"My husband," I said, moving to one of the folding tables and hopping up so I could sit on it, "believes my healing is a gift from God." Then I shifted onto my knees and carefully stood so they couldallsee me. "And if God gives a gift to a woman, then itis meant to be used. For a man to say otherwise is to deny the power of our Lord.Thatis why we've been reminding the men of the verses in our Bible. That is why we must push back, because the Devil will try to corrupt them as much as us, but only God's words can correct them."
"It's not fair!" someone yelled.
"No, it's not," I agreed, feeling my own rage taking over. "But what other options do we have? We cannot beat them with a rod. They're stronger than us! It would be pointless to even try. We do not want to be cruel, so we can't leave them to suffer, butwearewomen! Not beasts. Not lesser. We are God's creatures, and we deserve more than they are giving us! No more women should die at the hands of a man for his own mistakes!"
And a cheer rose up. Women were nodding. Plenty looked angry. Beside me, but still on the ground, Mrs. Worthington clasped my leg so I'd look at her. "Callah, was that a drill this morning?"
"No," I said, realizing this might get Tobias in trouble, but these women deserved to know, and I was done with keeping the men's secrets for them. "Tobias was the first one outside to secure our compound. Him and his team. What they found?" I turned, making sure everyone was listening. "It was meat. A pile of it. More food than our hunters can bring back on their own, gifted to us. He said he does not know if it was from the Dragons we call our enemies, or delivered to us by God, but it was there."
"No more rations?" someone asked.
"I do not know," I said, "because I'm not supposed to tell you this. He was not supposed to tell me, so if the men hear that he did, I will be the one punished for this. But nowweknow. Nowwecan make ourowndecisions. Nowwewill know if the elders 'forget' to mention it. Nowwewill know enough to be treated fairly!" And I slashed my hand down. "The compound has food. We have the ability to heal each other. We know more than ourhusbands give us credit for. Why should we suffer constantly simply because we're women?Weare the ones who create the Righteous in the first place? Every person here was born because of a woman's suffering, not a man's! It's time to remind them of that."
And all around me, the packed room of women roared. This wasn't approval. It was something more. Something angry that needed a direction.
Something that had been waiting far too long to finally be released.
Sixty-One
Sylis
For the first three days I lived with the Dragons, they asked nothing of me. I was told to rest - sleep if I could - and recover from my ordeal. Oddly, that didn't mean I was locked away. When I'd stayed in my new room too long on the first day back, the smaller green Dragon had come to check on me.
Omden was hard to look at. The man's skin was so vividly green, my eyes kept wanting to see rainbows shimmering on his skin. Instead, the color was just plain green, except for his eerie red eyes and the lines that trailed from them to his hairline.
Then there was Drozel. He was massive - easily as tall as Tobias, if not more. His skin was mostly tan with black markings, but there were green sections on his sides. Both men had sandy-colored chests and bellies, and I was sure of that because they rarely wore a shirt inside.
Not that the Dragon woman, Lessa, was any better. Her clothing was such a mixture of vivid colors and confusing pieces I didn't know what to make of her. Half the time, her arms were covered but her cleavage and belly were exposed. If she covered those, then her legs were hanging out well above her knees! And yet, everyone here accepted it.
Meri dressed better, but even her clothing was shocking to me. She often wore loose pants and tight-fitting shirts. All of her outfits were either in garish colors or bold patterns. And yet, seeing her like this? It felt right for her. Overwhelming, sure, but right.
The best part was the laughter. I'd never heard people so willing to laugh about things as these "evil" Dragons. But they did! They made jokes that didn't seem proper. Granted, I could only guess that from the expressions on Meri's face. They also enjoyed the smallest things - especially their food.
Because of my wound, the black-scaled man they called a doctor had said I had to be on a restricted diet. I'd expected that to mean small portions and fewer meals, but I was wrong. It meant more! Breakfast was a concoction made from milk called yogurt. It was flavored with syrup from a tree and a spice called vanilla. Drozel apologized for the bland food, but it was amazing!
Then there were the soups. I was given two of those during the day, and each was from a different meat and filled with so many vegetables, I hadn't finished a bowl yet. Dinner was closer to what I'd had in the compound. Meat, fungus, plants, and tubers were all mixed together into something called stew, but they added more as well. Spices. Butter. Small rolls of bread.
Then, yesterday, Meri had informed me it was time to start learning Vestrian. She'd handed me a book with a cover I could read. It said "English to Westrian Translation" on it, and that was how I got my very first lesson. Evidently, a man named Kanik should be teaching me, but I was sure Meri was doing an amazing job.
Even better, the Dragons continued to speak my language around me. Occasionally, they slipped and used their own, but those were for conversations I wasn't a part of. Considering I was supposed to be a prisoner here, proving myself so I could bereleased, I was starting to wonder if I wanted out, because this was amazing!
Never mind the question of where I'd go.
And every day, my wound healed. No redness showed up. I never got a fever. On the fifth morning I was in this new place, I woke up and stretched without thinking, surprised to feel only a minor pinch in my waist. Thrilled, I sat up - and could do it. Yes, there was still discomfort, but I was healing!
I climbed out of the wonderfully soft bed, found some clothes, and crossed the hall to use the facilities. This house had two, I'd been told, and this one was for Meri and me. The men had another in their room, and when Lessa visited, she used theirs as well.
Finding the door open, I not only did my business, but cleaned myself better than I had in a while. I had to use the sink and a cloth, and the hair on my chin was now long enough to be visible, but I was sure I wouldn't be allowed a razor to fix that. I did borrow Meri's brush to finally put my hair back in place.
When I left the bathroom, I felt good. Human, even. Less than a week ago, I'd been sure I was about to die. Now, I was dressed in crisp cloth, presentable, and a "captive" in a house where I was more free than I'd ever been before. Maybe I could do something nice to show my appreciation?
I was thinking about that as I turned into the kitchen - and stopped hard. Drozel's back was to me. His arm was pressed against the wall, and a green tail was twined around his leg. That was what I noticed first, but a split-second later, I realized the tail belonged to Omden, and it wasn't the only thing wrapped around Drozel. Omden's hands held the man in a way that should not be done!
And their mouths were connected, moving, and passionate.
I turned so fast my shoulder clipped the rack by the door. A plate clattered. Something else fell, and one of those men sucked in a breath, but I was ducking out the door just as fast as I could.
"Sylis!" Drozel snarled.
