Page 168 of Phoenix's Fire

I grinned at her. "Trust me. It's very important. At least that's what we'll say if anyone asks."

Saveah laughed before crouching down. "Holly, come?" Then she looked up at me. "The most important part, right? We both deserve to have a little fun."

Fifty-Two

Meri

Ayla had a dog. Tobias was a hunter now, and his mother was related to the giant red-and-black man who'd scared me so much when I'd gotten here. Callah was okay, dozens of Dragons had been hurt in the fight, and I no longer knew what to believe.

The Righteous were supposed to be working for a holy and just world. We'd all suffered in the compound to make that possible. The sins of our ancestors had doomed us to suffer, and only God's unconditional love would save us - if we proved ourselves worthy. That was what I'd been taught, and yet everything above ground said otherwise!

Even worse, in the days after the battle, Jeera and Brielle had been spending their time at their version of an infirmary. They called it a hospital. Both did their best to make sure someone was home with me, but I could tell there was a lot going on that they didn't want to talk about.

No one wanted to talk about it, not even Ayla. Everyone kept telling me it was okay, not to worry, and that I was safe. I believed them, but this was a lot, so when Omden, the green man who lived beside Lessa, came over to get some bandages, I asked if it would be okay to visit Lessa for a while.

I needed someone to talk to, but I didn't tell them that. Instead, I said I wanted to do more sewing. Jeera almost breathed a sigh of relief before loading me up with Omden's bandages and asking the green man to show me the way. The walk there was a little awkward, since I didn't really know this man, but when we turned into the yard, Lessa came out of the house beside hers.

"Hey, I'm over here!" she called, waving at us.

"What did he do?" Omden asked, sounding both annoyed and worried.

They were all speaking Vestrian and I was actually keeping up! Yes, their accents were thick, but I could finally make out what people were saying in theirown language. A little smile began to take over my face, but the way Omden ran to her made it vanish. The man hurried like there was something wrong.

"He's fine!" Lessa hurried to say. "Just pulled a stitch."

"Who has a stitch?" I asked in Vestrian.

"Drozel," Lessa said, making her way over to wrap an arm around me and help me waddle up the stairs. "He got shot in the tail."

"When?!" I gasped.

Lessa waved that off. "In the battle. He's also a horrible patient, and he has a history with Moles messing up his tail." But then she stopped hard. "Meri?"

"Hm?"

"This is Vestrian."

I nodded. "I've been practicing with Jeera and Brielle." Because I'd finished the book Ayla had given me, so I had nothing else to do. "It's hard, and I'm sure I'm wrong, but I understand now."

"Understand what?" a man asked as I made it inside.

"Vestrian," I explained - and then paused.

Just inside the door, there was a large man lying sprawled across the sofa with his tail resting on the floor. He hadn't invited me in. Lessa had. I wasn't sure if this was rude, if I should be here, or what was expected.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here," I mumbled, turning back for the door.

"He's fine," Lessa assured me as she followed me inside.

"I didn't mean to intrude," I explained. "I was going to your house, hoping we could sew again, and then you were here, and I didn't think. I'm sorry."

The man lying on the couch waved that away like it was foolish. "Come in. Intrude. Maybe you can convince them that a hole in my tail isn't going to kill me." Then he grinned at me. "Your accent is worse than Ayla's."

"Ayla speaks better Vestrian, sir."

"Ayla speaks more," he corrected. "And it's not 'sir,' but Drozel. Now sit down, little sparrow. You look like you're about ready to flit out of here, and much too pregnant to be standing while they do this."

"This?" I asked.

---