Chapter 5
Five
Callah
Tobias led me to a table left open for all the new couples.
We took a spot at the end, sitting side by side.
He put his new rod on the table, the same way the other men were, and then ignored it.
Between him and the next girl, there was a space.
It gave all of us a bit of privacy, and today, our meals were brought to us.
It was a younger girl who carried ours. She smiled proudly as she set a heaping plate of food in front of each of us, and then looked at Tobias. "Mr. Warren, will that suffice? I can bring - "
"This is in tribute to the first meal we shared," he told her. "The times were lean then, but our marriage should be enough to count as bountiful."
The girl simply rocked her head, looking like he'd lost his mind. "Yes, sir," she said, spinning to head back to the kitchens.
"What did you do?" I asked softly.
He flashed me a smile. "A friend of mine pointed out that we have an excess of meat this time.
Typically, the couple is served." He caught my eye, making it clear we both knew what those things would add up to.
"So he came up with the idea that we should start our marriage the way we did our courtship - without excess. "
He meant without meat. I had never seen him eat it, but he was a hunter - and huge! His mother had been a Dragon, so it had to turn his stomach as much as mine to think of eating people. But in all of that, there was one thing I couldn't figure out.
"Who's the friend? Should I know this man?"
"Sylis Underhill."
I twitched, because I did know him. He'd graduated from sermon only a few years ago, but we'd spent years in the same classroom. He'd never really stood out to me either as cruel or handsome. In truth, I knew almost nothing about him except that he existed.
But the girl had heaped our plates with plants and fungus. It was the largest meal I'd had in memory, and my body craved it. Focusing on shoveling the food into my mouth without looking gluttonous, I almost missed the people making their way over to congratulate the newlyweds.
The sound of Gideon's voice made me look over. He was talking to the man who'd hit his bride, which seemed fitting somehow, but the girl? Her nose was dripping blood. She'd been forced to use the sleeve of her dress to staunch it, and it didn't seem to be working.
"What?" Tobias asked when I stared for too long.
I flicked my eyes at the girl, and he turned to see. The breath he pulled in was hard, but what could he do? The more we pushed, the more we'd get noticed, and yet I didn't want Puah to suffer alone. Her night was already going to be bad enough!
Then Tobias stood, pulling the handkerchief from his coat pocket. "Girl, you're destroying my appetite." And he passed it to her.
Terrified eyes darted to her husband first, but her hand reached out timidly. The man she'd married grunted, snatching the handkerchief from Tobias just to thrust it at his new wife. The girl took it, saying nothing, but her eyes shifted to me next.
"Be meek," I mouthed. "Women's facilities."
She dipped her head once.
That was all the answer I got, but she'd understood.
I knew she must have, if only because she'd been beside me in line.
And yet, seeing her made me worry more. Not only about my own fate - even though that was included - but about what would happen to everyone, how we could stop it, and all of this.
A few people did stop by to congratulate us. Ms. Lawton was one. Mrs. Worthington was another, with her husband at her side. He told Tobias he was impressed, and glanced at me in a way that seemed to be meaningful.
The last was a lean man with hair the color of pale gold. He clasped Tobias's shoulder and leaned in, offering us a weak congratulations, then told Tobias they'd talk about training in a few days. I recognized Sylis easier than I'd expected.
"The team is being rearranged," he said. "Harald will be a squad leader for a different group. This means we'll need to start work soon if we want to make our next hunt a success."
"The one that's been cancelled?" Tobias asked.
"No," Sylis said. "The one where I intend to have all my men make it back with enough to fill the larders. I intend to get that promotion, Tobias, and your wedding is not an excuse to slack off."
The guy on his other side chuckled. "Give him a few days at least, Sylis. The man saved your life last time."
"Which is why he gets those few days for his honeymoon," Sylis said, glaring over at me. "Mrs. Warren. A pleasure, I'm sure."
"Yes, sir," I muttered softly.
Sylis hummed as if impressed. "At least one of those girls didn't lose her mind - or soul." He patted Tobias's shoulder again, then leaned between the pair of us to whisper, "Sorry."
I had no clue what was going on, but the boy I remembered had been too shy to speak that way. Tobias didn't look offended, so I could only guess they'd made a scene intentionally, but did they have to bring up Meri and Ayla?
Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, our meal was done. Many of the girls begged to stay a little longer, but when the first man left, Tobias looked at me and lifted a brow.
"Shall we?"
"I'm afraid I don't know where we're going, Mr. Warren," I reminded him.
So he stood, put the rod back into his belt, then offered me his arm. "I hope it meets your expectations, wife. Let me show you our new home."
I accepted his arm and let him lead me out. As we passed, people smiled at us. The men looked amused, as if this was the best joke. The women? Their lips curled, but their eyes were flat and almost glazed. I knew that look. It was the expected one, but with no heart behind it.
When we were finally alone in the halls, Tobias guided me deeper and deeper into the compound. "I didn't want to be the first to leave," he explained. "It would make it easier for the other men, and those girls..."
"Thank you," I mumbled.
He reached over, pressing his free hand over where mine rested on his arm. "Tomorrow, I'll have your things brought over. If there's something that shouldn't be seen, I can do it myself?"
"No, it's fine."
He made a little sound, but said nothing else until we were before a door. When he reached out to turn the knob, I realized this was where I was going to be living, but Tobias didn't simply rush in. He pushed the door open, then gestured for me to look.
"May I carry you over the threshold, Mrs. Warren?" he asked.
"Um..." My guts were clenching, and I wasn't sure if my fingers were trembling or not. "Okay."
He scooped me up, took two steps, then kicked the door closed and carefully set me back down. The moment I was stable on my feet, Tobias let out the biggest sigh and flopped back against the wall. His eyes closed and he didn't move for a little too long.
"Tobias?" I asked.
"I hate when they all look at me," he explained. "I also knew someone in this hall would see us. Callah..."
"No, it's fine," I assured him, finally taking the chance to look around. "We have more than one room?"
"This is the greeting area," he said, gesturing around us.
"In the corner is a table for our meals, if we choose to have them alone.
" Then he crossed the room. "This door is for the nursery.
" Cracking it open, he removed the rod tucked into his belt and set it inside without looking.
Then he closed it again, acting as if that had never happened.
"In the corner back here is a cooktop and some cabinets. And that door is your bedroom."
"Mine?" I asked, only slightly confused.
He shrugged. "Happily wedded friends, right?"
"I..." My head jumped between him and the door he'd indicated. "Where is your bedroom?"
"I'll sleep here, on the floor."
And I huffed. "Tobias, that's not realistic."
"I couldn't get another bed," he explained. "I tried, but they didn't understand why I'd want two, and the nursery only has a crib."
"And we're married," I reminded him. "I knew we'd have to share a bed. I also will not have you sleeping on the floor, aching the next day, and getting killed when you hunt again!"
"So what are we going to do?" he asked.
"We will put a roll of sheet between us," I told him. "You will have your side and I will have mine. When it's time to change clothes, the other will come out here. I expected us to need to turn our backs, but this makes it easier."
"Okay," he mumbled as I pushed open the door.
And that was when I finally saw the bedroom. "Is this what they all get?"
"No, we have to bring in the things we want," he said, still holding up the wall while I wandered, examining things. "I tried to get something to make your new life more comfortable. Callah, that's why I wanted to look in your room. I wanted to see what you were used to."
"Is it different from the boy's?"
"A bit," he admitted. "You have places to sit, and your clothes aren't on the floor."
"Because we were punished for such things," I reminded him as I stepped into the bedroom.
It was small, with just enough space to step around the bed. The far wall had an alcove built into it with a bar for hanging clothes. Drawers filled the matching space beside it, and another on the far side, making plenty of space for storage. Then again, it was meant for two.
"There's a new dress on the bed," he called from the other room. "It's my wedding gift to you."
"I didn't get you one."
He finally moved closer, the sound of his steps making me tense - but he stopped at the doorway. "Callah, your gift to me is supposed to be your body. Since we're not doing that, maybe it can be some real conversation?"
And the last bit of fear fled with those words. The air rushed from my lungs and my shoulders actually relaxed. Tobias must've seen, because he moved closer, clasping my arms to make me look at him.
"I told you," he said. "Callah, I don't want to hurt you. You are my friend, and a real one. I don't want to do that. I've never had it, so I have nothing to miss. We're just friends, married only to keep both of us safe!"
"Yes, but men lie," I said, the words barely a breath.
He moved closer, shifting his arm up to my neck. "I know, and I do lie. Just like Sylis was lying out there when he made his little scene. Just like I do when I say I was fighting up above. I lie, Callah, but there's one difference. I will never lie to you."
"Thank you," I breathed, leaning in to wrap my arms around his waist. "You're just so big, and I know you could hurt me..."
"Friends," he said again.
So I looked up. "Maybe enough of a friend that if I ask you to unbutton this dress you won't take it wrong?"
"I..." He stepped back. "Callah?"
"I can't reach the buttons behind my shoulders," I explained. "And my friends made this to impress you, but I couldn't tell them this is a ruse. They wanted to make me beautiful so you wouldn't feel cheated at getting a lesser woman."
"No," he said. "Today, I had not only the most beautiful bride, but also the happiest." Then he swallowed. "But if I release those for you..." His jaw clenched. "Callah, I might see things."
"But we're married, so it's okay, right?"
"Yeah?"
This time, I was the one who shrugged. "I don't know how to make this work otherwise. We're now living together, sharing space. We will need to change and wash and do all those things. There's a chance I may see more of you than is proper - "
His laugh cut me off. "But we're married. We're expected to see all of each other."
I nodded. "And if you don't help me, I'll be stuck in this dress forever."
Again, he swallowed. "Turn around."
I did. Slowly, gently, he opened the top button. I felt his fingers move down to the next. The cloth began to sag, but he kept going, focusing on each of the three dozen buttons this stupid dress had.
"Callah?" he asked, his voice deeper than normal, and strange.
"Hm?"
"Men, um..." He cleared his throat. "Sometimes, our bodies do things. It's like how women flower. It is out of our control."
"What is?"
"My penis," he admitted. "It may react. I mean is. Does." And he groaned. "Please don't turn around until I leave the room?"
So men had things that were embarrassing too? Hoping to reassure him, I nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry if I did something wrong."
"Nothing," he promised. "You're just the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Then he released the last button and fled, closing the door hard to prove he was gone.
I turned, confused about his reaction, but his words? He thought I was beautiful? Me? I knew I should not allow vanity to influence me, but hearing him say that?
I liked it.