They had all told me so much, and so many amazing things. My brain felt like it was ready to burst with all the knowledge. So the next day, I'd asked Kanik about some of it. He'd assured me what Jeera had said was true, and made it clear to me he also liked children.

Then, that evening, I asked Zasen the same thing, waiting for one of them to let slip the truth. But when Zasen guided me onto the porch for our daily chat in Vestrian, he kicked his feet up and smiled. Then he'd laid out even more shocking things.

Not everyone got married. Not everyone who did get married was a man and a woman. Some people didn't want children, and that was okay. Other people who couldn't have them adopted children to raise as their own. Children were not only loved and cherished, but they weren't sent away at ten years old to live in a hall with others their age!

No, they lived with their families. They had friends they could visit, but they came home to be safe with their parents afterwards. School was only for part of the day, and every child was raised differently. Most of them were loved very much - and if they weren't, people would step in to make sure the child had protection from parents who might hurt or punish them too much.

It all sounded like a fantasy.

I kept finding myself flinching from things, yet the women yesterday had been so bold. I was always waiting for punishment, trying to figure out what I could and could not do around here, but the Dragon women - tailed or not - didn't seem to care. They were as strong as the men, and allowed to do, think, and say just as much.

But was I? I was a Mole. Zasen had said that enough. Kanik agreed I wasn't one anymore, yet if I wasn't a Dragon, then what was I? Just a woman who should've been married and wasn't. A woman who spent her time reading instead of putting her efforts into caring for the men around her. A selfish and sinful woman - but a happy one.

Maybe all of this was a fantasy then? But wasn't this exactly what Meri, Callah, and I had dreamed of? They'd begged for such stories after the lights were off, and now I was finding it was real. This was possible. If I could get things right here, then maybe I could share it with them too?

I was mulling that over when Tamin thundered up the stairs to join us on the porch. "Mama says I can play here today," he told Zasen defiantly.

Zasen just chuckled. "So she thinks Ayla is okay now?"

The boy nodded his head vehemently. "Ayla is nice. Mama said she'll play with me if I'm a good boy."

"I will," I promised, which made Tamin smile.

So Zasen reached out with his tail and hooked a small wooden thing, pulling it over. "You can use the footstool to sit with us," he told the boy.

Tamin slid what Zasen called a "footstool" between the pair of us, then sat down with his back to the street so he could see us. In his hand was yet another of his toys. This one was made from wood.

"My papa made this," he bragged before thrusting it at me in childish glee.

"Oh, wow," I said as I took it.

The toy was a crude carving of a dragon warrior. He had his tail up, his legs braced, and was holding a bow, which looked like it was pulled back, but there was no string or arrow. Then again, carving details that fine would've been difficult.

"That's amazing," I told Tamin. "Is this what your papa looked like?"

Tamin's smile faded, but he nodded. "Papa was strong, but the Moles killed him anyway."

I sucked in a little breath, my eyes jumping over to Zasen, then back to the kid. "Oh, Tamin, I'm so sorry." Then I offered the toy back. "But he must've loved you very much to make you a toy like that, huh? Something to remember him - "

"Hush!" Zasen snapped, cutting me off.

I turned to glare at him, but his eyes had lost focus and his head was cocked to the side slightly. A moment later, I realized what he'd heard: voices. They were soft, like distant and muffled murmuring, but no one was on the street.

"What - " I tried, but a quick lift of Zasen's hand cut me off again.

Then, from somewhere across the street and far away, came a popping sound.

"Inside!" Zasen growled, shoving to his feet and pushing Tamin that way.

I followed even as Zasen moved behind me, placing himself between Tamin, me, and the nearby voices. He also pushed without care of being gentle or kind. Grabbing Tamin's shoulders, I herded the boy towards the door, but those few steps felt like they took an eternity.

More pops rang out. The voices got louder, and quickly. I grabbed the handle, pushing the door open, and shoved Tamin inside just as the sound came again, closer this time. It was loud. So loud my ears wanted to ring - and it made all three of us rush into the house for safety.

A moment later, a bell began to ring slowly. That sounded like it was in Lorsa.

"Kanik!" Zasen roared as he slammed the door behind him.

But the teacher was already at the weapons closet, pulling things out. I'd never seen a bow strung before, but that had to be what he was doing. Hooking his leg over the straight piece of wood, Kanik forced it to bend, attached the string to the opposite end, and then tossed it towards Zasen.

"They're at the south entrance," Zasen hissed as he drove both me and Tamin deeper into the house. "I heard them grouping up for a push."

"Arrows," Kanik said next, tossing over a bag filled with the blue-fletched arrows I knew too well. "And Ayla's going to need a weapon."

"Tamin's bow," Zasen decided. "She should be able to pull that." Then he turned and his orange eyes landed on mine. "Can you shoot a man, Ayla? To save Tamin's life, will you kill a person?"

"Yes..." I breathed, feeling my heart start to hammer against my ribs like it was trying to break out.

So Kanik passed me the tiny little crossbow I'd seen Tamin using the night before. "It's easy," he promised. "Safety switch is here." He flicked that off. "To load it, you pull the string back enough for it to lock into place, then put a bolt in the channel. To shoot it, you pull this trigger."

Without an arrow in it, he demonstrated the process, then pointed at a blank wall and pulled the trigger. The string snapped forward. There was a sound with it, but I understood, so nodded. Kanik passed the weapon to me, along with a small bag of the shorter arrows that went in it.

"These are target bolts," he explained while Zasen was busy digging in the closet. "They're not made for killing, but you can still stop a person with them." Then he clasped my arm, making me look up into his eyes. "Do you understand, Ayla?"

"Don't miss," I whispered, nodding. "I will keep Tamin safe. I promise!"

"Put her under the stairs," Zasen growled.

"String my fucking bow," Kanik shot back even as he guided me and Tamin up the hall and towards the staircase that led to the second level. There, he opened the sliding door that concealed the linens, like towels and bedding. It was a small closet space, with only enough room to stand in between all the shelves.

"Close the door," he said as he looked between the pair of us. "Stay here, stay quiet, and do not come out until we call you."

"Okay," I promised, shifting Tamin so he was behind me.

Then Kanik turned. I slid the door closed, but there wasn't a lot of space. Barely enough for the pair of us to stand. The popping sounds were still going off all around us. The sound of the men in the weapon closet was loud - until it wasn't. Then I heard the backdoor open and shut hard. A moment later, a man screamed.

"It's the Moles," Tamin whispered.

"Shh..." I breathed, because Kanik had said to be quiet.

But that only worked so well on a scared six-year-old. Tamin sniffed. A moment later, he whimpered. When I turned to check on him, the boy was not only crying but also shaking with fear.

"We'll be safe here," I whispered. "It's okay, Tamin."

"What if Zasen doesn't come back?" Tamin asked. "What if - "

But the sound of a door opening made both of us freeze. Heavy footsteps followed. These weren't like the Dragons. I didn't hear nails lightly tapping on the wooden floors. No, this person was wearing boots.

As quietly as I could, I pulled Tamin even further behind me and set the bow. The safety was off. I put a bolt in the channel and held it before me, ready but too scared to get my finger near that trigger. What if this was a Dragon? What if it was Saveah coming to look for her son? She'd worn boots, but would they sound this loud?