Page 275 of Phoenix's Fire

That made me huff out a single chuckle. "Malcus would've shot me."

Sylis nodded at that. "I'm not Malcus."

This time, I was the one nodding. That seemed easier than actually saying anything. It also shut him up for a few steps, but only a few.

"Tobias," he said, keeping his voice low so our conversation was private, "I washopingyou had a plan. The way you begged to court her? And her, of all people?"

"Don't you dare talk poorly about Callah," I warned.

"She's the third," he pointed out. "There's a reason the council let you court her. It's because no one else wants the risk. But that you asked? C'mon, I can't be the only one wondering."

"Wondering what?" I asked.

"If you have a way out," he breathed.

I sighed. "If anyone knew, they'd kill me."

"Mhm," he agreed. "So you saved me. The dog hit you - because they all saw that. Then the grenade went off. They probably saw that too..." He glanced over. "And you shielded me."

I shrugged, feeling stupid about that. "I'm bigger."

He glanced at me, a little smile toying on his lips. "Yeah. You are." And again, he cleared his throat. "But what do we do now?"

"Well," I said, "I wait for you to betray me. I brace for something to go wrong, because the more people who know something, the faster it all unravels."

"Tell Callah to pick my wife from the women she trusts," he said. "Not the one she feels sorry for, but the one she trusts. Because if there are four of us?"

"Sylis, what are you doing?" I demanded. "Your mother wasn't stolen! You didn't grow up with whispered stories and too many questions. Why the fuck do you want out? You're a squad leader now - "

"About to be a team leader," he reminded me. "And you're going to be my assistant. My scout."

I stopped, turning to face him. "Why?"

"Because you saved me," he snapped. "You threw me down, then covered me with your own body, knowing you had something else to do. You took a risk for me, and no one in this compound does that. We do not cooperate, Tobias. We push each other down to gain the smallest benefits, hoping it will be enough to make everything worthwhile. Well, I don't care if my mother was a proper wife. Doesn't matter to me that my father spent his time with the generators. What I know is exactly what they said. The world isn't burning, beasts don't live in towns, and there's no reason for us to be locked down there when we could survive up here!"

So I grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. "Watch your mouth."

"No, I watch the people around us," he shot back. "I pay attention to who can hear and what they can see. Right now, I'm explaining to you that the Wyvern's appearance means we're winning, because you were confused as to why, if they eat us, he brought Elijah back."

"Because I'm an idiot," I realized.

"And I am not," he said. "I didn't realize that would serve me. Instead, I tried to be the smartest. I wanted to be the strongest, but I'm not a large man. I'm just very good at counting."

"Counting?" I asked.

He gestured toward where the wagons were barely visible ahead of us. "That's enough to feed us for the weddings. Barely. If we double the vegetables, we'll be fine, but December is coming."

I nodded. "I want to be out by then, but I'm not sure Callah agrees."

"What is she planning?" he asked.

I laughed once. "I will not risk her."

"Do you love her?"

I wanted to scrub at my face, pushing the thoughts into place. I couldn't, because there was no way I'd touch anything with my hands if I didn't have to. I could still smell the blood clinging to me. I didn't know if that was my clothing or my body, but thinking about it made my stomach roll again.

So did his question.

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