Chapter 69
Sixty-Nine
Ayla
A week had blown by. Granted, that made sense; the weeks up here were shorter than I was used to. Still, when Saveah reminded me we were getting another girl's night, I'd been a bit surprised. But since Jerlis had given us the list of missing women's names, I had no reason to go back to the library. Instead, my sister wanted to take me out to dinner.
For the first time, I was going to pay.
I was a little proud of that. Our plan was to talk about what I should tell Callah over a relaxing meal. Saveah had a lot of ideas, but I wasn't sure how much Callah would understand. Plus Tobias only had so much room, which meant the letter couldn't be too thick. The names and descriptions had taken up three pages. Kanik was getting me a book as well. I wasn't sure how much more I could fit together and still fold small enough to fit in a man's pocket.
But since we were doing this over dinner, Saveah had suggested Rymar's place. Zasen said that was because Rymar never let any of us pay, so Saveah was trying to make it easy on me. I could still tip the servers, though. Considering I'd never actually bought anything before, I just wanted to make sure I knew how to use the money properly.
I also wanted to look good, so when Saveah showed up to drop off her kids, I was still busy fixing my hair. Tonight, I was going to be daring, so I'd picked my brown leather shirt. It was sleeveless and didn't quite come down to my waist. I was using the brown boots that matched, and I'd paired them with a knee-length white skirt. I thought the look was cute, and it reminded me of a more sedate version of clothes I'd seen worn in the market.
"Ayla!" Kanik called from the living room.
I closed my eyes and groaned, knowing he wanted me to yell back. I was tempted to, but by this point, it had become more amusing to refuse. Still, there was one way to let him know I was on my way.
"Holly, find Kanik," I told my dog.
She took off, rushing out of the room with excitement. I hurried to tie my last boot on and adjusted the length of the necklace that held my mother's signet ring and my own sign die. Finally, I stood in front of my mirror, making sure I looked the way I wanted. The clothes were both feminine and Dragon-like, so I was ready.
"I'm sorry!" I said as I jogged down the stairs to the first floor.
Kanik was petting Holly but paused, his entire body going still as he looked at me. Behind him, Saveah shoved her hand across her mouth and Tamin giggled.
"Kanik froze," the boy said.
"Yes, baby, he did," Saveah agreed. "I think Ayla startled him."
"Surprised," Kanik clarified as he pushed to his feet. "You look nice."
Which made me beam. "Thank you!"
"And you need this," Zasen said as he rounded the corner with Taris on his hip, but like Kanik, he stopped hard and froze in the way only the tailed could.
"See?" Kanik asked, snapping Zasen out of it.
"Wow," Zasen said as he finally passed me a roll of their paper money. "You left your hair down."
"I braided the top back," I said, turning to show what I meant. "But a lot of people wear it down, so I thought that would be okay?"
"It's pretty," Saveah said, leaning between the guys to grab my arm. "I think the guys simply forgot their roommate is a girl."
"Something like that," Zasen said.
But Kanik reached out to touch my arm. "You look beautiful, Ayla. Have a good night out, okay?"
"Okay," I said, but for some strange reason I couldn't quite look at him. "Take care of my dog?"
Tamin, Zasen, and Kanik all waved to us as Saveah pulled me towards the door, but when we made it outside, I was still smiling. Of course my sister noticed.
"I think you impressed those guys," she teased. "You do look pretty tonight, Ayla. Almost like you were born here, with the cropped tank and almost-short skirt. But where's Rymar?"
"He went out with a friend," I told her.
"Ah." She nodded like that made perfect sense to her.
It didn't to me. Rymar had been spending a lot of time with his friends lately. Zasen and Kanik acted like it was okay, but the other day, I'd caught him coming home early in the morning. It made me wonder if he was angry at the guys, but everyone seemed happy when they were around each other.
Soon enough, we made it to the cafe where Jeera had taken me after my marriage had been annulled. The sun was setting this time, which made the lamps inside cast a soft glow through the windows on the door. When we entered, there was a set of stairs that led down to the partially underground floor.
"Table?" a woman asked from the side.
"For two," Saveah told her. "Near the wall, if you have it?"
"I do!" the woman promised.
She was little, but not young. Maybe my age? I couldn't be sure, but her scales were an interesting grey color that leaned almost toward red. It reminded me of the morning sky, and she was at least a few inches shorter than me. Still, Saveah followed her through the crowd, and I followed my sister until we ended up at a table.
"Should I tell Rymar you're here?" she asked, looking between me and Saveah.
"He's here?" Saveah asked.
"Mhm!" the girl said, gesturing to an area beside the bar. "Qavan's friends came in for some drinks."
I turned to look where she was pointing and easily spotted Rymar's vivid yellow, orange, red, and turquoise color. He had his back leaned up against the bar and another man was standing before him, leaning into him. That man's scales were red, and he had pale cream patches across his shoulders and down his tail.
"I think we're fine," Saveah told the girl, gesturing for me to take a seat. "My sister and I will have tea to drink."
"Can do," the tailed girl said before turning away.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, leaning so I could see Rymar better.
Saveah reached over to clasp my wrist, making me look at her. "Ayla, he's on a date. I didn't realize he'd be here or I would've picked somewhere else."
"A date?" For some reason, I couldn't quite wrap my mind around that. "With who?"
"With Qavan, the red guy."
The guy I swore I'd seen before. Maybe in the market? Or was he a member of the militia? I couldn't remember where, but his coloration was definitely one I'd seen. And while I looked, trying to place him, the man leaned in, catching Rymar's mouth with his - and kissing him!
I sucked in a little breath, which made Saveah turn to see what was going on. "Okay, so it seems that's working out," she said, turning to face me again. "Ayla, please don't embarrass him?"
"Never," I swore. "But why didn't he say anything?"
"It's new," she explained. "He's trying to take it slow, and introducing someone to your family is a pretty big step in a relationship. It's..." She puffed out her cheeks as she blew out a breath. "Um, up here, when people get to know someone, they start off casual, seeing how it goes. They usually don't make it official until they've spent some time together. He's still in the casual part of that."
"I don't understand," I admitted.
"That man isn't his boyfriend yet, just a guy he likes," she clarified. "Once he's a boyfriend, then Rymar would say something. Until then, it could just be a bad date."
"Right," I said, pulling my eyes away from my friend. "I thought he liked Kanik?"
"Okay, I didn't know that, but Kanik doesn't date men, so he isn't a real option, and no one wants to be alone for the rest of their life." She shrugged. "Rymar's trying to find someone else who makes him happy and will date him back. See, Ayla, most people don't only like one person ever. They like a few, try it out, and if it works, they go from there."
"That makes sense," I agreed. "We weren't allowed to do that down there. If we were interested in someone, it meant we would marry them, and that's why this is all going to be so hard to explain to Callah."
"I can only imagine," she said before lifting a finger.
A tailless man made his way over, smiling at the pair of us. "Can I get you a meal tonight, ladies? Maybe some drinks?" He jerked his chin at Saveah. "The bar was just restocked, and you know I'm not allowed to charge you."
She laughed. "Thanks, Ulris, but no. I'm trying to actually use my brain tonight."
"Got rid of the kids and everything," he joked. "And you, Phoenix?"
The use of my sign made me sit a little straighter. "Oh. Um, I don't know."
Saveah waved me off. "Let's just stick with tea." Then she told Ulris what she wanted for a meal.
I added mine, then told him, "I also want to pay."
"Not gonna happen," he said. "I'm sorry, but Rymar would fire me."
"But I want to make sure I know how to use money!"
Which made him grin. "We'll figure something out. Now I'll be right back with your meals."
"That," Saveah said, "is Rymar's best employee. That man all but runs this place. Rymar makes the final decisions, but Ulris is his right hand here." Then she leaned closer. "Okay. Our letter. You're giving Callah the list of everyone who's been kidnapped?"
"And their descriptions," I said. "I'm hoping one of them will be her mother. My plan is for her to leave the papers in the woman's area when she leaves. The book, too. That way the girls and wives will realize there's another option. Maybe when we break in, they'll hide, or even help us?"
"It's good to hope," Saveah said, "but make sure Callah doesn't get killed because of this."
"No, not until she's ready to get out," I said. "Tobias is going to get the code for the door. Once he can do that, he'll come to us with Callah, and then we'll be able to go in and stop this once and for all."
"Good," Saveah said.
"And if the women down there realize they have family up here," I continued, "then maybe they'll feel like they can escape too. I mean, when we go in, I might be the only one who can see. It's very dark in there - "
A roar of laughter cut me off and made both of us look back to where Rymar was standing. A group of guys at the table closest to them were making a fuss. The problem was, their amusement was directed right at Rymar and his friend. The red man was dancing in front of Rymar, acting like he was trying to get Rymar to do the same .
"Drinks!" someone called out.
"C'mon," the red man said. "We're having fun, right?"
"Bring us a bottle on the house!" someone at the table called out.
Saveah grumbled, "Idiots."
"What?" I asked. "Why?"
"There is a very big difference between getting something for free and expecting it," she said. "And Qavan's friends?"
"C'mon, pretty boy!" another guy yelled in Rymar's direction. "Qavan says you can suck - "
"Enough!" Rymar snapped, pulling away from his guy.
"Shit," Saveah grumbled.
"Baby," the red guy was saying. "He's just joking."
"And I think you've all had enough," Rymar said. "C'mon. Time to call it a night, guys. I have customers trying to have a meal here. If you want a bar, there's one down the street."
"Yeah, but they don't have free booze," the loudmouth shot back. "I mean, Q's dating money now, right? Got himself a hot piece of ass with cash to spare."
"Galson!" the red man snapped. "You're drunk."
"I'm right, though," Galson, the loudmouth said. "We all know Rymar's just down to fuck."
Rymar pushed away from the bar as if he was about to leave, but the red guy caught his arm. "Rymar?" he begged. "He's drunk." Then he pulled Rymar closer, wrapping an arm around his back. "Just ignore him, okay? Or maybe get him another bottle. He'll pass out soon enough."
Then the guy leaned in to kiss Rymar again, but before their mouths could connect, Rymar pressed a hand to Qavan's chest, holding him off.
"I'm suddenly not feeling it," he said.
"Q, don't piss off the money man!" Galson taunted.
I saw the red man say something else, but couldn't hear it from over here. Again, he tried to lean in. This time, his hand caught Rymar's neck, pulling their faces together, but my friend was tense. He wasn't trying to lean in. For the first time, I understood what Zasen had been telling me about how the way a person reacted showed if they wanted to be kissed or not.
And then Rymar pushed. "I said no!" he snapped before thrusting his arm out, pointing towards the door. "Time to go."
"Aww, man!" one of the men at the table grumbled.
"We're just having fun," Qavan tried.
"And I'm not," Rymar said. "So go home. Sleep it off."
"I need another bottle," Galson whined.
"Right now, you can leave without owing me a thing," Rymar said. "Keep begging, and you'll get the whole check." He stepped back from Qavan a little more. "Out. All of you."
"Rymar..." the red man tried .
But Rymar just lifted his hands between them like a shield. "I'm not your boy toy," he said, "and I'm certainly not your sugar daddy."
"Fuck you, Rymar!" Qavan stepped into Rymar's face. "I was trying to have a little fun."
"And I'm not," Rymar said, standing taller and leaning in. Behind him, his tail whipped furiously. "I thought we had something, Qavan, but it seems I was just a piece of ass. At least I know I'm a good enough fuck to brag about. Now it's time to go."
Behind the bar, a few employees were gathering. I felt bad for my friend, wondering how I could help make this better, but it seemed the employees weren't trying to gawk or gossip. They were moving in, and as soon as Rymar backed away, three men came to escort the group out.
"Hey!" Qavan called back at Rymar. "Remember how you said no one wanted to date you? Well, this is why! You need to fucking relax, asshole. Bright colors and a big dick don't make up for shit like this."
"And there'll be another guy just like you!" Rymar yelled back.
The employees were pushing the group of men towards the door, herding them almost. Around the dining area, everyone seemed to be watching, but it was as if Rymar didn't notice them. At least that was the impression he gave right up until he dropped his head and sighed.
It only lasted one second, but I saw how his shoulders slumped. I could see him clenching his fists tightly in frustration. I couldn't count how many times I'd had that moment myself, when my best attempt to keep my polite mask wasn't enough and I had to reset.
"What do I do?" I asked, looking over at my sister.
"Go," she told me. "We can worry about this letter later. Right now, I think he needs a friend, and you're it."
"What about you?"
She shook her head. "Go talk to him. He needs a minute with someone he won't feel will judge him. I'll get our meals boxed to go and check on you in a moment, okay?"
That was all I needed. Sliding out from behind the table, I hurried toward my friend with the type of calm collection that would've made the elders proud. I kept my head up, my steps were light, and I refused to show my worry on my face.
"Rymar?" I asked when I was close enough to say it softly.
He turned, shock taking over his face. So I did the one thing I knew I'd want in his situation. Without asking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged. Immediately, he gripped me around the back, leaned in, and buried his face in my shoulder.
"That," he mumbled, "is exactly what I needed."