Chapter 15 #2
“What about my friend?” I looked at her.
“Is he your friend or your man?” She paused when I scowled. “Our community is woman oriented. Women choose their men, not the other way around. If you don’t claim him for yourself, someone else may.” She smiled when she saw my facial expression.
“He’s mine. I claim him.” I looked at all the women in the room.
“Please sit,” the priestess said, extending her arm.
I carefully approached the chair, worried that everything on the table was only a dream, an illusion that would evaporate into thin air if I dared to touch any of the food.
“My name is Mahin.” The woman picked up a piece of flatbread and tore it with her beautiful fingers.
I stared at her hands, she had the clean nails and soft skin of a person who never had to do any hard labor.
“You already know Amira, she is my guardian angel, and my partner.” Mahin continued.
“What about my . . . man?” I asked, struggling with the phrase.
“He will have all the help we can provide, but he is your responsibility. If he misbehaves, you are the one who will be held responsible. These are our rules.” Mahin poured something that smelled like a fermented drink into my cup and handed it to me.
I accepted it and took a sip. The sweet mix of fruit and honey played on my tongue and went down my throat leaving a pleasant warmth behind. This was a dangerous game, I was too hungry to drink alcohol.
“Why did you come to the temples?” Mahin asked.
“Victor . . .” I cleared my throat, “My man was severely injured. I had to save him.”
“I see. And how was he injured?” she asked.
For some reason, I had this strong feeling that our lives depended on this conversation and what I was going to say would determine our destiny.
“Crawler dragons attacked our city, many died. Victor was trying to save me.” I responded.
“And you came here alone?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She scrutinized my face, but I was telling her the truth. I had nothing to hide.
“To be honest, we never would have stepped in, if not for you,” Mahin said at last.
“Why?”
“Because of who you are.”
“A dragonborn?”
“A woman.” I must have had a puzzled expression on my face because she continued.
“This community existed before the outbreak. But back then, it was a divine city for the ones who cherished the first dragon, filled with priests and worshippers. After the outbreak, people tried to find shelter here, and the head priest let some of them in. But since it was a settlement made up of only men, they were only interested in women. For years we were enslaved by the ones who claimed to execute the will of the gods. I was one of those women. We were mistreated, overworked, physically abused. We had to give them our bodies to earn food and safety. Then one day, the goddess came to me. She said that we could free ourselves, and create a safe new world for her daughters. And because I listened, because I believed her, everything changed. We fought hard to reclaim the settlement, and in the end, we won.”
She picked up her cup and slowly took a sip. Then she carefully placed it on the table, raising her enchanting eyes to me.
“We killed the worst of our oppressors, and we banished all the rest. They went and made a settlement on the surface. How they live, I have no idea, but they are still there. They have attacked our entrances to steal our food, but there was no threat to our safety. Then last week they took a group of young girls with them. I don’t know if they are still alive, it may be too late for them, but I don’t want that to happen again. ”
“Why didn’t you go after them?” I asked.
“We don’t know where their lair is. It is too deep into wastelands and none of us has ever made it that far. But, you could fly there. If you do that, we will heal your man and give you enough food and water to fly back to wherever you came from,” Mahin said.
That was an interesting turn of events. I hardly knew what to think about this woman, this community, this secret underground city. But doing what Mahin wanted would give us the chance to live another day. And frankly, that option was better than any other.
My first instinct was to agree and enjoy the meal in front of me.
But, for some reason, I thought about Victor.
He would distrust every word and want me to look deeper into every little detail.
He would never commit based on a short conversation.
But Victor was too weak to make any decisions.
I had to make sure he had enough time to recover.
Every moment we had in a safe environment restored his energy, bringing us closer to our goal of returning to Darragh.
“Alright. We’ll do it.”
“We?”
“Me and Vic . . . my man.”
“No. It has to be you, and only you.” Mahin nodded her head.
“What do you mean?” I glanced at Amira.
“I don’t trust any man,” the priestess said.
“In other words, you want me to handle an entire group of savage males?” I peered at her.
“Of course not. I only want you to find my sisters,” she said.
I stared at the baked chicken. The golden brown crust called to me, making me weak, nearly delusional with hunger. Did I even have a choice? Helping them seemed like a good thing to do. If what she was saying was the truth.
That was exactly what Victor would say, but again, he was not here.
Mahin was patiently watching me. She entwined her fingers, leaning closer, scrutinizing my face.
“You seem to be an open, honest person. I’m sure that was the reason why Amira decided to bring you here,” the priestess observed as she handed me a piece of her flatbread.
“I’ll do it. But, you have to promise me that Victor will be safe.”
“Once you claim him, no one will ever touch him. You may want to give him a charm to let the other sisters know that he belongs to you.” Mahin took a sip of her honey wine.
“A charm?” I placed the rolled up bread into my mouth.
“Something should be wrapped around his wrist to show the other daughters of the goddess that he is off limits.”
“I want to see him.” I swallowed the dough without recognizing its taste.
Mahin’s lips stretched in a slow, confident smile. Her amazing bronze skin was healthy, well nourished, and gorgeous. She leaned back in her chair and only then glanced toward her partner.
“Amira, make sure our quests have everything they need. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, priestess.” Her partner bowed.
“When do you want me to start looking?”
I took a bite of the baked chicken. I picked up more bread and placed a hefty chunk in my mouth. The meat was quite spicy, but it did not stop me from eating it. My only worry was that it was not enough.
“As soon as you are healthy enough. For now, please eat.” Mahin smiled, watching me with a serene expression.
There was something maternal about it and it made me uncomfortable.
I never had parents, no one ever cuddled me, or helped me through the awkward stages of my childhood.
There were many decent people around when I was growing up, but they were not my family, and I knew that no one truly needed me.
To them, I was just an abandoned child who needed help.
That was why I liked to hang out with Tynan, Victor, and Sol.
They never treated me as if I was different, even though all of them had parents or relatives who took care of them.
No one ever made me feel like I was inferior, all I needed to do was to keep up.
“Do you have any family?” Mahin asked.
I nearly dropped my fork. It felt like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
“No.”
“Only Victor?”
“I have friends.”
“I didn’t know dragonborns allow their women to wear suits and wield swords.”
“Things changed. Now it’s allowed.”
“How very interesting,” Mahin drawled.
Suddenly, another woman walked in. She wore a well made linen dress that covered every inch of her body.
“Forgive me, priestess. You are needed.”
“Finish up and let Amira show you around.” Mahin got up.
She walked with calm, demanding authority that was easily seen in every move, every turn of her head. In some ways, she reminded me of Alina.
When she was gone, I switched my gaze to Amira, who stood by the entrance without any attempt to make conversation.