INFERNAL - 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

SIXTEEN

"Now that I know you can speak, I have to ask. Where are you from?"

Anna's words were soft, but the edge of tension running through them was strong enough to catch Ndette's attention even as she let more of the warm, salty liquid run down her throat. It left a trail of heat that managed to both heighten and quench her inner fire at the same time, until the center of her was a blaze of smoldering embers. It left her feeling relaxed and more than a little tired. She took her time swallowing.

"South," she said finally.

Anna's eyes were steady, but the rise and fall of her chest grew faster. "How far south? Does it have a name?"

"I—

"Anna. Leave the inquiry to me."

She was saved from having to think of an answer by the appearance of a man in the doorway. He gave Anna a smile, showing his words were not in anger, and revealing an indentation in the side of his face near his lips.

"Jacob," Anna returned his smile. "I'd like you to meet my guest..."

She let her words trail away, turning to Ndette with brows raised in question. The man named Jacob turned as well. The indentation faded away as his green eyes took her in. His honey colored hair fell in gentle waves along his brow, curling in near his ears and along the back of his neck. His lips quirked upward again, bringing back the indentation. Her eyes travelled from it to his soft, full lips. A rush of heat worked its way through her.

Embarrassed by her reaction, Ndette looked back at his green eyes. She had never seen a color so vivid. It was like...

"Emerald."

"Ah!" Anna clapped her hands together. "Emerald! That's a beautiful name!"

"I..." Ndette let her words die on her lips.

They might not even know how to pronounce her true name. Let them call her Emerald.

"Welcome, Emerald." Jacob's deep voice was soothing in a way she could not understand. It was like feeling the rumbles of the earth beneath. "I do hope Anna has been able to thaw you out properly."

"Yes," Ndette answered, pulling the soft fur-lined covering closer.

He nodded. "Good. We wouldn't want our guests freezing to death." He glanced at her boots. "It looks as if she's managed to find you clothes that fit well."

She wasn't sure whether the term 'clothes' meant her boots or her coverings, or both, so she nodded. It seemed to satisfy them both.

"She won't stay thawed if you stand there with the door open," Anna said.

Jacob's face flushed as he stepped further into the room, letting Anna close the door behind him. The sharp knob in his neck bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions, Emerald?"

He stood there awkwardly, his hands moving as if he wasn't sure where to put them until he finally stuffed them into his pockets.

"Go on and sit down," Anna flapped her hands at him like a mother hen. "She doesn't bite. I checked."

Ndette felt her heart lurch. Bite? Did they suspect what she truly was?

Jacob flashed Anna a scowl, but moved toward the chair beside Ndette, his face as pink as her hands had been when they'd first come in out of the cold. Anna was teasing him, she realized.

He sat at the edge of the chair, looking down at the floor. He cleared his throat.

"So you're from the south?" He asked finally.

"Yes."

"Does it have a name? Did you get a sense of how far it was from here?"

"Gee," Anna said softly in the background as she picked up the food. "I would never have thought to ask that."

Jacob rolled his eyes upward.

"I'm not sure how far exactly," Ndette answered truthfully. "We travelled for two days."

Jacob and Anna exchanged a glance.

"That could be as far as the Carolinas," Anna said.

Jacob nodded, turning back to Ndette. "Where you lived," he said carefully, "were you in a reservation? Did you live in one place? Or did you... move?"

Ndette frowned. What were they getting at?

"I have always lived in the same place."

Anna seemed to deflate. Her head dropped, and she let out a long sigh.

"Sorry Anna." Jacob's voice was subdued.

"It's not your fault, Jacob Warren." Anna shook her head. "I'm just a foolish old woman who fancied the world might one day become hospitable again."

"It might be yet, Anna. Don't give up hope."

Anna nodded, but her smile was missing.

"You'll have to forgive us, Emerald." Jacob turned back to her. "There are many who hope that the rumors of human numbers growing are true. That we might one day repopulate the earth and have back the things we once knew and enjoyed."

Like dominion.

She couldn't help it. The thought slipped out before she could stop it, prompted by years of distrust and memories of wars. The two species had fought for domination, and the humans had been defeated.

Looking at them now, she wondered whether the humans would agree. The stories she had been taught all told of the abject and utter destruction left in the wake of the great wars, and of the subjugation of the humans. They had fought with a terrible vicious fervor, but they had been broken.

Of course, all of these tales had come from those who considered themselves victors. It would stand to reason that the two sides might have different views of the same events.

"How many of you are there, in your reservation?" Jacob asked.

"Eleven thousand, four hundred and twelve." She didn't even have to think about it. Each day the answer to that question had been drilled into her by her mother as part of the colony governance.

There was a clatter.

Ndette looked up to find Anna wide-eyed and staring, a dropped basket and several objects that looked like cake rolling at her feet.

"Eleven thousand..." she breathed.

Honor save her. She'd given the number of dragons in her colony! Would they know? Was she revealed? Her body tensed for flight.

"So many." Anna's face broke into a smile that lit the small room. She clasped her hands together beneath her chin. "That's more than triple the number here!" She rushed across the room, grabbing up Jacob's arm. "If there are so many in the south, there must be even more to the west!"

Jacob's jaw worked, the muscles moving beneath the skin.

"It cannot hurt to hope," he answered softly.