Chapter 9
Nine
Zasen
Four days later, we'd all headed out to the forest to meet the Moles head on. Kanik and Rymar had been in charge of the first responders in town. Jeera had come with us to serve as the head medic, but Brielle and the baby had gone to the hospital.
And we'd waited.
Then we'd waited some more.
When night had set, we'd sent scouts out in both directions, waiting a little more, but there were no signs of them. Not even Holly could detect anything, and Demon, Xav's dog, seemed to think the trek was nothing more than a chance to play. So, at midnight, we'd called it good and headed home.
The weather had been fine, though. There was no reason for them to be delayed, but we still braced for the Moles to come the next day only to find nothing again. The day after, we'd sent out scouts - who'd also found nothing.
Ayla kept reminding me how I'd brought her brother back to them in the last fight. My goal had been to try diplomacy. She hoped they may have realized we were real people and might even be reconsidering the attacks on Lorsa. I wasn't as sure, but that had been my goal.
And yet, the lack of an attack when we knew it should be coming?
I didn't like it. I felt like I was missing something!
Stopping them couldn't be that easy. They'd seen our town.
They knew we wore clothes and lived in houses.
They had to understand we weren't animals, so the use of English seemed like it was too little.
It had been why I'd tried, though. I'd hoped for this outcome, but now that it was here, I didn't really know how to handle it.
Thankfully, there was one way to distract myself.
Rymar, Kanik and I had made an agreement.
After the fight, if Ayla was still interested in dating, we'd do this right.
Well, last night, Rymar had checked in with her, and she'd said she was doing her best to figure out which of us to ask first.
That was why I had an entire roll of money in my pocket as I headed to the market today: for gold.
Kanik was adamant our token needed to be gold.
Not beads or steel, but actual gold. Rymar had suggested another ring, but I'd vetoed that.
Rings didn't do well in combat or when hunting.
I was glad she no longer wore her mother's signet ring, so giving her another didn't make sense.
And when I'd told them my idea, they'd both agreed readily.
This was a big step. It deserved to be treated like one, because I knew Ayla would see it that way.
In truth, I did too. A token was a symbol of commitment.
Such things came in varying degrees, from wearing someone's shirt, through gifts of affection, and all the way up to actual wedding rings.
But a token meant giving one's sign to another.
We'd have to explain the meaning to Ayla, and over the last few days, the three of us had discussed this at length, partially because it kept us from worrying about the attack that hadn't come.
A token was something Dragons took for granted.
We gave them, accepted them, rejected them, or returned them.
Seeing one was common enough, and deciding on one was something everyone thought about at some point in their life.
But to Ayla, this was a gift for a relationship.
I wasn't sure how much it would frighten her, but I had a feeling she would have a reaction.
For me, this would prove whether she was ready to start something or not.
For Kanik, this was a romantic dream come true.
He'd saved the damsel in distress, she'd saved him when he was in the same situation, and hopefully they'd fall madly in love.
Rymar? He was hoping, but struggling to believe he could find someone who saw the real him.
Ayla did. Not even he could deny it, and that man was very good at convincing himself of things before they had a chance to play out.
And yet, the way he'd jumped right in to protect her from us?
The way he'd seen right through our feeble excuses before we'd even realized we were attracted to her?
I had a feeling it was because he'd been right there with us, enamored by the delicate little lady who refused to give up.
Then there was me. I had no clue what she saw in me, if I was honest. I still could tell she saw something.
The way she'd touched me, tracing my scales those first few weeks proved it.
Seeing her cower but refuse to back down had been my undoing.
Ayla was this mix of fragile and unstoppable that shouldn't go together like that, and yet worked perfectly.
I wanted to protect her. I also knew she was strong enough to stand beside me, not behind me - and I liked that a little too much.
Once, Rymar had tried to compare her to a wild animal, saying she'd been trapped in a cage.
We'd let her go, and she'd made the decision to keep coming back.
I thought he was wrong. She was like that dog of hers, raised to be tame, obedient, and easily controlled.
We'd turned her into a weapon, showed her trust, and then had turned her loose.
And she'd saved us all in one way or another.
That was why I'd chosen the style of token we were getting for her.
It was symbolic in so many ways. And no, I wasn't going to tell her what image it put in my mind, because she probably wouldn't understand my meaning.
She would, however, understand the signs we would stamp on it.
Three of them only, waiting for her to add hers in acceptance.
Today, the market was bustling. The vendors had been closed for three days, and this was their first day open again.
There was a feeling in the air like everyone wanted to make it home as fast as possible, and I couldn't blame them.
The Moles had broken their schedule, but our lives couldn't stop while we hid away forever. Sadly, life didn't work like that.
Eventually, I found Tania, the jeweler. She was bent over her wares, either putting something back or rearranging things. I couldn't be sure, but her dark, nearly bald head reminded me a bit of my mother when she'd been younger. Tania pulled the look off, though. Mom hadn't.
"I need a torc," I said when I got close enough.
She flinched, startled by my voice, but still looked up with a smile. "Zasen! A torc, huh? Well, I have some steel over here. That will go nicely with your scales."
"Gold," I said. "It's for a token."
She slowed, turning her eyes up to give me an incredulous look. "You're buying a token?"
"We are," I corrected.
And her eyes narrowed. "For Lessa?"
That made me scoff. "No. I know she's bought at least three from you - "
"For you," she said pointedly.
"But I think she's finally moved on," I finished. "This? This is for the one woman Rymar, Kanik, and I think we can all agree on."
"Dare I ask?" she teased.
"The Phoenix."
Tania's reaction was not at all what I'd expected. The woman didn't laugh, scoff, or ask me to repeat myself. She simply turned around and began rummaging behind her. I could hear metal rattle with her movement, and before long she pulled out a wooden box that seemed heavy.
"Zasen, a torc is a nearly permanent thing. To get them on and off isn't easy. Some call them a collar, and I'm not sure a former Mole would like that association."
"Which is why I am looking for something specific," I told her. "I want open ends. I need spaces for four signs. I would like it to be beautiful, but open, Tania. Yes, it's a collar, but one which will never be closed. One she's free from. One that will prevent her from ever being trapped again."
And the woman's lips curled into a smile. "So you've thought about this."
"We've been thinking about it for a while now," I promised. "And it has to be gold."
She cracked open the box and began laying out items for me to see. "This is a simple torc. Effective, bold, and plain. This one is a common twist, but you'd have to stamp two of the signs on the bottom, which means they wouldn't be seen.
I shook my head, rejecting both. "No, she deserves something beautiful, functional, and that won't get in her way."
The jeweler ran her tongue over her teeth behind her lips, but there was an arrogance behind it. "How much are you looking to spend?"
"Hopefully less than a dog?"
She chuckled and pulled out one more item. "I can't promise this will be much less, but I think I have exactly what you want."
And before me, she placed an ornate golden band.
It was no bigger than Ayla's pinky finger, and probably smaller, but made of four obvious strands of gold.
Each one was a slightly different color: pale yellow, bright yellow, dark yellow, and pinkish yellow.
The main, bright-yellow color bent back on itself on one side, forming a loop that reminded me of a vine twining around itself.
In the middle of that was a round spot perfect for a sign to be stamped.
The other side had three smaller versions of the same thing. One was pale, nearly white-gold. The others were the pink and the darker, nearly-bonze shade of gold. Combined, it had four places perfect for different signs, and even without being stamped as a token, it would make a beautiful necklace.
"I swear that was made for us," I admitted.
She flashed me a pleased smile. "No, but it's not uncommon for one person to be the center of a relationship. I can also modify this design to have more bands if necessary."
"Four is perfect," I assured her.
And the truth was I liked how one side was clearly for her. The other side had the three of us, making us equals. The asymmetry of it worked, even though I hadn't even considered the implications of who might be stamped on the same side as her.
"How much?" I asked, reaching for my money.
She pulled out a tool and spread the torc open wide enough to fit around someone's neck. "For this much gold, ten would be fair."
"And few would spend ten on a token," I countered, knowing she meant ten thousand bucks. "That's a lot for something that could be lost so easily."
"Oh, it won't come off," she promised. "I used four different golds to make sure of it. If your partner accepts it, you'll be able to bend it on with your hands, but to get it off, she'll have to see me. This? This is meant for a real relationship, not a fleeting one."
I began counting out bills.
"But," she said, "if you put your symbol on this, I'll let you talk me down to seven. Put Rymar's beside it, and I'll do five."
"What discount do I get for adding Kanik?"
She chuckled. "I don't know how to break this to you, but I'm not shocked to see Kanik settling down. You and Rymar? I thought you'd both marry your work. That's why I'm giving you the discount. And possibly because we all owe the Phoenix more than we want to admit."
"So the total?" I asked.
"Five," she relented. "And if she says no, I'll take the torc back and refund your money, but only until the end of the week."
"And if we've already stamped it?"
"I can buff that off," she promised. "I'm also hoping this will be enough incentive to convince you to stop waiting."
I handed her the money. "Ayla already convinced us of that, Tania. But thank you. It's beautiful."
She put the torc in a soft velvet bag, then handed it over. "Good luck, Zasen. I hope her answer is the one you really want."
"Me too," I agreed, turning away.