"And then?" I asked.
"You know what to do," he assured me. "You always do, Ayla. That's how we've made it this far."
"But this is different," I said softly, not wanting this crowd to hear my fear.
He bent his head so his brow pressed against mine. "Ayla, the prettiest things have thorns. That's why we didn't initially trust you. It's a truth Dragons have always known, but Moles need to learn. Poisonous things have bright colors. Roses have thorns. Pretty things have a way to protect themselves. So do you. It's time to use it."
"I just want Mama," Tamin mumbled against my stomach.
"Me too," I said. "Me too, Tamin, but that isn't going to be easy."
"Yet the hardest things are the ones worth doing," Rymar reminded me. "You save them, we'll save you, and together, we'll find a way to finally save Lorsa for good."
Epilogue
Saveah
For two nights, I stumbled along in the dark, chained to fifteen other women. Sixteen of us, they'd captured. Sixteen of us were being shoved forward, heading to something most of these women couldn't imagine.
But Ayla had told me enough. When we were plunged into darkness, I didn't scream or thrash like the others. I simply walked forward, trusting my captors would keep me from walking into any walls or falling into any holes.
I couldn't even imagine what this place would look like. I did see a few dim lights, but even that word felt like it offered more power than these lights did. They were more like stars in the sky, a faint glimmer that offered no illumination at all.
It was the sounds I tried to memorize. Footsteps on stone meant the floor wasn't dirt. An echo off to the side proved there were hallways here. The oppressive silence of our captors made me think this was all supposed to be a secret, but that made sense. Ayla hadn't known about the women in quarantine until I'd recognized her signet.
Finally, I was unhooked from the woman before me and pushed. With no way to get any bearings, I stumbled, slamming my shoulder into something solid. Not a wall, but a table ordesk? Just as I realized that, a door slammed right beside me, and something unnatural buzzed, then clanked.
Then nothing.
I didn't know how long I waited. I could hear other doors closing. A few times, I heard women scream and try to resist, but we were blind down here. Helpless. These assholes probably loved that.
After what felt like an eternity, light appeared. First one, then another. Like a chain reaction, they bloomed into existence, proving that outside my door was a hallway. Inside of it was a room.
A small one.
My bedroom was bigger than this, but it offered everything a person could need. There was a chair in the corner, a bed along the side, and that was clearly meant to be a desk. At the foot of the bed was something that resembled a toilet, but shaped just a bit differently. I still recognized the purpose.
Then a male voice called out, "Listen up!"
Something clanked against my door, making me flinch. A moment later, it hit the next, then the one after. Belatedly, I realized the man was banging on each door to make us pay attention.
"You have all been chosen by God," he called out in English. "You will be civilized. I don't care if it takes years. Over time, you will learn the Lord's words. You will eventually speak them, read them, and teach them to your children."
And a woman called out, "What is he saying?"
"Silence!" the man roared.
But if she didn't speak English, she wouldn't understand that either, so I said, "It's English. I'll tell you when he's done! He wants us to be quiet."
The other women calmed down, so the man kept going. "You will all have one month. Thirty days! After that, you willhave flowered or not. If you are carrying a demon child, wewilldestroy it. If you are open, then you will be wed to a true and Righteous man. Then you will provide him with children, making your sad and heathenistic lives finally have a purpose. God will forgive your sins, but only if you repent them, and this? You have all been given a chance."
"What's he saying?" someone else begged.
"Wait!" I snapped. "He's laying out the rules."
"You speak English?" another woman asked.
"The Phoenix is my sister. She taught me their words, and - "
