Page 217 of Phoenix's Fire

"Everyone will be using them," he countered. "Even if I don't, others will, and the Dragons don't know about them. They were in crates at the back of the weapons storage. Mr. Worthington said we have to try something new because we've lost too many men."

"What if Ayla dies?" I asked.

"I don't know," he breathed. "That's what I'm scared of, Callah. If Ayla or the Wyvern die, then what? Are we stuck down here forever?"

"No, the surface is safe," I reminded him. "We can still get out and live on our own. You can protect us from the things up there, and I can keep us fed."

His mouth curled slightly. "Almost like a husband and a wife, huh?"

"What? No! Like friends," I insisted.

"As friends," he corrected, "butlikea husband and wife. I will protect and provide. You will care and nurture. And maybe I can teach you how to protect and provide, and you can teach me how to care and nurture?"

"You're already good at the caring part," I assured him.

Gently, he shifted his massive hand to rest atop mine. "But Callah, there's a problem with your plan."

"What's that?"

"If you don't stab me with that pocket knife, we will be wed. You've agreed. I've announced it. We're now intended, and they'll be giving me a suite soon to prepare for you."

"Oh."

I hadn't thought about that. Sure, Iknewit would happen, but it still felt like some horror that was far away. It wasn't. Every day, my fate grew closer, which meant I had to make a decision. Sadly, there wasn't a good answer.

If I stayed, I'd be his wife. If I tried to get banished, there was a good chance it wouldn't work. If I stayed, I could help those women become safer in their own marriages. I could show them all how we could protect and care for each other. But if I was banished, I knew Ayla was up there, waiting for me. She'd help me find a better life.

"I don't know what to do," I admitted.

"So marry me?" he suggested. "Be my wife, Callah. I can brag about how my woman keeps so many hunters fighting back against the Devil. We'll share a suite where we can talk as long as we want with no one to chide us for doing anything improper."

"But I'm not ready!" I insisted.

"For what?" he asked.

"Forthat."

He scoffed. "Who said we'll do that?"

"But men like the act."

Tobias simply shrugged. "I like my friend more. I happen to like you enough that I don't want to hurt you. Besides, I'm a big, dumb man. I'm sure I'm not going to figure it all out quickly." Then he grinned. "But we can let them think we're a doting couple, right? Maybe hold hands and smile at each other too much as if we actually enjoy each other's company?"

"Because we do?" I asked.

"I do," he admitted. "You actually talk to me, Callah. You don't try to tell me how you're better than me, and you aren't always trying to make me prove something, calling me an idiot, or laughing at me for a mistake."

"But a husband punishes his wife," I reminded him. "And you are a large man."

"Hey." He turned to face me. "I willneverhit you. Not with a hand, a foot, or arod. In exchange, you will never serve me food that will make me ill. I mean, you'll have to do my laundry or there will be questions, but I don't mind cleaning my own mess, and I like books. I'll let you read them too, okay?"

"Really?" I asked, sitting up a bit.

So he offered me his hand. "Will you be my lawfully-wedded friend, Callah? Shake on it like a man?"

I pressed my palm against his and shook with gusto. "I will." But as I released his hand, the tension began to ease. "I can do this."

"Youaredoing this," he corrected. "We just have to figure out a way to let Ayla know what's going on down here, so she can make sure they know up there."

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