She was getting married. For all I knew, it had already happened. Sheshouldhave a few more weeks, but they'dlowered the age, or so she'd said in her letter, and now I was worried it would be the last time I'd ever hear from her.
So, all day today, I'd tried to keep busy. The house had been dusted, the food for tomorrow was prepared and ready to cook. I'd made sure our house was not just presentable, but respectable even. But when we'd all gone to bed, I hadn't been able to find sleep.
Now I was lying here, replaying those moments, wondering ifthiswould be the time they came a day late. Across the foot of my bed, Holly lay quietly, but her eyes were open too, and watching me. In the darkness of my room, only the sliver of moonlight coming in through the window lit her up, but it was enough.
Was Tobias Callah's husband now? Was he a good one, or did he torture her like Gideon had with Meri? Or maybe the elders had found out she was getting messages from me? I would hope she'd be sacrificed to the Dragons for that, but it wasn't one of the commandments. For all I knew, they could've thrown her in quarantine!
A soft whine from my dog jerked me from the spiraling thoughts. "What, Holly?" I asked.
She crawled closer, putting her head where I could reach it, so I petted her. I wasn't sleeping, and the truth was I would do nothing but lie here all night at this rate. There was so much wrong, and I didn't have a way to deal with it, but tomorrow was supposed to be a good day.
So I gave up and tossed the covers off. Trading out my night dress for a shirt and soft pants, I didn't even worry about a bra, but I did slip on my sandals. I just wanted to check. I needed to be sure the night was still quiet, because if someonewasmoving out there, I could hide Tobias in here, get the code from him, and then have a way to save Callah.
Thatwould be something to celebrate!
"Holly, outside," I whispered, aware the rest of the house was asleep now.
She raced me to my bedroom door, and the moment I opened it, headed straight for the stairs. I followed at a slower pace, worrying more about not making so much noise, but my dog didn't care. Granted, she wasn't that loud either, but it sounded worse in the middle of the night than it did during the day.
At the back door, I stopped her again. "Holly, guard," I whispered.
She looked up at me, back to the door, and her tail stilled. When I opened the door, she didn't rush out. Instead, she sniffed before heading out, checking around us the same way Zasen did in the forest - but there was nothing.
"Okay," I told her, letting her know she could relax.
Immediately, she sniffed her way across the yard to do her "business." I looked toward the trees outside town, straining both my eyes and ears for any hint of people out there.
Maybe I'd counted the days wrong? If I was off by a few, that would explain this, right? Then again, the previous attacks would've been wrong, so that theory didn't work. In truth, I was simply trying to find some excuse that would mean Callah wasn't gone forever.
And my throat clenched hard. She could be. If the Moles didn't come back, Dragons would be safe, but my very first friend wouldn't be. She was alone down there, and probably desperate by now. Following the edge of the house, I moved toward the short wall, torn between relief because they'd no longer kill the people who'd saved me, and worried sick that Callah was the one who'd paid the price.
She'd convinced me to try. She'd stood by me every single time I did something foolish, but she should've gotten out earlier. Tobias should've made her! Or had my letter convinced her to stay? Had I done this by telling her about our mothers?She'd said she wanted to destroy them from the inside, but that was much easier said than done.
The back door creaked softly. I flinched, spinning around to see the dark hole where our door normally was, and then a large form filled it.
"Ayla?" Zasen's voice was soft but still carried.
Across the grass, Holly stopped, watching both of us.
"She had to potty," I lied.
He murmured, then came the rest of the way out. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd check."
"For Moles?" I asked.
He didn't answer, simply made his way closer. Then, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, he turned both of us toward the forest.
"Do you think your friend's okay?"
"No," I admitted. "I think she's married now. I hope Tobias is her husband, but he could be as bad as Gideon. They all are, Zasen."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Ayla, that other man looked at Tobias adoringly. Maybe Tobias looks back at him the same way?"
"Doesn't matter," I said. "If he's married to Callah, she'll still be the one to suffer. They don't do love, Zasen. They breed for children. Women serve the men, and the men kill us. That's all they have, and to them it seems like enough - and I don't know how to get her out unless they come back."
"Yeah," he breathed. "Me either."
"I know one of the codes," I told him. "It was to quarantine, but I remember the pattern of presses because I saw them so much. Do you think that would work?"
