up my nice things. That was why I picked the cleaner option.

When I finally got up, I pulled on a light dress and headed down for breakfast. From the sounds on the first floor, the guys were already awake. Still, I was a bit shocked to find Rymar sitting at the table writing on a piece of paper.

"Hey," he said as I pulled out the cold tea, "how do you spell Meri's name?"

"M-E-R-I-E-N-N-E," I told him. "Why?"

He tapped the page. "Her official status as a refugee requires this paper to be filed with the city."

"I didn't do that," I said, making my way over to look at it.

"Zasen did it for you," he explained. "And I'm putting Jeera as her host, but you're her emergency contact. Is that okay?"

"I don't know what that is," I admitted.

"The person who's notified if something happens." He pushed the paper toward me so I could see it better. "If she's injured in an attack, a messenger will be sent to let you know."

"Oh. Yes, that would be good."

He nodded and started writing again. "She's going to eventually need to pick a sign, but she has time to think about that." He filled out another line. "But this makes her officially a resident of Lorsa."

"So she can come visit me when she wants?" I asked.

"Exactly," Rymar assured me. "That's why I want to make sure all the official crap is done."

Which was when Zasen sauntered into the kitchen, clearly having heard most of that. "We need to talk about her, Ayla." He kept going to the counter, then filled both the glass I'd left out and one for him.