I was sure the Devil was here. Terrified he might find me, I opened the storage area under the stairs and crawled in. There, I curled into a tight ball, pressing my face into my hands, and tried my hardest to stay quiet. It didn't work. The fear took over and a sob broke free, but I didn't know what to do! There was nowhere to hide. No, wait. I knew where Zasen kept the weapons!

Forcing myself to my feet, I rushed to the closet in the main room, wrenched open the door, and grabbed the first two things my hands found. One was a krael and the other was a skinning knife. Shutting the door quickly - but as silently as possible - I hurried back to the linen closet and tucked myself into the corner.

Unfortunately, where I'd picked was right in line with one of the windows in the bathroom. Whatever made that booming sound had to be tall enough to look in through those, so I forced myself to lurch forward, grab the sliding door, and pull it closed. Finally, I was out of sight. If I stayed quiet, maybe this would all pass? Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be destroyed for my sins and sent to Hell to suffer for all eternity?

But that hadn't worked when the Moles had come. They'd found me in here. The Devil surely would too! All I had to defend myself were the blades, which wouldn't be as easy as using a bow. I wouldn't let it stop me, though.

The booming happened again, but this time it didn't stop. One rumble turned into five, almost as if they were rolling across each other. When the light flashed, the sound came at the same time. It had to be some weapon. Outside, I could hear a wail like millions of souls being purged, and there was the rustling of a million feet.

I would be brave, I told myself even as tears began to run down my cheeks. My throat was so tight, I felt like I couldn't breathe, and my heart was racing twice as fast as when I drank venom. My hands were trembling, and each time the sound came, I flinched in place, struggling not to cry out with the all-consuming terror that had taken over.

Then feet tromped down the stairs. "Ayla?"

A squeak escaped my lips, but it was too much. The thing heard me! Those steps started moving again, and a second later the storage closet door slid open. I thrust up both of my weapons only to have Rymar lift his hands and take a step back.

"Ayla..." he breathed, patting the air gently. "It's okay," he mumbled over and over. "It's just a storm," he said, pointing up just as the booming came again.

I whimpered, but he gestured for me to set down my weapons. Nodding to show I understood, I tried - I really did - but they were supposed to keep me safe. Still, Rymar wasn't scared. He didn't seem to mind the sounds at all, so I had to trust him. Trembling, I placed the krael on one side of my feet and the knife on the other.

Rymar quickly hurried into the cramped space and dropped to his knees before me. "Oh, Ayla," he breathed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it. This is just weather."

"What?" I asked.

So he pushed both of my blades up against the wall, moved behind me to sit on his butt in the corner, and then opened his arms like a parent would for a child. I didn't need to even think about it. I pushed myself into his arms, and he tugged me so my back was up against his chest. Then he pressed the side of his face against the top of mine.

"I don't know what's happening!" I whimpered. "Rymar, is it the Devil?"

"No..." he promised. "It's just weather, Ayla. Just a storm. This happens all the time. Well, more in spring and fall, but it's perfectly normal."

"But it's so loud!"

The sound boomed again, making me jump in place. His arms tightened, but his mouth moved beside my ear. "Thunder," he said gently. A moment later, three different flashes of light happened one after the other. "Lightning," he said, holding up a finger until a triplet of booms happened. "Thunder. See? Normal."

Those were words I knew. They were things I'd read about. His calmness made me feel like I could finally relax, but I still didn't understand what was happening to the roof, so I pointed up.

"What's hitting us?"

"Rain," he told me. Then he grunted softly. "And hail. That's frozen rain. The hail comes with the start of the storm and will stop soon. Then it will just be rain, which makes the grass and trees grow."

Those words allowed me to finally sigh, pushing out so much fear and tension with the air. My muscles unclenched, but I didn't pull away. I knew this wasn't proper, but having him hug me like this made me feel safer.

"I was so scared," I told him. "Rymar, I thought the Devil was coming."

So he flicked his tail up and slid his stinger into view. "And if he did, I'd sting him back to Hell. I promised I'd have your back, right? I meant it, Ayla."

All I could do to show him how much I appreciated that was to turn and hug his neck as hard as I could. I hugged him the way Jeera had with Zasen, not caring about proper or lady-like. Rymar just held me, murmuring softly each time the flashes or booms happened, until the loudest of the crashes on the roof turned to something deeper and less intense.

Then he gently eased me back. "Want to see what a storm looks like now?"

"Is it safe?"

He chuckled and slid out from behind me. Once he was on his feet, he turned and offered me a hand. "It is now."

"Okay," I agreed, because I really did think he'd protect me.

Refusing to let go of my hand, Rymar led me behind him as we headed to the front door. There, he eased it open to show me a world filled with water. I gasped, pressing in against his back even as I peeked around his shoulder. Rymar glanced back to check on me, and then led both of us onto the porch.

"This," he said proudly, "is rain."

Outside, I could feel the water in the air, blowing on the wind. Huge drops fell from the sky, and the ground was covered in it. Little streams and pools had formed in the yard and on the street. As I was trying to wrap my mind around all of it, another flash of lightning happened, but this time I was facing the right way to actually see it.

The line of it zigged and zagged across the sky, branching off as it tried to reach for everything. The thunder came right after, making me jump, but not as badly as before. I turned in time to see another bolt, but this one reached for the ground somewhere in the forest outside the walls. All of this was so intense and amazing, but I hadn't expected it to be beautiful.

"You doing okay?" Rymar asked.

I nodded and moved from behind him to beside him, trying to take in everything. "This is weather?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, and then moved down onto the steps, holding out his hand in an invitation to join him. "This is just a normal summer storm, but I can't wait for you to see snow. Come on. It's completely safe now."

So I took his hand and let Rymar lead me barefoot into the street. The grass squished under my soles. The mud pushed up between my toes. The water falling around us was cool but not cold, and I could breathe in it! Everything that fell from the sky soaked into my dress, but it wasn't like being underwater in a tub or something.

Then Rymar stuck out his tongue and tried to catch a drop. I watched as it splattered on his cheek instead, and laughed. So he pointed at me. Doing the same, I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the sky as the thunder continued to rumble and the lights still flashed. Then a cold drop landed right by my teeth, tasting like nothing.

"Got one!" I squealed.

Rymar laughed, "Watch this!"

Grabbing my fingers to get my attention, he pulled me towards a puddle. I didn't expect him to splash in it, though! Still, my dress was already getting soaked, so I mimicked him. He was so close my splash completely soaked his legs. Rymar only laughed.

The pair of us ran from puddle to puddle, splashing each other and giggling like we were little children. At one point, Rymar picked me up and spun me around. A little later, I tried to do the same, but he was too heavy. Instead, he laughed, turning around to grab my arm. That put his back towards me, and he hauled my hand over his shoulder. When he reached up on the other side, I gave him that hand too.

Tilting and tugging, Rymar pulled me halfway onto his back and started walking, spinning, and all but carrying me in circles through the street. My dress flared out behind me. My entire body was soaked. Wet strands of hair stuck to my face, but Rymar didn't seem to care at all. He was just as disheveled.

"And this," he told me when he set me down again, "is called playing. It's another one of those things Dragons do."

So I ran over and jumped in a puddle with both feet, sending water and mud out in all directions. "Rymar? I think I like playing."

"Then we'll have to do it more often," he swore.

Sixty-TwoKanik

We'd been out in the fields behind the library, working on group tactics when the cold front hit. When hail had come on the heels of that, the entire militia had rushed inside to hide from the pelting precipitation, but it meant our practice was over. So, once the storm lightened enough to be safe to walk in, Zasen and I headed back home.

"Kanik, you know she's never seen a storm before," Zasen pointed out.

That made me stretch my legs a little more. "Shit, she's probably scared to death."

"Hopefully Rymar will explain it," he mumbled.