He just murmured and began pulling off his pack. Clearly, he didn't understand my words any better than I did his, yet I'd noticed the similarities in those names. I wanted to ask, but I had no clue how.

Then he thrust the bottle of water at me and nodded. I didn't need him to offer twice this time. My throat was parched and my skin felt like it was on fire. Hopefully, a few gulps of something would help to cool me off.

I took a long drink, paused to catch my breath, and then another. When I finally lowered the bottle and leaned back again, the man beside me shifted a bit so he was partially facing me.

"Orin?" he asked, slowly reaching his arm towards me.

I didn't move. Was this when he grabbed me and tried to have his way with me? Was I leading him on by sitting here? Did he think pointing at a bird and an insect was enough to convince me to let him use my body?

I almost slapped his hand away, but hesitated for a second too long. The Wyvern's finger pressed softly into my forearm, and that was all. Confused, I looked down, only for him to do it again. The pressure turned my skin white, but when he removed the touch, it quickly flared back to a very angry pink color.

Lifting my arm, I looked closer at it. With my other hand, I pressed the same way, aware my flesh was hot. Not only on the inside, it seemed, but also on the outside. Had it been the tuber I'd eaten? Was I allergic to it? Or maybe it was just the heat in the air slowly cooking me?

Making another one of those wordless sounds, the Wyvern pulled a cloth from his bag. Gently taking the water from my hand, he poured some over the cloth, and then pressed the damp fabric to my skin.

The relief was immediate. Wanting more, I tried to wipe the wet spot across my arm, but there wasn't enough of it. The Wyvern simply made another noise, and took the cloth back. This time, he soaked the thing completely before giving it back.

Desperately, I wiped myself down all over. I didn't even care about the abrasive feel of it. The coolness was such a relief. Once I was done, the Wyvern carefully plucked the cloth from my fingers and then slowly moved it around behind my neck. There, he squeezed, allowing all the excess water to trickle down my neck and back.

It didn't make it any less hot in the world, but oddly it did make me feel like I might be able to deal with it. But the Wyvern's kindness wasn't done yet. With another of those noises, he dug in his pack and pulled out a pair of tubers. They weren't as big as the one from this morning, but otherwise looked the same. Proudly, he offered me one.

My eyes narrowed, wondering if I should refuse, but what else could I eat? Even if I was allergic to this, the reaction didn't seem to be too bad, and starving would prevent me from escaping if I ever had the chance. So, cautiously, I bit into the end.

Beside me, the monster who was supposed to be my enemy did the same, leaning back and closing his eyes. The sound of our crunching was our only conversation, but as far as I cared, that was perfectly fine.

Because while I might have no clue why, it seemed the Dragons weren't trying to kill me. At least not yet.

EighteenAyla

From there, the world continued to warm up, and once again we walked. It didn't take long before every step was sheer misery. My feet hurt so bad, but I didn't dare stop. The others were walking like it was no big deal, but I had never traveled this far in my life. My back was sore, my skin was burning, and the glare had caused my eyes to weep long enough that they now felt dry and raw.

Even worse, the Wyvern stayed right at my side. The man was gigantic. Not just tall, but also broad. His lack of clothing made it easy to see the massive muscles in his arms and chest. I stole peeks from the corner of my eyes, thinking about the stories I'd heard. Mr. Cassidy said this beast could pull apart a man with his bare hands. Seeing him, I could believe it. Not even the strongest hunters had arms as big as his.

But his stripes were actually beautiful. In the dappled light along the road, I could watch his skin change colors. In the shade, it was black, with nearly white stripes that ran from his head to his toes. When the sun hit him, he turned dark green and the stripes shifted to rainbow pastels. The sheen reminded me of cooking oil on water. The stripes were like a prism.

On his face, the pale lines shimmered in orange. By the time they reached his dark hair, they turned to a pale yellow. Along his back, they were cream, changing to lime green about halfway down. The base of his tail was turquoise, with the stripes only one shade lighter until they blended in about halfway down. Most of his tail was solid blue, but the tip? Just before the barb, the color verged on violet. It was a blue-purple shade I didn't know the name for.

A rainbow of colors teased my eyes, but they weren't really there. It was as if a reflection of color was laid on top of the cream I saw in the shade. Iridescence, I thought it was called, though I'd never seen such a thing in real life. It was surprisingly beautiful.

I was so distracted by his skin I didn't see the dip in the ground. My foot hit it, my balance shifted, and I stumbled forward two steps, yelping at the impact on the bottoms of my feet. Almost immediately, the dark brown Dragon surged forward to catch me, likely preventing me from falling, but the Wyvern was right beside him.

Everyone stopped, turning to look at me. All I could do was blink, and a few more tears streaked down my face. Wiping at them, I simultaneously massaged my eyes, begging them to learn how to work in this over-lit world.

That made the men on either side of me start talking quickly. It didn't sound like a debate. More like they were coming to a decision. The brown one made a gesture over his eyes. The Wyvern nodded, and then slipped off his pack. I watched in confusion as he pulled out the cloth and water we'd used for lunch.

One more time, the Wyvern soaked the fabric and offered it to me. Grateful, I began to pat at the back of my neck, hoping for the same cool effect. That made the blue-tailed man smile, but the brown one had other ideas.

Lightly touching my arm to get my attention, he pointed to the cloth. Reluctantly, I surrendered it, wishing I'd been able to wring it out on my neck first. But instead of using it himself, the brown Dragon unfolded the crumbled material and then laid it over the top of my head so part of it dangled before my face, not quite reaching my nose.

And I could see through it!

That little bit of fabric was just enough to block out the glare of the daylight, which meant I could see now. I wanted to laugh, or cheer, or something. Instead, I simply smiled, not sure which one of them I should be thanking.

But the Wyvern wasn't done yet. Clearing his throat, he pointed to my foot. I shook my head, but he pointed again. Not knowing what else to do, I lifted it.

The man tested the bandages, then moved my leg so he could see the bottom without making me fall over. On my other side, the brown Dragon just sighed heavily before he grumbled something under his breath.

"I'm fine." I insisted, gently pulling my foot back from the Wyvern's hands.

He let me, but muttered, "Ayem fahn."

"I'm fine," I said again, enunciating my words.

"Ey um fai nuh," the Wyvern mumbled, shaking his head.

I just huffed and kept walking. That they understood. The rest began moving, leaving the Wyvern to catch up. He did, jogging right back to my side, but his lips were still working over the strange syllables of my words. He didn't stop until the brown Dragon started chattering at him again. This time, I recognized the tone as teasing.

The Wyvern shot something back, and the green Dragon responded. The mood began to lighten, and I tried my best to keep up with what they were saying. I didn't stand a chance, yet it was still interesting to watch them interact. Almost as interesting as the world around us. Combined, all of this reminded me of the fantasies my mother had made up.

Thinking about her made me toy with the little ring on my pinky. My mother would've loved this. She'd have called it a great adventure and reminded me to enjoy every second. A wistful smile flickered across my lips before I looked at the world around me again, the cloth on my head finally allowing me to appreciate some of it.

Out here, there were so many trees. Millions of them, stretching on as far as my eyes could see. Big ones, and with all different kinds of leaves. Around the base of each were the brown and dead remains from the years before. It looked soft from a distance, but I'd learned the hard way how that brown carpet was filled with many, many sharp things. Walking across it would be treacherous. Running would be almost impossible.

And yet the Dragon had walked through it without seeming to notice. So had the rabbit. My feet seemed to only be safe on the path, or road, or whatever it was properly called. Regardless, it was wide enough for four people side by side and hard enough no grass or plants grew on it to attack my feet. Well, not many. Occasionally, I saw something sprouting up, but it never looked as lush as what thrived along the edges. Could this be the only way through the world that didn't have dangerous hazards? If so, how would I ever escape my captors?

Because I'd promised Callah I would at least try. Since I wasn't dead yet, maybe I still had a chance? These Dragons were mostly acting kind, but I wasn't foolish enough to trust them. Not with the way the green one had lashed out earlier. After all, that was what men did. They smiled kindly and talked softly, up until a woman refused what they wanted.

Which meant my plan to lull them into trusting me might even be working? I wasn't sure if acting meek and submissive actually qualified as a plan, but it was the best I had. Plus, with the Dragons leading me someplace, I was getting the chance to learn at least a few useful things, like the cloth over my head and the water on my skin.

Hopefully, I'd be able to survive on my own when I slipped away. Maybe tonight? I wouldn't be blind then, so it would probably be my best chance. I'd wait for the men to all fall asleep and maybe climb one of the trees? A few of them had limbs low to the ground. I'd managed to climb into the library, so I should be able to do the same with branches, right?

Because that was the best option I had. Sure, I'd read books about the Earth, but they'd been about a completely different time. Back then, there had been ways to travel in moving boxes called cars. The wilderness had been reserved for special areas, and access had been granted only when specialists were around to keep them safe. Some areas had been very big, and many people had enjoyed them, but they certainly hadn't lived inside them.

It seemed the world had returned to a wild state. When the Devil won the last battle, men had paid the price. That allowed everything else to reclaim what it had lost. I'd seen the injuries the hunters came back with. I'd treated many of them. Now, here I was in the same dangerous land with no one to tell me what to avoid, slowly but surely marching toward some unknown future.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't see the tree laying across the road until the Wyvern thrust an arm across my chest to stop me. Sucking in a breath, I looked up to find him staring again. As if to explain, I tugged at the cloth over my eyes, and something about the monster's face softened. Slowly, he nodded.

Then he rambled off a string of strange words and pointed to my feet. That didn't make any sense, so I looked at the large tree. It was as big around as I was, and the branches on it had thin, green spines. They weren't like the other leaves. This tree looked like the kind shown for Christmas in my books, without all the decorations. It took a moment before I thought to look at the parts not on the road.

The base of the tree had pulled up when it fell. A massive knot of roots jutted straight into the air. On the side with the tree's top, there were nothing but dense vines. The kind that had thorns. Everyone else was merely stepping over the tree - which was when I figured out what the Wyvern meant.

The ground around the tree was covered in loose green needles and pieces of wood. For my wounded feet, that would be torture. I was having enough trouble with the hard-packed road. This? It would definitely hurt, but clearly the entire group intended to go across.

Pushing out a nervous breath, I braced myself, then took a step forward. Again, the Wyvern thrust his arm up, halting me. He repeated the gesture at my feet, but I could only lift my hands in confusion. Yes, I knew I wasn't wearing shoes. What exactly did he want me to do about it?

So the man put the tips of his fingers together, his hands making a flat circle, and raised them. I shook my head, making no sense of his gesture. The sound which came from him could only be described as a growl. Slowly, he bent to pick up a stick, and I watched. The tan Dragon, however, was losing his patience.

Grumbling out a string of those foreign words, he stormed right towards me. When he was close, he lifted his hands. The gesture was clear enough. He intended to grab me. Letting out a yelp, I hurried back, doing my best to stay out of his reach.