Page 33 of Phoenix's Fire

So he let go of Ayla. "Let's show her how it works in real time?" he suggested.

I nodded, so he charged in behind me, grabbed so that my arms were pinned against my sides, and heaved. I hooked my shorter leg on his - refusing to use my tail. Then I pulled down, forcing my weight lower. The moment I had my weight on that back leg, I bent forwards, grabbed behind Zasen's knees, and lifted.

Zasen flipped, landing on his shoulders.

The whole thing happened in less than a second, but Ayla's mouth was hanging open, and Rymar gave us a slow clap of approval. A moment later, Ayla joined in.

"That was so good!" she said. "But I'm not as big as you, Kanik!"

"It works even if you're little," I assured her. "The goal is to get him off-balance, because his grip will release. Once that happens, you're free."

"And can shoot him," she said, a devious little smile taking over her lips.

Damn, that was adorable. Okay, and kinda sexy. This innocent and naive girl was honestly excited about being able to finally get her revenge, and I was going to make sure she had every tool at her disposal. Zasen was already teaching her the bow. She knew how to use a gun - when few Dragons did. Now, if she could just master hand-to-hand combat, she would be unstoppable.

So I sent Zasen to grab her again. With her, he moved slowly. I talked Ayla through each step, giving her the time to put her hands in the proper positionbefore moving to the next step. When she tried to heave him, Zasen actually stumbled - and Ayla wasn't putting her full force into it.

"Okay, again. Faster this time," I told her.

She did it again, then again, then a few more times after that. Each time was faster. Every attempt was good, with her repeating her movements exactly how I'd shown her. And when we finally ran it all together smoothly, she managed to drop Zasen on his back, breaking his hold.

"I did it!" she squealed before turning to give Zasen a hand up.

He let her, but when she pulled him to his feet, the pair ended up chest to chest. Their eyes met, and for a moment, both of them paused. The very tip of Zasen's tail twitched, then his lip curled. When Ayla's teeth clamped down on her lower lip, I nearly groaned.

Fuck. Why had I asked him to help her? The man had kissed her after the last battle. I was pretty sure they hadn't talked about it since, but clearly the girl remembered. Granted, Ayla remembered everything.

"Sorry," she breathed, ducking her head and moving back.

"You're doing great," Zasen assured her, his voice just a little deeper than normal.

And now my own tail was lashing. Damn it!

"So!" Rymar said from his seat at our backyard table. "Speaking of fighting Moles, Ayla. I have a question about Meri."

"She didn't have the chance to tell me yet," Ayla shot back quickly.

Rymar just lifted a hand, begging her to wait. "My question was if you wanted me to show you how to find your way there on your own, or if you'd rather one of us always goes with you."

"Oh." A dozen expressions flickered across Ayla's face. Most of them looked excited or hopeful. "Is it a problem if I go alone?"

"Nope," Rymar promised. "I have to take her paperwork to City Hall, so I'm already heading that way today. Jeera doesn't live that far away."

I nearly scoffed, because City Hall was approximately halfway between us and Zasen's sister. Rymar was bending over backwards to make this sound completely casual, but I understood why.

He wasn't trying to show off the way Zasen often did. Instead, he was doing his best to keep Ayla from feeling like she was imposing - and encouraging her to have a little independence in the process. While our little Phoenix had come a long way, she now only checked to see if it was a problem instead of simply refusing so as to be polite. My tail lashed again just thinking about why.

But Rymar kept going. "I bet we could also arrange some girl time with you and your sister."

"Saveah?" Ayla asked.

Rymar nodded. "Taris is nearly four months old now - "

"Not quite," I corrected. "Three and a half."

"I said close," Rymar said, flashing me a little smirk. "But Meri's pregnant,and Saveah has been learning a little English. Having someone to talk to about the baby might be nice, right?"

But instead of agreeing, Ayla made a face. "I'm not sure what Meri would think about the women in quarantine."