Epilogue
Saveah
For two nights, I stumbled along in the dark, chained to fifteen other women. Sixteen of us, they'd captured. Sixteen of us were being shoved forward, heading to something most of these women couldn't imagine.
But Ayla had told me enough. When we were plunged into darkness, I didn't scream or thrash like the others. I simply walked forward, trusting my captors would keep me from walking into any walls or falling into any holes.
I couldn't even imagine what this place would look like. I did see a few dim lights, but even that word felt like it offered more power than these lights did. They were more like stars in the sky, a faint glimmer that offered no illumination at all.
It was the sounds I tried to memorize. Footsteps on stone meant the floor wasn't dirt.
An echo off to the side proved there were hallways here.
The oppressive silence of our captors made me think this was all supposed to be a secret, but that made sense.
Ayla hadn't known about the women in quarantine until I'd recognized her signet.
Finally, I was unhooked from the woman before me and pushed. With no way to get any bearings, I stumbled, slamming my shoulder into something solid. Not a wall, but a table or desk? Just as I realized that, a door slammed right beside me, and something unnatural buzzed, then clanked.
Then nothing.
I didn't know how long I waited. I could hear other doors closing. A few times, I heard women scream and try to resist, but we were blind down here. Helpless. These assholes probably loved that.
After what felt like an eternity, light appeared. First one, then another. Like a chain reaction, they bloomed into existence, proving that outside my door was a hallway. Inside of it was a room.
A small one.
My bedroom was bigger than this, but it offered everything a person could need.
There was a chair in the corner, a bed along the side, and that was clearly meant to be a desk.
At the foot of the bed was something that resembled a toilet, but shaped just a bit differently. I still recognized the purpose.
Then a male voice called out, "Listen up!"
Something clanked against my door, making me flinch. A moment later, it hit the next, then the one after. Belatedly, I realized the man was banging on each door to make us pay attention.
"You have all been chosen by God," he called out in English. "You will be civilized. I don't care if it takes years. Over time, you will learn the Lord's words. You will eventually speak them, read them, and teach them to your children."
And a woman called out, "What is he saying?"
"Silence!" the man roared.
But if she didn't speak English, she wouldn't understand that either, so I said, "It's English. I'll tell you when he's done! He wants us to be quiet."
The other women calmed down, so the man kept going.
"You will all have one month. Thirty days!
After that, you will have flowered or not.
If you are carrying a demon child, we will destroy it.
If you are open, then you will be wed to a true and Righteous man.
Then you will provide him with children, making your sad and heathenistic lives finally have a purpose.
God will forgive your sins, but only if you repent them, and this? You have all been given a chance."
"What's he saying?" someone else begged.
"Wait!" I snapped. "He's laying out the rules."
"You speak English?" another woman asked.
"The Phoenix is my sister. She taught me their words, and - "
The door to my room buzzed, then was pulled open. In the barely-there light, I was just able to make out that the man who stormed in was older, and definitely feeble.
"Do not try to speak that foul tongue of Satan!" he hissed.
"It's called Vestrian," I said in English.
He jerked back hard. "What?"
"I was explaining your words to them," I said. "They don't understand your threats, sir. They don't all know your words."
"But you do?" he moved closer.
I glanced at the door but wasn't dumb enough to try running for it. I knew I'd never find my way out of this maze. They could see and I couldn't, which meant I needed to wait. I needed to be patient.
That was not the same as giving up.
"I know English," I assured him. "I know the word of God too. Tell me, what is your name?"
"I am Reynold Saunders, Elder of the Righteous. Do you have a name, heathen?"
"Saveah." I offered him my hand the way a woman would in a fairy tale, since those were the only examples I had of their archaic manners.
He ignored my hand. "What is your last name, woman!"
I let my hand return to my side and thought quickly. Dragons didn't have last names. We'd done away with them long ago. But this man would accept my sign as a name. It was close enough to the concept they used - there was just one problem.
I was the Lily. That inspired no fear. I'd picked it because I wanted something beautiful and gentle. Something to make people around me happy. And yet, these people passed names down, sharing them across their families. Well, my mother had clearly picked the perfect one.
I knew about Eve and the garden. I remembered the tale of her with the snake. Ayla had told me it was always called a "serpent" - and that had been Tiesha's sign. Now, I was going to use it, and hope like hell it made this man think twice before touching me.
"I am Saveah Serpent." I lifted my chin proudly. "And you, Mr. Saunders, have already failed one temptation."
"Blasphemy!" he roared, lashing out with the thing he was leaning on.
I didn't see it coming in the dim light so I didn't block it. Pain lanced up my arm and shoulder, making me stagger back. My leg hit the bed and I dropped onto it, so that old man pushed in.
"Thirty days," he sneered in my face. "And we know how to deal with your kind, girl.
You will be wed in a proper ceremony before God.
You will give us children. Blonde children.
Any who are not? They will be killed and composted, serving the community in their own way.
That means you had best learn to pray, demon. "
"I am no demon," I assured him. "Think of me more as one who brings the light."
Because I'd rather be dead than suffer like my mother had. I would not let that happen - but I hoped for something more. I hoped Ayla would find a way to get me out of here, or that I'd find one myself.
These men had just put sixteen Dragon women together in a place where we could talk. They didn't know our words, and I was willing to bet they wouldn't bother to learn them. Once they left, we could plan. We could be ready.
And I knew what was coming. My mother hadn't been so fortunate. I was. My sister had made sure of it, and now I would do everything in my power to destroy these assholes from the inside out.
Or die trying.
I only hoped my children were okay. I'd told Tamin to take his sister and run. He was too young to need to do that, but he had, and someone would've helped him, right? Up there, in the bright light of day, my kids would be fine. They had to be.
Because I had a feeling it would be a long time before I saw them again.