"I noticed. So you know, I was there when he brought you back."
"And..." He stopped, clenching his jaw hard enough to make a muscle on the side jump. "Well, I think he's stalking us. Heard he was at the last hunt."
"Mhm." I tried to keep my face calm, but I was watching this man, trying to figure out what he really thought about all of this. "How bad were your injuries? Or did the Wyvern carry you back to control you?"
"Got caught in a grenade blast," he said. "Numerous lacerations and a partial break in my lower leg. All healed now and cleared to go back."
"And you aren't scared of it happening again?" I asked.
"No, sir," he assured me. "I have a little revenge to hand out."
"Good. You just became my point man, Mr. Ross. I hope you survive the privilege." Then I turned and walked out, hoping he wouldn't ruin everything for me.
Because if Elijah thought Ayla and those Dragons deserved revenge for this, I was going to need a better plan. Running into the mess of them wouldn't work if these idiots followed. Sending them ahead wouldn't work to make myself stand out.
Somehow, I had to become the best hunter Gideon had ever seen. I needed to be good enough to impress everyone in the compound, and find a way to claim enough kills for me to brag about feeding the Righteous single-handedly. But more than all of that, I needed them to want to stay far, far away from me.
But this was a fine line I was walking. In order to protect the women, I had to remind everyone they should all be pregnant. In order to save my wife - and hopefully myself - I had to become dangerous. There was just one problem with all of this.
I wasn't a killer.
I couldn't do it! I'd tried. The first time had been when my first partner had been ready to kill Ayla. I'd done my best to shoot at him, but the dog had attacked him first. If it hadn't, would I still have missed? Probably.
The second had been when we'd attacked the wild men - no, Reapers. They were farmers, and I needed to remember that. A man had followed as I'd gotten close to the buildings. He was the reason I'd assisted with the captured women. I hadn'twantedto take them back. I would've released them if I could've, but with another hunter there, that was impossible.
My fear was that a few hunters had been told to keep an eye on me. I'd survived enough hunts now - and often unscathed - so suspicions had to be rising. I also knew Sylis and I hadn't hidden our friendship as well as we should've. He'd called it respect, saying I was his only reliable hunter, but he'd smiled at me like a friend - or whatever he'd thought of me as. Often, when others were around.
As I headed back to my suite, I wondered how he was doing now. Had they killed him after I'd left? I didn't think Ayla would let the Dragons do that, but I knew nothing about the Reapers. Those people hadn't liked me - for good reason! But would Sylis pay for that?
Or was he finally free? Could the large Dragon convince him it was okay for him to find a man who wanted to kiss him back? What else would he be able to do without elders restricting his every move? Once, he'd said he wanted to paint images like the ones we'd been shown in sermon. I didn't know if Dragons had that ability, but I hoped he'd get the chance to try.
Eventually, I made it back to my room and walked in without thinking. Callah was there, twisting her hair into a bun. I preferred it down. That was part of the reason I didn't mind her putting it up, though. No one else needed to see how beautiful she looked with those pink-gold waves falling around her face. Thinking about it made me smile just as she turned to check the door.
"What?" she asked, tying a cloth around the knot she'd made.
"Your hair is pretty," I said, crossing the room to be closer to her. "But I have bad news, Callah."
Her hands fell back to her sides. "What?"
"Gideon made me the new squad leader."
"But that's good news," she reminded me.
"And Elijah Ross is now on my squad."
"Oh." She pushed out a breath. "Does he hate the Dragons or something?"
"I honestly don't know," I admitted. "I would think he does. Why?"
She gave me one of those beautiful, sweet smiles she was so good at. "Because Ayla and the Wyvern saved his life, right?"
"The Wyvern did," I agreed. "Ayla only showed up to get him out, I think."
"And you said they're always together in those fights," Callah pointed out. "Tobias, don't you think that means she probably helped? The Wyvern listens to her! That's what you keep telling me, and her brother? How many hunters has that Dragon killed, but he savedherbrother?"
"Oh." Okay, I hadn't thought about it like that.
She nodded. "This is how women think, Tobias. One thing is always tied to another. Nothing happens without a cause and an effect. And each of those makes another cause and another effect. But the real question? What if Elijah realizes his sister saved his life?"
