"Kanik!" I bellowed. "Have him eat some fruit. We're going to need more hands here."

"Can do!" Kanik yelled back before collecting the child-sized crossbow from the child we'd bought it for.

I watched as words were traded, and then Tamin hurried to the table to climb into Ayla's lap. Saveah moved the bowl Brielle had brought, and Tamin immediately reached in. But when he offered the first piece behind him to Ayla? Okay, that was cute.

She was so good with the child. I hadn't expected that from the way she talked about her life with the Moles, but she was. Soft, tender, and she gave him her complete attention. Naturally, Tamin was soaking it up.

"What's up?" Rymar asked, taking the meat from my hand to start laying it out.

Kanik made his way over in time to hear that. "Pretty sure you don't need help putting food over the fire, so yeah. What he said."

I simply turned to the flames, not wanting the women to worry about our conversation. "Jeera thinks I should give Ayla a bow."

"It's not a bad idea," Kanik said. "She seems to know what they are and how they work."

"A weapon, though?" I said.

Crouched beside me, Rymar chuckled. "What are you scared of, Zasen? Worried she might kill you?"

I scoffed at that. "No."

So he glanced up. "Then what?"

"She's a Mole," I reminded him.

Rymar just made a face and tilted his head at Kanik. "I'm with him. She was a Mole. She's no longer a Mole. Now she's a refugee who wants to become a Dragon."

"Just think about it like she was a Reaper," Kanik said. "If she left the nomadic tribes for a more stable life, we wouldn't think it was weird. Plenty of people do that."

"And a few Dragons go to the Reapers," I reminded him.

"True, but that's not what I'm talking about," Kanik insisted. "This isn't about a balance of people emigrating and immigrating. It's about the fact that our community has always accepted those who want to become a part of it."

"He's not wrong," Rymar said.

"And Jerlis was very clear about her," I reminded them. "The Mayor won't even press charges for someone attacking - or killing - her."

"Which is another reason she needs to know how to defend herself," Kanik said. "Zasen, you didn't see how she curled up when Adoet went after her. She didn't fight back. She didn't try to stop him. She fucking apologized and curled up to protect her head and stomach!"

"Just like she did when Omden slapped her," Rymar pointed out.

I sighed, and it was a heavy one. "No one's going to accept her. If she has a weapon as well? They'll kill her on sight."

"Sounds like we need to address that too," Rymar said as he pushed to his feet. The last of the meat was now on the grill.

"How?" Kanik asked.

Rymar murmured thoughtfully. "We need to expose people to her. Get her out of the house - with supervision, so don't panic yet, Zasen - and make it clear she's one of ours."

"She's also not as pale anymore," Kanik pointed out. "I mean, her skin's peeling now, but the sunburn did tan her a bit."

"And the more she's outside like this," Rymar said, "the more she'll tan. Soon, she'll just be blonde, not orin."

"But those eyes..."

Kanik ducked his head and snorted out a laugh. "Been looking at them a lot? Zasen, they're not far off from Rymar's color."

"Fuck off," I grumbled, not wanting to admit that I had noticed her eyes. Usually because they were so big and filled with either fear or awe. "She does that sad kid in the rain look all the time," I tried to explain.

"She's gentle," Rymar said as if agreeing with me. "She's also determined. She's been helping you, so why are you so against this? Why are you trying to keep her prisoner?"

"And you can't say it's because she could be a spy," Kanik broke in. "She's definitely not an assassin."

"She's just so vulnerable," I finally admitted. "Guys, she was abused. She doesn't try to stop the abuse either! She just takes it, thinking she deserves it. How the fuck do we take someone like that into a group of people who want to abuse her and think it's a good idea?"

"He does have a point," Rymar told Kanik.

"And I have another one," Kanik said. "We need to stop tiptoeing around her. Instead of waiting for her to mention something you can use, Zasen, just ask her. Tell her you want to know how to get in, how to get around. Hell, ask for a map, or whatever it is you want."

"And you think she'd just give that to me?" I grunted, not buying it.

"Yes!" Kanik said. "Haven't you been listening to her? She doesn't care that you shot Mole men with arrows. She isn't bothered at all by how much we hate them, because she does too. I think the only thing she's worried about are her two friends down there."

"Who you could offer to rescue," Rymar added slyly.

Which was actually a good point. Never mind that bringing two more Mole women to Lorsa would not make me popular, but I had a feeling I could make it work. Well, I could if I could make the people in town accept Ayla.

But there was a bigger question. "What do you think she's going to do when she realizes why we're fighting with her people?"

"Her old people," Kanik corrected. "And she already hates them."

"You can also stop worrying about Jerlis," Rymar said. "I have a meeting with him soon. I'll bring it all up and smooth things over."

"He will not like us giving her weapons," I reminded him.

"Nope," Rymar agreed. "But I don't give a shit. See, I don't care what Jerlis wants. I don't care what anyone else thinks. That girl is either going to have to learn how to take care of herself or we'll end up protecting her for the rest of her life."

"Or you just kill her now," Kanik tossed at me.

Scrubbing at my face, I groaned. "She was a Mole!"

"Was," Kanik repeated, using my own words against me.

"And you want to fuck her," I shot back.

"Hey!" Rymar snapped, glaring at me. "Don't start being a dick just because you know we're right. I'm pretty sure the last thing Kanik wants to do is fuck her. She's been abused!"

"Exactly," Kanik said. "I'm just trying to teach her Vestrian and be nice to her, Zasen. You know, the thing you wanted us to do? Yeah, so don't be an ass because I'm better at it than you."