Page 67 of Phoenix's Fire

"Okay? Are we sure the Dragons aren't just replicating what works?"

"The hunters talk about the Phoenix," he said. "Jamison called her Ayla. That's too much of a coincidence for me to ignore."

"Maybe there's another Ayla up there?" I tried.

He shook his head. "No. Jamison said 'Ross,' too. He meant her, and he saw her when she shot him, so why would he lie?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "but I'm worried she's gone and this is a trap."

He nodded, then leaned in to take a scoop of the mash for himself. Swallowing quickly, Tobias said, "How did she know she'd get banished?"

"She didn't," I admitted. "She thought she'd die, but it's Ayla. She's..." The words trailed off as I thought back to the friend I'd grown up with.

"She's what?" he asked.

"She's not scared of anything," I said softly. "She never was. You know, she used to read these books that no one else knows about. It's why she was such a good healer. When she asked if I wanted to, I said no because I was too scared of getting caught, but Ayla? She took her beatings and always pushed through it. I think the punishment only made her more determined to break the rules."

"Or did those books tell her something?" he asked.

I shrugged, looking across the room again. "I don't know."

"But you've become a very good healer, and you did it quickly," he pointed out.

Again, I shrugged. "I'm trying to be a very pious woman, Tobias."

"Why?"

"No," I hissed. "You're trying to get me to admit to doing things wrong, but you? What do you get out of it? Why do you even want to walk with me if you're not looking for a wife? What areyoudoing?"

He dipped his spoon into the bowl again, but only took a small bit on the tip. Sucking that into his mouth, he turned to check the room the same way I had. Then he put the spoon on the table and sighed.

"I was with my mother for five years. My father let me visit her twice a year after that."

"Really?" I asked, because that wasn't common.

"I had tantrums," he admitted. "The kind that broke things. He decided it was easier to indulge me, and the boys' wing didn't want me until I was at least six."

"Okay?" I was sure he was going somewhere with this, but I didn't know where yet.

"But my mother told me about the surface. She begged me to get her out, but I couldn't. I felt like I'd failed, and when I asked my father to let her stay with us, he called me stupid. My mother told me that foolish boys are often ignored when they get in trouble, so to never be ashamed of being different."

"How old are you?" I asked, thinking of it suddenly.

He dropped his gaze and chuckled. "Twenty-five. I'll be twenty-six in December, so the elders keep telling me I should be married, or at least courting a girl."

"Ah." Okay, that made more sense. "So I'm your way of getting them to leave you alone?"

"Nope." He sucked at his teeth before continuing. "I had no intention of marrying. Still don't. I wantout, Callah. My mother said I could be happy up there. She said I will be free if I can get out, and I swore to her I would never stop trying. This? It's me keeping my promise, because I do not believe she went to Hell. I don't think it was the Devil that took her. I think it was my father."

My head snapped up. "Quarantine is for the possessed."

"Yeah, and the world is burning," he grumbled. "But my mother never seemed very possessed to me. She was strong, Callah. A fighter. That's where I got it, but without food?" His eyes dropped to the bowl between us. "Even the strongest fighters will grow weak."

"I'm sure that's the point," I mumbled softly.

"So I'll make you a trade," he said. "I'll get food for you, since they'll give me as much of that as I want. In exchange, maybe you'll tell me what I need to know to get us out?"

"Us?" I asked.