"But how do they know I have permission?" I turned to see her face. "Jeera, what if they think I've disobeyed Zasen?"

For a moment, I thought I'd said something wrong, but when she decided to talk again, it seemed she had plenty to say. "That is nothing but manure!" she huffed. "The Moles really treat their women like that? As if you're nothing but a thing to be bought and ordered around?"

"And used up," I told her. "Our place is to care for a husband from marriage until death. To be seen and not heard. Meek. Demure. Subservient. But that's because most women don't live long. We die in childbirth."

"That's so wrong," she grumbled. "No wonder you stabbed your supposed husband. No, Ayla, if anyone tries to treat you like that here - even my brother - I expect you to tell me so I can sting them!"

I sucked in a breath. "But wouldn't you get in trouble?"

"Not here," she assured me. "You see, Dragon men and women are considered equal. That means anything a man can do, a woman can as well. It doesn't matter if that's a job, a hobby, sleeping around, or anything else. Well, boys can pee standing up without making a mess, and girls can have babies, but the rest of it is equal."

I giggled at how she'd added in the part about peeing. "So it's okay that Zasen is going to teach me how to fight Moles?"

"Yeah..." she huffed. "And he's a good one to do it too. Our father taught both of us how to hunt when we were little. So you know, I learned everything Zasen did. Our mother taught us both medicine, or as much as she could. That's why I went into nursing." She made a face. "Although, I'm curious. If you didn't know about medicine before you got here, well, what do Moles do when someone gets sick?"

"Pray," I assured her.

"And?" she asked.

I shook my head, not sure what she was asking. "Um, it depends on what kind of sickness they have. If they're like the women in quarantine - "

"Okay, so you know about quarantine procedures?" she broke in.

"I know that when the Devil corrupts a woman, she's locked in quarantine until she can fight off the evil ideas he gives her. My mother never managed, though. She died before she could find her way to God, but she gave my father four healthy children, so the priest said she would be forgiven for being weak."

Jeera's response was not made from words I knew, and it lasted for a lot longer than I expected. I picked up a few of the strange words the men used, and "assholes" was definitely one.

Finally, she asked, "Because your mother was mentally ill, she was locked away?"

"I don't know what that means," I admitted, "but my mother was locked in quarantine because she refused to submit to her husband."

"Wow," Jeera breathed. "Okay. What about when people break an arm, or cut themselves badly?"

"Like the hunters?" I asked. "When they came back from getting food, most of them would be injured. We women - the older girls and wives - would treat their injuries. Most of that was removing the arrows from the Dragons and sewing up the cuts."

"And if someone gets sick?" she pressed. "Like vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and that sort of sickness?"

"Pray," I mumbled, sure it was the wrong answer.

Jeera just nodded her head slowly. "Okay, well, it's not like that here," she assured me as we turned onto yet another street. "If someone is sick, they are given a pill, or a liquid, or something to make them better. If their body has a problem, we do a thing called surgery, where we can put them to sleep and fix what's inside without them feeling it."

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yep. And I trained to be a nurse, but I didn't like it as much as I thought. My mother is a doctor, as you know. She makes people better, so I wanted to grow up and help her, but I didn't know it was more about the boring parts than the exciting stuff. So, while I'm trained as a nurse, I only do that for emergencies, like when the Moles attack. Mostly, I gather herbs and supplies from the forest like my father taught me."

"Like Zasen?" I asked.

"He finds meat," she explained, "and I find everything else. Mostly plants, sometimes funguses or flowers. Occasionally, it's insects. I can hunt too, but I'm nowhere near as good of a shot with a hunting bow as my brother. I am better with a longbow, though." And she winked at me.

"I just want to learn how to be good," I told her.

Jeera flashed me a smile, and then gestured to a very large building at the side. "I'm sure you will be, but we made it."

"We did?"

"Mhm," she assured me. "Ayla, this is the church. Zasen said you still believe in God, right?"

"Yes, very much," I assured her.

So she guided me towards the beautiful, white building. "Would you be willing to see what a priest is like in Lorsa?"

"Okay..."

But what if he accused me of breaking the rules? What if he knew about what I'd done to Reynold Saunders? What if he wanted to send me back? With each step, my feet moved a little slower and my muscles clenched in fear. I knew I should go in. I wanted to believe this would be okay, but what if God was really angry with me for coming here?

"It's okay," Jeera assured me. "If you don't like what the priest has to say, we can leave. I promise."

"But - "

"No," she said, cutting me off. "No buts. If you want to leave, we will leave. I just want you to give our priest a chance, because I don't think God is as cruel as the Moles say He is."

"Oh," I breathed, relaxing just enough to take the handful of steps down towards the door.

Jeera opened it and let me in first, but she never left my side. The darkness of the interior was gentle on my eyes. After a few seconds, I could make out the long section of seating on either side of an aisle that ran down the middle. And there, at the far end, was a large cross with a pair of people standing before it. One was a human man wearing a white robe. The other was the dark blue Dragon woman with orange hair and a matching band in the middle of her tail: Brielle.

"Jeera!" the woman called out. "You made it."

One should not yell in the temple, or so I'd been taught. And yet, the man was smiling at me, waving us forward. I wanted to go, but my feet ignored my mind, refusing to work. Thankfully, Jeera caught my wrist and towed me forward, placing herself before me like she was some kind of impenetrable shield.

"Father," she said, lifting her voice so it would carry, "I would like you to know that if you terrorize my friend, I will haul her out of here."

"And I would expect nothing less," he promised, turning his eyes on me. "Ayla, right?"

"Yes, sir," I mumbled just as we finally reached their side.

He held out his hand. "I'm Father Dayne. I'm so happy you came to visit us today."

I nodded, not sure what else to do. The man's brow creased for only a split second, and then he gestured to the closest bench. "Would you like to sit? I'm sure everything in Lorsa has been overwhelming for you."

"I'm trying to learn everything as fast as I can," I assured him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Brielle said, hurrying over. "Dayne, I just realized that you're a tailless man, and she's probably terrified of you."

The priest gave me a disappointed look. "No..." His shoulders slumped. "Ayla, I give you my word under God that you are safe with me. I have a feeling your friends will make sure of it."

"I already explained to him all about you coming here," Brielle assured me.

The priest gestured to the bench again, encouraging me to sit. This time I did, and he claimed the place beside me, leaving a rather large gap. Jeera and Brielle hovered before us, but both women stayed standing. Still, their presence helped make me feel a little more confident. Almost like it would be okay for me to make a mistake, because they were here to help me get out of it if I did.