I paused for a fraction of a second, and then kept sewing. "She was."
"Mine too." He dropped his eyes down to look at Jamison. "And I think he passed out."
"Well, still hold him to make sure," I ordered.
So Tobias's hands stayed on Jamison's body, but his next words were a whisper. "Did your mother tell you stories?"
I tied off the knot and cut the thread so I could move around to the other side. "I barely remember my mother."
"But did she tell you stories?" he pressed.
I tried hard to focus on sewing, but I couldn't help myself. "Some," I admitted.
"The ones about the world above?"
"She was possessed by the Devil," I reminded him.
"Yeah..." Tobias said. "But, you know, I'm just an idiot who doesn't know any better. I certainly can't remember that I'm not supposed to tell you some of the things are real."
It felt like ice washed over my skin. "What?" I breathed.
Those hazel eyes of his were not dull. They sparkled with intelligence. "Yeah. A big dumb guy like me. I say stupid things all the time. You know, like maybe how the outside is a lot like what my mom used to describe. It's not burning, you know. It's the kind of place a Phoenix might actually survive."
"They'll put you in quarantine for saying such things," I warned him.
"I don't remember saying that," he assured me. "I was just confused by Jamison's rambling."
The whole time, his eyes held mine. His words were what was expected. They made it plausible for him to be an idiot, but he wasn't? Did he fake it the same way I did?
"I'm sure it's very confusing, but Jamison probably has a fever because his wounds are infected," I pointed out. Then I licked my lips, got back to sewing, and added softly, "But she said she'd send something yellow as a message."
"Bright yellow," he agreed. "How long until your birthday?"
"A few more months."
"Starting to think I should propose," he mumbled. "I mean, since it would give me a good excuse for talking to you a little more. Dumb guy like me? Might be nice to have a smart girl around to help me out."
"I have no interest in marrying you," I snapped. "You're not even on my list!"
"No, but that can be fixed. And when you reject me, I'll make sure there are forks close to you at your wedding." His words were little more than a breath, much too soft to carry over the screaming of the wounded around us. "And I'll offer to chain you so I can make sure you get free. She's alive, Callah, and I know she was your friend."
"We were assigned the rooms, Tobias. We didn't pick them."
"I didn't have any friends," he told me. "They beat me up when I said women could be strong too, because that's what my mother taught me."
I was having trouble focusing on my stitches. They weren't the best, and if Ms. Lawton asked, I'd say he was moving. Hopefully she'd believe it.
"That's sinful," I mumbled, looking for some proper way to respond that wouldn't get me in more trouble as I tied off the last knot in Jamison's skin.
Tobias reached out and caught my arm, preventing me from moving on to the next. "You are a good healer and a proper woman, Callah. I didn't hear you say anything but orders to help this man as much as possible."
"I haven't!" I insisted. "I'm here to do the Lord's work and care for our brave hunters."
Then he reached over, snapped the feathers off the end of one of the arrows, and pressed them into my hand. "Shame that one broke on the trip back. You should put it in your pocket. Might help you learn how to do things better, or something. I mean, since I don't know what it is you women do."
He pressed the yellow-fletched end into my palm, then curled my fingers around it.
"Tobias..."
"It's real," he told me. "It's also your only chance of escape. If she's the Phoenix, then maybe you can be one too. Maybe there's still hope for us, Callah, but I wouldn't know because no one worries about what an idiot says."
I put the feathers into the pocket of my dress and nodded. "Well, I appreciate you holding him down, Tobias. I have more men to save."
"Not that many," he reminded me. "The Phoenix killed most."
I had to struggle not to smile as I turned away. If he was right… If they were all telling the truth, then Ayla was alive. Not only that, but she was thriving! Maybe we could actually escape this Hell and live aboveground, raising plants.
Maybe we still had a chance. Now I just had to figure out what to do with it.
Continue Reading…
Phoenix's Fire: The Ruins of Men: Book 2
Prologue
Tobias
I was an idiot of a man.
