"The wives can see the problems now."
"Because of you."
"No," I assured him. "I'm nudging them to think the same way, but they're seeing it on their own. Tobias, I don't think we're as alone as we always feared. I think everyone has been crushed by the elders until we don't even know how to organize and push back. We..." I grunted, trying to find the right words. "We're all so miserable, but we're led to believe we're the only one who feels that way."
"And so we try to fit in," he agreed. "But why not just move above ground? There'sfoodthere. We could survive. Why do they keep us here, suffering constantly? It's not like the elders have it that much better!"
"But they do," I reminded him. "They eat all they want. They have all the items they desire. They make the rules. They have thefinal say.Tobias, down here? They're gods."
"Oh."
And for a moment, we simply watched each other. This problem? It was so much bigger than I'd realized. What had started as Ayla not wanting to get married had become something so much worse. Each crack showed us more of the horrors that had been hidden behind a cheap facade of faith and respectability. Now, all of it had chipped away like the paint in the unused halls.
"So what are you going to do?" I finally asked.
"I don't have a choice," he admitted. "I have to go or they'll punish both of us. I'll be killed - or banished. I'm sure they'll find some way to make it sound Righteous. You? You'll be married to another man and beaten into submission."
"But you can just run away," I reminded him. "When you're out there, just go. Find Ayla. She'll help you!"
"I amnotleaving you here," he insisted. "Ayla's made it clear she will not help me unless I help you, and I promised her I would. I made it clear I don'twantto live up there without you. Callah, you're the whole reason I'm doing this! I could've just - " And he stopped hard.
"Died," I finished for him.
"It was always a possibility."
"No." I was not even going to let him consider that. "Tobias, I need you. We're in this together! That's what we decided, and if you can get out, then do. I'll mourn you like a proper widow, which will give me three months. Maybe I can even fake a pregnancy, then lose it? I don't know. But I'll have atleastthree months. That's enough time for you and Ayla to get back in, right?"
He didn't answer. Tobias simply stared at me as if he was trying to find the problem with that. I knew there wasn't one. This? It was our best chance. If Gideon wanted my husband dead, then the easiest thing would be if he died!
"Ayla can 'kill' you," I continued. "The Wyvern, if you want. I don't care, but if it's one of them, then I'll know you escaped. Let Gideon see it. Make sure he knows, and when I'm told, I will cry. I will do it because I'm going to miss you so much, but I won't give up. I'll wait, Tobias, and I will convince these women that we must fight back."
"But they'll put you on the tree and burn the evil from your soul!"
"And you will be there," I said. "You, and Ayla, and that Dragon she's tamed. All of you can be there to stop them. Let them singe my clothes, or my hair. I don't care, if it means I'll be free!"
"And if I die before I reach them?" he asked.
"Don't."
"It's not that easy."
"Thenmakeit that easy," I snapped. "This is our chance. It has to be."
"But how will you know I survived?" he asked. "Callah, the truth is Gideon will probably shoot me the moment we're outside."
"Tell Ayla to send me something yellow," I said. "She just has to make sure it doesn't kill the man first, and I have a feeling she can do that."
Eighty-Three
Tobias
Ispent a beautiful day with my wife. We made plans, discussed them, and then dreamed about a life above ground. The whole time, I ignored the feeling in the back of my mind. The one that said I would never see her again.
When my light came on the next morning - long before the rest of the compound would be up - I hoped to let Callah sleep through it, but I should've known better. The moment I rolled out of bed, she yawned, stretching her entire body. I found a clean and patched set of hunting clothes, and pulled those on. When I turned back to check on her again, she was watching me.
"When do you leave?" she asked.
"Now."
