Page 242 of Phoenix's Fire

"I didn't think you normally told your girls when you're leaving," she countered. "What's changed?"

"The casualties." I tucked my arm closer to my waist so I could press my other hand over hers. "Callah, the Dragons are dangerous, and there's a chance I won't make it back."

"No," she hissed. "Don't even talk that way, Tobias. We're going to get married on the Day of the Seven Trumpets. You will bring me back flowers that I can hold for my bouquet, proving you are the most impressive man in the compound. Do you hear me? And while I'll forgive a lack of flowers, I will not forgive you if I don't have my intended!"

"I know," I promised. "But listen to me, okay? If I don't make it back, you'll have to marry someone. If that happens."

"Shh," she breathed, reaching over with her other arm so our hands layered up. Hers, mine, then her other one, and all pressing on my arm. It was enough to make me smile stupidly, struggling not to blush in front of her again.

"This way," she said, turning me onto the main hall. "So, other men are all taking the women they're courting to the wishing well?"

"It's not really a wishing well," I reminded her, "but that's what it sounds like. Callah, it's just a well to the pump equipment."

"It's a wishing well," she assured me. "As many girls as have thrown wishes down there? I think it's earned the title by now."

Then she turned again, angling me up a very long, dark hall. It curved quickly, disappearing out of view. Worse, there were no lights. Of all the improper things she could do, this hall definitely counted. There was no way either of us could explain being here without her virtue being compromised.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"We're going to be married," she said. "You are an overly enthusiastic man who wanted to try to steal a kiss. I told you no, but my virtue might still be compromised. If you don't return, hopefully that will give me three months to figure out how to get out of here." Then she let go of me and flopped against the wall. "And we should be far enough away that our whispers won't be overheard. So what do I really need to know?"

The light was dim this far back, but not gone completely. I turned to face her, careful to keep a respectful space between us - but not too much of one. In moments like this, she looks so impressively strong and defiant, but also so soft and fragile. I could never understand how some women could manage to be both at the same time, but I liked it.

"We can't practice with grenades underground," I said softly. "Instead, they give us rocks about the same size and have us throw them. Supposedly, they will explode five seconds after the pin is pulled."

"What pin?"

"There are dummy ones we were all shown how to use. They have a pin to keep the trigger from activating. Like a safety mechanism. We've been told how big the explosion will be, but no one alive has ever seen one used. The problem is, we don't really know how they'll work, or bounce, or if they'll truly take that long before they explode."

"Why can't you practice with a few?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be better to know?"

"Mr. Peterson said it could cause a wall to collapse," I explained. "And there's a lot of earth above us that would come crashing down. It would also be heard all across the compound. Instead, they trained us on operating in five-man units. My squad leader is a man named Sylis."

"Yeah," she muttered. "You've mentioned him. I vaguely remember him from sermon. He's not that much older than me, right? Like twenty-two or twenty-three?"

"Same guy," I agreed. "But as the squad lead, he'll be further back."

"Why's he the squad lead instead of you?" she asked.

I grunted, wishing she'd let me finish, but understanding her insistent questions too. "Sylis became a hunter before I did. Yes, I have more experience on the surface, but hunters are sure being a gatherer is so much easier, so it doesn't count. Sylis was on two hunts before I joined, and he pulled the carts his first time. I'm his second-in-command. That means if he falls in battle, I become the squad lead."

"Which looks good, right?" she asked.

"And makes it hard to slip away," I pointed out. "Also means I have four men watching me, and losing an entire squad while I return safely? Less believable than a partner."

"Ah, so - "

"Callah!" I snapped, cutting her off before she could ask yet another completely logical question. "Woman, listen to me for a second, okay? Sylis is going to be safer than me. There's a better chance he'll make it back, and he seems like one of the more decent men I've met."

She shook her head slightly, not following where I was going. "Okay?"

"And if I don't make it back, I want you to marry him. If you want to do this, then you marry him and do it. I'll make it clear to him that he has to propose."

"I don't think he's on my list," she said.

"He isn't twenty-five, so he isn't on any lists unless he asks to be."

She reached up to drag both hands down her face. "That's so unfair!"

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