"Did the color look familiar?" he asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Tan, maybe a bit of green near the stinger, and black markings across all of it?" he pressed. "Ayla, that was Drozel's tail. One of the men who walked back here with us. A Mole cut it off and Zasen got Drozel away before shock set in."

"Before the Moles could kill him," I realized.

Rymar nodded slowly. "We all assumed they'd eaten the tail."

"No," I said. "They use it as proof the world is not a safe place. They tell the children it's proof of the monsters they tell us about in our school sermons. They also said the stinger on that tail was the only weapon they had left."

"Because that time they ran out of bullets," Zasen explained. "Since then, they always carry more. Lots more."

"Then we need more arrows like your blue ones," I told him. "Because the hunters in the infirmary with blue arrows? They're as good as dead without me there to help. They also die slowly."

"And there it is," Naomi said as she pushed to her feet. "The girl is going to make a great Dragon one day, boys. Just don't try to stop her."

"Nope," Zasen said, smiling at me. "We're trying to encourage her."

"And for today, that means resting," Kanik insisted. "All day. Same for the rest of us."

"Books all around," Zasen said.

"Sounds good to me," Rymar agreed.

Naomi just waved to her son. "And I'm going to check on the rest of my patients. Bye, Ayla. Bye, boys."

"Bye, Doctor Naomi," I said, smiling at the thought of it.

A real doctor. A woman. One who told three adult men what to do and they all listened. Not only that, but they acted like she might be the one to punish them if they didn't! This place just kept getting better and better.

Forty-NineAyla

Idid go to bed early that night. Surprisingly, I even fell asleep quickly. The bed made it easy, though - as did skipping sleep the night before. When I woke up the next morning, cradled in the softness of the mattress, I realized this was one more thing about the Dragons that was so much better than the Moles. Dragon beds were amazing.

But today was the day I started getting immune to venom! I was told I'd needed to sleep at least eight hours, and I had. I'd made sure of it. So throwing off the blankets, I found a clean dress, braided my hair back instead of putting it in a bun like normal, and headed for the living room.

No one was there. In fact, the house once again had that empty feeling. I knew Rymar had been going to his bar-cafe to work. I knew Zasen hunted meat early in the morning and sometimes late in the afternoon. I thought Kanik had more time before he would be teaching children again, though.

Confused, I stood very still and listened for any movement on the second floor. I'd never been up there, but that was because it was the men's area. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed - but not completely sure. These men never seemed to do things the way I expected.

Yet when I heard nothing at all, I decided to try the backyard. That was where they'd been hiding the first time I'd found myself alone in the house. Making my way into the kitchen, I was pleased to see the floor had dried back to its normal color. Then I cracked open the back door and poked my head out. Zasen and Rymar were nowhere to be seen, but Kanik was plucking a plant from beside the wall.

"Morning, Kanik," I said, letting him know I was up and in the house.

He jerked up to standing, then spun to face me. "You're awake!"

My eyes immediately jumped up to the sky, surprised to find the sun was higher than normal. That meant I'd slept in pretty late. Kanik didn't seem upset about it, though. He simply clutched his plants together and headed towards me.

"Tea?" he asked. "Maybe get something in your stomach before your first dose?"

I stepped back to let him inside. "Do I need it?"

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "All of my siblings had tails, so never had to do this part."

"Oh."

Then he lifted the plants between us. "And I thought I could replace those dying flowers Rymar got you a while back."

"As a friend?" I asked warily.

Because while I'd marry one of these men if I had to in order to save Meri and Callah, I still didn't want to. I knew what happened to wives. Why would I trade the good life I had here just to go back to what I'd fought so hard to escape in the compound?

"As a good friend," Kanik told me, setting the small bouquet of white and yellow flowers down on the counter beside him. "I just thought you might like something pretty after the last few days."

My eyes flicked over to the flowers. They were pretty. They were also all different, and in so many shapes.

"They just grow like that, out in the world?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, pulling down a glass and filling it almost full with water. "That's kinda what plants do, Ayla." Then he lifted his tail, extended the barb that most called a stinger, and expelled a single drop.

My eyes followed as the thick, clear fluid sank down in the water. Slowly, it began to disperse, little tendrils of it wafting up as it dissolved.

"Zasen said that was poisonous," I breathed, unable to look away.

Kanik shifted closer, reaching a hand up to guide the short hairs away from my face. "It is, but not enough to kill you. That's why we have to expose you slowly. Small amounts over time."

Then his fingers trailed down the side of my face. I stepped back, feeling my pulse pick up. He'd gotten me flowers, and now he was touching me like this? Why? What had I done?

"Kanik, that's improper," I said gently.

His entire body stilled. "What?"

"I don't want a suitor," I told him. "I don't want to be married. I just want to become a Dragon, and I wasn't trying to lead you on."

"No, Ayla..." He stepped back and snarled something under his breath that sounded beastly. "Fuck. I'm sorry."

Then he snatched the handful of little flowers and stormed out of the room.

"Kanik, I'm sorry," I called after him.

"You're fine," he insisted. "Just worry about the venom, Ayla. You don't have to drink it if you don't want to."

In the living room, I could hear the rustle of dry flowers. A moment later, there was a plunk. He must've thrown the new ones in the vase. Was he angry with me? Why? He'd been the one who'd made the advances! Should I not have pushed him off? Was it bad that I hadn't hated his touch?

Nervously, I glanced towards the other room. Did he expect I would throw myself at him? I'd been raised better than that!

Part of my mind whispered he thought I was a harlot, a wanton woman. I had been living with three men for so long, with no one to chaperone us. That was enough to lead men on. They couldn't control themselves, after all.