Page 252 of Phoenix's Fire

"About?" she asked.

"Helping him. Unless you're busy, that is."

"What am I doing?" Meri asked. "Jeera will be fighting, and Brielle will be at the hospital."

"Mhm," Zasen said.

"Maybe you can help the healers?" I suggested. "I don't know if you still like that, though."

"She wrapped my tail nicely," Drozel said, clearly listening in.

"No," Brielle said. "The last thing Meri needs is to get exposed to something at this point." And she lifted a brow pointedly.

"Venom?" I guessed.

Brielle just nodded. "That's what I'm worried about. She's not immune, and if someone's injured and only partially conscious?"

"I don't want to be in the way," Meri mumbled.

Which made Lessa wrap an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. We'll finish sewing. Maybe even cook something for Drozel and Omden, because they'll be starving when they're done."

Which made Meri nod, but it looked almost dejected. "Okay. I just don't want to be a problem."

"I felt that way too," I assured her. "They tried so hard to protect me that they wouldn't let me do the things I knew, and then I felt like I was a burden. I had totellthem I was going to help."

Meri glanced over at me, and I swore she relaxed. "It's different up here."

"Very," I said. "Like none of the rules we were taught are true. I don't even know all of it, but I like that we get choices, you know?"

"Yeah," Meri breathed just as Jerlis began whistling, making everyone fall silent and turn to face the stage.

"Listen up!" he bellowed. "Now that we know when the Moles are coming, we know how to be ready!"

That made a few people cheer. Jerlis simply patted the air, waiting for them to quiet down again. Thankfully, it didn't take long.

"Our militia will be heading outside of town again," he announced. "Thanks to the Phoenix, we've learned ways to protect our volunteers, and we think we have the advantage. Our hope is we can turn them back in the forest. But to do that, it means our militia will leave earlier."

"We'll be gone most of the day!" Drozel yelled. "Takes time to walk out that far."

"So," Jerlis continued, "because of this, we have cancelled school for the day of and the day after the battle. All businesses should be closed. However, to accommodate the volunteers who are risking their lives, we will have some communaloperations. This includes a daycare at the library, an open kitchen in City Hall for anyone who needs a meal, and the first responders will be accepting volunteers for this time."

"The hospital is still looking for overnight volunteers to help with organization!" someone called out from the other side of the crowd. "More doctors won't hurt either!"

"I have a list of available positions in City Hall," Jerlis told the crowd. "We're also taking suggestions for ways to make this time easier on the citizens of Lorsa. And just like last time, we will be ringing the city bells when our militia returns. There's a good chance it will be overnight, possibly after midnight, so if you hear the alarm, know it's not an attack."

"What if itisan attack?" someone called out.

Which was when Rymar stepped forward. "Then the churches will ring their bells as well, and the ringing will not stop. For the announcement of the militia's return, we will ring the bells ten times. Just ten. If it's more than that, then take the normal precautions, but we do not expect the Moles to make it around our fighters! We now know how to turn them back. We're able to decimate them! This time, they will learn Dragons are not people to mess with!"

And that made the crowd cheer with enthusiasm. Jerlis just shook his head before reaching over to pat Rymar's shoulder. From where I stood, it looked like a sign of approval, but I knew there was a little competition between these two. Rymar was supposed to be the second-in-charge, and yet it seemed people preferred him to the man who was the city's mayor.

I knew I did. Rymar was a good man. So were Zasen and Kanik, but each one was so different from the others. The same could be said for Drozel and Omden, though. Most of the Dragons, if I was honest.

So as Jerlis and Rymar continued to explain the schedule for the security lockdown, I turned to scan the crowd around me. The people around us came in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Some yelled and others bent their heads to talk to their companions. For me, this was starting to feel normal, but I could still remember the forced silence that was expected at meetings in the compound.

Here, we fought for what we wanted. We yelled about it, refused to back down, and worried less about what was expected of us. What mattered more was honesty. Once, I'd told Jerlis that to me, this was what Heaven looked like, and while I might be getting used to it, that feeling hadn't changed.

This place was worth fighting for. It was worth risking everything for, but not even all these cheers could make me forget I was supposed to find Tobias out there. He should have information we needed, and up in my room, I had a very thick package to send back with him. One that could change everything.

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