Page 21 of Phoenix's Fire

"Our girl," Rymar said. "Zasen, she's not a pet."

"No, she's not," I agreed. "She still needs us to be good men."

"Friends," Kanik countered. "Zasen, she's made it clear she isn't looking for a partner."

"No," I said. "Ayla needs us to be goodmen, because she is the one who will teach Meri that not all men are evil. We can't ignore that part. We need to step carefully with her, but we are men. She is a woman. Ignoring it won't help her."

"And if you try to seduce her..." Rymar warned.

"Not what I'm talking about," I assured him. "I'm saying I'm going to push her.I'm going to keep pushing her until Ayla is scared of nothing, because I'm convinced that woman is already tough enough to handle anything that comes her way. She just hasn't realized we have her back. That no matter what, we will respect her boundaries. More than all of that, I'll push her until she starts setting a few, because that's the only way it will happen." I looked at them. "And you two should do the same."

"Because what Ayla knows, she'll teach Meri," Kanik said, nodding to show he was following along.

"And then they'll teach the next," I said, "because Callah is still down there."

"And Ayla will want to get her out," Rymar agreed.

Seven

Rymar

As the evening went on, Zasen hovered - even though he tried not to. Kanik was doing his best to make sure Meri had space, but he couldn't be too obvious, because once the women were done eating, they rejoined us in the living room. There, Jeera made plans for Meri's new life, asking the girl her opinion, but Meri simply looked at Ayla.

And Ayla stepped up.

The timid thing we'd dragged back to Lorsa had changed so much, but having a friend in need did that to a person. Even if she was unsure of her decisions, Ayla was willing to make them in order to help her friend. It was her way of showing bravery and taking charge. What impressed me the most was how good she was at it.

Ayla was a warrior. This Meri girl? She was the sort of woman who needed to be protected. Even when Ayla hadn't been able to understand our words, she'd still glared daggers at us. She'd run. She'd pushed. Hell, when she'd slapped Zasen, the sound of that crack had carried through the house!

Meri was different. Sure, both women had been trained to be terrified, and even Ayla had pulled into herself back then. Meri wouldn't meet my eyes, though. She had no defiance at all. Worse, every single time she was confused, she looked to Ayla, not even voicing an opinion.

The English they were speaking made it hard to follow the conversation, but I didn't need that. I tended to do better with reading body language anyway. Right now, Meri needed us men to be very slow, predictable, and non-threatening. Jeera and Ayla seemed to be taking charge, and I caught words for things like "dress" and "bed."

Soon enough, Jeera stood, offering a hand to Meri. One more time, the girllooked to Ayla, but a nod was the last thing she needed. Taking Meri's hand, Zasen's sister led our newest refugee out of the house, with Naomi following. Words were exchanged in English, but the best I could do was wave.

And I caught when the girl's eyes dropped to my arm. The fear in her gaze was brutal, yet I still pushed a kind smile to my lips. Needless to say, as soon as the door closed, I turned to Ayla, using the one and only language I knew: Vestrian.

"Please tell me I didn't do anything wrong?" I begged.

Ayla let out a little giggle, then dropped onto the corner of the couch. "No. You were kind, Rymar."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I took one of the empty chairs. "Good. She just looked at me like I was about to jump her. She didn't even look at Zasen like that!"

"It's because you're vivid," Ayla explained. "See, in the compound, the lights are weak and the colors are faded. I didn't know any different until I got up here, and the first bright colors I saw were you Dragons. Zasen's eyes were so orange that I was sure he was the Devil himself. But you? Rymar, you're bold!"

"Gets me all the attention," I mumbled jokingly.

Ayla flicked her eyes up, nearly rolling them. It was the most snide she'd ever been, and I was actually a little proud of her. The smirk that came right after was even better.

"Brat," I taunted.

Which made her cheeks split into a grin. "I've been called worse."

Kanik just groaned and flopped onto the couch beside her. "I think you've corrupted her, Rymar."

"Then I'm being a good friend," I pointed out.

Which was when Zasen returned from the kitchen carrying a collection of drinks. "Tea?" he asked Ayla, passing her a glass of chilled tea. "Beer?" He held out a pair of bottles towards me and Kanik. Needless to say, we all took one, and then Zasen sank down into his favorite chair.

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