Wyvern’s Gold (The Ruins Of Men Book 1)

Chapter 38

Thirty-Eight

Ayla

T he next afternoon, Rymar came home early. Zasen didn't go out. Kanik ended our lesson when the other two began to move around, telling me to get dressed for company or go help Rymar. I chose to do both.

Because it was Zasen's sister who was coming over, I wanted to make a good impression. Brushing my hair back, I secured it into a tight bun at the back of my neck. I'd picked out the most modest of the dresses, and my bandaged feet served well enough for shoes.

In the kitchen, Rymar was busy making a stack of things to carry out. I grabbed as much as I could hold and headed out the door in the back. I'd never used it before, but the men did sometimes. Stepping through it, I had to pause at the bright light, giving my eyes time to adjust.

Then I saw the yard. That was what the men called it. A large space, bigger than even the grassy area in front, spread behind the house. To my right was a table. To my left was some kind of vent with smoke coming out of it. Near that was a round depression that had been filled with wood. On the back side were a few targets.

The big, multi-colored circles were painted on cloth that was hung from a line. Behind that was a steep hill, or maybe a cliff? I didn't think it was vertical enough to count as a cliff, but I couldn't be sure. It was also covered in grass, easily as tall as I was, and ended at the edge of the forest.

"Put that over here," Kanik called, gesturing to the table he was spreading a large cloth over.

"This is pretty," I said as I set down the collection of plates and utensils.

"Backs up right to the forest," Kanik agreed, "which makes it easy for Zasen when he goes hunting."

While we were talking, Rymar came out and headed for that round space filled with wood. I watched as he struck something and a small flame flicked up. A match! Then he bent and carefully lit the base of the wood pile.

It took off quickly. That was when I noticed the dried leaves and paper crushed up in the middle. All of this was so efficient. Clearly, these men had held many cookouts, but I was excited. Not just for the food, but mostly because I wanted to meet even more people and see if I could truly talk to them.

For the next hour, we busied ourselves with preparing the area, but Zasen was nowhere to be seen. Just as Kanik brought out the tea and waved me to a chair at the table, a pair of women made their way around the back carrying large bowls covered with thin cloths.

"We got the food!" the grey one announced.

"Table!" Rymar ordered.

The pair turned my way, and the dark blue one's face split into a smile. "Ayla, right?" she asked.

And I understood every word so far. Nodding excitedly, I agreed. "Yes, that's my name."

"Oh, that's an accent," the grey one teased.

"And in Vestrian," the blue one said, setting down her dish before offering me her hand. "I'm Brielle. This is Jeera."

And then a high-pitched voice split the air. "Ayla!"

A second later, Tamin ran around the corner at full speed, stopping in the middle of the yard to look around as if hunting for me.

"Tamin!" I called back

He raced over to throw himself in my arms, hugging me with gusto. I hugged him back hard, then leaned him away a bit so I could see his face.

"Where is your mother?"

A blonde-haired and tailless woman was making her way closer. "I'm right here."

"Saveah!" Jeera greeted her. "Oh, and little Taris!" She held out her arms.

The woman gladly passed over the bundle of cloth I'd seen her with the day before. This time, as she was moving from Saveah to Jeera, I caught a glimpse of the child. Her skin was bright pink and plump, but not scaled.

"Is she..." I sat up to see better.

Jeera turned the infant so I could see her. "This is Taris, Tamin's tailless little sister. She's three months old now."

Beside her, Saveah simply pressed her lips together, her eyes locked on me. Chuckling softly, Brielle reached over to rub her shoulder. That broke the stare, but I had a feeling Saveah hated me.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"What?" Jeera asked.

"Saveah doesn't like me, and I'm sorry. I don't know what I've done, but it seems a lot of people don't like me because I look like a Mole. I'm not one, though. Not anymore, and I don't ever want to be one again."

"Why?" Saveah asked.

My hands found each other in my lap and my eyes dropped to them. "Because in all the time I've been here, Zasen, Rymar, and Kanik haven't punished me once. They tell me how to do things better, but they don't use the rod."

"What rod?" Brielle asked.

"The one for women who get out of line," I explained. "Well, it's for wives, but some men use it on any woman. Or the back of their hand. Sometimes a kick. It depends on how much we need to be punished. And I had to be punished because I refused to marry Mr. Saunders, so they sacrificed me to the Dragons. I thought I'd die, but it ended up being a good thing."

Jeera lowered herself into the chair beside me. "So you made sure you weren't a Mole anymore, huh?"

I nodded vigorously. "Yes. Exactly. I want to be a Dragon so I can stay here, but Zasen said it won't be easy."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Saveah took the chair across from me. "It won't be easy, Ayla. You look like a Mole."

"You have blonde hair too!" I huffed, because hers was almost exactly the same color as mine.

She chuckled. "I do, but my skin isn't like yours."

"Which is peeling like a lizard," Brielle pointed out, pausing to clasp my shoulder kindly before taking the chair next to Saveah and across from Jeera. "And it's not just your hair, Ayla. It's all of it."

"So how do I get rid of it?" I asked.

"Sunlight," Saveah told me. "The more you get on your skin, the darker your skin will get - to a point. Some of us are pretty light, like you and me. Others, like Jeera's mother are darker."

I looked over at Jeera and nodded. "And she's a real doctor?"

"Uh, yeah?" Jeera gave me a confused look. "Brielle is her main nurse. I work there sometimes."

"As a nurse?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

I was smiling even more. "I wanted to be a doctor, but people don't do that anymore in the compound. Especially not women. The men simply make all girls over fifteen learn how to set wounds. I liked it, though. Pulling out the arrows was the best part."

"The arrows?" Saveah asked.

"Mhm," I agreed. "Like the ones Zasen shot the hunters with. We couldn't save most of them, but his arrows were always the hard ones. They have points that cut a lot when pulled out. Sometimes it was easier to push them through." I grimaced and looked at the women around me. "Don't tell, but that was my favorite part."

Which made Brielle lean back and laugh. "Okay, I approve." Then she looked the other way. "Zasen, we have to keep her!"

"Definitely keeping her," Jeera added.

My eyes just jumped over to Saveah. "I'm also very sorry about the other day. I tried not to let Tamin stand in front of me, but the man had punished me, so - "

"He beat the shit out of you!" Saveah snapped.

I looked at her blankly as I replayed those words. "I don't know what shit means," I admitted.

"It means a lot of things," Saveah said around a sigh. "This time, it means 'a lot.' He didn't punish you, girl. He abused you. He beat you up."

"That's what punishment is," I explained, glancing at the two nurses and hoping they'd back me up.

"It shouldn't be," Jeera said. "Ayla, for Dragons, that is called assault. It's a crime."

"Like stabbing my husband with a fork and how that broke the sixth commandment?" I asked.

Jeera paused with her mouth open, so Brielle reached across the table for her hand and answered instead. "Just like that, sweetie. But for Dragons, our laws are a little different from yours. Basically, we want people to be good to each other, but that doesn't always work. Sometimes we have to be hard, or loud, or anything else."

I nodded, showing I was keeping up. "I'll learn it all."

Which made a deep voice chuckle behind me. "And she will too," Zasen said, his eyes on Saveah. "She's trying very hard to get everything right. She also helped set the table today."

"I was going to help Rymar cook too," I said, intending to push back my chair.

Zasen simply placed his hands on my shoulders. "I'm helping. I think you need to entertain our guests, Ayla. They probably have dozens of questions for you."

Saveah grunted in a way that sounded like she was giving in. "Okay, you win, Zasen. I don't hate her."

"She's just orin," he said, rubbing my shoulder lightly before letting me go. "And I've got Tamin with me, Saveah. We're going to let him shoot targets."

Saveah huffed at him. "He can't pull an adult bow!"

"I have a crossbow for him," Zasen promised. "Target arrows too. I want to make sure he knows how to protect himself."

"Okay," Saveah relented.

"You should get Ayla one," Jeera said.

Zasen glanced at her. "I think she needs shoes first. Her feet are almost healed. Mom wants to come look at them soon to see if we can stop bandaging them."

"And pants," Jeera said. "Boots. A bow. I think Ayla is going to need all of it."

"Women aren't supposed to use weapons," I said softly, staring at her in awe.

Jeera just turned her pretty grey eyes on me. "I do. I can even out-shoot my brother with a longbow."

"But not a short one," Zasen countered.

Jeera just scoffed at that. "It's close."

"Not as close as you wish," he teased. Then he looked at me. "But you can't pull a bow yet. You need to eat more to make muscles."

"Which means," Brielle said, leaning across the table towards me, "he doesn't want the competition."

"You should ask Kanik for a bow," Saveah told me.

So, feeling a devious little smile twist my lips, I looked around the yard until I found the brown spotted dragon. "Kanik?" I asked, lifting my voice, but not too much.

"Yeah?" he called back, spinning to smile at me.

"Can I have a bow?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Zasen can teach you and Tamin together."

But Jeera just leaned back in her chair and grinned at her brother. "And now," she told him, "you no longer have an excuse."

"Jerlis won't like it," Zasen countered.

Jeera merely scoffed. "So? The one thing every woman needs is a weapon to defend herself. If you won't get her one, I will - and I'll ask Mom to help me."

"That's not even fair," Zasen grumbled.

Jeera shrugged. "I don't really care about fair. I care about making sure my newest friend doesn't need to use a fork on the next man who tries to punish her. Even if that man is you."

"I would never!" I gasped.

"You will if he tries to hurt you," Jeera told me. "That's what Dragon women do, Ayla. They stand up for themselves, and anyone else who needs help. They don't worry about the rules first. They do what is right, because right always trumps the rules."

"Oh," I breathed, liking that. "Just like how Tamin was going to protect me when the man punished me?"

"Just like that," Saveah agreed. "Because up here, we call that abuse, Ayla. And if you fought your way out of the Moles to get away from it, then there's no reason you should have to deal with it here."

All I could do was smile. I couldn't even nod. I'd thought this place was amazing before, but that? I was starting to think I might have found Heaven.

"I promise," I told them all. "I'll learn how to be a good Dragon. You'll see."