"I kiss women," I said, deciding I was going to be proud of that. "I was married to a man, and I think some men are handsome, but I have kissed a woman too. No one cares. Not the people here, or Ayla, or anyone else above ground."
Sylis let his eyes slip closed, leaned forward, and then he did the last thing I'd expected. The man hiccupped out a sob, shoving both hands over his face as he hugged his knees. He tried to stop. He did his best to pull in a breath and hold it, but he simply couldn't. The next sob demanded to be let out, and then more followed.
"It's okay," I said, climbing over the edge of the tub to kneel before him. "Sylis, it's all going to be okay now." And I pulled him close, hugging him as hard as I could.
"We're going to make sure you're okay," Lessa whispered as she shifted to sit on the edge and rub his shoulder. "No more hiding. No more lying. No more being wrong."
He nodded, showing he'd heard, but he couldn't quite stop the sobs. Instead, he clung to me. His fingers were weak. I knew he had to be cold, and my dress was quickly getting wet, but none of that mattered because this man needed me.
I knew that fear. I understood the confusion. I'd been there, and Ayla had done this for me. She'd been my rock, and I'd thought she was so strong at the time. I'd been convinced I would never be able to be like her, and yet here I was.
So I told him, "It's confusing at first, but I'm going to help you, okay?"
He nodded, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and looked up at me with perfectly blue eyes. "Okay, but why?"
"Because we're going to be friends," I said. "And we're going to trade. You'll tell me everything you know about Callah. See, the way people up here define it, she's my sister - and that means something. Not just a bloodline to worry about when you get married. Here, it means family. Someone you would fight for, die for, and even live for."
"Live," he repeated, huffing out a weak laugh. "You make that sound hard."
"Isn't it?" I asked. "I think we both know giving up and accepting death is sometimes a lot easier than deciding to actually live."
Behind him, Lessa had gone still. I noticed, but my eyes were on Sylis. Slowly, he began to rock his head in agreement. "Yeah. I thought I'd figured out how to do something right. I was going to save Tobias. He's the only friend I've ever had, and he's going to change things. I'm just in the way."
"Not anymore," Lessa said softly. "As of today, Sylis, you're going to become someone. I don't know who, but you'll figure it out." Then she grabbed her washcloth again. "And we'll help you every step of the way, okay?"
"As long as I help you first?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. That's what those men will say, but they don't mean it. They brought youhere, to their home, because they're actually nice guys. They are helping because you need it. They'd like you to help because our friends..." And she tipped her head at me. "...need it."
"I just want to make the elders stop," Sylis said. "I want them to suffer like everyone else, and we can't do that on our own. We need you Dragons to help."
"Then it seems we're all on the same side," Lessa told him.
I chaffed his arm. "Up here, they call that friends."
Forty-Nine
Tobias
That poor woman had showed up at our suite, battered like she was, before I'd finished telling Callah everything. I hadn't begrudged her that, because I'd seen the wounds as easily as my wife had. However, when Callah said Zuriah would be sleeping on a mat in the nursery, I'd been more than willing to talk to Mr. Baird.
The man had answered the door in a rage. When I'd told him his wife was in poor shape, so she would be monitored by mine, he'd shoved into my face.Mine!The top of his head didn't even reach my chin, which had made it easy to shove him back.
And that was when the perfect line had fallen from my mouth. "We don't have enough women for you to kill one with a childish tantrum!" I'd snapped loudly enough everyone in the hall must've heard. "So either you control your tantrums for the good of the community, or you allow your bloodline to die out!"
"How dare you!" Mr. Baird had shot back.
But I'd simply leaned in a little more. "God has put us to the test, and so far, we're failing. Our numbers are the lowest they've ever been. Our women have fewer children before succumbing to their frailty. Their daughters are getting married younger, and when they run out? What then? I havenointerest in goingwithout because you can't understand the difference between punishment and damage!"
"Oh." He'd stepped back, but I was pretty sure that had more to do with my size than my words.
So I was going to take the advantage while I had it. "Mrs. Baird will stay in my suite tonight while my wife stabilizes her. What a shameful day when the skill the Lord gave her has to be used for women instead of the good hunters who made it back."
"I was distraught, Mr. Warren," he mumbled. "It won't happen again."
"Good."
I'd left then, hoping I hadn't made things worse for the poor girl he'd married, but little did I know I'd made my point well enough. The next day, Callah had come bouncing into our suite with our weekly allotment of food, chattering about how the wives had heard about it.
