"Officially list her as a refugee," I told him. "If she's attacked, then it's assault. If she's wrong, then so be it. But make it clear she's a refugee who came here for a better life. She wants to become a citizen. Give her that chance, and I think what she'll give us will be priceless."

"So you think this girl's information is that valuable?"

I chuckled. "Zasen does. He says what she knows is worth its weight in gold."

"The Wyvern's gold, maybe," he grumped.

"Or Lorsa's," I replied. "Because if you offer that young lady a little bit of hope, I think she might become a lot more valuable than any of us could've imagined."

The Mayor simply ran his black tongue over the tips of his teeth, thinking hard. "You want her to have access to the town too, hm?"

"With a companion," I assured him. "Don't worry, we plan to keep watch over her, but there's no reason she needs to know that. To Ayla, we're just her new friends."

And a smile finally split the red-and-black man's face. "Do it. And if she can convince the people of Lorsa she's not a threat, then fine. She's a refugee. Becoming a Dragon is going to be much, much harder."

"No shit," I agreed under my breath as I pushed my chair back.

But I'd gotten what I'd come for. Now it was time to leave before he could change his mind. I just hoped Zasen was right about her. Yes, I liked the girl, but I wasn't as convinced she knew anything we could use.

Although she was definitely gold. Very gold. Her hair was much darker than any of the men's who'd been killed last night. I wasn't sure if all the women were that way, or just her. I also didn't think she belonged to the Wyvern. The Dragonfly might have something to say about that, because he'd been spending quite a bit of time smiling at her.

But in my opinion, she didn't belong to either of them. She was her own, and I wanted her to learn that a man should never, ever own her again.

Forty-EightAyla

Ifinished cleaning the floors. When I was done, there wasn't a hint of either man in our house! Not even a trace of blood in the grooves between the boards. They were gone, washed away with vinegar and soap. If only getting rid of the rest of the Moles could be so easy.

Then Kanik made me rest for a while and eat. First, I had a bath and put on a dress that didn't stink of vinegar. I put the other with the washing, which I was assured would be handled for me. I had no idea how, but I was trying hard to learn the Dragon way of doing things.

Then, for the first time I got to try something called pancakes. Kanik served them with eggs covered in goat cheese, and the bread-like circles were smothered in the sap from a maple tree. It was so good that I ate much more than I should've. Before I knew it, my eyes had gotten heavy.

I woke to find myself stretched out on the couch with a pillow under my head and a light blanket over my body. In the kitchen, I could hear Kanik humming to himself, but the light outside was bright and slanted towards the windows. That meant it was well after noon.

I thought about jumping up, but the cushions were so very comfortable. I also didn't want to stop Kanik's song. The man's voice was deep and rich. The notes he made in his throat were beautiful! I'd heard hymns sung before, but this was very different, so for a moment I lay there and allowed myself to enjoy it.

A bellow of feminine laughter sounded on the porch, making Kanik stop humming. A moment later, the front door opened. Rymar stepped in first, but the doctor was right behind him - and Zasen was behind her. All three of them were smiling, and Naomi - the doctor - was doing her best not to laugh again.

"Wyvern's gold!" Naomi giggled. "As if you and Kanik haven't been helping at all. No, Zasen is going to get - and take - all the credit."

"I'll make sure Jerlis knows they helped," Zasen muttered.

Naomi just reached back to rub his shoulder, but I'd pushed myself up at their entrance, ashamed to be caught sleeping on the couch. Hoping they wouldn't be offended, I began folding up the blanket as quickly and unobtrusively as possible.

"Exactly the person I was wanting to see," Naomi announced as she headed towards me.

"Yes, ma'am," I breathed, glancing back towards the kitchen in the hopes of Kanik telling me what was going on.

He was now standing in the opening between the kitchen and the living room. Rymar headed right to him, but Naomi plucked the blanket from my hands and pushed it back at Zasen. Then she knelt down by my feet.

"How have you been feeling, Ayla?" she asked.

Her Vestrian was crisp and clear. The words were carefully enunciated, making them easy to understand. Most people blurred the sounds a little in their excitement, but not this amazing dark-skinned woman. In all my life, I'd never imagined anyone like her could exist. Not only was she beautiful, but also a doctor, and she was so very kind!

"I'm well," I promised.

That made Naomi give me a strange look. "Does the laceration on your side hurt?"

"No, ma'am," I breathed, unconsciously reaching my hand up to test it.

"And your feet?" she asked even as she peered at my bare soles. "Any pain? Tingling sensations? Zasen said you wore the bandages until last night? They were changed daily, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," I promised.

"Technically," Kanik said from across the room, "she's called Doctor, Ayla. So instead of ma'am, you'd say 'yes, Doctor.'"

Naomi smiled at me again. "I'm fine with ma'am too - or my name. Those who don't know me call me Doctor Naomi Griffin, because my sign is the Griffin."

I nodded to show I heard her, but had to know, "How do you get your sign?"

"We pick it when we become adults," she said. "Or for you, when you become a true citizen of Lorsa."

"When you're a Dragon," Zasen clarified. "Why, know what you want to be?"

I shook my head. "No, but I should think about it."

And that was one more reason to become a Dragon. I would no longer bear my father's name. No, I could become whoever I wanted. I just wasn't sure who that was yet.

Then Zasen lifted the metal pendant which had been hanging around his neck a lot lately. "Our identifier is both the image on our sign die and the name. When we agree to things, we use one of these to stamp our signature, making it official. So consider how it will look as well as how you'll carry the name."

"Okay," I agreed, twitching my toes as Naomi poked at my feet.

It tickled, but not too badly. However, my reaction seemed to please her. "Your nerves seem to be fine," she stated. "The wounds are completely closed, and even that deep puncture has healed as well as could be expected. You will have scars, Ayla."

"Okay," I said again, not sure what else she wanted from me.

Then Naomi gestured to my side. "And how is that cut doing?"

"She scrubbed the floors this morning," Kanik told her. "Supposedly, she was being careful, but Ayla wanted to clean up the blood from the Moles who died inside."

Which made Naomi sit up and lean back. "Boys? Can all of you go somewhere else for a moment?"

"Mom..." Zasen tried.

Naomi just gave him a cold look. "I need to speak to my patient. The three of you are hovering and trying to answer for her. I'd also like to look at her side, and I'm sure she'd prefer not to have quite so many eyes gawking at her."

"I have some work upstairs," Rymar said. "All of you can help me with it."

Kanik chuckled. Zasen groaned. The three men still left, even if the tromping of their feet on the stairs was a little harder than usual. Before they even reached the top, Naomi was chuckling again.