Page 65 of Phoenix's Fire

Lessa groaned and rolled her eyes. "Pictures, Zasen. I can follow those."

So he switched to English. "And you still understand the words."

"Fuck off!" Lessa, grumbled in Vestrian. "So what?"

"So help the Mole," Zasen taunted, returning to Vestrian. "Trust me, that will really piss off the hunters."

"Yeah, I know."

I nodded vigorously, liking this idea. "Meri's husband is a hunter. He'd hate to know a Dragon was telling his wife about his lies."

"Be a little evil," Zasen said softly. "It'll be fun, Less."

"Fine!" she declared, tossing her hands up. "I'm in."

And Zasen's lips curled into a grin.

Twenty

Callah

Islipped into my room after dinner to pour myself a glass of water from the pitcher I kept in there. Guzzling back the first glass helped with the hollow feeling in my stomach, but it didn't quiet it. The second made me feel a bit sloshy in the middle, but my stomach finally decided its protests weren't going to make my meals any bigger.

Then I turned to my dresser, intending to pull out a worn smock so I could sneak in a few hours in the library. My hands had just closed on the fabric when someone rapped at my door. Confused, I hurried to close the drawer, then headed over to answer it.

"Yes?" I asked politely as I opened my door. On the other side was Ms. Lawton, but Tobias stood awkwardly behind her. My eyes jumped between them.

"Callah," Ms. Lawton said as she stepped back and gestured to the young man. "Tobias Warren is here to walk with you. He has been added to your list of suitors."

"I see," I replied carefully. "When should I return, Ms. Lawton? I've never walked with a man before." My eyes unconsciously jumped over to Tobias, then dropped to the ground.

Ms. Lawton chuckled, clearly having seen my glance. "You don't have any duties tonight, Callah, so two hours is fine. Mr. Warren, stay in the common halls or the dining area. The wives will make sure you don't try to steal her away." But she looked at me pointedly, the warning clear.

"Yes, Ms. Lawton," I replied quickly. "Maybe Mr. Warren would enjoy a cup of tea with me?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "That sounds good. We can do that."

But the smile Ms. Lawton gave me made it clear I'd handled that nicely. "Are you prepared, Callah?"

"Yes, ma'am," I assured her.

So she stepped back, leaving me a way out. I exited my room, closing the door gently behind me. Tobias turned to move beside me, but then he did the last thing I would've expected. He offered me his arm - and his cheeks were quickly turning scarlet.

"Miss Atwood," he offered.

"Thank you, Mr. Warren," I said, slipping my hand around his elbow. "How gentlemanly."

If anything, his face got even redder. It was now spreading to his ears, but together we headed towards the dining hall. Thankfully, Ms. Lawton turned to go the other way, finally giving us privacy.

"I've never walked with a girl before," Tobias mumbled. "I'm probably making a mess of this."

"You're actually being very charming," I assured him.

"I didn't want to sit in the dining hall, though," he whispered. "I wanted to talk."

"And I am a virtuous lady," I reminded him. "Being alone with you, sneaking around the shadows of the compound? That would raise too many questions."

"Right." He nodded quickly as if he hadn't thought about that. "But we can't really talk with anyone around."