Phoenix’s Fire (The Ruins Of Men #2)

Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

Tobias

I didn't get to see Callah every day. As a new hunter, I was expected to spend my time training, catching up on all the things I didn't know. Mr. Worthington had given me a list of things I had to know - and fast. It seemed I'd be sent out on the next excursion in eleven days.

But as we practiced disassembling our weapons and reassembling them in the muted light of the compound, the other men talked. One, Malcus, pointed out that he'd seen me talking to Callah. I nodded, not trying to hide it, so the man leaned in to give me a little advice about women.

It seemed spending too much time with them was discouraged. Women could get the wrong idea, thinking they had control over a man if we sought them out too much. I also shouldn't be too eager to entertain her. She should be the one entertaining me.

Then there was the most important thing he said I should know: Robey thought it would be funny to steal her away.

For some reason, that angered me more than all the rest. The thought of treating another person like some game to be played? Never mind the way these men talked about women! They acted like the only thing they were good for was fornication and cleaning. And yet, for my entire life, I'd somehow managed to keep my chambers clean just fine on my own. I didn't need Callah to do it for me.

So the next free day I had, I made my way to her door. Walking through the barren halls made my insides clench. My boots thudded on the hard floor like an announcement I was here. A few times, I saw doors crack and faces peeking through the gap.

The girls' wing might look the same as the boys', but the feel of it was different. There, it had been loud and rambunctious. Here, it was almost guarded and much too still. I'd memorized Callah's room when Ms. Lawton had taken me there the first time, and I was allowed to walk with her after dinner as much as I wanted. This was expected. Still, the moment I stopped before her room, my heart sped up even more.

I knocked.

It took a little too long, but when Callah opened the door, my lips curled into a smile. She'd put her hair up with a white ribbon. Curls fell from the knot down to her shoulders, and the pinkish-gold color of them made her almost-green eyes stand out even more. Her dress was a powder grey with white trim, and her slippers looked like they'd recently been cleaned.

"You look lovely," I said. "Um, I wondered if you were busy, or maybe you'd like to walk with me again?"

"Maybe a trip past the laundry?" she suggested. "And after that, we can share a tea in the dining hall?"

I gallantly held my arm out the way I had the last time. She'd liked that, right? I felt like an idiot when I did it - until she reached up to wrap her tiny little hand around my elbow. Her touch was so light and soft. As I turned, I realized her steps were small too, so I shortened my stride, deciding I wasn't in a hurry for this to end.

"I'm sorry I've been busy," I told her, aware anyone could be listening on the other side of these doors. "I have a lot to learn about hunting, it seems."

"I'm sure you will be a mighty hunter," she replied, just as expected. "I'm honestly surprised they put you with the gatherers. A man of your stature?"

I chuckled once at that, but when we reached the end of the hall and turned, I leaned in and lowered my voice. "I'm too dumb to hunt, remember?"

"And evidently a very attractive prospect," Callah replied with a devious smile. "A few of the girls in sermon let me know how lucky I am to have your attention."

My feet slowed. "Really?"

Callah pulled me forward. "Yes, Tobias. You are muscular, attractive, and not prone to anger."

"Well, getting angry only gets me in trouble, so I've learned not to," I explained.

She ducked her head and laughed once. "Tobias, I'm saying you're kind and gentle. Those are good things."

"Not for a man."

"But they are to a woman," she told me. "It means you're less likely to hit us."

Okay, I hadn't thought of it like that. The guys always said I was too dumb to get angry, but the truth was, it felt pointless. Why rant and scream about things when it wouldn't change it? I preferred to do something about it instead. That was the whole reason I'd even said anything to Callah.

For a bit, we walked in silence. She hung on my arm, looking up at me with those pretty eyes of hers. One of the wives passed us, going the other way, and smiled. More turned to watch as we made our way through the public hallway. All of it made me feel like a spectacle, but Callah just leaned in so she could clasp my arm with her other hand as well.

The truth was, I liked it. Okay, so I liked her, but I didn't really know her well. I just knew she'd been Ayla's roommate - and only because the other guys talked about it. Her pink-gold hair stood out among the Righteous, and quite a few of them liked it. Well, I did too, but mostly I liked that she wasn't vapid like the other girls were around me.

She didn't try to fake it like that. Every time I talked to Callah, I felt like she was daring me to dismiss her. Where other girls would change who they were to impress a man, Callah acted more like I should be impressing her. The strange thing was that I wanted to. Not just because she knew my secret, but because the more I got to know her, the more amazing I realized she was - because she let me actually see it.

But when we made another turn, Callah let out a heavy sigh and released me. "So, we've been seen," she said, gesturing to a dark hall at the side. "That means we can disappear for a few minutes without anyone noticing."

"That's the way to the well," I said.

"Mhm," she agreed. "It's lit, it's private but not too private, and we'll be able to hear anyone coming before they can overhear us."

So I turned that way, not surprised when she stayed at my side. It didn't take long before we were out of sight, but Callah kept me walking until we reached the railing that surrounded the opening to our water pump machinery.

"They say we're supposed to look into the darkness and make a wish," she said, leaning over the rail to stare down that very deep hole.

"What would you wish for?" I asked, moving beside her.

She didn't take her eyes off the abyss. "I wish that Ayla and Meri are not only alive, but thriving - wherever they are."

"I wish I knew how to talk to them," I breathed, examining the darkness myself.

"What?" she asked, glancing at me in confusion.

"Dragons and wild men speak gibberish," I explained. "Callah, I'm going on the next hunt, and I have no clue how to find her - or how to keep them from killing me before I do."

"You have her arrow," she pointed out. "I mean, I have the fletching, if that will help?"

"Might," I admitted. "I mean, I don't think the tip will. They might see it as a threat."

"Oh." She pressed her lips together, thinking hard. "Can't you just call her name?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Malcus is my partner, and he's decent enough, but he hates them. Says they look like demons, and he'll prove he's righteous by killing as many as he can."

She gave her head a little, confused shake. "Okay?"

"And he'll be beside me," I explained. "So if I'm screaming for Ayla, he'll shoot me. Probably fatally."

She turned to face me, and those green eyes of hers scanned my features. "How often does that happen?"

"Not too often," I admitted. "I mean, it sounds like the Dragons have been killing us first. But yeah, on the last trip, two men were shot for running in fear. They lived, but fleeing is very different from trying to talk to them."

"Yeah," she breathed, ducking her head. "Maybe try finding the Wyvern? They said she controls him, or was with him, or that he obeys her. I've heard so many variations now, but if you say you want to be the one to kill the Wyvern, then no one would think it's odd for you to run toward him, right?"

"Except it would mean running toward him," I pointed out. "Callah, he's killed so many of us."

She simply licked her lips, her eyes focused on nothing but her thoughts. "But Ayla talks to him, and Ayla talks to us. So maybe he'd understand? Or she'll be there?" Then she leaned her head back and groaned.

It was such a cute, delicate little sound, yet I could see the frustration taking over her body. All of this was impossible. Somehow, we had to find and meet Ayla, have a discussion with her, and manage to not get caught by our own people. Like that, it sounded so nice and simple, but in reality, this was impossible.

"What if..." Callah muttered, then stopped to think a little more. "So, what if you became a little arrogant?"

"I'm not."

"And you're not stupid either," she countered. "But you do play your part well. So what if you pretend to be arrogant? Say that since you're the biggest of the hunters, you'll show them you're the strongest? And to do that, you'll kill the Phoenix?" She grimaced. "Is that even a thing?"

"I could make it a thing," I decided, liking where she was going with this.

"And brag it up around them?" she suggested. "Convince them to let you know if anyone sees her so you can, um..."

When she stayed quiet too long, I offered, "Maybe make sure she can't corrupt my girl like she did Meri?"

Callah's body tensed, and slowly she looked up at me. "Your girl?"

"Well, I mean I'm officially courting you, so yeah. They all think you're going to be mine."

"I don't really know how it works for a man," she admitted.

"Mostly, we find a pretty girl, try to impress her, and if she seems interested, we make sure our friends keep anyone else from courting her. I don't exactly have friends, but I did make a scene so they'd let me court you."

"What kind of scene?" she asked.

I cleared my throat, fighting the urge to say it was nothing. No, she'd already made it clear she wouldn't risk this all unless I offered a few things up. But that? It was so embarrassing.

"I told them you're pretty and don't think I'm dumb," I mumbled.

"When?" she demanded.

"Um, at the last men's meeting. That's how I got them to put me on your list. I made it clear I'd prove myself."

"Why?" she asked next.

"Because you are pretty," I said. "And everyone calls me dumb, so if you didn't... And I thought you'd give me a chance after the arrow. But mostly I just wanted a way to talk to you."

"And to Ayla," she realized.

I sighed. "Yeah, which is why I need to talk to you. I mean, Ayla doesn't really know me. I know her, because I've held plenty of guys while she sewed them up, but we've never talked."

"But she knows you," Callah assured me. "She liked when you held them, because they didn't move and you didn't ask questions."

"Because she was one of our best healers," I hurried to explain.

"And you didn't fight her, put her back in her place, or any of the other things men do."

I tried to respond to that, but my mouth simply hung open as her words sank in. "But she was healing."

"And we're still women, Tobias. Men want us to obey them, always. They expect us to fix things their way, don't care if it won't work, then blame us when it fails. The infirmary is the one and only place where a woman can tell a man to stop talking and won't get punished for it."

"I didn't know," I admitted.

"Which is why I want to be careful with this." She lifted her chin almost defiantly. "If we're caught, I will be beaten. You? I'm sure you'll get a lecture."

"Fungus farms," I said. "No more going outside. I'll be moved to composting the dead into fungus."

"Which hurts a lot less than what they'd do to me."

"Yeah," I breathed, knowing she was right. "So if it happens, blame me. Say I started talking crazy and you were scared." I reached out to take her delicate little hand. "You are a good woman, Callah, and I don't want you to get hurt. I just want us to get out of here."

She nodded. "Me too. I didn't expect a man to help me, though."