"What?"
He tipped his head at me. "I can see your ribs against your dress, Ayla. My mother told me to make sure you have enough food."
"But why would your mother care?" I asked. "And a woman should eat with intention so as not to steal food from the mouth of a man. Gluttony will make her unappealing and lazy. It is one of the deadly sins, you know."
"And will let the Devil in," he grumbled.
"Yes, but how does your mother know if I need to eat?" I asked again.
Which made Zasen twitch his head one more time, but this time he also began to chuckle. "Do you remember the doctor who treated your feet when you first got here?"
"So she is a doctor?" I gasped. "I wasn't sure. I thought so, because she had the white coat, but she could've been a nurse."
"She's a doctor," he promised. "She's also my mother. Her name is Naomi."
All I could do was stare at him. "The woman with skin the color of tea and hair that is silver and black..." My words trailed off as I took in his pattern. "Is that where you got the stripes?"
His reaction to my question was so emphatic it made me flinch. The Dragon I was told would be the most terrifying of them all leaned his head back and roared out a laugh.
"Oh, she'll love that," he finally said when he could control himself again. "But no. My pattern is from my father. Both myself and my sister got it, even if Jeera's version is solid grey."
"Grey?" I asked.
"Mhm," he agreed, a little curl twisting his lips. "I was told she laid on your legs."
"So the Dragon woman with grey hair, grey eyes, and grey skin is your sister?"
"She is."
I just gaped at him in surprise. "So how did a human woman have Dragon children?"
Which made Zasen chuckle again. "Because her husband - my father - was tailed. His body was colored similar to mine, but his tail was red instead of blue."
"Was?" I asked, catching that word.
Zasen nodded slowly. "Was, Ayla. A Mole killed him."
"Which is why you kill Moles now?" I asked.
"One of many reasons," he promised. "It is why I will even kill you if you try to harm anyone here."
I shook my head. "I don't want to hurt people." Then I paused, realizing that was a lie. "Except the men. I kinda want to kill them a little."
"Then help me?" he asked. "Tell me about what it was like in the base?"
"The compound?" I clarified.
"The place underground where you came from," he explained. "No matter what it is called, I need to know about it."
And I realized this was my chance. This was how I could prove myself. All Zasen wanted to know was something so easy? Well, I would gladly tell him every single thing I knew! Maybe then I'd be able to stay here. And if I could do that? Then hopefully I could figure out how to rescue Meri and Callah next!
So I nodded. "Okay, but can I try to do it in Vestrian? I want to make sure I learn all the words."
"You can do it in any language you want," he assured me. "I happen to think Vestrian is a good one."
Thirty-FourAyla
Itold Zasen what came to mind. Naturally, that revolved around the life I'd led before I was thrown out. He listened enthusiastically as I described everything from our classrooms to where we ate, and then had a lot of questions about food preparation. But when he asked about how to get in the main door, I couldn't tell him.
From the look on his face, it was clearly the wrong answer. Not that he scolded me or punished me for it. He was simply disappointed - and it bothered me more than if he'd used the back of his hand. It made me feel like I'd failed his challenge to prove myself.
So the next day I tried to make it up to him. We headed out a little earlier, when the light was brighter. My eyes tried to clench, but it allowed me to not only see more of the color transitions in the sky as the sun set, but also to have a little more time with the boy from across the street.
This time, Tamin brought over a stuffed animal. When I'd first moved into the girl's wing at the age of six, one of the matrons had given me a doll made the same way. Tamin's wasn't meant to mimic a baby, though. Of course it wasn't. According to Zasen, it was meant to be a bear, tough enough to chase away nightmares and scary thoughts, yet soft enough to hug as hard as he wanted.
The day after that, I was ready even earlier. Bit by bit, my eyes were learning how to cope with the intensity of the sunlight up here. Being distracted by the antics of the neighbor's child made me forget it was supposed to bother me. And the best part? I actually liked the boy.
The moment Zasen walked into the house, I clutched my book and smiled up at him. "Are we talking in Vestrian again?" I asked excitedly, using that language.
He laughed. "I need a bath and clean clothes first, but yes."
I was almost bouncing in my seat. "Maybe I can wait for you outside?"
That made him give me a strange look. "So you can see Tamin?"
"And the light," I admitted. "The earlier I go out, the brighter it is, but it no longer makes my eyes stream."
Slowly, he nodded. "Then go read while I get cleaned up. Kanik can even make some iced tea for us." Then he smiled at my teacher. "And keep an eye on her, okay?"
